The millions of complaints by email and phone calls. Add media camped outside the school and it just is easier to apologize so they can get back to reading and writing.

There is more to learning than reading and writing. Kids believe in diversity because most have friends from diverse backgrounds. When they see their friends attacked they want to stand up for them.

Perhaps we have not heard the end of this.

we refer to as "the greater good." This seems like an instance where it would have been served, save for the district's obvious fealty to political expediency.

Where does it say that the pledge has to be in English?

Nowhere.

in another language like French there would not have been anywhere near the outrage expressed over it.

They recited the pledge in different languages on Monday and Tuesday, but only the Wednesday Arabic pissed off the ignorant rednecks.

Integrity.

"those who speak a language other than English still pledge to salute this great country"? And how the hell is that deserving of an apology?

very ugly

Last edited Fri Mar 20, 2015, 02:03 AM - Edit history (1)

Even apart from all the larger issues, how is that reasonable?

But on Wednesday, a teacher asked him if he would mind if a classmate did it instead. It was National Foreign Language Week, and the students were encouraged to learn about different cultures.

I'd gladly contribute to an Andrew Zink College Fund.

What the fuck is wrong with some people??

..that the student council is a sham, and the elected officials offend the true holders of power at their peril.

tune pretty quick if someone started suggesting "under Allah".

Never mind that the two words and concepts share a common heritage, and are in many ways indistinguishable from one another.

Aside from the fact that the McCarthy Era tacked-on God line doesn't even belong in the thing, I'm just not a big fan of 'pledges' in general. Better, I think, to teach kids civics and the greatness of the constitution and the bill of rights, if you want them to feel fondness for what this nation stands for.

I look around sometimes and it's pretty clear to me that many people who could probably recite the pledge in their sleep, are fairly clueless around bedrock constitutional concepts. See it ALL the time, actually.

In most other languages, the pledge would have simply said "under <generic term for God>", whereas it's the fact that in Arabic, it's "under Allah". There's a rabidly insane subset of Christians who vehemently insist that "Allah" cannot be the same God as the Christian God (even though it is, almost by definition).

Interesting side note: when I lived in Malaysia, I'd occasionally go to mass, and while Mass was in English, some of the hymns were in Bahasa Malay, and the word for "God" is "Allah", so you'd sing hymns to Allah in Catholic Mass.

is the Pledge of Allegiance considered a necessary part of the school day? It's theoretically secular, but comes very close to religion, and in any case shouldn't be recited as often as it is.

Me? I generally stand, but do not put my hand over my heart and absolutely do not recite the Pledge in mass gatherings.

I'm old enough to recall when the "under God" was inserted. I was in first grade in a Catholic school at the time, and I recall the nuns being very unhappy about it.

stupid stupid stupid people to complain about this. It was a great idea!

MIC want us to be in order to better control us. It is hard for the masses to stand up to them if they become afraid of their own shadow.

Klingon the kid would get praise for creativity instead.

allegiance

in German.

Specifically, after 1917 when this country officially joined World War I, many public schools banned teaching and speaking German to show "patriotism".

The class president and the girl who recited the P. of A. on the PA should be applauded. How sad.

So what did the kids in Pine Bush learn? People who speak Arabic aren't good citizens who live here in the US and want to participate in its political and civil life like everybody else. That's awful. And as for Andrew Zink, he was doing what he was told to by a teacher. I wonder what the consequences for him would have been had he not obeyed her - probably had the police called and arrested. What a crock.

". . .land of the free and the home of the brave. . ." my Aunt Fanny.

Maybe they’ll stop saying it altogether.

The original pledge included “liberty, justice, and equality for all."

and soon there'll be a sprinkling of cardamom in your coffee. it's coming...