ACLU defends medieval re-enactment dork
Posted on January 13, 2007
…and is 100% right to do so.
AP: School, teen clash over medieval photo
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - Seventeen-year-old Patrick Agin often spends a week whittling a single arrow, and he’s learning to make chain mail armor by hand. So when it came time to submit a senior yearbook photo, he selected a snapshot of himself wearing chain mail and slinging a prop sword over his shoulder.
Portsmouth High School rejected the photo, citing a “zero tolerance policy” for weapons, and Agin and his family sued, claiming the school was violating his right to free speech.
This kid is obviously the type of tool who’d receive a weekly swirly throughout his high school years (see photo on above link). But what kind of ultra-feminized hysteria would lead a school to not only have such a policy (you know, the type that has led to kids being suspended for carrying nail-clippers), but to enforce it based on a photo of a kid in a costume? Come on — only dim-witted uber-Leftist government school bureaucrats could get such an idiot idea.
Portsmouth Principal Robert Littlefield said allowing a student to brandish a weapon in his senior portrait was against school policies. The school isn’t obligated to provide a forum for every student’s outside interests, he said.
“I don’t see our action as discouraging anyone’s hobby,” Littlefield said. “I don’t see our yearbook as a vehicle where we guarantee everyone an opportunity to broadcast their hobby to our audience.”
But if you allow students to submit their own photos, you can’t subjectively determine that this kid can’t be in his costume. If there is a uniformity policy that applies equally to every kid, which is the case in many schools, then fine. But if not, and the policy used is the “zero tolerance” policy for weapons, then the school best back down. The school must also have a “zero tolerance” policy regarding common sense — the kid didn’t bring a sword to school! Fools.
The ACLU, which filed the suit in federal court in December, calls the zero tolerance policy inconsistent. It points out that the school’s mascot, a patriot, is sometimes shown carrying a weapon.
And there we have it. If the facts are what they seem to be in this, I hope the ACLU wins. I’ll wait until the case is over to duct tape this dillweed kid to a tree.
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Heh. Well, back in the day, that “tool” would have had as a sword-wielding, shield-bearing Brother-in-Arms this All State football player and State Champion heavyweight wrestler and eventual combat arms soldier.
Come to think of it, that tool (in my time) went on to become a Purple Heart wearing, decorated for valor in combat Marine, too. And yeah, they do look a little similar.
Leave the duct at home unless you think you’ve got the stones…
I’m with you, John. Daring to be different (one of the ACLU’s mottos?) can be an excellent thing. What’s laughable is how selective the ACLU is in bothering to stand up for such free speech–here it is in the High School context where they want to eliminate ALL discretion to impose standards… That’s a problem!
D. Ox
Yeah…I hope the ACLU wins this one too.
I did kinda miss the main point while defending dorks, didn’t I?
I’m with the kid. One thing I like about Leavenworth, we have a rifle team with a rifle range in the basement of the high school. And if a kid from the fort has his picture taken standing next to one of the cannons on the fort… no one says anything. It just goes in the book.
Of course, this is a town where, after we lost a recent LHS graduate to an IED in Iraq, more students enlisted. And we have 5 service academy appointments and about 21 ROTC scholarships in this year’s senior class, too.
I’m not going to “defend the dork”, but it doesn’t speak highly of you that, as an adult, you still feel compelled to insult and torment a person you perceive as inferior.
As for the lawsuit itself, it’s ironic that we seem to have switched sides. School isn’t an open forum for the first amendment. Non-discriminatory dress and behavior codes are just and permissible. Zero tolerance weapons policies are permissible, if not expected.
The only angle the ACLU has is that the mascot is often depicted with a weapon. The answer will probably be to remove the weapon from the mascot.
Jeff - isn’t the *real* issue about being able to exercise common-sense judgement without having to resort to lawyer-driven draconian “all or nothing” answers?
Sure, but that community chose not to.
“I’m not going to “defend the dorkâ€, but it doesn’t speak highly of you that, as an adult, you still feel compelled to insult and torment a person you perceive as inferior.”
Don’t get so defensvie Jeff. I was having a little fun. Did my neddling hit a little too close to home buddy?
“Jeff - isn’t the *real* issue about being able to exercise common-sense judgement without having to resort to lawyer-driven draconian “all or nothing†answers?”
This is exactly what I was going after. COMMON SENSE. Thanks John. Take notice Jeff.
The point is Jeff, that students’ First Amendment, you’re correct, aren’t absolute and the school may create a reasonable set of EQUALLY-APPLIED restrictions. However, the rules need to be applied consistently across the board. Sounds like that didn’t happen here…so how can you support “The Man” in this case?
“Heh. Well, back in the day, that “tool†would have had as a sword-wielding, shield-bearing Brother-in-Arms this All State football player and State Champion heavyweight wrestler and eventual combat arms soldier.
Come to think of it, that tool (in my time) went on to become a Purple Heart wearing, decorated for valor in combat Marine, too. And yeah, they do look a little similar.
Leave the duct at home unless you think you’ve got the stones…”
John — I’ve got to jump on this bud. Myself — 10 years on active duty in our beloved Marine Corps. Pretty prolific athletic background as well besides. Ran about a 290 PFT for most of my service (could never quite break through that 19:40 barrier on the run).
I’ve got to ask buddy…you refer to yourself as a “soldier”…and then a Marine…typo? (Not that I have anything against soldiers…it’s a Marine thing).
Sorry bro…just can’t shake the image of those fake sword fight guys I used to see in the park. Surely dorks.
John — were you one of those grumpy Gunnies who showed up at “Mandatory Fun” (unit picnics) with jeans shorts, braided belt, Devil Dog T-shirt tucked in, high tube socks and Go Fasters? If so, I’ll give you a big break brother. Many a Gunny and Top I’ve loved and respected fit the profile.
As a one-time medival recreationist, why don’t you try duct-taping ME to a tree?
As I recall, there were 15 of us at Estrella War VIII, and most of us were either infantry or artillery…
There wasn’t anything defensive about my comment.
I know it was an attempt at humor, but it’s only funny to those with a predisposition towards bullying.
No.
I discussed this already. Comment 5, paragraph 3. Comment 7.
A “common sense” policy would be nice, but those things are hard to write without leaving a lot open to interpretation. This district decided they don’t want to risk lawsuits, so they went with the nuclear option. That’s their prerogative. If it is demonstrated that they haven’t been applying it consistently, they should take steps to apply it consistently. Either way, unless they change the policy, they were right to ban the picture.
I’m not, really. The district isn’t going to come out of this smelling like roses. I just don’t see how the kid gets anything out of this either.
I wonder if he’ll make his saving throw…
“I know it was an attempt at humor, but it’s only funny to those with a predisposition towards bullying.”
Jeff, are you going to wither up in a corner? Sorry if references to swirlies bring back bad memories. For someone trying to convince me that he’s not being defensive, you’re being pretty defensive.
For my fellow Marines…
Listen brothers, no matter if you two are the coolest dudes in your counties or not, medieval re-enactment enthusiasts are not typically in the “Dudes Top 10 Things To Be.” I would say that combat arms Marines definitely are (I myself worked in the 4 shop before moving over to become a sliver-tongues devil as PAO, so you can POG fun at that all you want)…so why try to pad the resume with this of all things? In the hierarchy of coolness (of course I’m not claiming to be the sole arbiter of coolness here, but I’m sure most would agree), I would place fake knight somewhere above Trekkie but below model train collector.
Now there are exceptions — if you pretend to be an archer for Friday’s fake castle siege and you really go bow hunting for boar the rest of the weekend, you are certainly cool. But if you just make costumes for yourselves and try to live out a game of Dungeons and Dragons…not cool.
Sure, Glib. You just keep right on pounding the table.
This kid is harmless. But the fact that the ACLU would try to interfere with school policy (whether rightly or wrongly interpereted) bothers me. It’s still a case of ACLU-Knows-Best.
Best,
Truman
http://condig.blogspot.com
You’ll forgive me, but wear 50 pounds of real armor, smacking each other with the equivalent of baseball bats, all to better understand the martial aspects of medival warfare, and medival life in general? Tell you what, buddy… Let’s armor up, and let’s see how well you take a few hits, eh? It’ll make you appreciate your M16A2 a little more… It will also help you understand what those fellers were going through in all those great battles contained in the books on the Commandant’s reading list (Like, oh, the Battle of Agincourt - that whole “Band of Brothers” thing - you know? The Battle of Hastings, Fallkirk, Stirling, that sort of stuff)…
As far as I remember, none of us were ever knights, or ever claimed to be, any more than all of those guys out there doing the WW2 Reenactments think that they’re Marines or Soldiers…
And then, on Monday, we put on the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, took up our modern weapons, and carried on the tradition of beating the hell out of folks…
“And then, on Monday, we put on the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, took up our modern weapons, and carried on the tradition of beating the hell out of folks…”
Ooh-rah!
Sgt. B you HAVE put the whole thing in a little better perspective for me. Thanks. Actually sounds a little cooler than I had thought coming into this whole thing. But you have to admit, the kid we’re talking about is not in the class you describe. Czech out his photo and I think we’ll agree that we are both right.