The headline below signifies confusion and disregard for who we are as a nation. If you have to ask the question: “Do we choose freedom of expression or prohibit that freedom out of “respect” then the whole idea and purpose of our American culture and heritage is lost. Anyone who thinks about that option for more than 30 seconds can come up with a few scenarios where option B is absurd.
First of all, in this instance, Cinco de Mayo Day promotes racism. Second, many of the celebrants are illegal aliens, breaking the laws of and disrespecting their host country. Third, citizens who desire to express their patriotism by displaying the American Flag have every right to do so – especially on Cinco de Mayo day.
If it were my kid, I would be livid. If I was aware that he had to go home to change, I would be the one to change my shirt and join him in the school hallways with my American Flag shirt. I would then be approached by security who would direct me to leave. I would hold my voice recorder toward his face as he explained why I must leave. He will explain that we are not allowed to have T-shirts displaying the American Flag. I will ask him where that requirement is written. He will say the requirement is not written – that the Ameican Flag is provocative. I will ask why is an American Flag considered provocative in the United States? He will say because it is Cinco de Mayo day and we must respect that holiday. I will ask why do we have to respect someone else’s holiday by losing our God-given Constitutional rights. He will then lose his patience with me, if he hadn’t before this point, and escort me off campus.
At that point I seek a good pro-bono civil rights attorney.
School administrators can be such politically-correct, knee-jerk automatons. They don’t hesitate to stifle the rights of the majority to promote cultural diversity. Bastards!
Freedom of expression or cultural disrespect on Cinco de Mayo?
By GEORGE KIRIYAMA
Updated 6:26 AM PDT, Thu, May 6, 2010
On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population.
Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.
"They said we could wear it on any other day," Daniel Galli said, "but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today."
The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus.
The ill-advised administrators ought to do their jobs and make it clear to the culturally diverse students what America is all about. They obviously did not do their part to teach their students to respect American values. This is the same mentality that our government and media have that cause them to pander to out of control Islamists in this country. Respect Cinco-de Mayo. Respect Islam. Riiiiiight. Let those who celebrate do their own respecting.
The students were told Cinco de Mayo Is Not the Day for Patriotism. "They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," Dominic Maciel, Galli's friend, said.
The boys really had no choice, and went home to avoid suspension. They say they're angry they were not allowed to express their American pride. Their parents are just as upset, calling what happened to their children, "total nonsense."
"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mom, said. "All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."
But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.
"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."
As for an apology, the boys and their families say, "fat chance."
"I'm not going to apologize. I did nothing wrong," Galli said. "I went along with my normal day. I might have worn an American flag, but I'm an American and I'm proud to be an American."
The five boys and their families met with a Morgan Hill Unified School District official Wednesday night. The district released a statement saying it does not agree with how Live Oak High School administrators handled this incident.
I can imagine the School District Official’s conversation with the School Administrators after that meeting: “Brownie, you did a heck of a job. I HAD to disagree with you in pubic to avoid a backlash from those right wing fanatics.”
The boys will not be suspended and they were told they can go back to school Thursday. They may even wear their red, white, and blue colors again, but this time, the day after Cinco de Mayo, there will be no controversy.
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