( The Root) — Sixteen-year-old students shouldn't wear shirts that show support for Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney — it would be the equivalent of a black person wearing a KKK shirt.
This was the supposed logic of a teacher in Philadelphia recently when a young girl wore a Romney-Ryan tee to geometry class. "I think she did it because she's against Mitt Romney," says Samantha Pawlucy, the sophomore who has accused her geometry teacher of ridiculing her and causing students to do the same.
I've been fairly critical of the GOP presidential hopeful, but even I can't co-sign this. If the student's version of events is true (the teacher claims she was joking), this is completely wrong. If the student had walked into class wearing an "I Enjoy Vagina" shirt, then yes, I could see a teacher saying you can't wear that. However, this is an overstep by the teacher that doesn't actually help anything.
The only folks who have pushed this story so far are Fox News and other outlets looking to make Obama and Obama supporters look like mean, evil bullies. If you support the president and are in a position of power over anyone, you shouldn't abuse it like this. I'm genuinely hoping there is more to this story — that the student is skewing something more innocent. Otherwise I find myself agreeing with Fox News.
And let's be honest — that's a horrible way to start your day.
Elon James White is a writer and satirist and host of the award-winning video and radio series This Week in Blackness. Listen Monday to Thursday at 1:30 p.m. EST at TWIB.FM and watch at TV.TWIB.ME/LIVE. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr.