School Pledge Of Allegiance Broadcast In Foreign Languages - Teen Protests

[matcom]

<snip>

MILLERSVILLE, Md. -- A ninth-grader in Maryland is protesting his school's decision to broadcast the Pledge of Allegiance in foreign languages this week.

The school is alternating broadcasting the pledge in Russian, Latin, Spanish, French and German as part of National Foreign Language week. In each case it's recited in English first.

However, some students chose to sit down when it was read Wednesday in Russian.

One student says "This is America, and we got soldiers at war. When you're saying the Pledge in a different language which nobody understands, that's not OK."

His father called the practice disrespectful and likened it to "wearing a cross upside down in a church."

http://www.wftv.com/education/4271509/detail.html

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Hello? Remember the Good ole Days...when we were a diverse melting

pot? :hi:

[tjwmason]

2. I'll admit that I don't get the whole pledge of allegiance thing

I think that 99% of British school pupils would laugh if asked to recite an equivalent - that said if it's being recited (in whatever language) sitting-down strikes me as disrespectful.

[Goldom]

3. funny, I thought 144,000,000 people understood Russian.

but I guess if they aren't Americans, they don't count, right?

(side note - when I just did a search for "population of russia" first site that came up was at cia.gov. O_o)

[Zuni]

4. I live near this family

Millersville is rural, but not that far from Annapolis. I wonder if he went to my High School

[LynzM]

5. Wow....

I totally don't understand that. Just, don't get it, at all. I understand not wanting to pledge allegiance to a piece of cloth, as a representation of the country, but protesting because we are celebrating diversity of language here? What the hell does that have to do with being at war?!?"

[Anais921]

6. What's worse

is that lots of people (the ones who have read this story on wftv.com and taken the survey, anyway) seem to agree!

It's so sad that this is the kind of thing being protested about in our schools. *sigh*

[Lavender Brown]

7. It might be a good idea in this case

It sounds like the kid needs to practice his English. :eyes:

[DeaconBlues]

8. Sounds like the kid has found a way to skip school and not get punished

He's opting for missing the entire school week cause his precious ears can't stand fifteen seconds of a foreign tongue in the morning. Sounds like a truancy problem to me.