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submitted 4 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Hong Kong officials have singled out at least two schools for singing the Chinese national anthem "too softly".

Teachers at a third school have been asked to help students "cultivate habit and confidence" in singing it. 

Hong Kong has redoubled the emphasis on "patriotic" education since 2020 when China cracked down on the city's pro-democracy movement. 

Officials said students' voices at the Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church Primary School were "soft and weak" and "should be strengthened". At Yan Chai Hospital Lim Por Yen Secondary School, teachers were told to "help students develop the habit of singing the national anthem loudly in unison".

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[-] Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works 59 points 4 months ago

Don’t American school kids all have to like salute their flag and pledge themselves or some shit each morning?

[-] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 56 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

It’s not mandatory but yeah. Some dumb fuck teachers and administrators have tried to make it mandatory but the courts never agree with them. It’s a weird Cold War relic I wish would just go away.

[-] rimu@piefed.social 18 points 4 months ago

No one is keeping track of how enthusiastically they do it or writing official reports on it or encouraging more of it. It's the interest the govt takes in it that makes it weird(er).

[-] Revelrous@sh.itjust.works 24 points 4 months ago

Not that long ago in my public school the most I could get away without detention was standing facing the flag and not speaking -and that was only because my homeroom teacher was fairly lax and I was the only objector.

Punishments for not participating were real and I can't say the school wouldn't have come up with a more formalized patriotism monitoring if more students rejected it as a movement. 🤷‍♂️

[-] Infynis@midwest.social 15 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

There are a lot of places in the US where ideas from the 1800s are still prevalent, because they're so lacking in diversity that there is no one to point out the crimes.

Growing up in rural northern Michigan, I wasn't allowed to take the class our drama teacher taught about making costumes because I was a boy. That same drama department, for a production of West Side Story, got spray tans for all the kids playing Puerto Rican characters. They're still known as one of the best drama programs in the area.

[-] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.ml 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Louisiana schools will soon all have the ten commandments posted too. They just passed that as law there.

[-] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 months ago

There's no way that doesn't get struck down though, right?

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

It really should be a slam-dunk. The constitution isn't unclear about separation of state and religion. At all.

I'm guessing the state knows this, but figured they'd get credit with the Gilead crowd for even trying.

[-] littlewonder@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

A cool org like the Satanic Temple will ask that their own seven tenants be displayed as well.

This will cause the Christian right to lose their minds. Who could have ever seen this coming? They will say that it will corrupt the children. They will not let the tenants be posted. Raging mobs of Concerned Christian Parents will yell at their school boards.

Cue lawsuits from the Satanic Temple.

Suddenly and quietly, the lawmakers realize that they haven't yet broken the courts completely and they'll roll back the ten commandments requirement. From the side of their mouths, they'll blame the evil, godless liberals for the downfall of the US. You see, it'd all be milk and honey if we didn't ban Jesus (you probably haven't heard of him, right?) from the children.

It's the same song and dance every fucking time. Please donate to the Satanic Temple and/or the ACLU so they can continue to push back against this bullshit.

[-] PlainSimpleGarak@lemm.ee 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

And when they are sued for it, if they haven't been already, it'll never hold up in court. Regardless of the state in question. Fortunately.

[-] DharkStare@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

It's something some schools do. It's not mandated by the government.

[-] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 9 points 4 months ago

To add onto what other commenters said:

  1. It isn't legally mandated, only customary
  2. If it was mandatory, such a mandate would probably be illegal
  3. Plenty of teachers and school officials (but not most) will be pissed/will punish you if you don't do the pledge.
[-] SOMETHINGSWRONG@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 months ago

Lmao @ the Americans getting all uncomfortable trying to weasel out of this

Yeah bullshit it’s “not mandatory,” how can you have such a basic denial of reality?

Totally optional, that’s why every time some kid understands and abstains, the teachers and other students bully them mercilessly, give them detention, suspension, expulsion, and it makes national news whenever someone actually tries.

I bet joining the NSDAP was fucking optional too, don’t try to deny your christofascism that everyone just accepts because somehow it’s better when America does it

[-] YeetPics@mander.xyz 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Idk, I didn't stand for the pledge and they didn't disappear me into a white van or exile me to Cuba 🤷

Maybe, and stop me if I'm going too far here, maybe you weren't aware it isn't forced. That's fine because now you've been handed a personal account of the opposite to be true, I'm sure you will reassess you stance 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[-] Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 4 months ago

Not all states or schools. At least my siblings and I never had to. We lived in 3 states and went do dozens of schools between the 4 of us.

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago

My kids don't say the pledge, they just stand there silently. I will Karen so fucking hard if they try to pull that shit.

[-] Zehzin@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

Well, no, but actually yes

this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2024
285 points (96.7% liked)

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