Nipping it in the bud

The same symbol that prompted 46,000 marchers to protest against the Confederate flag flying atop the South Carolina Statehouse last week also caused the suspension of River Falls High School students last spring.

In commemoration of the anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 17, Americans remembered the slain civil rights leader. Speakers in all 50 states urged people to commit themselves to King's philosophy of equality for all Americans, regardless of their race.

Throughout the nation, the Confederate flag has been cited as a symbol of racial harassment, slavery and intolerance. In South Carolina, the NAACP initiated an economic boycott that began Jan. 1. They asked state legislators there to take the Confederate symbol off the Statehouse flagpole. South Carolina is the only state of the former Confederacy that still flies the flag and the only one without an official celebration of King's birthday.

At RFHS, the Confederate flag is one of several prohibited items in the dress code including hats, baggy clothing and backpacks. The first time a student is caught wearing or displaying a banned symbol, they are given a warning. The second time, they can be suspended.

Although students were suspended last term, High School Principal Sharon Kabes said no new incidents have been reported since then.

"The students have been very compliant about not bringing items or wearing clothing with the Confederate flag on them this year," she said. "We haven't had to deal with it this term."

Prejudice of any kind needs to be taken seriously. When people harbor biased or unfair convictions, hate can spill over into violent acts. And often it is more than the victims who suffer the effects.

In recent months, we have learned about the murder of a gay man - beaten and tied to a fence because of his sexual preference. We have watched with horror as a group of whites were accused of dragging a black man to his death behind a pickup truck. The reason for the killing - racial intolerance.

Bringing a Confederate flag to school might seem insignificant to some, but the action of school administrators is warranted.

The students of this community are being taught a very important lesson: whenever discrimination becomes a threat - if even to only one person - it needs to be cut off before it has a chance to grow.

If more people would have figured that out in 1968, King might have been celebrating his 71st birthday with his family this month.