Kahron Spearman
A TikTok video, now posted to Reddit’s r/worldnewsvideo page, shows a student calling out her teacher for hanging a “blue lives matter” flag on the classroom wall.
The video was initially posted by TikToker @samaiyahcasey but was recently taken down from the platform. The footage shows a packed classroom with clear shields separating the students’ desks. The sincere student, a white, blonde girl, is spitting hard facts from the middle row.
“As a teacher, you’re here to educate students,” she says of the “blue lives matter” flag. “And putting up a political flag that some people might get offended by, that is not responsible of you as a teacher.”
Other students’ responses cover whatever else was said as they explode into laughter, surprised looks, hoops, and hollers.
“OK, it is only Monday. It is only Monday,” one student says, shocked at what he just heard.
The smiling teacher, a white man, can be seen smugly holding his coffee with a mask hanging from his ear.
Additionally, hanging beside the so-called “Thin Blue Line’ flag is a Gadsden flag, also known as a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. Named after slave owner Christopher Gadsden, it was introduced during the American Revolution and has since been co-opted by Tea Party adherents, gun rights advocates, and various far-right and white nationalist groups.
u/DoctorRin commented: “High five to that student and to her parents. She said it with tact and truth. School is supposed to be for learning the subjects.”
“I think don’t bring your own politics into a school setting, especially with the current climate being so volatile,” replied u/R_Scoops. “He must have known it would provoke reactions.”