10 Year Old Refuses To Recite Pledge Of Allegiance To Country That Discriminates Against Gays
Posted: 13th Nov 2009 Author: Michelle Penny Topics: News
Will Philips may be only 10 years old, but this fifth grader from Arkansas has already made a big impact on the world, and it’s not just because he’s skipped fourth grade, it’s because he has refused to recite the Pledge Of Allegiance at his school.
Learning about the pledge and what it stood for on a drive with his family, Will’s desire to stand up against discrimination against the LGBT community has a lot to do with his family’s position as a straight ally to the gay community, which sees them stand up their LGBT neighbours as well as attend gay pride events, but also because of his desire to become a lawyer with the moves to take away equal rights for homosexuals leading Will to feel that ”I really don’t feel that there’s currently liberty and justice for all.”
Always wanting to stay within the law, Will checked with his parents whether it was against the law to not recite the Pledge Of Allegiance, and when they said not he attended school on Monday October 5th as normal, but did one thing different. He didn’t recite the pledge. And he didn’t do it the next day or the next day.
Allowing this to continue till the Thursday of that week, the substitute teacher, who knew the family, told him she knew they would want him to say the pledge, something which angered Will so much he told her “With all due respect, ma’am, you can go jump off a bridge.” Sent out of the classroom for the remark, Will was then made to look up information about the flag whilst his mother was contacted by the principal.
Fully supporting her son, Laura Phillips pointed out to the principal that the incident was due to the teacher trying to deny Will his right not to make the pledge, something the principal was forced to admit was right, but would not go as far as to ask the teacher to apologise to either Will or his mother.
Still continuing in his refusal to make the pledge, Will has suffered some teasing for his action including kids “…making comments and doing pranks, and calling me gay … It’s always the same people, walking up and calling me a gaywad” but says he can’t foresee a time when he will begin to make the pledge again, well not until there’s equality for all.
