California High School Bans the National Anthem

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- What can bring more people together than The National Anthem? People sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at every sporting event. When our Olympic Athletes win a gold medal, they stand at attention under the American Flag as the PA system plays the American National Anthem. It is a source of pride and patriotism across the country.

That is unless you are a student at California High School. Then, of course, the Anthem is banned for being insensitive. The student council with the backing of the administration has decided that snowflake students shouldn’t have to hear the words of Francis Scott Key.

Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner about seeing the US flag still waving over Fort McHenry in Baltimore after a night of constant bombardment by the British ships. It is a fantastic tale of American tenacity, but to some of the students of California High School it is about the “joy in the killing of African-Americans.”

This story came to light in the form of a news story in the school newspaper that caught fire on the internet and spread nationally on social media. By looking at the social media post, the anger over the decision to ban the Anthem isn’t just coming from the right. A lot of people who lean left are also condemning this obvious Anti-American move.

What students determined to be the celebration of killing slaves is a line that is no longer in the Anthem. The student advisors to the council, who is a teacher, called the verse “problematic,” and supported to the student’s decision to ban the Anthem to be more inclusive.

This support of the facility is disturbing because it shows the teachers do not know history or are intentionally misleading the student. Either way, it doesn’t bode well for the students at the school and shows indoctrination of the students.

The problematic line reads, “No refuge could save the hireling and slave…”

The students, teachers, and even local representatives from the NAACP have taken this line to mean African-American slaves of the United States. What the line is referring to are Hessian mercenaries that the British hired to fight on their behalf during The War of 1812. It was a typical term used by colonist as a slight towards the Hessian.

Key was a slave owner but ended up freeing his slaves. He publicly criticized slavery’s cruelties. He also attended the funeral of his friend, William Costin, who happened to be of mixed race. He was known for volunteering to defend African-Americans in court so much so in an editorial by Marc Leepson in the Cincinnati Daily Gazette it stated, “Mr. Key convinced me that slavery was wrong—radically wrong.”

Some students at the school do not seem to care that Anthem was banned going as far as saying to the student-run paper, “The National Anthem is a tradition from many years ago, and the only people who really care about it are older generations.”

Other students disagree with the decision such as such as Amir Udler who told The Californian, “It comes from a very disrespectful place.” Udler went on to say that rather than being inclusive all the decision is doing is, “disenfranchising the vast majority of the school who loves the country, and who thinks the anthem should be played.”

Another student, Dennis Fiorentinos, also finds the student council’s decision problematic. He told the school paper, “I feel that California High School honoring and respecting those who have died protecting our freedom is more important,” when referring to the Star-Spangled Banner.

Most shocking the assistant principal, Kathleen Martins, claims that she had no idea that the student council banned Anthem from the school. This revelation is shocking and disturbing if it is true since Martins directly oversees the student council.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on the history of the patriot movement and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss or at www.crumpy.com.