General Student Braves Controversy, Refuses to Recite Pledge

[Scary Nachos]

Will Phillips doesn't believe that describes America for its gay and lesbian citizens. He's a 10-year-old at West Fork Elementary School in Arkansas, about three hours east of Oklahoma City. Given his beliefs, he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, specifically because that one phrase, "liberty and justice for all," he says, does not truly apply to all.

That did not go over well with the substitute teacher in his fifth-grade classroom.

The Arkansas Times reports that he started refusing to say the pledge Mon., Oct. 5. By Thursday, the substitute was steamed. She told Will she knew his mother and grandmother and they would want him to recite the pledge.

Will told the Times the substitute got more and more upset. She raised her voice. By this point, Will told the newspaper, he started losing his cool too, adding: "After a few minutes, I said, 'With all due respect ma'am, go jump off a bridge.'"

 

[Wiseman_2]

'With all due respect ma'am, go jump off a bridge.'

Now that's a badass quote and a half.

 

[ReVolver]

Don't you have the rights not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance? so.... what's the problem again?

 

[UndeadDragon]

'With all due respect ma'am, go jump off a bridge.'

I had to quote it again for it's extreme epic-ness

 

[Lyerae]

> Don't you have the rights not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance?
Yes, you have the right not too. I believe it's Freedom of Speach.

 

[Scary Nachos]

At school... all that crap is thrown out the window,,,

 

[Miz]

Don't you have the rights not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance? so.... what's the problem again?

You have the right not to say it, but you still have to stand and be quiet when it is going on by Law.

 

[Ninva]

lol.

The problem is the mother is an obnoxious idiot. She's complaining that a teacher is offended by the kid's decision. She's being a hypocrite, and these type of hostile people really piss me off. It's good to have another anarchist to laugh at...

Anyways, the kid believes that the teacher should apologize for his or her behavior, but the truth is the teacher shouldn't apologize unless the kid apologizes. Telling someone to jump off a bridge is nasty reply, but sometimes you can't help it when a teacher is yelling. There were two reactions, but the guy decided to be a bad-ass. Cool. But stay in your boundaries. Don't knock yourself by demanding an apology. Learn to take the high-road kid, but I give you props for your stance.

I just disagree with homosexuality in general. It's unnatural, and I'll let my children know it's an evil that they'll never participate in or discuss in an accepting tone. My best friend is gay, and I still love him. But I still disagree with homosexuality. It's not morally right. But shouldn't gays have legal rights? I'm not sure. It's not my place to decide. I'll just let you all know that I do not acknowledge homosexuality as a stable lifestyle. I think it's a perverted philosophy and should be shunned, but since our country has accepted it, I'll tolerate it. Despite my disagreement, I remain passive.

 

[Avaleirra]

I think it's sorta stupid how American students need to say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday. I think just making sure they know it is good enough.

 

[ArmedCitizen]

I just disagree with homosexuality in general. It's unnatural, and I'll let my children know it's an evil that they'll never participate in or discuss in an accepting tone. My best friend is gay, and I still love him. But I still disagree with homosexuality. It's not morally right. But shouldn't gays have legal rights? I'm not sure. It's not my place to decide. I'll just let you all know that I do not acknowledge homosexuality as a stable lifestyle. I think it's a perverted philosophy and should be shunned, but since our country has accepted it, I'll tolerate it. Despite my disagreement, I remain passive.

Wow, I mean.. fucking wow. That entire paragraph is so hypocritical, so.. I don't know, maybe lost is the best word for it.

I won't try to argue it with you because you are obviously extremely set it your beliefs that all seem to derive from lunatic bible teachings, I'll just focus on the one thing that pissed me off the most. How can you fucking call yourself the guy's friend if you think his life decision is an evil onto the world? Punishment for said evil being eternal damnation. You can't possible consider this person to be on equal terms with you. There has to be some sense of superiority, you are the better person, you are making the right choice. You are fucking patronizing the guy, humoring his endeavors to keep satisfied your own fucking twisted sense of morality. And if that isn't the case, then you are even more hypocritical than your post first made me think.

You're a smart guy, much smarter than I will ever be but you are fucking ignorant. Very ignorant, and your damned ignorance and the ignorance like yours is what brings hell to humans. Too bad the hell is on earth.

 

[Tru_Power22]

First amendment, first amendment, first amendment, first amendment, first ameeeeeeeeennnnnndddmeeeeennnntt.

 

[Ninva]

Wow, I mean.. fucking wow. That entire paragraph is so hypocritical, so.. I don't know, maybe lost is the best word for it.

I won't try to argue it with you because you are obviously extremely set it your beliefs that all seem to derive from lunatic bible teachings, I'll just focus on the one thing that pissed me off the most. How can you fucking call yourself the guy's friend if you think his life decision is an evil onto the world? Punishment for said evil being eternal damnation. You can't possible consider this person to be on equal terms with you. There has to be some sense of superiority, you are the better person, you are making the right choice. You are fucking patronizing the guy, humoring his endeavors to keep satisfied your own fucking twisted sense of morality. And if that isn't the case, then you are even more hypocritical than your post first made me think.

You're a smart guy, much smarter than I will ever be but you are fucking ignorant. Very ignorant, and your damned ignorance and the ignorance like yours is what brings hell to humans. Too bad the hell is on earth.

Hey buddy, don't push it. There is no perfect man. To hate my lifelong friend just because he has decided that he wants to have sex with a man instead of a woman is counterproductive in my eyes. In any case, I should love him more. The guy doesn't need to be rebuked every day, but a short nudge of disapproval is all that I can do. He's going to be abandoned by the highly religious world. I may be the only Christian who can provide him a loving hand if he needs one. I told him the day he confessed his homosexuality that I disagreed with his decision, but I still love him as a brother. This reply meant so much to him. If your brother committed a horrible sin, would you condemn him? No, you would help him.

Now, I'm not the best Christian. I indulge in sinful words of philosophers, and I write my own. You are not in the position to ridicule me, but I understand your argument quite well. I do not hate homosexuals, but I despise homosexuality. I do not feel an ounce higher than any of them because I know how corrupt I am.

Will homosexuality send my friend to hell? It's possible, but every sin can send you to hell. The only thing that matters is his faith in Christ. Only through faith can one be saved, and if he remains in the one true faith, then my friend is saved. He's a Christian as far as I know. If he decides to forsake his faith, then I'm not sure how I'd react. Hopefully, I'll be guided to do the right thing.

This is my belief as a Christian. You can proceed to babble about my unwillingness to conform, but I want to love my friend to the highest degree. I want him to see that God still has a plan for him, and maybe he'll turn from his evil ways one day. But all I can do is pray and wait.

I respect your philosophy. It's related to an Egyptian one, which modern-Christianity is related to. But I have one question for you. How does a belief make a person ignorant? Is anyone who believes in one truth ignorant? I think not. You can easily say those who believe in gravity are ignorant. They narrowly believe that an apple will fall if you drop it.

 

[ElderKingpin]

wow. least it he didnt say it because something religious, THEN i get pissed. He couldve said "No, because 'One nation, under God'" anyway. Liberty and Justice for all. So. if he is accused of a crime he did not do. Does he want Justice?

A person should say the Pledge of Allegiance, because its called respect. Honestly? People die for that flag everyday and people are too ignorant to respect it by saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

For the people going to continue this thing with Ninva: A person is to give the word of the Gospel in love (in other words, the opposite of Westboro). Christians are to love the people and hate the sin.

 

[Ninva]

I'd have to disagree with you there. A pledge shouldn't be recited out of respect. It's like promising your life to Allah because you feel like it'd show respect toward the people in the Middle East. If I died for America, I'd want my fellow Americans to be free to choose what pledge they'd want to make. I'd want them to dispute the concept and to compromise on a pledge that would be acceptable for all people. I might even support the idea of not having a pledge. In my private school, we do not recite the pledge. We aren't very patriotic, yet some people like to pretend they are.

 

[Frosthowl]

You know, technically you could argue that America's treatment of gays and lesbians is actually justice. =P

 

[DogOfHavoc]

Good for him. America was built by those with the courage to oppose injustice. Homosexuals are second-rate citizens, and this is simply unacceptable in a nation that claims "equality for all" There's nothing wrong with being gay, just as there's nothing wrong with being a different color or a different religion.

 

[bOb666777]

Wow, I mean.. fucking wow. That entire paragraph is so hypocritical, so.. I don't know, maybe lost is the best word for it.

I won't try to argue it with you because you are obviously extremely set it your beliefs that all seem to derive from lunatic bible teachings, I'll just focus on the one thing that pissed me off the most. How can you fucking call yourself the guy's friend if you think his life decision is an evil onto the world? Punishment for said evil being eternal damnation. You can't possible consider this person to be on equal terms with you. There has to be some sense of superiority, you are the better person, you are making the right choice. You are fucking patronizing the guy, humoring his endeavors to keep satisfied your own fucking twisted sense of morality. And if that isn't the case, then you are even more hypocritical than your post first made me think.

You're a smart guy, much smarter than I will ever be but you are fucking ignorant. Very ignorant, and your damned ignorance and the ignorance like yours is what brings hell to humans. Too bad the hell is on earth.

Excuse me but like you said, "Much smart than I will ever be", you're pretty dumb.

I believe he was referring to homosexuality as the state of being homosexual, not the person who is homosexual. His friend did not choose to be homosexual. He did not choose to be victim of this "evil". And I believe Ninva is sorry for him more than he hates him for being homosexual.

 

[undeadorcjerk]

Can't we just give this kid a fucking medal and be done with it?

 

[Snowbizzle]

I'm going to laugh so hard when Ninva's son becomes a pissed-off, raging homosexual. Good luck telling your kids how to think, buddy. That always works out well.

This kid doesn't deserve to be in the news. Kids at my middle and high schools did this all the time. So he's ten and can talk about homosexuality and insult authority figures. What the hell else do you think the internet teaches children to do?

 

[DogOfHavoc]

I'm going to laugh so hard when Ninva's son becomes a pissed-off, raging homosexual. Good luck telling your kids how to think, buddy. That always works out well.

This kid doesn't deserve to be in the news. Kids at my middle and high schools did this all the time. So he's ten and can talk about homosexuality and insult authority figures. What the hell else do you think the internet teaches children to do?

I have to agree, albeit with lesson venom or intended offense. Homosexuality isn't simply a choice, some people are born that way. There's nothing evil about it. I have trouble believing that sticking it in one hole is "evil" while another hole is "good." It's all about preferences. If a guy loves a guy or a girl loves a girl, who are we to judge? Love can't be explained, and in no way can it ever be evil.