Texas School Punishes Boy for Opposing Homosexuality

[Torie]

What's with these fundies? What's wrong about a girl being attracted to a girl or a guy being attracted to a guy? Who gives a sh**t?

better yet, what's wrong with a Christian believing in the bible?  why should he be punished for having Christian religious views?

The views here are so innocuous/benign to you.  They aren't so innocent to everyone.  The question is, at what point (if there is one) does the espouser's free speech right have to yield to other rights, particularly in a school setting?  If at all?  

There is an issue about free speech that is disruptive in secondary school needed some curbing with which I have some sympathy - up to a point. But this was not disruptive; the kid was just stating an opinion. And since there would be no punishment if the guy had said being a homosexual "is right," while there apparently was for saying "it is wrong," that suggests to me selective free speech, and that to me is unacceptable.

Schools are just too uptight these days (with way too much PC to boot), except for the one thing that matters - the quality of the education, and in particular the quality of the teachers. On that one, the schools tend not to be "uptight" at all. They just have their priorities wrong - way wrong.

[Torie]

Can people express racist views in public without being sued?

Secondary school is a restricted free speech zone. SCOTUS has so ruled. But it does not like selective free speech restrictions - at all. They must be neutral. Outside of this particular island of restriction, you are back to the yelling fire in a theater standard basically. Most anything goes.

[Torie]

I just read your one post Bullmoose. Sorry.

[Torie]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

When it is demonstrably disruptive, and "fighting words" like "f****t" probably are. It's a judgment call, and that judgment should be exercised in an even handed way. Calling a kid a "fundie" might be disruptive too. Words that have an insulting coloration which is personal to another student tend to fall into the "suspect" category I would think. Make sense?

[Torie]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must watch different media than I do, because I haven't noticed that at all really, and in particular a focus on Christians in particular as the perps. But it is understandable that you have more sensitivity to this than I, so no doubt I am not paying as much attention to this sort of thing as you are.