A troubling story out of Huntington Beach, California alleges that a school principal would not let a student read a speech that mentioned patriotism — the speech being his push as a candidate for “Commissioner of School Spirit and Patriotism.”
The woman said in a Change.org petition calling for the resignation of St. Bonaventure Catholic School Principal Mary Flock that her son, identified as Jimmy Heyward, decided to run for the seat but quickly found himself at odds with the principal when he patterned his campaign around Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“The Principal, Mary Flock, told him he needed to make changes to his speech,” the upset mother wrote. “She wanted everything in his speech regarding patriotism to be removed, even though ‘Patriotism’ was a part of the position’s title that he was running for. Ms Flock said that if he did not remove ALL parts about patriotism, he would not be able to read his speech with the rest of the candidates.
In his speech, Jimmy talks about his love for America and how it is “an honor” to live in the United States, noting that some people take their citizenship for granted.
“I can promise to make pep rallies great again,” he concluded. “I will make the school spirit great again. I will make patriotism within SBS great again. And mostly, I will make SBS great again.”
As seen below, Jimmy was wearing a red hat with the same message as read his speech:
This is Jimmy. A middle schooler in California. He ran for “
Commissioner of School Spirit & Patriotism” at school.
His principal allegedly made him change his speech and remove all mention of patriotism. When he refused, she reportedly didn’t allow him to give the speech and he… pic.twitter.com/25IaDjP5Zw
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 21, 2024
“Jimmy stood up to her and said he wasn’t going to take the parts about patriotism out of his speech,” she continued. [Mrs. Flock] then told him he would not be speaking. Jimmy sat on stage with all the other candidates while they said their speeches.”
The mother said the principal “directed the kids hosting the rally to skip Jimmy entirely,” adding that her son “was on the stage for an hour in front of his peers/teachers/parents being completely humiliated by Mary Flock.”
She further explained that her husband was also targeted, but said he found support among the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) when they were called.
“My husband, upset with her decision, told her and the Vice Principal, Caleb McFarren how out of line they were for not allowing Jimmy to speak to his classmates just because his views didn’t align with theirs,” the mother wrote. “They told my husband to leave or they would call someone to make him leave. He said he wouldn’t as he was there to support his son and then walked to the opposite side of the gate, away from everyone else and all students/faculty.”
“The principal then proceeded to call HBPD to further humiliate Jimmy. HBPD showed up spoke with my husband and got the whole story about Jimmy’s speech and what had happened. They then told him he was free to stay and watch with the rest of the families in attendance,” she explained. “When the officers were leaving they asked Ed to let Jimmy know that they said ‘Thank you’ for the things he wrote in his speech.”
In calling for Flock to step down, the mother said that the principal “sent an email to all parents at SBS informing them of the incident but completely lying about what truly happened earlier in the day. This woman has no business being in a head position at our school, or any school.”
The petition has 1, 109 signatures out of a requested 1,500, as of this writing.
The story caught the attention of X owner Elon Musk, who replied: “Hating on America is not cool.”
Hating on America is not cool
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 21, 2024
Here’s a quick sampling of other responses, as seen on the social media platform:
Wow. Principal @flockingood really flocked this situation up. She should be fired and Jimmy should get to give his speech to the school this week before voting occurs. Seems like he’d do a great job. Smart kid!
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 21, 2024
That is pathetic. Shame on that despicable Principal.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) May 21, 2024
I don’t get this. Why does the school have a “Commissioner of School Spirit & Patriotism” position if the person in it isn’t allowed to mention patriotism?
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) May 21, 2024
Why would the school principal censor the word “patriotism”, as if it is an offensive or triggering word? Is this censorship the same as the censorship of the words “illegal alien”? Wokery makes a mockery of ordinary words.
— Mendy Howe (@MendyHowe12) May 21, 2024
Tell little Jimmy’s mom to contact me. I’ll find them a lawyer.
— Gabrielle Clark (@GabsClark5) May 21, 2024
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Author: Tom Tillison
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