Violation of Free Speech or an act of maintaining decency?

[Gromgor]

The Article

A Ninth Grader asked a captured pilot (one that the movie Blackhawk Down was based upon) whether he was raped during his time being held by enemy forces.

The response from the school was a bit more than he expected.

[Bael]

Unfortunately for the kid and his parents, if this took place in the US, the kids leave their First Amendment Rights at the front door of the school when they enter it. There's been something of a legal tradition upholding that minors do not have the full right to Freedom of Speech/Expression, and this specifically holds true in many cases when it comes to school. Sad but true. It could be the world's best question, but if the school thinks it's inappropriate there's not much you can do but appeal.

[kestra]

Jon Sannes said forcing his son to apologize and to miss future assemblies violates his son's right to free speech. A school is supposed to encourage students to think and ask questions, he said.

I don't think it's a free speech issue at all. It's completely inappropriate to ask such a question in a public setting such as this. I wouldn't dream of asking such a question. Nobody is asking the boy to stop thinking, but, by the sounds of it, he could use a lesson in tactful public behavior.

[Aristotle]

From the article:

The pilot talked about being shot down and captured, but told students there were details he didn't want to share, Stibbe said.

That right there should have been a good enough clue to the student not to ask such a grossly insensitive question.

However, this quote from the soldier himself, seems to mitigate some of the harm:

Durant said it was a good question, but he wouldn't answer it.

But this part is total horse manure:

Jon Sannes said forcing his son to apologize and to miss future assemblies violates his son's right to free speech. A school is supposed to encourage students to think and ask questions, he said.

You have no right to free speech when you enter school (other than college). It is a place of education.

[Lokrian]

Well, and let's be specific. He is not being jailed by the government for speech crimes. He is being disciplined by his school for misbehavior. Yes, what you say can be deemed misbehavior. Even legally, you can be arrested for example for screaming in the middle of the night in a residential neighborhood, for example. It's not protected just because it is a result of air flowing over your vocal cords.

There really is a huge difference.

[Isaviel]

My question is why would someone WANT to know that?

[Pyrosama]

It is beyond my comprehension as to why a ninth grade student would feel compelled to ask such a question to begin with. I think we try to teach sensitivity at all levels to our children, yet freedom of speech always seems to come into play when someone gets in trouble for things that are not legally engraved in stone but yet the norms of society tighten down the reigns.

I mean...kids will be kids and do stupid and idiotic things, even say dumb stupid things that embarrass us to no end, but for fucks sake...YOU DON'T DEFEND IT. It's definitely time to give a wake up call to this sort of gross misconduct. Parents should embrace the movement and teach their kids some damn couth if they don't want to deal with the consequences that society will undoubtedly dole out.

"He asked a fair, hard-balled question," said Phil's dad, Jon Sannes. "I don't know why he's being punished."

WTF?? "Hard-balled question?" He sounds like he expects that his son's insensitivity should win him a fucking OSCAR nomination or something. Why should this sort of callousness be so glorified and why would a parent feel this is somewhat empowering to their kid...this whole bit about being able to ask "The hard questions"?

[Gromgor]

What if the flow of the conversation had lead to such an end? Discussions of the horrors sometimes encountered when dealing with the enemy could very easily head towards areas such as Beheadings, mutilations, sexually degrading prisoners, rape, tortures and a whole lot of other things. It could have been a relevant, on-topic question. The pilot himself said that it was a good question. It was just one that he would not be answering. Perhaps it was too personal. Perhaps it was not appropriate. Not enough information is given in the article to determine if the question itself was out of place, of if it was just inappropriate due to the sensitivity of it.

The pilot talked about being shot down and captured, but told students there were details he didn't want to share, Stibbe said.

It was never stated WHEN he said he would not talk about certain things. Before or after the question.

[Isaviel]

Rape is a very sensitive topic and if the person themselves doesn't bring the subject up it's not something that anyone should bring up unless you're a doctor trying to help them mentally with the situation.

Granted maybe the kid didn't realize how personal the question was until after the fact or answering it but a 9th grader should have some idea on how sensitive the topic is.