“Why do people bring lawsuits for such trivialities?” Judge Richard Posner, a notoriously tough jurist, asked Dymkar during a three-judge hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit Thursday. “Have they been harmed, these ‘Gifties’?”
The Chicago Sun-Times covers a four-year class action battle brought by the mother of one of 24 students over their punishment for wearing a shirt perceived as insulting regular students (which the “gifted” students charmingly called “tards.”) The oral argument is indeed entertaining.
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The ‘gifted’ students were gifted with arrogance, conceit, malice, ill will, and lack of compassion…
Their reprehensible behavior toward their peers will be recalled in future Google searches. If these geniuses apply to my med school where I’m on the admissions committee they will fare poorly.
This case looks like it’s on all fours with Tinker v. Des Moines,(and compare Cohen V. California.)
That being the case, the School Board should apologize and settle.
As for the smart kids lack of “compassion ” for the dumb kids, smart kids would have more compassion if the dumb kids would stop physically attacking them on a regular basis. (That was the school boards excuse for banning the shirts, to prevent dumb kid violence against the gifted kids.)
But the real Overlawyered.com takeaway quote is this one.
I wonder if nevins would expell any student wearing a med-school tee shirt. I suspect that most of the students in his school are proud to be there. By definition most people are average and compassion for them would be arrogant.
I hope you hold the same feelings towards anybody who graduates your med school and uses an honorific like “doctor” or “M.D.”…after all, such a thing might make it seem like they were saying they had accomplished something using their intellect that the average person has not, thus showing “arrogance, conceit, malice, ill will, and lack of compassion.”
These were 8th grade science nerds. But it sounds like you’re the one who needs to grow up, nevins. I don’t respect them dragging this lawsuit along for this long, but threatening their college futures because you hate science nerds makes you the bully. Don’t worry, though, I bet by the time they got into that gifted program and actually got to hang out with fellow intellectuals they had long since learned to deal with ostracism and unfounded hatred.
Good Luck Nevins (in advance) to survive a similar lawsuit.Is this blog entry an evidence ? Any way be ready to get out of the admissions committee.
Tinker involved a high school. This was an elementary school. That said, Posner seemed to be making several arguments from the bench inconsistent with even Tinker, but the plaintiffs’ attorney was too dumbfounded to respond properly.
Re: Mr. Fulford. I’m not certain what the link about bullying is about, it certainly does not relate to the actual experience of any of the participants in the t-shirt case.
Re: Paul. Using the title ‘doctor’ in the clinical setting is not intended to identify who in a particular situation is smarter. It does however signify my role in their care, that I have met certain qualifications set by the state and (hopefully) have clinical privileges at the hospital where I work with appropriate insurance. Outside of work my wife (also a physician by training) and I go by the traditional Mr. and Mrs. (we even quaintly share the same last name).
Re: Mr. Nuesslein. Expel kids for wearing shirts identifying their school afiliation? No. If somehow they managed to create a shirt that somehow connotated that the adjacent students of the nursing school were the ‘tards’ then we would have a talk in the office. Any expulsion would only be for persisting in behavior that increased strife and ill will on the medical campus.
Re: Mr. Anirban. Is this blog an evidence you ask. Maybe, but an evidence of what? A judgement made before any facts are known is prejudice, but judgement based upon facts is fair. All information legally obtained by a reviewer is fair game.
The problem is that the students did not make their T shirt design offensive enough. If it read F*** the tards then it clearly would have been protected free speech.
When I was growing up (in the 1950s) a saying that was in vogue was “Don’t make a federal case out of it.” Obviously, that is no longer the case (assuming it ever was). The ACLU in particular goes out of its way to sue school boards that ban T-shirts with “controversial” saying as long as the comments are on the Left of the political spectrum.
From the newspaper article (I cannot get the circuit court URL to open) I do not see how the T-Shirt was objectively offensive. Only if you read into it that it is a backhand slap at the regular students could you find it “offensive”. However, if that was the case then no student should be allowed to wear his football or other sport jacket in school. After all we wouldn’t want them to laud their superior athletic skills over the non-athletes? Clearly this is a tempest in a teapot and it should never have gotten to the courts.
As for Mr. Nevins who refuses to use the title Dr. so as not to make the masses feel inferior I can only say bully for you. We are all so grateful for you patronizing attitude.
“When we were in eighth grade “[Dymkar] told us this could take a while, maybe it wouldn’t be resolved until we got to college,” said Rebecca Darugar, also a Lincoln Park IB senior. “I thought she was kidding.””
I vividly remember a 6th grade “weekly reader” that featured the vietnam war. We students really thought it was some sort of a joke! We were all war babies from WWII and the usa and allies kicked some justifiable ass back then.
Our teacher, Mr. Wilson, one of the few teacher I can actually remember by name in by total education, carried a sad look and made a haunting comment for us. Not at the time mind you, but his comment came to pass, thus the potential haunting. His comment?
I’ve no doubt that some of you may possibly become involved in this war!
We roared with laughter.
Well we as 1971 HS graduates did indeed face voluntary or involuntary induction to the armed services and Viet Nam was the non preferred destination.
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Being called a Tard, even if not exactly or remotely having evidence of actually being a challenged/retarded person.
OK
Next trick would be what?
If one actually brought a suit for such, then the title is for sure earned! As such no basis exists for further action, suit dismissed.
Tard plantiff pays all expenses of the defendant as well as all court costs!
TODAY!
“If one actually brought a suit for such, then the title is for sure earned!”
The Catch-22 of defamation law – most of the time, it’s better to ignore defamation than to file suit and publicize it.