Oh I’m just kidding with the title folks!  But you have to admit when a small boy gets involved it’s ripe for the pickings.

A 10-year-old Arkansas boy name Will Phillips has decided that he cannot in good conscience pledge allegiance to the flag as long as the country for which it stands refuses legal equality to its GLBT citizens.

That stand has brought young Mr. Phillips anti-gay taunts in the lunch room, but admiration from around the country, reports a Nov. 5 Arkansas Times article.

The West Fork School District fifth grader clashed with a substitute teacher for his refusal to stand for the pledge, prompting a call to Will’s mother, Laura Phillips. When the principal acknowledged that Will has the right to refuse to say the pledge, Ms. Phillips asked that her son receive an apology–a request that the principal declined to honor.

I guess there are two things we can analyze here.  The first is that one would have to think this little kid is gay right?  OK I’m joking but it’s gonna be no laughing matter for young Will at school.  This kid lives in Arkansas?  Good luck buddy.  I mean we’re talking about a place where racism clearly still exists and the thought of gays is well…not like it is in the East Village.

I applaud the kid for standing up but talk about waves.  This thing is gonna be a major shit storm for that family.

And P.S.  What the hell was I doing when I was 10?  I believe it was collecting baseball cards and making fart noises.  I wasn’t refusing the pledge in class and I certainly wasn’t advocating gay rights, or any rights for that matter.

Shouldn’t a 10-year-old be focusing on their snack packs or something?

[Via Edge San Francisco]