Colorado Springs, Colorado – A Colorado school came up with ridiculous excuses to remove a 12-year-old student from class Monday for having the patriotic Gadsden flag patch.
Connor Boyack, the President of Libertas, revealed that the Vanguard School in Colorado Springs told 12-year-old Jaiden (last name withheld) that he had to remove the flag because it has “origins with slavery” and was “disruptive to the classroom environment.” When he refused, the child was dismissed.
“Meet 12yo Jaiden who was kicked out of class yesterday in Colorado Springs for having a Gadsden flag patch, which the school claims has “origins with slavery. The school’s director said via email that the patch was “disruptive to the classroom environment,” Boyack wrote.
WATCH:
The school, not surprisingly, butchers the Gadsden flag’s history. It originated on a warship in 1775 as a battle cry for American independence from British rule. The flag became a symbol for America during the fight for their freedom.
The flag has absolutely nothing to do with slavery, and thus, there is no reason why this symbol should alarm students. Such ridiculous reasons to ban the child.
The news gets more asinine, though. The Vanguard School then ADMITS the Gadsden flag did not originally have a racial context, but claims without evidence racists have successfully hijacked its meaning.
They cited @USEEOC, which admitted that the flag “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context”…
“But then said “However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages,” Boyack wrote.
They cited @USEEOC, which admitted that the flag “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context”…
But then said “However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages…” pic.twitter.com/w0M74bMgN2
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The director of the school then attempted to justify Jaiden’s dismissal by pointing to a silly article which contained no actual facts about the Gadsden flag but instead focused on the feelings of woke snowflakes regarding the symbol.
“The director then argued that the flag is associated with “hate groups,” linking to this weak article that cites a “graphic design scholar” who claimed that “some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate—or even racism,” Boyack added.
The director then argued that the flag is associated with “hate groups,” linking to this weak article that cites a “graphic design scholar” 😂 who claimed that “some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate—or even racism.”
Link: https://t.co/ZD6JZ4AhDK pic.twitter.com/sUOqLEwGf0
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
When Jaiden’s mom tried to take the story of her child to a local news station, they blew her off.
As you can hear his mom say in the video, Jaiden wanted to stand up for his (non-racist!) beliefs. So after he was kicked out of class, he asked his mom to take him to the news station to get the word out.
(He got the idea from a @tuttletwins book 💪🏽)
They declined an interview pic.twitter.com/BEdxWIj7Gp
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
Boyack then points out another interesting fact. The school could not point to an actual rule Jaiden broke so they decided to put the Gadsden flag in the same category as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons.
Not only does the flag have nothing to do with drugs and weapons, but the school is seemingly contradicting the original explanation for Jaiden’s dismissal from class.
So what rule was he actually breaking? According to the director, this one (see highlight).
Though it’s unclear what alleged slavery connections have to do with drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons. pic.twitter.com/KohiU4X0jz
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
Chaya Raichek, who runs the popular X (formerly Twitter) account Libs of Tiktok, raised a critical exit question: why weren’t other kids kicked out for wearing other types of flags?