The West Coast is ground zero for aggressive, nutty wokery – with the San Francisco Bay Area locked in a tight battle with the Pacific Northwest for supremacy. Chalk one up for the latter region, thanks to a mind-blowing decision at a high school in Washington State.
Note well that the students, who were not yet born on September 11, 2001, had the correct impulse here; their desire to pay tribute to the thousands of their fellow countrymen who were murdered by terrorists 20 years ago was thwarted by the supposed "adults" in charge – via Jason Rantz:
Students of a local high school were ready to wear red, white, and blue to honor the lives lost on Sept. 11. But school staff pulled the plug, concerned the expression could be racially insensitive and offend some people. At Eastlake High School in Sammamish, student leadership promoted a Patriot’s Day theme at a football game at Memorial Stadium against Rainier Beach. The game was previously canceled, then rescheduled to the day before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Students wanted to do something to remember the tragic events. But staff intervened. According to an email obtained by the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH, the principal said wearing those colors could “unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently.” Students are upset. And some parents now speculate school officials thought their majority-minority opponents would be offended by American pride.
The principal made it clear that a faculty committee decided to cancel the planned demonstration of patriotic reverence:
One mother emailed Principal Chris Bede to ask what happened. She was shocked by the response. “Our leadership teachers made this decision and explained it to students,” Bede wrote. “I know tomorrow is 9/11 and understand the sacrifice and values our flag represents, but I think they just did not want to unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently.” Associate Principal Darcie Breynaert shared the same statement with another parent who demanded an explanation. Neither Principal Bede nor district communications director Shannon Parthemer explained who would take offense. And why is wearing red, white, and blue offensive to begin with? No one would say.
Wearing USA colors was deemed to be potentially offensive, but the deemers apparently won't or can't say why. Students and parents are reportedly furious, and now speculation about racism has entered the fray:
Ryan Ware is the Eastlake senior class president and member of the football team. He said students were eager to wear red, white, and blue clothes and were disappointed by the school administration’s decision. “We disagreed and were extremely disappointed. I couldn’t believe their reasoning,” Ware explained to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. One other student noted the hypocrisy on display. The school is about inclusivity — just not when it comes to representing the country? “I was instantly upset, and frustrated,” one student emailed. “If Eastlake is all about including everyone’s beliefs and being together as a ‘family,’ then why are we being told we can’t represent the country we live in?"...On a Facebook page for Eastlake High School parents, several expressed outrage and concern over the move. Some speculated over the intent. “The leadership and equity team decided that since it was against a predominantly Black team they did not want to ‘unintentionally cause offense to some who see (our flag) differently,'” one parent speculated. Another parent responded to the speculation, calling out the school’s possible motive. “Sounds presumptive and condescending to me — in fact, probably racist,” the parent said.
The American flag has become politicized in recent years, with high-profile culture war skirmishes breaking out over Old Glory and the Star-Spangled Banner. Some leftists have declared that the national banner itself is subtly or overtly racist. Rants like this, and articles like this (published around Independence Day) come to mind. This incident out in Washington State may take the cake, however. A laudable homage to America, in remembrance of the deadliest terrorist attack ever carried on on US soil, was shut down by these school officials who determined that students wearing red, white, and blue might be offensive to unnamed others who might "see it differently." Those responsible for this pathetic decision should have to explain precisely how they reached it. I would be very interested to hear their "rationale," and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the conjecture floated by some of the Eastlake parents was basically on point. I discussed the kerfuffle with Rantz earlier in the week:
.@jasonrantz: A High School Canceled Its 9/11 Tribute Over Fears Of Offending Some Studentshttps://t.co/8OUMZ6sQ4E
— The Guy Benson Show (@GuyBensonShow) September 14, 2021
As embarrassing as this episode has been, I'm not sure it's even the worst call I've seen from an American high school administrator in recent days:
A Colorado high school asked to attend the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. Before they could get approved by a committee—that China sits on—they had to change an old article on their site to say that Taiwan is a "Province of China.” A high school!https://t.co/rslrxOMQZp pic.twitter.com/RFvLSYsPWF
— Sarah McLaughlin (@sarahemclaugh) September 13, 2021
We know that the Chinese Communist Party bullies global companies and entities into doing their bidding – from denying Taiwan's independence, to censoring content, to looking the other way on massive human rights abuses and genocide. This anecdote is astounding because it shows how obsessive CCP manipulators can be, in this case asking an American high school to change an obscure reference in an old online article, in exchange for access to a hearing over which the CCP wields some influence. The demand itself was definitely bizarre. The response – capitulation – is indefensible. Chinese Communists said "jump" and an American high school replied, "how high?" No wonder Beijing is so accustomed to getting what they want. They employ coercion, hard and soft, and others knuckle under. It's working. Apropos of nothing whatsoever, I'll leave you with this:
Stanford professors urge U.S. to end program looking for Chinese spies in academia https://t.co/y45JclOXbI pic.twitter.com/Q4YoDmLJLH
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 13, 2021
