I don't pledge allegiance to any flag
It would be theft if I didn't fill you in on my debacle of the day. Debacle - big, strong word. Makes me look both smart and daring - daring to have taken part in a debacle, and smart to know what it means. So here it is:
**This is a very serious issue, and I'm asking my f-list to read this as students, as Americans, as non-Americans, as whatever you are, and give me their honest opinions, because it's my belief that stories like this need be heard.**
Allison, and the Quest for the Honest Law
(Background)
Last year, I specifically made it a point to ask my 3rd period History teacher (who moonlighted as a knowledgeable and sucessful lawyer) if it was against the law to NOT stand up during the pledge of allegiance. He knows the law very well, and told me that the New Jersey state law says that studends have the right to remain sitting during the pledge, as long as they are quiet and respectful. I kept this in mind.
Dance is my first period class. During the pledge of allegiance, I am in the locker room, scantily clad and busy with the task of putting on clothes. I never did the pledge and I never had to.
I was born and raised in a suburb of Montreal, Canada, a place called Dollard Des Ormeaux (which we lovingly called DDO). Although I was both a Canadian AND an American citizen since the day I was born (since my dad is Canadian and my mom is American), I've never considered myself an American citizen. Sure, I live there now, and am legally a citizen, but I don't like the country as a whole. Compared to Canada, it's a much better place to be, but I believe that when I left Montreal, I was too young to care about politics, but too old to just accept my fate as an American.
Eight years old, for me, was when I started to mature. I was smart, I was aware and I understood. I was old enough to know that I did not like this new place where I lived. I was old enough to realise how different it was, and how much I missed Canada. Pit the two countries next to eachother and America will come through victorious; I'm not disillusioned, I know how things are. I just don't like it.
So with the pledge of allegiance, I chose not to say it. I chose to be respectful, but to not partake in any American prayers. I live here, and I don't hate it, and I don't deny my citizenship, but I do not agree with the country's ways, and do not feel that I have any reason to praise it. I am still a Canadian, and I refuse to let that change.
(The Debacle)
Dance is separate from gym class. It is instead of gym, and the two classes run independant of eachother. The only time they converge is for scoliosis screenings. I thought those screenings were on Tuesday, when actually they were on Wednesday. So on tuesday, I go into the gym and sit on the bleachers by myself. The problem? No witnesses. Surrounded by other students, I knew none of them, and set myself apart just like that.
I pulled a book out of my bag and read only a page when the morning announcement came on and asked nicely for everyone to "please rise for the salute to the flag." I put the book down in my lap, turned by body in the general direction, looked up and sat silent until the pledge had finished. I picked up my book and continued to read. I barely got anywhere when one of the gym teachers - male, middle aged and resembling a bull about to charge - stormed over to me and proceeded to yell.
The first words out of his mouth were cruel and harsh yells. He yelled/asked me why I didn't stand for the pledge, what could possibly be going through my head to make me do other than stand. I raised my head, looked him in the eyes and told him that I'm a Canadian and was obeying my rights as a student and a person. He cursed, hollered about respect, and told me how it was bullshit. He ranted on, but his words were so disgusting and redundant that they all meshed together. I knew my facts (though not as well as I should have). I told him that the law states that I had the right to remain sitting during the pledge of allegiance as long as I remained quiet and respectful.
On he went, shouting about respect, how I was showing nothing but dis-respect, all the while disrespecting me. He spoke to me the way one would to a hostile felon, a maniac with a loaded gun. So he's patriotic, but hypocritical assholes seem not like model citizens to me. I kept stating that I knew my legal rights, and I was doing nothing wrong. He was as persistant as I was, but for the wrong reasons. So he continued to shout and menace, and said something about how if I didn't like what he was saying, he could take this to the office. So I said "Fine, take it to the office."
Don't get me wrong - I WANTED the administration to get involved. At that point, I was willing to turn this into a court case. But as I followed him down the hall in silence, it struck me that I had been abused. In simple terms, I had been abused and mis-treated for following the law that I knew existed in my personal favor. It hurt me, the way I was treated, and I managed to make it all the way to the office before I started to cry.
These weren't normal teenage tears of woeangst. These were tears of an oppressed citizen of the world, human being, stripped of the rights I knew I had and so disgustingly mis-treated. I cried as I told an office advisor what happened, and was written up. Never being written up before in all my years at school, this was foreign to me. I pulled myself together as I was led back to the dance room, and broke down again once safe inside. I had been abused, and it just kept striking me, more and more, the more I thought about it.
At the end of fifth period, my teacher got a phone call and told me to go to my administrator's office. I was expecting and eagerly awaiting this. I marched proudly inside, closed the door behind me, sat down and told the story. I felt good, I felt confident... and when I got to the part about the gym teacher, I started crying again. I still hurt, and was enraged at not being able to keep my tear ducts in check. By the end of the talk, my administrator was understanding, and I was not punished. But he told me that it's the New Jersey state law that even though students are not required to say the pledge, they must stand up and show respect. He told me that it was active in at least forty states, and that I needed to stand.
When I got home, I spoke with my cousin about this. He suggested that I look up the New Jersey law on the internet. I did, and was shocked. The OFFICIAL New Jersey State Law reads that students are NOT required to stand for the pledge, as long as they sit quietly and show respect. I printed out the document, highlighted the important part, and plan on bringing it in to my administrator as soon as I get the chance. It shocked me that administrators feel like they can abuse their power by making up laws and lies and expecting students to just accept them.
I also spoke with a very helpful teacher, who told me that I had every right to take legal action against the gym teacher. Now I'm not sure about legal action, but I know that I'm going back to speak with my administrator about the "law" he told me about. I am also going to speak with the principal. This isn't about the pledge any more. I don't mind standing, if the law says I have to. This is about the way I was treated, by being abused and hurt, and by being lied to. I have a valid case and strongly believe that if need be, I can take serious legal action against this. That's neither the plan nor my intentions. That's just how serious this is.
If anyone has anything helpful to add, discussions, comments, criticism, opinions and facts, please do not refrain from doing so. Either reply in a comment here or send me an e-mail at allison@philnet.net. And if anything like this happens to you, don't just let it go by unnoticed. Everyone has the right to speak up for themselves, and that right can't be taken away. Do what you can.
**This is a very serious issue, and I'm asking my f-list to read this as students, as Americans, as non-Americans, as whatever you are, and give me their honest opinions, because it's my belief that stories like this need be heard.**
Allison, and the Quest for the Honest Law
(Background)
Last year, I specifically made it a point to ask my 3rd period History teacher (who moonlighted as a knowledgeable and sucessful lawyer) if it was against the law to NOT stand up during the pledge of allegiance. He knows the law very well, and told me that the New Jersey state law says that studends have the right to remain sitting during the pledge, as long as they are quiet and respectful. I kept this in mind.
Dance is my first period class. During the pledge of allegiance, I am in the locker room, scantily clad and busy with the task of putting on clothes. I never did the pledge and I never had to.
I was born and raised in a suburb of Montreal, Canada, a place called Dollard Des Ormeaux (which we lovingly called DDO). Although I was both a Canadian AND an American citizen since the day I was born (since my dad is Canadian and my mom is American), I've never considered myself an American citizen. Sure, I live there now, and am legally a citizen, but I don't like the country as a whole. Compared to Canada, it's a much better place to be, but I believe that when I left Montreal, I was too young to care about politics, but too old to just accept my fate as an American.
Eight years old, for me, was when I started to mature. I was smart, I was aware and I understood. I was old enough to know that I did not like this new place where I lived. I was old enough to realise how different it was, and how much I missed Canada. Pit the two countries next to eachother and America will come through victorious; I'm not disillusioned, I know how things are. I just don't like it.
So with the pledge of allegiance, I chose not to say it. I chose to be respectful, but to not partake in any American prayers. I live here, and I don't hate it, and I don't deny my citizenship, but I do not agree with the country's ways, and do not feel that I have any reason to praise it. I am still a Canadian, and I refuse to let that change.
(The Debacle)
Dance is separate from gym class. It is instead of gym, and the two classes run independant of eachother. The only time they converge is for scoliosis screenings. I thought those screenings were on Tuesday, when actually they were on Wednesday. So on tuesday, I go into the gym and sit on the bleachers by myself. The problem? No witnesses. Surrounded by other students, I knew none of them, and set myself apart just like that.
I pulled a book out of my bag and read only a page when the morning announcement came on and asked nicely for everyone to "please rise for the salute to the flag." I put the book down in my lap, turned by body in the general direction, looked up and sat silent until the pledge had finished. I picked up my book and continued to read. I barely got anywhere when one of the gym teachers - male, middle aged and resembling a bull about to charge - stormed over to me and proceeded to yell.
The first words out of his mouth were cruel and harsh yells. He yelled/asked me why I didn't stand for the pledge, what could possibly be going through my head to make me do other than stand. I raised my head, looked him in the eyes and told him that I'm a Canadian and was obeying my rights as a student and a person. He cursed, hollered about respect, and told me how it was bullshit. He ranted on, but his words were so disgusting and redundant that they all meshed together. I knew my facts (though not as well as I should have). I told him that the law states that I had the right to remain sitting during the pledge of allegiance as long as I remained quiet and respectful.
On he went, shouting about respect, how I was showing nothing but dis-respect, all the while disrespecting me. He spoke to me the way one would to a hostile felon, a maniac with a loaded gun. So he's patriotic, but hypocritical assholes seem not like model citizens to me. I kept stating that I knew my legal rights, and I was doing nothing wrong. He was as persistant as I was, but for the wrong reasons. So he continued to shout and menace, and said something about how if I didn't like what he was saying, he could take this to the office. So I said "Fine, take it to the office."
Don't get me wrong - I WANTED the administration to get involved. At that point, I was willing to turn this into a court case. But as I followed him down the hall in silence, it struck me that I had been abused. In simple terms, I had been abused and mis-treated for following the law that I knew existed in my personal favor. It hurt me, the way I was treated, and I managed to make it all the way to the office before I started to cry.
These weren't normal teenage tears of woeangst. These were tears of an oppressed citizen of the world, human being, stripped of the rights I knew I had and so disgustingly mis-treated. I cried as I told an office advisor what happened, and was written up. Never being written up before in all my years at school, this was foreign to me. I pulled myself together as I was led back to the dance room, and broke down again once safe inside. I had been abused, and it just kept striking me, more and more, the more I thought about it.
At the end of fifth period, my teacher got a phone call and told me to go to my administrator's office. I was expecting and eagerly awaiting this. I marched proudly inside, closed the door behind me, sat down and told the story. I felt good, I felt confident... and when I got to the part about the gym teacher, I started crying again. I still hurt, and was enraged at not being able to keep my tear ducts in check. By the end of the talk, my administrator was understanding, and I was not punished. But he told me that it's the New Jersey state law that even though students are not required to say the pledge, they must stand up and show respect. He told me that it was active in at least forty states, and that I needed to stand.
When I got home, I spoke with my cousin about this. He suggested that I look up the New Jersey law on the internet. I did, and was shocked. The OFFICIAL New Jersey State Law reads that students are NOT required to stand for the pledge, as long as they sit quietly and show respect. I printed out the document, highlighted the important part, and plan on bringing it in to my administrator as soon as I get the chance. It shocked me that administrators feel like they can abuse their power by making up laws and lies and expecting students to just accept them.
I also spoke with a very helpful teacher, who told me that I had every right to take legal action against the gym teacher. Now I'm not sure about legal action, but I know that I'm going back to speak with my administrator about the "law" he told me about. I am also going to speak with the principal. This isn't about the pledge any more. I don't mind standing, if the law says I have to. This is about the way I was treated, by being abused and hurt, and by being lied to. I have a valid case and strongly believe that if need be, I can take serious legal action against this. That's neither the plan nor my intentions. That's just how serious this is.
If anyone has anything helpful to add, discussions, comments, criticism, opinions and facts, please do not refrain from doing so. Either reply in a comment here or send me an e-mail at allison@philnet.net. And if anything like this happens to you, don't just let it go by unnoticed. Everyone has the right to speak up for themselves, and that right can't be taken away. Do what you can.