The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
There's a growing trend, especially among public school officials, to usurp the personal liberty of students and parents in order to assure "child safety." This bogus trump card was played again this week and might have been successful, but for the swift and courageous response of one boy's family.
On Wednesday, in the name of "child safety," it was reported that a 13-year-old patriot named Cody Alicea briefly lost his right to fly an American flag on the back of the bicycle he rides to Denair Middle School in Denair, CA. Citing concerns about "racial tension" brewing among some students against Cody's outward sign of American patriotism, Cody was asked by the "campus supervisor" (we used to call these people "principals") to please remove the flag before arriving at school.
Just to be clear, the campus supervisor told Cody not to fly his American flag or display it on the campus of his American public middle school because fellow students, whose national loyalty presumably attaches to a country south of California, took offense and might just beat the snot out of him.
And we wonder why we have a bullying problem in our schools. But I digress.
Cody's family notified a local TV station, and the story exploded in less than 24 hours. The school was closed on Thursday -- Veteran's Day! Fly a flag! -- but on Friday the Denair school superintendent reinstated Cody's flag-flying freedom and assured that the students responsible for stirring up racial tension would be dealt with instead. Good idea!
"Child safety" is the magic answer for all sorts of screwy rules that impinge on personal liberty. Under the guise of safety, kids nationwide aren't permitted to ride bikes or walk to school, go home for lunch during the school day, or bring any number of harmless items for show-and-tell.
Now, the leftist diehards in American education use "child safety" to encroach all sorts of free speech. Just for fun, let's see how many examples we can come up with...
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Oct '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
If it's not safe to bring an American flag to school it definitely would not be safe to bring a bible. Children might be stoned to death as infidels or get beaten up by gangs of students who object to the "hate speech" in Leviticus.
No wait, the school adminsitration would not be allowed to use those excuses, since the US Dept of Education is probably sympathetic to the root sentiments underlying the feared actions.
So... It would be unsafe to bring bibles to school because non-Christians would feel excluded, which would lower the self-esteem of some students, which would touch off inappropriate behaviors like bullying and beatings.
Nov '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
I am more struck by the appalling irony: those "leftist diehards" (supposedly so obsessed with child safety) are the same liberal loons who want to expose grade school children to the most perverse aspects of sex education. So they are attacking our children in every possible way – robbing them of innocence as well as their basic liberties. It is all very deliberate, too. Children deprived of their moral compass grow up to be selfish, amoral, unprincipled adults who lack the will to oppose socialist tyranny.
Edited on Nov 13, 2010 at 8:19amRe: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
Exactly right, LK. But of course, teaching very young children the specifics of gay sex, transgenderism and such is all being promoted in the name of "child safety" in order to protect kids from bullying! It's a ruse, of course, and I believe will result in MORE, not less, harassment of kids who seem different/nerdy/gay/socially-behind-the-curve. They're working hard to raise awareness of homosexuality and sexual deviation in order to normalize it, and again employing "child safety," at least one California school system (Alameda) is not even allowing parents to opt out of this indoctrination. Why? It's a safety program, not a health class.
May '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
I loved Glenn Beck's family analogy about this case the other day (starts about halfway down). The best part of it is how the adults are rationalizing desperately while the kids see the blunt, ugly truth.
Sep '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
Marybeth, if you replace the words "child safety" with "for the environment", you'll find that most of your statements regarding "screwy rules" also apply. Except the rules are usually laws and involve some way to tax us.
This is one way the left controls the arguments. I mean, who can argue with someone who wants to save the children or the environment? Very frustrating.
Jun '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
I'll bite. Who here doesn't think that walking drug dogs through high schools is an invasion of personal liberty? How about wall locker and bookbag searches? Or urinalysis of students?
Aug '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
I think you need to do a column about Kevin Jennings. Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit has a voluminous file, as does Michelle Malkin. I think his story and the billions that Obama wants to give him constitute one of the greater threats to our children today. And it's been pretty much known for ten years with only mad parents and few to no stories in the MSM.
The first day of school I always ask the teacher when the sex-ed classes be scheduled as my child is going to be "sick " that day. And I remind them that my child's sex-ed is none of their business. My wife shudders, but I love it.
Edited on Nov 13, 2010 at 11:49amNov '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
ConcernedCanadien: Marybeth, if you replace the words "child safety" with "for the environment", you'll find that most of your statements regarding "screwy rules" also apply. Except the rules are usually laws and involve some way to tax us.
This is one way the left controls the arguments. I mean, who can argue with someone who wants to save the children or the environment? Very frustrating. · Nov 13 at 9:09am
This is why my husband says he is opposed to peace, health, and safety.
Nov '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
As an age group, teenagers are the most intolerant of gays and lesbians. So here is a great idea: Why not raise awareness of homosexuality and extend that intolerance down into the lower grades? Brilliant! That will solve the bullying problem, for sure.
*sigh*
In hindsight, I realize that one of the boys in my grade school class was almost certainly gay. But, at the time, being naive and innocent, I had no clue. Admittedly, I thought he was a bit of a sissy, but that was as far as it went. He was a friend and that was all that mattered.
The innocence of childhood is a wonderful thing. But it is very fragile and easily lost, and, once lost, it can never be recovered. Any liberal policy designed to destroy that innocence is insane and plain evil.
Jul '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
A reply for such people: "Our children are not Yer concern. But if they were, then begin with outlawing abortions so that the children may have a chance of riding a bike to school with an American Flag."
Edited on Nov 13, 2010 at 5:47pmNov '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
The truth is even worse than you think, Marybeth. It comes down to two words: polymorphous perversity. The ultimate goal of the liberal sexual agenda is to mandate the "right" to have sex with anyone (or anything) anywhere at any time with no moral restrictions whatsoever. Everything will be permitted, including bestiality, pedophilia, necrophilia and various other unspeakable practices you have mercifully never heard of. By unleashing the destructive fury of raw, unrestrained sex on society, liberals will also achieve their goal of destroying the traditional American family and all our other institutions based on trust, ethics and morality.
Why would liberals promote such an abominable policy? For the same cynical reason they promote the legalization of all recreational drugs. It is much easier for the Ruling Class to control and manipulate citizens whose bodies are sodden with sex and whose minds are besotted by drugs (just look at California's voting record). As Mark Steyn observed (I paraphrase from memory): "We have more sexual freedom now than ever before – while all our other liberties are being whittled away."
Jun '10
Re: The "child safety" ruse that usurps freedom
I think you may be a tad bit overwrought. Your prior post concerning lost innocence is, I think, closer to the mark regarding where we should focus our efforts.
I'm a pretty broad-minded guy, and I like to think that my friends and acquaintances represent a pretty good cross-section of American society, but I've never heard anyone, anywhere, promote the types of deviancy that you attribute to the left. Their ideas are bad enough; it does nothing to move the argument in our favor to attribute that kind of perversion to our political opponents.
Lady Kurobara
The truth is even worse than you think, Marybeth. It comes down to two words: polymorphous perversity. The ultimate goal of the liberal sexual agenda is to mandate the "right" to have sex with anyone (or anything) anywhere at any time with no moral restrictions whatsoever.