

How my 'public' school violated my rights concerning Facebook - joshmlewis
http://joshmlewis.com/?p=246

======
crpatino
No, I don't think they did that to you. First, the standard disclaimer... I am
no lawyer.... yadda, yadda, yadda.

We need to put this in context. The 1st amendment exist with the purpose of
protecting _citizens_ who express opinions that contradict the official line
of the government. It is, above all, a political device.

I am not familiar with the burning flag case you mention, but I'd bet pennies
to dollars that the incident happened within the context of someone protesting
against some form of American policy (maybe foreign policies I'd guess). It is
not the random act that the first amendment protect, but the significance
behind that act, within the context of some citizen expressing disagreement
with the actions taken by elected government officials.

Your case is not so. It can be a number of things, but it is not a violation
to your political right to express dissent.

On the other hand, you need to learn the difference between "what you think
the law says" and "what interpretation of the law will held in court"; and
then compare it with "what the cost (in money, time and personal distress)
will be to defend such and such particular interpretation in court". The
school official was right. Maybe you are theoretically entitled to publish
those photos, but eventually you would walk into someone that would get pissed
off. Is it really worth it to pick a fight with such person?

And, maybe for you it would be... if you where somehow monetizing the page.
But the school has nothing to win and everything to loose in that situation,
so it is natural for them to align with that hypothetical pissed-off parent.

