''I eventually, very solemnly, with a little bit of malice in my voice, said [to my substitute teacher], 'Ma'am, with all due respect, you can go jump off a bridge.... I've grown up with a lot of people, and good friends with a lot of people that are gay. And I really -- I think they should have the rights all people should, and I'm not going to swear that they do.... They've taken from what I said, an assumption that I'm gay, and in the halls and the cafeteria, I've repeatedly been called a 'gay wad.' ... I really don't know: A discriminatory name for homosexuals.''
Will Phillips, a 10-year-old boy in West Fork, Arkansas, who has opted not to stand for or say The Pledge of Allegiance. He feels that gays, because they are not allowed to get married, are not included as part of a nation that provides ''liberty and justice for all,'' plus there's a lot of racism and sexism. It is reported that Phillips skipped the 4th grade, and he says he wants to be a lawyer. His father says his son sat for four days facing criticism, until he lost his temper with his substitute teacher. (CNN)
''Yes, my son is 10. But he's probably more aware of the meaning of the pledge than a lot of adults. He's not just doing it rote recitation. We raised him to be aware of what's right, what's wrong, and what's fair.... The principal said we have to talk about Will, because he told a sub to jump off a bridge. My first response was: Why? He's not just going to say this because he doesn't want to do his math work.''
Laura Phillips, mother of 5th grader, Will Phillips, who refuses to say the pledge in part because gay men and women are not allowed to get married. Will tell the Arkansas Times that ''Freedom of speech. The freedom to disagree,'' is what being an American represents. (Arkansas Times)
