Saturday, April 19, 2014

What T-shirt caused a high school controversy?

A recent story aired of eighteen-year-old Mason Deering of San Antonio, Texas  who created a white tee shirt with black lettering that read, "Confederate Born, Confederate Bred."  Confronted about it and while waiting for the principal, Mason claims the assistant principal told him to change the shirt because it was racist. He refused and left the school. The principal never met with Mason but told district administrators he wouldn't have made Mason change his shirt and that he can wear the shirt in the future as long as it's not a distraction. As of this writing Mason plans to wear the shirt again on March 31. His father says he wants an apology from the school.
 
Discrimination against students who wear emblems of their rightful heritage is not new. This, however, could set a treacherous precedent.  Unlike most similar instances, there was no Confederate flag nor other such icons on Mason's shirt; just four simple words.  Obviously the controversy is about the word "Confederate".   Has it, like the "N" word been outlawed. Where is that ordnance written? How does an assistant principal get to define what is racist? 
 
The "N" word is typically an insult hurled at another, while the word "Confederate" is a word often proudly attributed to self. Being dissimilar, should equal restriction apply? The political correctness crusade seems to have adopted the NAACP vow to remove every vestige of the Confederacy from the face of the earth . Does that include the very word, "Confederate"?
John Wayne Dobson
Macon, GA