I would be greatly offended if any celebration of the country of France were to take place in the school I was attending. Well done that school district.

Nothing wrong with being proud of the country you live in or having celebrations-

I think these kids wanted 'merica day so they could dress up like this

appropriate given we are living in Teabagger 'Merica now.

and are a minority...

the younger generations to keep it alive for some time to come. Seen a lot in my years on this planet. Ideas like theirs go underground when they become so obnoxious that good people are willing to shout them down, then they morph into new configurations and surface to make another time miserable. Same old stuff.

So yeah, the school administrators essentially turned down the students' tongue-in-cheek "Hick Day."

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=merica

I say the kids planning this were looking for a fight....

"Senior Stephanie Livingston thought the school’s decision was hypocritical, given that students celebrate the Mexican culture holiday Cinco de Mayo. She also believed prohibition of “’Merica Monday” was an affront to students and their family members who have served in the Armed Forces."
"By doing this the administrators disrespect the U.S. Constitution and veterans like me,” Craig Hewitt wrote on the Fort Collins High School Facebook page"

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20140203/NEWS01/302040051/Ban-on-Merica-Day-celebration-by-Fort-Collins-school-draws-ire

Honest question.

I would imagine its the intent behind the displays rather than the actual format of the displays. Much as the when the same parents frustrated about the denial of a Celebration of Hicks and Rednecks were upset by the Pledge of Allegiance being being read in French and Spanish. Or the new uproar about 'Merica Days replacement-- My Country Monday.

Intent rather than content.




Not that I care one way or the other about the emotional investments people place in imaginary lines on a map...

And, for what it's worth, Ft. Collins, CO is anything but "Hicks and Rednecks" (not that people should have less consideration because they're "hicks and rednecks&quot .

One HS teacher says all his students would know that leaving out the "A" turns it into a joke on America. But the RW adults are too red-faced with fury to realize they've been had.

One commenter said there already is an "America Day" celebration, but that the students wanted a "'Merica Monday" added. So the administration wasn't against celebrating America; they were trying to avoid "Hick day."

That's closer to the pronunciation, and offers many possibilities for dress-up.

Yep, it's as we thought.


Fort Collins High School Principal just posted this email to the parents at the School.

From: "Eversole, Mark - FCH" <marke@PSDSCHOOLS.ORG>
Date: February 4, 2014 at 10:32:59 AM MST
To: FCHPARENTS@LSERV.PSDSCHOOLS.ORG
Subject: Recent Fox Media Issue
Reply-To: "Eversole, Mark - FCH" <marke@PSDSCHOOLS.ORG>
Dear Parents:

We apologize for our recent decision regarding My Country Monday and that it was seen as not patriotic. This could not be further from the truth. The original intent of Spread the Love week at Fort Collins High School was to unify the student body.

When students first proposed Merica Monday, we felt that it was against this unifying theme and disrespectful to our country. Merica is a slang term that is often used in a negative stereotypical way to describe life in the United States. This is what led us to discuss alternatives with students.

We were surprised that our community interpreted our actions as anti-American. We are a proud public school in America and support many activities to celebrate our great nation. Due to this outpouring of sentiment and misinterpretation of our intentions, we have decided to rename the first day of Spread the Love week to America Day as opposed to Merica Day.

We look forward to enjoying the creativity and energy of our students as they celebrate their patriotism next week.

Sincerely,

Mark Eversole
Principal

and let the kids celebrate it as RW hicks, to prove a point.

but i'm not at all shocked by the freak out that this drew. i am also not surprised that the rag did not try to find anyone with an opposing view.

i have lived in fort collins since i was a toddler and am embarrassed by my city sometimes.

but still not as progressive as Berkeley or Boulder though?

but we are certainly more progressive than what you find to the east.

did you read the article linked at the bottom of this one? people here went apeshit about students saying the pledge of allegiance in spanish and arabic last year.

our former sheriff was on billo at least once blathering about the war on christmas and our current sheriff was one of those who joined the lawsuit over the new gun laws the lege passed last year.

it's not too bad here, but still a lot of conservatives.