Nova Scotia Teen in Trouble for Wearing ‘Life is Wasted Without Jesus’ Shirt

I read the story linked above. First off, I’m all for defending what you believe in, whether it’s belief or non-belief (Viva la Nonbelief!)… but if he gets suspended for the rest of the school year for continuing to wear it, as he predicts, I hope he enjoys wasting a year of his life when he has to repeat the 12th grade, over a shirt. Second, I really don’t think the shirt is a problem, unless there are some kinds or teachers who complained. You can berate him for wearing the shirt all you want, but unless it’s causing a classroom disruption, I don’t see any harm in wearing it. However, I do not condone the shirt. A “Life is just plain great no matter what you think” would be more to my liking. Granted life isn’t *always* great, but I don’t want to get technical. My hand is already starting to hurt from typing this, so I’ll leave it at that. 

Free speech is an interesting concept, but at educational institutions it must be grounded in truth. I also agree with the point that students, and staff shouldn’t be permitted to disrupt class with external issues or encourage or support bullying. I would have now issue with any religious person wearing clothing that showed a belief, but did so independent of reducing other’s beliefs.

The kid should be able to wear what he wants.  That is freedom of speech.  I find the sentiment insulting, true enough, but this is an individual – it’s not the state.

Religion in school is only a problem when the government promotes it.  That’s a violation of the U.S. Constitution.  The school is making a big mistake here and the kid is within his rights.  Likewise an idiot in a “white power” shirt (being a teacher from the southern U.S., I saw A LOT of rebel flags, rebel flag t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.) is within his rights too.  If it causes a disruption (like a race riot), that’s another issue.  Clearly there’d be a line crossed to wear a KKK shirt or a swastika, but this is a magical unicorn shirt. 

Again, this is an individual – it’s not government sponsored prayer.

I could see why they’d want to suspend him, he looks like a total dick, but what does his t-shirt do but make christians look even more assholish. I’m guessing other students probably made complaints, perhaps on the basis that it was offensive to their religions.

Sure, let him wear his shirt but hopefully Muslim, Jewish and Atheist kids etc. would be brave enough to wear shirts touting their own beliefs or lack of.  Brave because they are in a minority and  therefore subject to abuse.  But let’s see how accepting everyone is if all kids were encouraged to wear their own beliefs on their shirts.

This shirt is pretty inoffensive as far as these kinds of things go. I don’t agree with the statement, but I don’t really see any active hate being directed at non-Christians.

I agree with freedom of expression. What about when the tables are turned? I am an atheist who attended catholic school, I remember specific t-shirts being banned (Marilyn Manson, South Park, just 2 examples among many) they were offensive towards Christianity therefor were not allowed. I’m assuming this kid attends a public school? If that is the case, I don’t agree he should wear a shirt that promotes religion.

No I wouldn’t but I don’t see the 2 as equivalent. White people (myself included) aren’t always the most racially sensitive or recognize our privileges so I have a hard time finding anything bullying in that. 

As to this T-shirt I’d say any bullying would depend on how he presented himself about it. Depending on his actions it could well be bullying or not.

And yes we upstart Canadians decided we wouldn’t use the your whole constitution thing :P.

I think the distinction you are making is a good one, but I don’t know that it precisely matches the distinction between let him do it, and make him stop.

“It insults people who don’t believe in Jesus. It says very directly
that they’re wasting their lives and that they’re worthless. It’s a
form of bullying.”

No it doesn’t.
No it isn’t.

Being Nova Scotian born and raised I find this kind of religious nuttery kind of surprising. It’s not that common, at least when I was growing up. The kid is an attention whore and he shouldn’t wear the shirt at school. 

I’m vaguely put off by the wavy-word implication that anyone without jesus is wasted and everyone with jesus isn’t. The most wasted kids at my high school parties were always the PK’s, who relied on us non wasted heathens to drive them home and sneak them back in.

It doesn’t say they’re worthless specifically. But it is telling people with different views that their lives are a waste.

On this one, kid’s right, school’s wrong and so are you. When you define bullying down to the point where wearing a tee shirt like this one justifies punishment, you’ve not helped the campaign to stop it. HS and even middle schools are good places for young people to begin learnig that they do NOT and should not have an enforcible right not to be offended.

Let the dumbass wear the shirt, but yes, that is an insult.  Just like it’s an insult to every Bhuddist, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Zoroastrian, and Pastafarian to say you’ll burn in hell unless you “accept Jeebus as yer savory”.  It’s stupid, true, but it’s also an insult.

I would go with the ‘free speech’ approach. You can say whatever you like, but then I am equally entitled to state that you are wrong, and claim the opposite. The shirt does not appear overly provocative or discourteous, to me. To call it ‘hate talk’ is ridiculous. 

I would be tempted to wear a ‘Jesus Sux’ shirt at school, and see what happens.

It’s a school. Students don’t have a choice to be there, so you can’t throw out something offensive like that. The last thing you want in a school is students being told they’re wasting their life. It’s the exact opposite of an environment a school needs to have. Gotta make it a safe, learning environment. He can wear that outside as much as he wants, though. That’s where “freedom of speech” plays out. 

 Not according to the Tinker case.

 Let him off the hook.  I see nothing wrong with a  philosophical position on a t shirt.  As long as it is not racist or defamatory.  It’s just his position that he is a christian.  A Hindu or Muslim or atheist could make the same affirmation.  That’s fine.  Kids can differ.  Why not.

Make them wear uniforms. Make them all dress the same.

I don’t have a problem with the shirt. If I would support an atheist student who wanted to wear a “God is Imaginary” shirt (and I would), then I think it’s only fair that Christian students be able to wear clothing that expresses their belief that their religion is superior.

 It established the right of free expression for students. I don’t think it is that different. I don’t agree with the message on the t-shirt, but I will fight for their right to say it in a non-violent way. Students should absolutely have the right to express their opinion no matter how retarded that opinion might be. That’s life in free society.

Incorrect. Later cases ended up limiting the scope of student free-speech. Anything considered indecent or offensive can be suppressed. School has never been a free society. It’s school. Once they’re outside the building, they can wear or do whatever they want. Outside, a person can choose to walk away, in school they can’t. 

Who gets to decide what is offensive? A conservative Christian might be just as offended seeing an LGBT-affirming t-shirt, and complain that they shouldn’t be forced to be exposed to that. Basically any atheist t-shirt would at least be implying that a religious person is wasting their time being religious, so is that something that they shouldn’t be forced to see?

Yes! This exactly. And we DO have a right to say that we think others are wrong. Bullying shouldn’t be defined just as making a claim that others disagree with.

I was hoping this was sarcasm. A school is no place for that, of all places…

Nope. First off the shirt does NOT say nor IMPLY anything other than what it says. If you choose to read into the message and get butt-hurt, then that’s on you.
Let’s say, for example, that I’m a big fan of chocolate. If I wore a shirt that said, “Life is wasted without chocolate”, you would actually find that offensive?
Methinks a good number of folks in this thread need to get thicker skins.

 No, that is NOT what the shirt says. What the shirt SAYS and what it’s interpreted meaning is are two completely different things. I could just as easily say that life without classical music or life without sex is a waste. Is that insulting to you?
Obviously the shirt reflects a point of view that is delusional and frankly idiotic, but stupid doesn’t necessarily translate into insulting.

A couple of years ago, the high school down the block had kids show up with shirts that read, “Islam is of the Devil”.  The students were sent home, and an attorney was quoted in the local paper as saying, “the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in several cases that public schools may quash speech deemed disruptive ‘even if it steps on the other child’s free speech rights.'”

The result?  All students in our county must now wear solid colored polo shirts to school, with solid colored pants.  I’m sad that my child has lost her ability to dress and express herself as she would like simply because some students decided they would make a religious statement at school.  In the grand scheme of things, however, it’s really not a big deal. I personally think it is more important that every student feels welcome and accepted at school than anything else. 

So this morning, when my daughter was getting ready to leave on a 3 day field trip, she was excited that she didn’t have to follow dress code.  She chose her most cozy t-shirt, as she prepared for a 6 hour bus ride.  Her shirt had six symbols of the world’s most prominent religions on it.  In the bottom right hand corner, in another color of ink, was a peace sign, with an arrow pointing to it and the words, “My religion” next to the arrow.   We actually discussed whether or not it was appropriate.  We decided that yes, it was, as it didn’t say anything bad about the religions featured on the shirt, the t-shirt simply implied that the wearer favored peace over anything else. 

As for the “life is wasted without Jesus” shirt, it certainly doesn’t bother me, and I find it rather innocuous.  But honestly, it’s not about me.  It’s about the other kids at the school, and whether or not that shirt would make them feel unwelcome or unaccepted.  It’s a tough call, but since it is important to me that every child feel they are a part of the community of school, I would err on the side of caution and say no to the shirt.  As a teacher, I have seen how simple things like t-shirt slogans can disrupt precious learning time.  It’s just not worth it. 

I like how Center for Inquiry spells their name “Centre” in Canada. 

As a parent, this post gives me good reason to develop a great relationship with my child. When a kid in her school wears a shirt like this one day, I hope she will want to bring it up as a topic of conversation, and we can talk about how sad it is that someone doesn’t understand the great opportunity and responsibility of existence…that a kid would be so blinded by dogma that he would devalue the lives and contributions of millions of brilliant, caring people who have come before him, along with the hundreds who are in school with him. The last thing I would want would be to make the kid remove his shirt. We will all be challenged with beliefs that we don’t agree with in life. There will be kids (or adults) sitting next to us in nearly every situation who think differently than we do. What better place to learn how to deal with conflicting ideas than in school? Why is this one kid such a powerful threat to others that what is printed on his shirt is so important?

 Possibly, but only if he was using the t-shirt as a starting point to actually verbally bully others. Otherwise, exposing kids to different points of view (including the religious) is the best way in the long run to let them grow up as experienced, questioning, skeptical adults. Let him wear the shirt – and if he’s lucky, he’ll run into a young skeptic who introduces him to the other side of the story, so to speak.

I would be less than impressed if it was an elementary school student wearing this shirt, but kids are already exposed to much, much worse these days once they hit their teens. Provocation isn’t the problem – actual bullying is the problem, and a t-shirt isn’t a form of bullying, it’s a form of expression.

Unless there’s more to the story that we’re not hearing, I’m not seeing this as much of a problem at all.

 I can understand yours and Hemant’s point of view, but at the same time, your teenage years aren’t just for mentally absorbing your math textbook. They’re about growth and shaping who you’re about to become as an adult. An important part of that is philosophical and religious discussion. My exploration into religion during my teen years is what shaped me into the skeptical adult that I am. Kids should be allowed the freedom to discover themselves through various forms of expression, as long as they aren’t hurting anyone. (And the argument that the t-shirt is harmful is silly.)

School is for learning, but there is more to learning than just schoolwork.

 That’s a much more justifiable reason than just the t-shirt in and of itself.

 I’d need to see case law supporting this claim. The context of the Tinker case ruled that any “non-disruptive speech” is permissible inside school grounds. The only amendments to that ruling, that I am aware of, extend to messages that are sexually subjective, are obscenities, or appear supportive of illegal activities; narcotics, violence, etc. 

“Life is wasted without jesus” constitutes a silent, passive expression of opinion, unaccompanied by any disorder or disturbance; hence acceptable.

 So they can’t be subjected to anything at all, then?  No one has the right to not be offended.  Our (meaning humanity’s) society should be one in which this kid can wear his shirt, and I can wear one saying that giving your life over to Bronze Age mythology is wasting it, and neither of us gets punished or shows up in the news for it.
Of course, it’s not, and might never be, but that’s another discussion.

“I don’t feel insulted/bullied” isn’t a good justification that something isn’t bullying or insulting.  There are, after all, people who don’t think the security theater at the airport is a violation because “I don’t feel violated personally.”  There are black people and women who just don’t feel all that discriminated against, but that has never been a valid argument for the MRA’s or racism-deniers that racism or sexism just isn’t a problem.  The fact that a particular individual doesn’t feel insulted or bullied by something is not an indication that it is not insulting or bullying, or that such was not intended.

I guess the fact is that when an atheist wears a shirt that simply states his/her atheism, these people get up in arms–and they don’t even have to have any kind of aggressive language, just some expression that atheists exist and aren’t evil.  Now if it was something more insulting, such as if an atheist had been walking through school with a “life’s a waste if you’re Christian” t-shirt, this thread would be filled with indignant complaints that “admitting your atheism is great and free speech and all, but you don’t have to be mean about it and suggesting that Christian lives are a waste is rude and insulting and bullying and totally not acceptable as school-related free speech!”

Now if it was a “I love Jesus” or “Jesus is awesome”  or “Jesus saves” or “Ask me about my Christian beliefs” or some other dork-tastic Jesus-loving message that merely expresses the wearer’s general love of being Christian, I could see all the free speech arguments and whatnot and could easily say “ya know what, that’s the kid’s right to free speech, he loves Jesus, just let him be”.  But this message seems designed to antagonize and irritate and poke non-Christians with a sharp stick, which no one would hesitate to point out if it was the aforementioned atheist equivalent.  And if any atheist or non-Christian wore a tshirt with such a deliberately antagonistic message on it, there’s no way it would fly at any school and no way anyone would be justifying it even here.  I’m just glad to see the school taking a similar stance with the majority faith as well, rather than carving out special exemptions for popular viewpoints.

Young people need the same free speech rights as the rest of us, regardless of what the message is. Young atheists especially need free speech. The price of free speech is that people get to wear t-shirts with bigoted messages.  And in comparison to the gay bashing t-shirts Herman describes at his school,  people getting to wear t-shirts about their relationships with zombie Jesus and his fairy tale of a father is just entertainment.

I think the negatives of school uniforms outway the positives. First of all, it is deliberately designed to end freedom of speech when it comes to what you wear. I have shirts promoting Earth Day and shirts promoting the president. If I was still in high school, I’d want the chance to wear them. Second of all, uniforms require you to either double the size of your wardrobe (in order to have enough clothes for every school day) or wash your uniform every other day or so because you don’t have many of them (which will wear them out). If you don’t want to wear your uniform after school, it means you have to change your clothes after school and wear two different sets of clothing per day, which further increases your laundry load.

See my response to Bob Becker

I get the feeling (at least from the pic’) that he’s loving this attention. If he misses a lot of school or Gets held back, he’s almost guaranteed a job as a pastor after school as they like keeping them dumb for Jesus!

My feeling about the shirt is somewhat like Aldo Raine’s view of the Nazi Uniform in the movie Inglorious Basterds. I want people to make their bigotry visible for everyone to see. That way you know who to avoid.

“One day you’re going to take that shirt off, and that I can’t abide”

that’s just obviously disrespectful. I’ve gone through the public school system here in Canada and free speech doesn’t fly in school if it’s disrespectful to your peers.

Reports from other students in the school (I’m from NS) indicate this particular student wore the shirt  for weeks straight, and tied it to a pattern of behaviour that included harassing exchange students about their religion ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, constantly telling people they’re going to hell, and other proselytizing.  Apparently he has a closet full of faith-based t-shirts, (some of which got compliments) and this one got a rise, so he settled on it as the only shirt he would wear.  

Andrew, if it’s ok for a Christian to go around and say that our lives  our wasted without a belief in Jesus, then it should be ok for others to defend their beliefs or non-belief. 
Tell me I’m wasting my life and I’ll damn well send it back to you. The only other alternative is to ban religion and such disrespect remarks within schools. 
But people would rather have the freedom of speech for children to say what they want in schools. So, if that is the way it is, and a war between religions beliefs occur, that is the price the people will have to pay. 

In my opinion, schools are a place to learn facts and knowledge, not promote one’s personal religion.

I am in no way offended by this. If he wants so bad to display his close-mindedness this proudly, let him. I don’t care.

It seems from reading the comments that the wearing of the shirt was part of a pattern of disruptive and harrassing behavior, rather than a one time thing. As part of his revolving wardrobe, I take few issues with the occasional wearing of his silly shirt. As part of a pattern of attention seeking and annoying behavior, trying to find just the right shirt to provoke just the right level of controversy and complaint as to get him (and his church leader) a radio interview, I do take issue with that. If indeed he was doing the additional things of which he’s been accused, under those circumstances I’d have to side with the school.

I also remember the “It’s a black thing, you wouldn’t understand” t-shirts. I didn’t think of the slogan as bullying at the time — just racist, offensive and kind of stupid.

Damn you mean we have our own courts too! Uppity Canadians 😛

My life is not wasted because I don’t have Jesus. His message is clear and siimple. This is not free speech as we see it in Canada, it is hate. You American don’t have a clue between free speech and hate speech. No wonder your country is so screw up. You have a host of talk show idiots who feeds on hate speech and you see it as acceptable. The world as to many Neanderthal as we can see by the comments on this very board. Until the day we as human understand the difference between free speeçh and hate speech, we will continue in our destructive ways instead of moving forward.

 I read the current code of conduct at the high school I attended, and they have 3 definitions (I paraphrase). 1. Joking – mutual fun, normal, and OK. 2. Teasing – antagonizing, non-mutual, annoying, just like it says on the tin. 3. Bullying – a physical and/or emotional threat carried on over time in which one student fears for their safety and diminishes their ability to concentrate in class or on their schoolwork at home.

It goes on to define what forms bullying can take, but that it is an intentional pattern of intimidation.

As far as, then, the dress code goes, this may be considered vulgar or rude, which is also subject to penalty, but free speech according to state and federal laws is not (supposed to be) infringed. That’s my school district in NY, USA, though. Schools are allowed to set their own rules and definitions, so this shirt may have violated the rules at his school. I would not go so far as to randomly associate a t-shirt with bullying. If someone had a t-shirt printed up: “I’m going to get you, Joe Schmo” with a picture of Joe, and the person wearing it was bullying Joe, and made up t-shirts for his friends, that would be a bullying t-shirt expression. Let’s not muddy the issues here with tone-trollish concerns on behalf of the youngsters.

Nothing like scratching around in a premeditated effort to find just that one thing which will piss the most people off, harping incessantly upon that one thing once you find it, and then crying persecution because you got exactly what you wanted, eh?
 
The more I read, and the more I have to look at his smug face, the more I think he worked really hard for and earned his suspension, and then some.  I see a tv preacher in the making.

Yes, agreed. I was wondering when I’d get to a comment on this. Smug is precisely the word.

Myself:

Even if, as you say, the t-shirt was the “last straw,” his suspension
should not give anyone any idea that it was only about the t-shirt.

Or even the content of his pattern of disruption. Disruption can be about anything, and this is anything. If there’s a penalty for disruption, it should not give anyone a reason to feel triumphantly persecuted anymore than someone drumming on the desks during class or ranting about cafeteria food in the library, or what have you.

 In junior high and high school? Really? I thought that restrictions was just for elementary schools.

Sorry about the double “of the behavior.” Formatting whoops!

You nailed it.   Kudos 🙂

That argument might hold water if we’re talking about elementary students.  But this is high school.  

 I like the idea of uniforms. I don’t feel that it restricts speech or expression if it applies to everyone. With so many t-shirts that might say something, who gets to decide which ones say appropriate things and which ones are inappropriate? There is a lot of gray area as to taste. Clothing is not the only form of expression, and I think it might help if there were more classes in logic and debate, a chance for students to use tools of language to express themselves. T-shirts can sometimes limit one’s expression by boiling it down to a one-liner and defines one’s beliefs by looking at them instead of opening up the lines of communication. It’s for that reason I really don’t like bumper stickers and I rarely choose to wear a t-shirt that says something, be it A+F, my college, I <3 Kitties, or I'm with Stupid. I'm not on board with a full-scale ban on them, but in the interest of developing young minds, I don't see anything wrong with uniforms so one learns how to communicate and how not to judge people before speaking and listening to them. This would be a great association with academic work that people seem to prioritize. Make it mean something, don't cut it off with certain arbitrary limitations on how some students may choose to dress.

Wearing it on your person says "this is something I stand for" and limits expression as much as it frees it, because people will form assumptions, which are really prejudices. If one allows for this t-shirt, one should allow for a variety of views, and there are cases for that as well. I just don't think uniforms are a punishment, unless they are itchy.

Substitute “Jesus” with any other interest or hobby and see if it’s still offensive.

“Life is wasted without football.”

“Life is wasted without reading good books.”

Religion is something people do, essentially a hobby. The child is declaring his love for his hobby and his belief that others are wasting their life unless they participate in the hobby he loves.

He may be wrong about that, but that is his opinion.

Then why can almost any other religion wear the clothes respected within their religion?  It is just because he is a Christian?  I noticed you mentioned no other comment about any other religion, with the exception of school NOT a place to billboard for Jesus.  Also, if it is specifically built for people to teach and learn facts and knowledge, then why is every other religion covered in the history books (in depth, I might add) but Christianity in the smallest paragraph on the very last page of the chapter?  I don’t know what religion you practice, or even if you do, but how many haters do you have.  The Christian community has spent decades “turning the other cheek” so as to not offend anyone or give them a reason to turn away from Christ.  The Bible is not even viewed a a respectful document of history that can be studied in school,  but I remember learning about other religions.  I encourage you to pick up a Bible.  “These three things will last forever-faith, hope and love–the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
People are so focused on I, that true love – love of your brother, no matter the color, just that he is another God created human being has been lost.
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” Romans 12:14
Also, no man is perfect – not even the best Bible reading/praying/Church going Christian – we all make mistakes.  We all need to realize that we should care about the eternal life of mankind.  No, not everyone will be reached by Christ’s Words.  For example, Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you pieces.”  That means I may absolutely pour my heart out to you, but you then might turn and make fun of me or persecute me until death.  
There are things that offend me, but I pray about them.  I do not outwardly to other men and women tear that human being to pieces.

The children are learning hate from the parents beliefs, and dude, religious warfare began well before this kid wore this shirt.  

From Bamagirl1:
The children are learning hate from the parents beliefs, and dude, religious warfare began well before this kid wore this shirt.

My reply: Religious warfare is caused by religions memes themselves, period.

Oh honey.  Quoting scripture will just make us ignore your entire comment.

 @BamaGirl1

Most of the garb that you would consider “religious” is actually cultural.  The koran does not require a Niqab or Hijab to be worn…this is a cultural thing. It has simply been absorbed into – and become a signifying meme of – their religion.

The same is true of the yarmulke (kippah) in judaism. It is simply a symbol of piety.

I believe Sihkism is the only religion that makes mandatory the wearing of a piece of religious clothing – the turban.

But to compare this lame T-shirt to a turban is nonsensical. Have christians been wearing “life is wasted without jesus” t-shirts for hundreds of years?

This kid is a dick, is taking advantage of the insulated high school environment, and is hiding behind the secular tolerance for religion.

AP

I worked in a couple of schools with teens for a number of years.  The more that I read the more that I find it easy to see that this boys views were not popular and that comments like these two before this are about just that – gossip and the decision that his unpopular opinions makes him deserving of being bullied and complained about. Students have the right to free speech.  If kids did not like what he was saying then they should have walked away, rather than finding a reason to target him and bringing the staff in on it.

The persecution complex here is on those that found offense to the slogan on this t-shirt. The request to change an item of clothing is expected to have a valid reason with it. This one did not.

This is not hate speech.  The slogan is not even insulting unless you are determined to read it that way.  That is on you, not the person wearing the shirt.

The persecution complex here is being displayed by those that insist on reading the t-shirt as being directed at them.

I worked in a couple of schools with behavioural and challenged students. This young man had an unpopular view. I very much doubt that he told others they were ‘going to hell’ without first their instigation. I would be careful of deciding who was bullying who here. My money would be on the other students and staff members deciding this vocal person with an unpopular view ‘deserved’ to be silenced.

False.
The shirt states that life is wasted without Jesus.
And who is the message directed at?
The reader.

That is complete nonsense.
The young man had a view that people’s lives were wasted without Jesus in them. 
He spoke it loud and clear with a large message on his shirt directed at the reader.
And now he’s getting a just response.
Don’t like it?
Too bad, welcome to 2012.

Whoever guest is – you mention ‘people like me’ and assume I am in a religious cult or group.  Why so? I was an atheist.  I am agnostic. I belong to no church or group. I have an atheist son who wears provocative slogans on his t-shirt and I see no difficulty with his declarations either as I do not see them as aimed at anyone. I am not that insecure. 

Richterio, I see insults of ‘stupidity’ start if one doesn’t agree with you.  That is a very tolerant attitude you are displaying.

From ardtyks: Richterio, I see insults of ‘stupidity’ start if one doesn’t agree with you.  That is a very tolerant attitude you are displaying.

My reply: They’re not insults, if I’m merely stating a fact. 

Until schools remove the right to wear pants with “juicy” or “sexy” written across the butts, AND the FCUK shirts, AND the shorty shorts that barely cover any sort of underwear, no one has any right to be offended by this t-shirt slogan.  

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/05/04/ns-jesus-shirt-student-school.html
And the school has decided to let him wear his shirt.

No school board is going to enforce burkas. It has to be reasonable.

While i appreciate the sentiment (I’m assuming your not being smug yourself), i feel my remark was pretty current considering the Texans (again?) have proposed a law requiring that schools stop teaching pupils to think critically, lest they stray from Jesus by thinking too much. Pretty much proves my point> (& yes i’m being a little smug) Peace.