6th Grader Banned From Wearing Timex Wristwatch Because it's a "Gang Symbol"

[JohnRich 4]

News:

6th Grader Banned From Wearing Timex Wristwatch Because it's a "Gang Symbol"

"In Ottumwa, Iowa, sixth-grader Joseph Smith said he was told that he can't wear a Timex wristwatch because it violates the dress code at the Wapello County Public Schools.

"'The principal said I couldn't wear my Timex wristwatch at all because gangsters were wearing it,' Joseph told KYOU News.

Superintendent Bill Jackson defended the policy: 'We had information from law enforcement that there were documented instances of gang activity in the area and we had information that states that Timex wristwatches were being used as a symbol of gang affiliation.'

However, Timex spokesman Jim Waterbury defended the youngster: 'I don't think Timex owners should have to forfeit their wristwatches because a few people want to misuse our products.'"

Full story: Ottuma Courier

[shropshire 0]

Oh times, they are a changin'

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[popsjumper 2]

Did they have to tell hm to pick up his pants. too?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[billvon 2,427]

>Did they have to tell hm to pick up his pants. too?

SSShhhh, don't tell them that. They're easier to catch that way.

[kallend 1,647]

Clicking on your link does not bring up that story.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[christelsabine 1]

Quote

Clicking on your link does not bring up that story.

Yep. That's b/c he called it "Ottuma Courier".

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[Andy9o8 0]

Ask any Bulova wearer married to a Timex wearer: the Timex IS an evil gang symbol.

[JohnRich 4]

Well, isn't this interesting...

Last week I started a poll thread about a "6th Grader Banned From Wearing Rosary Necklace Because it's a Gang Symbol". I was surprised that fully one-half of the respondents here thought that action by the principal was justifiable, that it was okay to deny people their religious symbols, simply because some gang was misusing those same symbols. Quite frankly, I find it shocking that people would so willingly deny others the symbols of their faith based upon what some gang has done.

The principle in question here is this: if a gang adopts a common item as symbol, then schoolchildren should not be allowed to wear that same common item, because it might be mistaken for the gang symbol rather than its commonly known usage.

So, was this really how they felt about the idea in principle, or was it possibly just another sign of anti-religous bigotry, whereby people are willing to punish religious followers, simply because they don't like religion.

In order to test that theory, I created a second poll thread, called "6th Grader Banned From Wearing Timex Wristwatch Because it's a Gang Symbol" This one was identical in all respects but one, and entirely fictional. The one element that was changed was to alter the symbol in contention from a religious rosary to a non-religious item of a Timex wristwatch.

The attached image shows the results of the two polls, side by side.

When the item in question was a religous rosary, 50% of the voters think it's okay to ban it in school.
When the item in question was a Timex watch, only 33% of the voters think it's okay to ban it in school.

If everyone was voting on the basic principle about gangs, then the proportions should have been the same on both polls. But they're not. More people want to ban the item when it's a religious symbol, than when it's a wristwatch.

What does that tell me? It tells me that some people are voting against the religious symbol, not because of what gangs are doing with it, but simply because they hate religion. The Timex poll is the one that more accurately reflects the gang issue, since it does not involve the side-issue of religion. When religion is introduced into the equation, more people are willing to usurp the rights of the school kids to wear what they want.

[billvon 2,427]

>What does that tell me? It tells me that some people are voting against
>the religious symbol, not because of what gangs are doing with it, but
>simply because they hate religion.

Or because they think that rosary beads are a more likely gang symbol than a cheap watch.

[quade 3]

Quote

The principle in question here is this: if a gang adopts a common item as symbol, then schoolchildren should not be allowed to wear that same common item, because it might be mistaken for the gang symbol rather than its commonly known usage.

Not to go all Godwin on this, but would you have an objection if a kid wore a necklace with a swastika to school?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver