In news of 'stupid things schools do', we bring you the story of twelve year old Jaiden and his 'Gadsden Flag' patch on his backpack. Jaiden attends 'The Vanguard School' in Colorado Springs and was told he had to remove the patch because of its 'racist origins'. Actually, the 'Gadsden Flag' has origins in the Revolutionary War and has nothing at all to do with race.
Gadsden intended his flag as a warning to Britain not to violate the liberties of its American subjects. The flag has been described as the "most popular symbol of the American revolution." Its design proclaims an assertive warning of vigilance and willingness to act in defense against coercion.
Yes, it was a flag flown in defiance of the British.
Meet 12yo Jaiden who was kicked out of class yesterday in Colorado Springs for having a Gadsden flag patch, which the school claims has "origins with slavery."
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The school's director said via email that the patch was "disruptive to the classroom environment."
Receipts in the 🧵 pic.twitter.com/qQ8jK1zSpR
They cited @USEEOC, which admitted that the flag "originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context"…
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
But then said "However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages…" pic.twitter.com/w0M74bMgN2
The director then argued that the flag is associated with "hate groups," linking to this weak article that cites a "graphic design scholar" 😂 who claimed that "some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate—or even racism."
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
Link: https://t.co/ZD6JZ4AhDK pic.twitter.com/sUOqLEwGf0
Clearly, the director was just spinning at this point looking for all sorts of justification for banning the flag.
As you can hear his mom say in the video, Jaiden wanted to stand up for his (non-racist!) beliefs. So after he was kicked out of class, he asked his mom to take him to the news station to get the word out.
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
(He got the idea from a @tuttletwins book 💪🏽)
They declined an interview pic.twitter.com/BEdxWIj7Gp
So what rule was he actually breaking? According to the director, this one (see highlight).
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
Though it's unclear what alleged slavery connections have to do with drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons. pic.twitter.com/KohiU4X0jz
School district: @HarrisonSD2
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
School: https://t.co/rynpBvy7Vz (no Twitter/X account)
Director: Jeff Yocum, jeff.yocum@TheVanguardSchool.com
Clearly, the school jumped to a crazy conclusion and then they scrambled for ways to justify their decision.
Unreal. @HarrisonSD2, why did you kick a kid out of class for wearing a freedom flag? Why weren’t other kids kicked out for wearing other types of flags? https://t.co/IAMvG7CyEk
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 29, 2023
The very ESSENCE of what “Don’t Tread On Me” is to prevent.
— Midwest Mom (@badlibtakes) August 29, 2023
What a based kid.
Thank you for sharing this to the masses, Chaya!!
https://t.co/vikcDnPRqj pic.twitter.com/FkVq3RKzWl
— 9mmSMG (@9mm_smg) August 29, 2023
This is obviously an outrageous example of selective punishment. This family is brave to stand up to a whole school system rather than take the easy route and just remove the patch. Hopefully, this will be resolved soon and this brave kid can return to his classroom with his cool patch on his backpack.
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