An Obama Shirt Incident in Sumter, SC Reveals a Bigger Problem

For the record, I'm an Independent who voted for Chuck Baldwin, the Constitutional Party nominee for President this past election, so I was neither on the Obama or McCain 2008 election bandwagon. However, when I read the following articles by Jordan Sandler on wistv.com, even I was disturbed about what happened at a Sumter, SC school a few weeks ago:

Principal forbids 5th to wear Obama shirt to school

Superintendent defends principal in Obama shirt controversy

The quick version of the articles is that a Sumter County, SC teacher advised a student not to wear a Barack Obama shirt to school prior to Inauguration Day for fear that the student would be harassed and for the "welfare" of the student.

I'm sorry, but such an explanation just does not "wash" or "fly" with me. A better Southern colloquialism would be "That dog won't hunt!"

First of all, exactly what should the student or for that matter the teacher be worry about? What has happened at that Sumter, SC school for a teacher to even think of doing such a thing? Exactly whom should the student be fearful of ridicule from? The other students? The principal? The community? Sumter SC Republicans? Please!

I find this kind of action by any school immature, appalling, and asinine at best. You mean to tell me, that a student can wear a "Satan Rules" or "Jesus Loves" or "McCain/Palin" shirt in Sumter County District Two schools with not such much as a faculty or staff member passing gas over it, but a student who is excited about an Presidential inauguration that will be taught in American History classes for years to come because Barack Obama is the first US President who is non-white CAN'T WEAR A SHIRT WITH HIS FACE ON IT UNTIL HE IS SWORN INTO OFFICE?

MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON SUMTER COUNTY SCHOOLS and MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

The fact that a teacher has the time for this nonsense instead of teaching students in a public school in a state that is consistently ranked toward the bottom in the nation in education lets me know that there is a bigger problem.

Would you like to guess what the problem is? Here are some clues:

The Daytona 500 is called "The Great American (blank)"

The 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder was "(Blank) and (Blank)"

Sumter County District Two's problem is as clear as (blank) and (blank).

It's amazing to me that people say that South Carolina has an image problem. Really?... I wonder why? Maybe it's because South Carolina has a (blank) problem. You think?

ATTENTION SUMTER COUNTY SCHOOLS: BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II, AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN, IS THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND OUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. GET OVER IT, GROW UP, GET A LIFE, AND EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN, PLEASE! THANK YOU!