GEONA, Ill. – Selflessness, American Pride, and self-discipline are concepts symbolized by the U.S. Marine Corp’s iconic crossed-rifles insignia.

So when Daniel McIntyre’s 14-year-old son Michael told him his teacher at Genoa-Kingston Middle School made him cover up his Marine Corps t-shirt that features the insignia, the father was flabbergasted, according to the Marine Times.

“He said, ‘Dad, I’m really upset about what happened at school today,’” Daniel McIntyre told the news site. “’My teacher threatened to suspend me because she thought my T-shirt was inappropriate and I needed to cover it up or turn it inside-out.’”

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“I just couldn’t believe it,” McIntyre said. “I was shocked. I thought, ‘What about that shirt would make her suggest it was inappropriate?’”

McIntyre told the Marine Times he has close ties with members of the military, particularly Marines, and “these guys are like heroes to me.”

“We support all branches of the military, but the Marines are kind of special,” he said. “They never stop giving to the country. They’re always looking for ways to do more for everyone else.”

The Marine Times reports that the crossed rifle insignia on the teen’s shirt dates to 1958, and is worn on the uniforms of corporals through master sergeants.

School officials in Genoa-Kingston Middle School presumably took issue with the rifles depicted on the shirt, and the reaction could be the result of an overly cautious school policy in an era of gun violence in public schools.

But other USMC shirts without the weapons have also drawn the ire of school officials. The Marine Times reports that “a Mississippi sixth-grader was told to remove his USMC shirt because administrators found the picture of the anatomically correct bulldog to be offensive.

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“The front of that shirt showed the dog’s head and body with the words ‘If you are not the lead dog.’ The back showed the dog’s rear with the words ‘The view never changes.’”

The shirt was given to 13-year-old Jordan Griffith by his older brother who is currently serving in the Marines.

We understand the need to maintain a distraction-free learning environment, but both of these cases seem like they’re more about political correctness than any legitimate reason for censorship.

The shirts symbolize pride in our country, and support for the bravest among us.

That’s far more important than appeasing students or faculty who may be offended by military rifles or a dog’s butt.