The principal of McKay High School, in Salem, Oregon, told a student she couldn’t post a photo of her brother on a classroom bulletin board. Why? He’s a Marine, and the photo was of him and two of his friends. In Iraq. With firearms!
KATU-TV has the story, along with this follow-up. Apparently after a community outcry, the principal relented. The second photo does have a weapon pictured, “but it is not the most prominent piece of that picture,” explains Kay Baker, Superintendent for the Salem-Keizer School District.
This is just ignorant. The photo was of a McKay graduate at work, as requested. He works in a combat arms field in the Marine Corps. He is a “rough man standing ready to visit violence on those that would do us harm,” to paraphrase George Orwell. As the Marine’s mother says, this is real life.
One of the sad parts to me is the comment by the principal. In the first story, she says, “What message am I sending to my students if I post that picture?” What message indeed? Perhaps that serving in our military is an honorable thing? What message is sent by saying “You can’t show what your brother does because of the weapon?” For that matter, what message is sent by the school mascot, who carries a sword? “He has a sword. (That is) so true. We might have to revisit that,” said Richardson. :bangs head against wall: It’s one thing if the image showed a gang-banger in a gun pose. But this is a United States Marine, and Marines carry and use guns. Every Marine is first a rifleman (rifleperson?). It’s sad that something like that invokes the school zero-tolerence policy. I suppose on the brighter side, it’s a good thing they didn’t suspend Shea for bringing in that picture of the big, bad evil weapon.
When I mentioned the story to my wife, she asked what they did when teaching about war? “Do they say, ‘They were really mad at each other, and used strong language’?”
