More anthem hypocrisy: kneeling, yes; Confederate flag, no

By Selwyn Duke

In today's politically correct schools, all types of divisive expression are equal, but some are more equal than others. A case in point is Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, FL, where showing disrespect for the National Anthem is supposedly a "First Amendment right." Wearing a Confederate Flag cape, however, is a violation.

The school recently made news because three students came on campus dressed in supposed KKK outfits and another draped himself in a Confederate Flag cape. It turned out that the three white-sheeted lads are minorities – two Hispanics and one "Middle Eastern" kid – which must have disappointed the race hustlers immensely. Anyway, some initially said the "KKK" outfits were ghost costumes, part of "Spirit Week" dress-up day. But then school superintendent Kurt Browning publicly announced, "Usually ghosts don't have pointed hoods," which I'm sure is true because ghosts don't wear hoods at all. And while Browning perhaps has consorted with more ghosts than I have, I understand that ghosts also don't have physical bodies. So it's confirmed: those students could not have been ghosts. Hang them.

While that won't happen, the three very corporeal beings in white face a 10-day suspension, while the caped crusader was merely forced to de-cape. You see, schools have a policy forbidding expression that can cause "disruption."

Except there's this issue. As CBS Miami writes, "'Since our kids kneeled at the football game last week, there's been a lot of racial tension in the community,' said parent Dee Green."

In other words, the "disruption" was caused in the first place by a Colin Kaepernick-inspired Anthem protest. So why was it allowed?

The parent quoted by CBS also said, "Never would I have expected that students, or even families, would have taken it as far as wearing Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia to the school." Assuming they were KKK outfits, they weren't the best choice for a counter-protest (although I suspect there's more to the story). But the parent's comment is a bit like saying, "All I wanted to do was burn down the house on the corner; never would I have expected that the fire would spread to my house." When you throw punches, people may hit back – without always following your preferred rules of engagement.

Know that I emailed both the principal and head football coach of Wiregrass Ranch High School and pointed out their hypocrisy. The coach, Mark Kantor, responded and opened with the line, "I don't have the time nor the effort to answer your email." Yet in his exclamation-point-peppered answer to my email, he told me that I needed to "learn" my First Amendment. Obviously, he couldn't wrap his two brain cells around the idea that it's a tad contradictory to justify with the First Amendment controversial, anti-American expression when you're simultaneously suppressing other controversial expression. (Also note: Coach Kantor responded to me again – after saying he'd delete any further emails from me, presumably unread – and said that he'd have a "School Resource officer" look into me on Monday and that I shouldn't "run and hide." And who, again, knows nothing about the First Amendment?)

To be clear, kids don't have First Amendment rights in school, no matter what some black-robed social engineers masquerading as judges may say. If they did, they could curse out teachers with impunity, use racial epithets and engage in other disruptive speech. So Wiregrass Ranch High School does have a right to set its standards for expression, no matter how un-American, immoral and stupid they may be. The point, however, is that the courts have ruled that schools may censor disruptive expression, and educators have universally embraced this principle.

And under it they could stop the Anthem protests.

But they don't.

So, please, don't hide behind the "First Amendment," you hypocrites. For it's easy to uphold and justify unjust standards when you posture, engage in moral preening and lie to yourself about what you're doing. Just acknowledge that, to you, showing disrespect for our nation is palatable, but politically incorrect expression (i.e., wearing a Confederate Flag) is not. Don't kid yourselves.

This is all the worse because the Black Lives Matter movement is based on nothing but lies. And if educators make their campus grounds the scene of a movement inspiring riots, arson, assault and murder across the nation, and then are surprised when it stokes racial tensions, these educators aren't very educated.

© Selwyn Duke