UPDATE: It has just come to my attention that school officials say Heather Lawrence lied about this incident (thanks to Sanjay). The larger questions remain.
In “CAIR-ful Tampa” in Human Events today, I discuss an uncomfortable question a non-Muslim high school student asked her Muslim classmate and its unfortunate aftermath — and ask an uncomfortable question of my own.
A Muslim girl sits for Pledge of Allegiance. A non-Muslim girl asks her why she doesn’t act proud to be an American. Guess who got suspended.
It happened last week in Spring Hill, Florida: Heather Lawrence, a 16-year-old girl who plans to join the U.S. Army, was suspended for five days for insulting her hijab-wearing, seated classmate who refused to stand for the Pledge. This angered Heather, she said, since “our flag represents everything that our country is….You know, I made a not-so-kind remark, and I do sincerely apologize for referring to the thing on her head because that had nothing to do with it. But I told her, ‘Why don’t she act like she’s proud to be an American?'”
Good question. But apparently by asking it, Heather Lawrence has committed a violation of human rights.