Florida Boy, 11, Arrested After Refusing to Stand For Pledge of Allegiance

[Liberal In Texas]

An 11-year-old boy in Florida was arrested and is facing charges after he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The boy was arrested for causing a disruption and refusing repeated instructions from school staff and law enforcement, according to Polk County Public Schools. The sixth-grader from Lakeland allegedly told his teacher the flag is “racist” and that national anthem is offensive to black people. The substitute teacher then reportedly asked the boy why he still lived in the U.S. if it's “so bad here,” to which he is said to have answered: “They brought me here.” The teacher then reportedly said: “You can always go back because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I'm not welcome here anymore, I would find another place to live.” The teacher called the cops because she didn't want to keep “dealing with him.” An officer and school administrator tried to calm the boy, and then asked him to leave the class. The student allegedly made threats while being escorted to the office. He was charged with disrupting a school function and resisting an officer without violence.

Good grief.

[comradebillyboy]

1. They fired the sub immediatly but still insist on prosecuting the child.

I suspect that will backfire on them bigly.

[NurseJackie]

2. ...

[D_Master81]

3. Here's the thing

As ridiculous as it was to have the police called, he wasn’t arrested for not standing. He was arrested for disobeying law enforcement which is a crime whether you like it or not. That said why prosecute an 11 year old over this?

[NurseJackie]

6. I figured it was something like that.

[Dennis Donovan]

4. Link would be helpful:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/02/17/florida-sixth-grader-charged-with-misdemeanor-after-refusing-recite-pledge-allegiance/?utm_term=.7baf72d1b1a8

A Florida student is facing misdemeanor charges after a confrontation with his teacher that began with his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and escalated into what officials described as disruptive behavior.

The student, a sixth-grader at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla., east of Tampa, refused to stand for the pledge in the Feb. 4 incident, telling the teacher that he thinks the flag and the national anthem are “racist” against black people, according to an affidavit. The teacher then had what appeared to be a contentious exchange with the boy.

If living in the United States is “so bad,” why not go to another place to live? substitute teacher Ana Alvarez asked the student, according to a handwritten statement from her.

“They brought me here,” the boy replied.

Alvarez responded by saying, “Well you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba, and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore, I would find another place to live.” She then called the school office, as she did not want to keep dealing with the student, according to the statement.

Reading the story from the link, it seems the teacher has issues and should not be teaching.

[Fullduplexxx]

5. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida issued a rebuke in the wake of the controversy. "This

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida issued a rebuke in the wake of the controversy. “This is outrageous. Students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they enter the schoolhouse gates,” the group said on Twitter. “This is a prime example of the over-policing of Black students in school.”