Calling the American flag a representation of “violence and menace and intolerance,” an English teacher from Portland, Oregon, has removed it from her classroom.
Is it time to remove that teacher from the school?
Gail Grobey, an English teacher at Newberg High School, said her school has banned overtly “political” imagery on campus, including the Black Lives Matter and Pride symbols. She went on to say the ban should extend to the American flag.
“I took the American flag down in my classroom because that’s the most political symbol there is,” said Grobey, who added that seeing the American flag at board meetings is “terrifying.” “That symbol doesn’t stand for freedom or justice or equality anymore,” she continued. “It stands for violence and menace and intolerance, and I will not fly that in my room.”
While Grobey may have the right not to fly Old Glory at her home, her decision to remove it from the public school classroom where she is privileged to teach is another matter altogether. Perhaps it is time that Grobey remembers who she is teaching, as well as the nation she is representing.
You can contact the school district’s main office at (503) 554-5000. Let Superintendent Joe Morelock know what you think about our flag… and the teachers who choose to dishonor it.
