Would you send your child to school wearing a political T-shirt (Trump / Pence in this case) and then complain when he gets called names?

Id never have done that, even back in the day. More so in the insane political atmosphere of today. Otherwise I’m not in the business of telling kids what to believe in or who to support.

No, and political attire was against the dress code of every school I attended. They would be sent to the principal’s office and be made to change shirts.

He may be at a private school, but I don’t know.

You realize that the issue isn’t with the kid or his parents for letting him wear the shirt. The problem is with the bully and his parents who have very ignorantly taught him that opposing views are evil/wrong/stupid/racist/etc and that no one should be able to show support for anything the bully doesn’t personally agree with.

I realize that. But I still wouldn’t make him a target for those bullies.

@Dutchess_III So you are advocating that anyone that doesn’t support the leftist mania should just hide in a corner? They aren’t allowed the same rights of expression that you advocate for the lefties?

@Demosthenes That may or may not be true, and it may or may not be enforced equally. Remember the case in California where, near Cinquo de Mayo, Latino children were wearing shirts with Mexican flags on them, but the school only punished the child wearing a shirt with an American flag on it?

I don’t know if this is a theoretical question, or if it’s specific to some school or whatever. People eat this stuff up, however, because it makes them feel like the victim.

@cheebdragon: “You realize that the issue isn’t with the kid or his parents for letting him wear the shirt. The problem is with the bully and his parents who have very ignorantly taught him that opposing views are evil/wrong/stupid/racist/etc and that no one should be able to show support for anything the bully doesn’t personally agree with.”

You’re saying that a school shouldn’t be able to have a dress code. Interesting. Does this just apply to public schools, or private ones too?

Anyway, are you fine with any clothing at school? I’ll just throw out a few things to see if you draw a line so we can determine what is driving your logic here: swastika shirt, “punch Nazis”, anti-fascist shirts, “fuck capitalism”, a shirt with a detailed photo of an erect cock, or goatse. What about less-restrictive clothing that shows more skin or genitals?

No. I’m saying don’t make your kid a target. Even if he wore a Biden / Harris shirt he’d be a target.
The kid I’m talking about is about 9 years old. What kind of a political expert could he possibly be? How could he even have an opinion when he doesn’t really know what’s going on? He’s just following mom and dad’s lead.
His mom said, ”It’s terrible that I worry about sending him to school with it. Worried about how he will be treated. Worried about those that have already judged him, called him a racist, and a bunch of other junk.”

Non-parent here. There is NO way I would allow any child to wear anything political right now, when even adults are assaulted or threatened, and regardless of party.

My friend’s daughter got a ‘Hiden from Biden’ shirt, since she’s a pre-teen girl and I don’t think it’s cute at all actually. They put it on social media proud of her, and while I understand, I still think it’s an unnecessary risk.

I agree with you @KNOWITALL. Not in this environment.

@hmmmmmm “I’ll just throw out a few things to see if you draw a line so we can determine what is driving your logic here: swastika shirt, “punch Nazis”, anti-fascist shirts, “fuck capitalism”, a shirt with a detailed photo of an erect cock, or goatse. What about less-restrictive clothing that shows more skin or genitals?” So you are comparing these sorts of things with MAGA? Interesting. So does this apply to all political expressions or just those that support President Trump? So where does your line get drawn between what is acceptable and not acceptable? Is it okay to wear kittens and puppies? How about blue shirts but not red ones? And why are you looking at this from the point of view of making the victim of bullies the bad guy?

I’m fed up with right and left both. I lean left myself but it’s getting ridiculous in this country. And both sides have gone to far to the extremes. If anyone is butt hurt by this, too bad so sad. Sue me.

@seawulf575 Well I made it clear on another question that I don’t consider a flag by itself to be a political statement.

See above and I stand by my statement. Damn politics to the lowest level of Hades.

@Dutchess_III Okay, he is following mom and dad’s lead. So what? Aren’t our parents supposed to be our best influence at that age? Maybe he has seen and heard President Trump and thinks it’s cool. Maybe he likes being controversial. To @cheebdragon‘s point, this isn’t about what he wears, it is about conditions existing at a school that allow bullies to prey on people. Last time I checked, bullies don’t really need a real reason….they just need to make themselves feel bigger and more important.

@Demosthenes My point is that the rules are not enforced equally. If two children are wearing shirts with flags on them…from different countries…but only one of those children is told that is not in line with the dress code, it is complete bias. And that is how many of these rules are enforced.

It’s their job to protect their children, not make them targets, pretending like it’s for some lofty purpose.

I wouldn’t complain. If the kid gets names called, it his/her problem. (Live and learn. The school of hard knocks is the best.))

@Dutchess_III You make some interesting points. But think about some of what you’ve said from a different angle. It’s a 9 year old so what sort of political expert could he be? All he knows is what he gets from his parents. So what about the bullies? Aren’t they 9 year olds? Why does anything Trump bother them at all? What you have is a bunch of kids whose parents are inundating them with Hate Trump and letting them know that it is okay to take whatever actions are necessary to show how much you hate him. And anyone that dares to support him.

But in the end, they are bullies. As I said, bullies don’t need any real excuse to act that way. So the real question is why isn’t the school stepping in? I understand a parent’s job is to protect their children. But I disagree that means to teach them to hide or suppress just so the bullies don’t get you. And a parent cannot (and should not, in my opinion) even attempt to be by their child’s side 24/7. And when that child goes to school, the school assumes the responsibility of protecting those children. So when a bully starts terrorizing a smaller child or a group of them gang up on one child, the school needs to be stepping in. Why it is happening isn’t important at that point. Stopping the violent behavior is.

I agree that the school has to take action, but it doesn’t excuse mom and dad making the kid a target.
I appreciate the way my son raises his kids. He says nothing one way or another about politics or religion.

When I raised my kids, I raised them to be smart and self-reliant. To not be rude. To think for themselves and to make their own decisions on things. That, to me, is the job of a parent. To raise the children to be good adults. When I had issues at school, I was not shy about going down to the school and sharing my thoughts with the appropriate people. I had my twins, when they were in 3rd grade, come home asking me how I was going to vote on a specific issue in an upcoming election. When I asked why they were concerned about it, they told me their teacher told them that if I didn’t vote to support the issue, I didn’t love them or care about them. So I went down to the school, got a hold of the principal, and told him exactly what I thought about a teacher that would tell that to a bunch of 3rd graders. He went and got the teacher and I got to share my views with her as well. She said she never said that I didn’t love my kids, but when pressed about why she was discussing political issues with my kids at all, she had absolutely no answer. I knew she had discussed it because there was no other way my kids could have known about it. After she left, I continued my discussion with the principal. He was not happy. So yes, the school plays a role in what our children are exposed to, how it is presented, etc. But we, as parents, still have a responsibility to be watchful of what they are learning.

Good job! I would have gone to the school too.

@hmmmmmm Read my answer again, did I mention that schools shouldn’t have a dress code?

^ Sorry if I misunderstood your response. I’m reading it again and now completely unable to interpret what you’re saying. This thread is completely out of hand.

Who is the “bully” in your statement? What are you saying?

I would not let my kid wear a political anything anywhere.

As far as school, I think schools should have rules against doing it as part of their dress code.

School uniforms would take care of things like this.

Putting a controversial statement on a child’s shirt is wrong PERIOD

@hmmmmmm Would you consider the kid wearing a trump shirt to be the bully?

@YARNLADY Fashion is often controversial.

@cheebdragon – Would you consider the kid wearing a trump shirt to be the bully?

@cheebdragon How do you equate “fashion” with statements?

No.

1 I love my children and when they were small I never would’ve used them in that way. Much less make them suffer for any, and I mean any President of the United States. If I had small children today. I wouldn’t use them giving them a Biden/ Harris shirt either. They are sent to school to study. Not to worry about adult things.

2 I was also taught to accept fault for my own flaws or misjudgment. Not blame others for my own stupidity. Children face enough challenges in school. They don’t need to be pushed into doing something they are not ready to handle.

To simply answer the question – no, I would not.

And when I still in school (decades ago) my school disallowed political clothing, and indeed, most clothing with advertising.

@seawulf575 How about all the kids at the protests this year? Yikes, I would be terrified to take them.

I wouldn’t.

Even if it weren’t a presidential election year, I wouldn’t.

I absolutely would complain!
Because:
If I decided to dress my child up as a walking political advert to walk around at school, it would be my full intention to stir up shit, my full intention to get called out on it, and my full intention to use this as an excuse to style myself and my “poor child” as a victim of persecution.

I am really bothered by your question because we both (I hope) want a society where people can and do express themselves. No, I would not let my child wear a political T-shirt but that is a shame. The teasers and haters are increasing and I am doing their will by not provoking them?

I really think that’s kind of her goal @ragingloli. It’s a shame when people use their kids to garner sympathy.

@KNOWITALL Yep. The immediate reaction to this question seems to revolve around supporting Trump. How horrible!!! How could those parents do that to the poor child!!! But it entirely ignores the parents that teach their children to hate and to take out their rage on those that don’t see life the same way they do. Taking them to protests is an extreme version of the same thing. “Now watch, Johnnie, while I throw this Molotov cocktail at those evil cops!”

It’s the reading comprehension thing again. Here I said, ”No. I’m saying don’t make your kid a target. Even if he wore a Biden / Harris shirt he’d be a target.”

@Dutchess_III Yes you did. But you aren’t the only person responding on this thread. And, in fact, you are one of the more open minds on this thread.