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The Controversial Reason Girl’s American Flag Photo Banned From Yearbook

Was the banning of this photo from the yearbook appropriate?

  • Total voters
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And yet I doubt the school has the power to ban a student from burning said flag. This could have been handled much better by simply speaking with the student and the parents and expressing their concerns. Heck, they could have captioned the photo explaining it was a backdrop photo and that she wasn't standing on the flag.
 
I'm not comfortable with the backdrop being on the ground or even being stood upon, even though it's not an actual flag. But, it's not an actual flag, that's just it.

What I really don't get is why the local veteran's group objected to the feet being cropped out. I see no issue with that whatsoever, especially since it wasn't an actual flag. I'd like to hear the veteran's group's rationale on this.

In the end I came down on the "it's an overreaction" side. It should have been allowed to go forward, especially after the offer to crop. At that point it could have been an actual flag on the wall a foot off the ground, and (supposedly) no one would have objected.
 
clownboy said:
And yet I doubt the school has the power to ban a student from burning said flag.
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Pretty sure the school has the power to prevent her from putting a picture of her burning said flag in the yearbook.
 
I really couldn't care less. I don't understand all the flag-worship crap anyway. It's just a hunk of cloth.
 
If the given reason is the real reason, it's a good reason. She needs to submit a respectful American flag photo and see how the school reacts.
 
radcen said:
Was the banning of this photo from the yearbook appropriate? Or, did the school overreact?
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Do schools now have a vice principal in charge of faux outrage? It seems like we get at least one of these stories daily, from kids chewing their pop tarts into guns up to censoring a Charlie Brown Christmas play. At the same time permitting Johnny to use the girls facilities.

Per the OP, the student's employer was willing to pay for an ad recognizing an outstanding employee/student, and instead found themselves in the middle of a bogus controversy. PC is out of control.
 
...after consulting a local veterans agency, the school still rejected the photo, saying that even with the alteration, it would be an inappropriate display. “We take respect for the United States flag very seriously, as it is the most important symbolic representation of our national pride,” Myers-Pachla told WTAE.
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Foolish people concerned about foolish things. :doh
 
jimbo said:
Do schools now have a vice principal in charge of faux outrage? It seems like we get at least one of these stories daily, from kids chewing their pop tarts into guns up to censoring a Charlie Brown Christmas play. At the same time permitting Johnny to use the girls facilities.

Per the OP, the student's employer was willing to pay for an ad recognizing an outstanding employee/student, and instead found themselves in the middle of a bogus controversy. PC is out of control.
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I might steal that.
 
molten_dragon said:
I really couldn't care less. I don't understand all the flag-worship crap anyway. It's just a hunk of cloth.
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I agree completely.

They could urinate on, defecate on and then burn all the flags of the world for all I care.

They mean virtually NOTHING to me...they are just flags for 'f's sake.
 
The girl and her family learned one last lesson from the school authorities, namely, that many Americans died for freedom of speech which is not honored by some Americans.
 
Heinrich said:
The girl and her family learned one last lesson from the school authorities, namely, that many Americans died for freedom of speech which is not honored by some Americans.
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Um, this is not a free speech issue. The school is paying for the yearbook; ergo, it has final say over content.

jimbo said:
Do schools now have a vice principal in charge of faux outrage? It seems like we get at least one of these stories daily, from kids chewing their pop tarts into guns up to censoring a Charlie Brown Christmas play. At the same time permitting Johnny to use the girls facilities.

Per the OP, the student's employer was willing to pay for an ad recognizing an outstanding employee/student, and instead found themselves in the middle of a bogus controversy. PC is out of control.
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"PC"! Everybody drink!
 
Kobie said:
Pretty sure the school has the power to prevent her from putting a picture of her burning said flag in the yearbook.
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When I was in school, the administration had to approve the entire yearbook, pictures and all, before it went to press. Hence all the cutesy code that older folks don't recognize as inside or off color jokes, insulting nicknames, etc. In my day, we weren't very clever with our "hidden rebellions", but with the new language of the internet and techie stuff, administrators would have to run every danged "word" through the Urban Dictionary!

A picture of a burning flag, regardless the context, would be a no-brainer no-no.
 
Kobie said:
Um, this is not a free speech issue. The school is paying for the yearbook; ergo, it has final say over content. ...
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Of course, in America it is money which talks.
 
Heinrich said:
Of course, in America it is money which talks.
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You seriously need to step away from the computer for a few years and go experience the world. You seem to have this notion that only America has all the bad habits. Truth is, all these bad habits are human traits. Pretty much every society suffers from them, the only difference being exposure and maybe scale.
 
radcen said:
Was the banning of this photo from the yearbook appropriate? Or, did the school overreact?
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If she was my kid...I'd be suing the hell out of the school district. My suit would include doing a reprint of every single year book that was issued to students...at the district's expense.
 
They should have cropped out her fake ripped jeans. Cropping her feet still shows the flag touching the floor. Piss-poor taste IYAM.
 
In the photo as reproduced on the website linked to, I don't see any wall, any floor, or any indication that the soles of the girl's feet are touching what seems to be an image of the U.S. flag. But I DO notice that the school official who referred to a wall, floor, etc. has a hyphenated last name. Maybe she is English royalty of some kind.
 
radcen said:
You seriously need to step away from the computer for a few years and go experience the world. You seem to have this notion that only America has all the bad habits. Truth is, all these bad habits are human traits. Pretty much every society suffers from them, the only difference being exposure and maybe scale.
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Says someone who does not know a First Amendment issue when he sees it.
 
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