Officials with a Wisconsin school district say free-speech rights would make it difficult to discipline students who appeared in a photograph that showed several high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute.
The State Journal reports that Baraboo Superintendent Lori Mueller said in a letter to parents Wednesday that officials cannot know the “intentions in the hearts” of those involved. She also said the district isn’t in a position to punish the students because they are protected by the First Amendment.
The photo of about 60 boys was taken outside the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo last spring. The parent who took the photographer said he simply asked the boys to wave goodbye to their parents before heading to prom.
Mueller’s letter said part of the district’s investigation is complete.
(AP)
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4 Responses
Free speech also protects every condemnation that can be put in words against them.
Well. That was certainly a weak and pathetic excuse for an investigation. I could probably buy into it as an unfortunate flexing of the forearm had only a handful of these fine young future pillars of the community been photographed as such. But it wasn’t just a handful. It was everyone participating in the group shot. Sad coincidence? Jajajajajaja suure. Right. And reindeer named Rudolf fly. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
The inference was clear. And if the inference honked like a goose, goose stepped like a goose, and stunk like a goose then indeed it was a honking, goose stepping, stinking nazi salute of a goose. Disgusting and disgraceful.
Maybe all those involved should spend a couple days leafing through the thousands and thousands of images belonging to the faces of children murdered at the hands and twisted minds of that salute. Not so funny anymore, is it?
Why is this still even a story? Sure, *had* they been giving a nazi salute the first amendment would protect it. But we now know that it was nothing of the kind, so the whole question doesn’t arise. Forget the first amendment, there is literally nothing *to* discipline, or to get upset about. So why are we still hearing about it?
As knowledge of history is sadly lacking they probably did not know how the Nazis saluted. If they did there might be room to make them take a course on the Holocaust if they were still in the school – which apparently they no longer are as they were headed for the prom. Court rulings on the First Amendment and schools do not have a common thread. Sometimes a judge will rule that the disciplinary action fall within the need to keep order in the school and sometimes not.