USA colors on Cinco de Mayo

[CrashNburn]

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loca...-American-Flag-Shirts-Sent-Home-92945969.html

I know this is a little late but I just saw it today and thought it might be an interesting subject to discuss. To be honest, I'm very curious on everyone's take on this news piece.

To me, I dont think that those kids should have been forced to remove their USA colored clothing. My only problem is that they most likely did it to antagonize the mexican-american community. They shouldnt have to remove it though because I wouldnt see why that would be offensive. I'm not sure 100% how I feel about the situation but I hope it wasnt done out of ill intentions but at the same time this is america so i dont know.

Let me know what your thoughts are...

 

[Ugfugly]

It's stupid but it's being blown way out of proportion. The Principal made a mistake, they should admit to it. but also the parents need to just let it slide and not make so much bruhaha over it. It's much ado about nothing on both sides.

 

[Art_of_Crime]

are we so paranoid about being PC that we are sinking to this depth?
this is just ****ing stupid. People should be ashamed of themselves. I might have to break out my British flag shirt on the 4th of July.

 

[Addendum]

I've never worn a shirt with the flag on it because I've always thought they were pretty hokey.

However, if someone wants to wear one I'm not going to stop them. The principal was a dumbass.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Oh man, Live Oak. Local school back home where I'm from, my brother went there. So I know that there's a very large Mexican population there - they probably outnumber the whiteys.

This is absolutely ridiculous. First of all, if you aren't Mexican, then Cinco De Mayo isn't your holiday. So why would you go about your day any differently? If that's what the white kids would have worn on any other day, then there's no reason why they shouldn't have been able to wear them on Cinco De Mayo. In fact, not being hispanic myself, I almost find it offensive seeing all these whiteys out here in Tennessee treating Cinco De Mayo as nothing more than just a day to drink. You obviously don't know wtf the day truly stands for, and why it's a holiday. You're just using it as an excuse to get so **** faced drunk that you have a built in excuse for sleeping with that fat, slobbery, Jabba the Hutt looking beeze at the bar-b-que.

Secondly, I know DAMNED well that were it an American holiday, and a Mexican kid was sporting a Mexican flag, either on t-shirt, or any other form, there would have been absolutely no uproar at all.

From living in that part of the country for over 24 years before I finally moved to Tennessee (Morgan Hill, where this occurred, was no more than 20 minutes away from where I lived), I know that some of the Mexican population there thinks they own the place. They accuse you of racism if you don't believe in amnesty for illegal immigrants. In the schools, I learned more about Mexican culture and history than I did really any other culture or region. Obviously, Mexican history is very significant in terms of California's history, and I have absolutely no beef learning about Mexican history, but I mean, I have had classes back home that literally went out of their way to be "Mexican History" classes. Example? I took a class at my community college - a theatre appreciation class. And in that class, all we ever learned about was Mexican history, and the struggle that immigrants face when coming to this country. Also, Dia de la Muerte.

Also, any Mexican holiday that came up over the course of the school year, the entire school put on pageants and events to celebrate those holidays, but except for the occasional Chinese New Year celebration, the same efforts weren't put forth towards any other holidays. I mean, every year, the schools put on shows and pageants for Cinco De Mayo, but God forbid we take an hour out of the school day to learn about Irish history for St. Patrick's Day.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Mexicans are "offended" by an American flag???? Screw 'em, they can go the **** back to Mexico then.

This is BS.

 

[Addendum]

In fact, not being hispanic myself, I almost find it offensive seeing all these whiteys out here in Tennessee treating Cinco De Mayo as nothing more than just a day to drink. You obviously don't know wtf the day truly stands for, and why it's a holiday. You're just using it as an excuse to get so **** faced drunk that you have a built in excuse for sleeping with that fat, slobbery, Jabba the Hutt looking beeze at the bar-b-que.

So I guess you get offended when the same thing happens on St. Patrick's Day?

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

I guess honestly I have a different perspective on that, because I actually am Irish. But yes, the same principle applies.

 

[Addendum]

I'm an equal opportunity drinker on holidays.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

I don't mind people celebrating by drinking - but it's the idiots who have no idea wtf they are celebrating, and are just like "oh em geez, letz get teh drunx0rz"

And, in my post I said I -almost- find it offensive - I'm not offended, I guess I just find it stupid.

 

[Logan's Lady]

Just so everyone knows... Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's Independence day.
Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the battle in Pueblo where Mexico won against France.

It is NOT a Nationwide celebration in Mexico, it is celebrated mostly in Pueblo and in the United States. America took on Cinco de Mayo as another holiday to celebrate Mexican heritage. So we Americans celebrate a Mexican Holiday that not even all of Mexico celebrates, it doesn't make sense really.

Though I believe that students should be able to wear American flags and colors on any day of the year. If you read that article fully, the pricipal of the school asked the students specifically NOT wear them on Cinco de Mayo. While I feel the pricipal had no right to take away their freedom of expression, the kids who wore their American themed clothes did break the rule the principal set forth.

It's just like the when a principal sets forth a rule that kids can't wear shirts with marijuana pictures on them to school and someone does it anyway. Of course they're going to be told to take the shirt off or leave campus. Because they broke the rules.

Again, I don't think it was fair of the principal to ask they not wear the American colors in the first place. But I think he was doing it to keep those quiet who would go out of their way to show their dislike or racist tendencies against the Hispanic community. Which is what the kids did anyway... by wearing their shirts.

If people at that school were truely outraged by the princpal asking them not to wear American stuff on Cinco de Mayo, then they should have brought it up beforehand.

 

[Ugfugly]

So it's an excuse to get drunk so what? From what I've read Cinco de Mayo isn't even celebrated in all of Mexico. It's just really recognized in the US and Americans have made it their own celebration. So what?

That's basically all it boils down to here. So what? They wore a shirt with an American flag. On US soil. O M G.

I wear American flag t-shirts and I also wear Philippine flag t-shirts. If anyone tells me either is offensive I would show them something they can be offended with. There's nothing offensive about a country's flag, specially one we are not at war with.

 

[bored]

It was obnoxious for the kids to coordinate American flag t-shirts on a Mexican holiday, but the reaction to it has been way too great.

 

[CrashNburn]

If you read the entire article, it goes on to say that the students wore their flags on the following days after. I'm just curious about the honesty in that or if it was to cover their ass. I greatly dislike when something is misrepresented whether it be nationality, religion,etc....but it definitely happens which is a bummer. Regardless, it shouldnt have been made a big spectacle on anyone's part. An American flag or it's colors shouldn't be considered offense in any nature when you're on American soil...that's just kinda lame. That's kind of like saying "let us have our one day IN AMERICA"..."where you cant practice your appreciation for being American IN AMERICA". "Forget you're American for one day, thanks!" LOL

The Mexican-American students should be proud to be Americans too while at the same time, appreciating their heritage. I dont see a difference in the two when you are in America. To be honest, it kind of bothers me that those students seem to find American flags offensive. Makes you forget where you are...

I always wonder about questions like....How do we bring us all together? How do we make it work?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I see the kid's ignoring the principal's rules and wearing American flag shirts anyway as a legitimate form of protest.

and forbidding shirts with American flags on a Mexican holiday is just dumb. An American flag is automatically anti-Mexican? Dumb.

 

[CrashNburn]

i can definitely agree with that MD123

 

[DorkyFresh]

it's obvious to me that the students wore the flags to antagonize/annoy Hispanic students however they definitely shouldn't have been told to remove their shirts. this IS supposed to be a country of freedom after all...


...that being said, the best thing to do to a troll (American flag wearers) is ignore them so that way there is no battle to win/lose. don't give a troll the satisfaction of attention because they're all just attention ****es anyway.

 

[Addendum]

I always wonder about questions like....How do we bring us all together? How do we make it work?

Answer to the first question: Death brings us together since everyone dies
To the second: We won't.

 

[CrashNburn]

it's obvious to me that the students wore the flags to antagonize/annoy Hispanic students however they definitely shouldn't have been told to remove their shirts. this IS supposed to be a country of freedom after all...


...that being said, the best thing to do to a troll (American flag wearers) is ignore them so that way there is no battle to win/lose. don't give a troll the satisfaction of attention because they're all just attention ****es anyway.

I agree with you that it probably was done for that reason but the idea that it can even be considered a way "to antagonize/annoy Hispanic student" is one of the things that I don't understand. Yes we're free and yes, we're also in America. It shouldnt be an offensive thing though. When did the American flag become bad?

Those kids with their parents WERE kind of annoying lol.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

If you read the entire article, it goes on to say that the students wore their flags on the following days after. I'm just curious about the honesty in that or if it was to cover their ass. I greatly dislike when something is misrepresented whether it be nationality, religion,etc....but it definitely happens which is a bummer. Regardless, it shouldnt have been made a big spectacle on anyone's part. An American flag or it's colors shouldn't be considered offense in any nature when you're on American soil...that's just kinda lame. That's kind of like saying "let us have our one day IN AMERICA"..."where you cant practice your appreciation for being American IN AMERICA". "Forget you're American for one day, thanks!" LOL

The Mexican-American students should be proud to be Americans too while at the same time, appreciating their heritage. I dont see a difference in the two when you are in America. To be honest, it kind of bothers me that those students seem to find American flags offensive. Makes you forget where you are...

I always wonder about questions like....How do we bring us all together? How do we make it work?

And this is kind of my point.

It's one thing to embrace your heritage - something that you SHOULD do. Never forget your roots, your culture.

But then there's the element of forgetting where you are. If Mexico - as a nation, not a heritage - was so amazing, then why did you leave it in the first place to come to America? I don't understand why it's such a horrible thing to have pride in America - the country that we all live in, the country that you immigrated to.

Perfect example - all the protests back in '06 or '07 I think it was, protesting for amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Mexican protesters were out flying the MEXICAN flag - in a demonstration to gain AMERICAN citizenship. It's like, wtf?! Why would you fly a Mexican flag when you're trying to get American citizenship handed to you?

 

[Addendum]

I would like to forget american culture.

 

[The Original Bamfer]

That's ridiculous. So, when it's Christmas, if you don't wear red or green, I'm kicking your ass.

 

[Addendum]

christmas is nothing more than an extra day off from work. At least it is to me.

 

[Kelly]

We've had the same problem at my school in the past.

Our principal did the opposite, we had students draping the Mexican flag around their shoulders on May 5th, and he made them remove it.

IMO, my principal, and the principal in the above case....had a good learning tool had they stopped long enough to think about it, and not gone with a knee jerk reaction.

 

[Kelly]

And this is kind of my point.

It's one thing to embrace your heritage - something that you SHOULD do. Never forget your roots, your culture.

But then there's the element of forgetting where you are. If Mexico - as a nation, not a heritage - was so amazing, then why did you leave it in the first place to come to America? I don't understand why it's such a horrible thing to have pride in America - the country that we all live in, the country that you immigrated to.

Perfect example - all the protests back in '06 or '07 I think it was, protesting for amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Mexican protesters were out flying the MEXICAN flag - in a demonstration to gain AMERICAN citizenship. It's like, wtf?! Why would you fly a Mexican flag when you're trying to get American citizenship handed to you?

In the case of many of my students, it wasn't their choice to come here. They were brought here by family members, not by choice in some cases.