When you’re a pirate, some dangers just come with the territory: scurvy, grog hangovers, a walk down the plank at sword point. But being kicked out of school for a day?

Bryan Killian doesn’t think that’s a fair reaction to his decision to come to North Buncombe High School wearing an eye patch and an inflatable cutlass.

“I feel like my First Amendment was violated,” Killian, 16, said. “Freedom of religion and freedom of expression. That’s what I tried to do, and I got shot down.”

His “pirate regalia” is part of his faith — the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

His faith? Give me a fucking break. Anyway, one of the commenters hit the nail right on the head and did so with stunning precision:

When your entire “faith” was created purely to piss off Kansas conservatives, your legitimacy tends to take a hit. This is not so much freedom as it is freedom to be a smartass.

Comment by Aggie20x

I don’t think the kid deserved to be suspended, but enough of the high-minded bullshit. The kid is a smartass. Schools have dress codes, and I’m sure pirate regalia isn’t acceptable. Anyway, here are a few more commenters who agree that calling this religious discrimination is quite stupid:

Freedom of religion? Give me a break. You have the freedom to express your religion in PRIVATE and in public as long as it doesn’t offend others (ie why you’re not allowed to have school-sponsored prayers in class anymore) or cause a distraction (cutlass and eyepatch = distraction to others). I say the kid is just trying to get attention.

Comment by Kevin

And this one:

The boy needs to realize when being a smartass isn’t the best policy. And it looks like all he was doing was trying to be a smartass. That’s what school is for, learning those lessons of life that would otherwise get your butt canned.

Comment by gadlaw

I was initially aggravated by the connections of religion to suspension, but I’ve come around. It appears that not everyone is swallowing the pablum.

via Dvorak

Technorati Tags: religion, flying spaghetti monster, smartass