Notice the racist symbolism in that symbol above? No? That’s because there isn’t any, but never mind: Jayden Rodriguez, a 12-year-old middle-schooler in Colorado Springs, was kicked out of class at The Vanguard School, a local charter school, because he had a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack. Jayden was told he had to remove the patch before he would be admitted to the class again.

In an email, a school administrator claimed that the patch was “disruptive to the school environment.” Boy, do I ever remember getting upset over the patches fellow classmates had on their backpacks! This was, of course, an example of woke fascism by a teacher and a school, nothing more or less. Further emails from the school told the student’s mother that “some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate—or even racism.” Oh, well if “some” erroneously associate a historical symbol that had nothing whatsoever to do with slavery or racism as offensive, by all means punish the kid who knows what it really symbolizes. “Some” see the American flag as a symbol of white supremacy, imperialism, and systemic racism. They are welcome to their foolish opinion, but that doesn’t mean they should have the power to stop any sane American from displaying Old Glory.

The Gadsden flag is named after Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress and brigadier general in the Continental Army, who designed it. He gave the flag to Commodore Esek, who unfurled it on December 20, 1775, on the main mast of Esek’s flagship the USS Alfred. The flag was intended to communicate a warning to England, showing a snake (made up of the 13 colonies as illustrated in an earlier flag) ready to strike. The flag has been called the “most popular symbol of the American revolution.”

During a video of the meeting between the child’s mother and an administrator posted on social media, the mother was told, “The reason that we do not want the flag displayed is due to its origins with slavery and the slave trade.” The mother, who is clearly more educated and historically astute than the people she has allowed to instruct her child, disputes that false assertion, and asked if perhaps the administrator was mixing up the Gadsden Flag with the Confederate flag. (Heh!)

Neither student nor mother backed down, and the school received massivenegative attention on social media and conservative news media. (Radio silence from the Times, NPR and the networks so far. Funny about that.) Few supported the school’s decision, not even reliably woke Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis , who tweeted, “The Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution and [an] iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans. It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to symbolize the union of the 13 colonies. It’s a great teaching moment for a history lesson!”

“There is nothing inherently disruptive about a student displaying a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack,” wrote Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). “Public school administrators can’t ban the expression of an idea, symbol, or viewpoint just because they personally dislike it.”

Now the school has backed down. Jayden can keep the patch, and is allowed back to class. But the school couldn’t resist trying a face-saving lie anyway. “There has been National media attention on our charter school, The Vanguard School, related to a student having the Gadsden flag on his backpack,” the school said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this story is incomplete. The patch in question was part of half a dozen other patches of semi-automatic weapons. The student has removed the semi-automatic patches. As a school district, we will continue to ensure all students and employees can learn and work in a safe and nurturing environment. The student returned to class without incident after removing the patches of semi-automatic weapons from the backpack. The Vanguard School and Harrison School District 2 worked in collaboration to resolve this matter.”

Suuuuure. If the school wasn’t wrongly and unconstitutionally punishing the student for displaying that Gadsden flag, why did it send all of the emails explaining why the patch was somehow disruptive and racist? Why did the administrator discuss that patch in the meeting with Jayden’s mother?

Ethics takeaways:

• To all responsible parents currently sending their students to The Vanguard School, heed the wise counsel of the Amityville Horror house: “GET OUT!!!!”
• This is an example of what can happen when those faced with woke bullying refuse to be weenies. Don’t apologize. Don’t surrender. Get the word out about what your aspiring masters from the extreme Left are trying to do.
• The lying email after the incident is signature significance. This school is untrustworthy from top to bottom. How many other schools, charter or otherwise, are like this? My guess: most of them.