Bob's Place

"The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a school district on behalf of a 14-year-old rap music fan who was expelled after he posted lyrics on the Internet in which, according to police, he threatened to shoot up his school and named a potential victim," the Associated Press reports from Pittsburgh:

The ACLU said the songs by Anthony Latour, of Ellwood City, are protected speech, among other reasons, because they were composed at home and not brought to school. The suit says Latour's expulsion in May from the Riverside Beaver County School District violated his parents' right to control his upbringing.

"The school may not like Anthony's songs, but it is beyond their ability to dictate what he reads, writes or even raps at home," said Witold "Vic" Walczak, the ACLU of Pennsylvania's legal director. . . .

"It is our job, not that of school officials, to decide what music Anthony can compose and listen to in our home," Anthony's father, John Latour, said.

We tend to agree with the ACLU's position on this one, but we have to laugh at the idea that the group is an advocate of "his parents' right to control his upbringing." Would the ACLU support this principle if the Latours had a daughter and didn't want her to get an abortion? The question answers itself. Patriarchy is just fine, though, when the kid is a rapper or a husband wants to kill his disabled wife.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 8:16 PM