Quote from Ricter:
Well, many of us can no doubt point to holidays we don't think we should have to observe. I know I can, holidays that shut down banks and other useful services.
And this type of incident is not new, and this instance is not even severe. Our history is littered with uglier "growing pains" involving Chinese, Irish, Poles, etc.
Not sure the protection of free speech afforded us applies in this case, since it is not government infringing, but a school.
As for the school's method, perhaps not the best option, but, well, it's easy to criticise from afar, but when you've got an incident underway you contain it the best you can at the moment and try to sort it out when things have cooled down.
Public schools are run by the government, so the First Amendment applies. The courts have given administrators some leeway to ban expressions likely to cause disorder. Typically, they involve things like peace symbols or Confederate flags. I can't imagine any court in its right mind would rule that displaying an American flag is disruptive. After all, as someone pointed out, they probably had one on a pole outside the school.
A recurring problem in First Amendment cases is that the authorities typically let the bullies prevail and censor someone expressing an unpopular viewpoint on the ground of preventing violence. Courts have often stated that in such cases it is the government's responsibility to protect those expressing unpopular views, not censor them at the behest of thugs.
We really don't have freedom of expression if it only applies to popular, widely accepted ideas, or if it can be shut down by a mob with the government's assistance. The only unusual thing in this case is the principal's shocking notion that the American flag stands on the same legal footing as racial epithets. For that breach of judgment, he should be fired summarily.