10 Year Old Badass Refuses Pledge

[JCC]

http://www.edgesanfrancisco.com/inde...&sc3=&id=98884

Originally Posted by Edge San Francisco

A 10-year-old Arkansas boy name Will Phillips has decided that he cannot in good conscience pledge allegiance to the flag as long as the country for which it stands refuses legal equality to its GLBT citizens.

That stand has brought young Mr. Phillips anti-gay taunts in the lunch room, but admiration from around the country, reports a Nov. 5 Arkansas Times article. The West Fork School District fifth grader clashed with a substitute teacher for his refusal to stand for the pledge, prompting a call to Will’s mother, Laura Phillips. When the principal acknowledged that Will has the right to refuse to say the pledge, Ms. Phillips asked that her son receive an apology--a request that the principal declined to honor.

A 1943 Supreme Court decision found that schools may not punish students for refusing to recite the pledge. Objections to compulsory recitation of the pledge arose from the Jehovah’s Witnesses on the basis that their religion does not permit expressions of allegiance to anything other than their own religion and to God. The Jehovah’s Witnesses lost their first case before the Court in 1940, and reportedly suffered from bias-motivated violence in the aftermath of that case. The Court’s 1943 decision reversed the earlier finding, and students have had the right to decline saying the pledge since then, although socially such refusal is often met with disapproval.

Such has been the case with Will Phillips’ stand, but he hasn’t backed down. Laura Phillips told the Arkansas Times that her 10-year-old is "probably more aware of the meaning of the pledge than a lot of adults. He’s not just doing it rote recitation. We raised him to be aware of what’s right, what’s wrong, and what’s fair."

Fairness in this case is more than a mere abstraction, since the family has a number of openly gay friends and has participated in GLBT equality events such as Pride parades. Will, who told the newspaper that he would like to pursue a career in law when he’s older, could not square the tenets of the pledge with the political realities faced by his family’s GLBT friends, whose family and individual rights are under constant challenge. "I really don’t feel that there’s currently liberty and justice for all," said Will.

That led the young man to his decision not to pledge his allegiance due to the injustice he perceived to prevail against gays and lesbians. He discussed the matter with his family and then took his stand--or rather, refused to stand with the rest of the kids when the time for the pledge came around each morning. The first week of the young man’s protest happened to be a week when a substitute teacher, a friend of Will’s grandparents, was in charge of the class; as days went by, the teacher grew more aggravated, until finally she took Will to task.

"She got a lot more angry and raised her voice and brought my mom and my grandma up," Will told the Arkansas Times. "I was fuming and was too furious to really pay attention to what she was saying. After a few minutes, I said, ’With all due respect, ma’am, you can go jump off a bridge.’"

That was enough to get Will sent to the principal’s office, which was when his mother received a call. The principal "said we have to talk about Will, because he told a sub to jump off a bridge," recounted Will’s mother. "My first response was: Why? He’s not just going to say this because he doesn’t want to do his math work." Upon learning the specifics of the exchange, Laura Phillips requested an apology for her son. "She said, ’Well I don’t think that’s necessary at this point,’" Laura Phillips told the Arkansas Times.

Will’s mother tweeted about the incident, and family friends informed the media. Support has poured in from around the country, and some of Will’s classmates have also been supportive.

But not everyone, said Laura Phillips, has been supportive, and those who oppose Will’s stand "are much more crazy, and out of control and vocal about it than supporters are."

Moreover, Will’s stand for equal rights for gays has led those who disagree to attack him personally with anti-gay epithets: "In the lunchroom and in the hallway, they’ve been making comments and doing pranks, and calling me gay," Will said. "It’s always the same people, walking up and calling me a gaywad."

That hasn’t been easy for Will, who skipped fourth grade but seems older than his age, especially in contrast to some of his peers. Said Laura Phillips, "It’s really frustrating to him that people are being so immature."

The interviewer from The Arkansas Times asked Will what it means to be an American. The answer: "Freedom of speech. The freedom to disagree. That’s what I think pretty much being an American represents."

[Still Jack]

Wow, I wish there were more kids like that.

[Solumina]

It is good to know that there are actually some intelligent people down there. I can't believe that the sub didn't get in trouble, not only for trying to discipline him for not saying the Pledge but for bringing up his family members. It is a shame that such a young child is dealing with so much but it seems he has plenty of support from family, friends, and even strangers so it doesn't seem to be taking too much of a toll on him.

[Delkaetre]

There's been a bit of discussion about it all over the place- it's come up amongst the equality and rights blogs I follow, in random converation, and even in conversation with people from a few different countries.

I'm kind of wondering about the bullying from kids in school- seriously, what sort of way are they being raised that taking a principled stand against what's a pretty useless and mindless bit of repetition needs to be answered with homophobic bullying? They're ten or eleven years old, so there's a very good chance that a lot of their opinions and behaviour are still directly influenced by teachers and parents. It seems... unhealthy.

Well done to the kid, though. If he's able to skip a grade and able to make personal ethical decisions, he was probably intelligent enough to see the bullying coming- and he chose to face it anyway instead of go against his personal principles. That really is pretty damn excellent, and I hope he keeps that personal integrity as he grows up.

[gothicusmaximus]

They call him a 'gaywad'?

[Solumina]

Originally Posted by Delkaetre

I'm kind of wondering about the bullying from kids in school- seriously, what sort of way are they being raised that taking a principled stand against what's a pretty useless and mindless bit of repetition needs to be answered with homophobic bullying? They're ten or eleven years old, so there's a very good chance that a lot of their opinions and behaviour are still directly influenced by teachers and parents. It seems... unhealthy.

I know people like this, I went to school with them and I hear them spouting their political beliefs at any given chance. The religious right (especially the Bush administration) have rather successfully bred hate and ignorance in a rather large segment of the American population, especially in the South. These kind of people are generally homophobic and they see action such as refusing the pledge as being the same as spitting on the flag.

[Joker_in_the_Pack]

Coolest ten year old ever.

[Not Tha Duckman]

This article makes me happy and sad all at the same time. There may be hope for the next generation, with kids like this. But, the other kids can't think up any decent insults, which is pretty gay.

[Razeal18]

holy shit there's hope for humanity yet! If anyone deserves the biggiest balls in the south award its this kid. ten years old, in the south, respectfull, and the courage to make a stand instead of blindly follow. this kid deserves alot more recognition, And support.

[House_of_Leaves]

When I did that in elementary school they suspended me for two weeks and told my parents some crap about how I'd "talked back to" and "Threatened" a teacher. I guess I'm just glad that we've progressed far enough that the same thing is actually treated as heroic and not some kind of gross insubordination.

[Still Jack]

Originally Posted by Not Tha Duckman

This article makes me happy and sad all at the same time. There may be hope for the next generation, with kids like this. But, the other kids can't think up any decent insults, which is pretty gay.

Damn, that was subtle.

[LakitaJackson]

Originally Posted by gothicusmaximus

They call him a 'gaywad'?

its the worst of all schoolyard insults, topping "butthead" and the classic "fatty"

I said, ’With all due respect, ma’am, you can go jump off a bridge.’"

This boy is my new hero.

[Lord Whiskerton]

Y'all gotta give this boy some props.

[sibyl vane.]

Ha, this is great.

[ArchLich]

Totally awesome. I totally made rock horns and said aloud "hell yeah" at his quote to the teacher. There need to be more people like this kid in general. If more people thought with this kind of conviction for anti-ignorance, the world would be a MUCH better place. I was in the 8th grade when I learned that my mother is lesbian, and after seeing some rather disrespectful governmental operations against homosexuality on the news, I too refused to recite the pledge. Unfortunatly, I was in classes for those with.... "anger issues".. therefore when I refused, the teacher counted to three and then wrestled me to the ground, proceeding to lock me in the "time-out" room until I agreed to say it, which I didnt, so I was locked in there all day. When my mother learned of this, she sued the school board for misconduct, violation of my rights, and child abuse(go mom!). The teacher was fired, and almost put in prison(he got lucky).

[Anndrea]

i'm glad i see a lot more youth being enlightened and educated. hate istaught by the way. i personally think most(if not all) homophobic people are homosexual. i don't exactly get why kids are homophobic though, especially since they don't completely grasp what it is. errr maybe that's why?

[LakitaJackson]

Originally Posted by Anndrea

i personally think most(if not all) homophobic people are homosexual.

Then you're fucking stupid. Most people are homophobic are so, because that's they way they were raised or otherwise influenced.

Which isn't to say that they themselves don't ever have homosexual thoughts or fantasies. Everyone does.

[ArchLich]

Originally Posted by LakitaJackson

Then you're fucking stupid. Most people are homophobic are so, because that's they way they were raised or otherwise influenced.

Which isn't to say that they themselves don't ever have homosexual thoughts or fantasies. Everyone does.

^Amen.(10 chars)

[Delkaetre]

Though apparently (and I haven't read the study, so this is hearsay and rumour and I can't give you hard facts), homophobes do frequently have a stronger sexual reaction to homosexual imagery than non-homophobic heterosexuals.

[Underwater Ophelia]

This might be cool, but the kid was probably coached.

[the-nihilist]

'Tis a likely scenario.

[Solumina]

Originally Posted by Delkaetre

Though apparently (and I haven't read the study, so this is hearsay and rumour and I can't give you hard facts), homophobes do frequently have a stronger sexual reaction to homosexual imagery than non-homophobic heterosexuals.

That is a bit out of context as aggression (among other things) can cause arousal so it isn't known if the arousal is caused by the imagery or by an aggressive response to the imagery. There are also a whole host of studies done about this and they have varying results. I wish I still had access to CNU's databases so that I could look things up and be a bit more specific but they kind of take that away once you are no longer a student.

[Apathy's_Child]

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

This might be cool, but the kid was probably coached.

That was pretty much my first thought. Even still, it's nice to know someone's bringing their kid up right.

[Solumina]

If you watch any of his interviews the kid was clearly coached but it looks like the idea to take a stand was his own idea, just in response to what he heard from his parents and not his own experience. Still it is admirable for a kid to stand up for himself, especially to a known figure of authority and even more so to his peers (which he did regardless of whether his parents told him to or if he did it completely on his own).

[Tam Li Hua]

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

This might be cool, but the kid was probably coached.

I was wondering that myself, but it's still impressive that the kid would be willing to endure all the crap he probably gets from his classmates for standing up...er...sitting down.