Students punished for wearing American flags on Cinco de Mayo

The principal had the best intentions with what she did I assume. Unfortunately, because it was a passive protest its hard to fault the US flag wearing students as they didnt have any actual actions that were instigating violence or hate. IMO the correct way to handle the situation would have been to monitor how other kids behaved around the patriots and isloated and punished them. With a large school that would have probably been unreasonable - and since they didnt have a plan where they could block mexican nationalism or any nationalism in general it was easist just to appease the larger mass.

Regardless of how anyone stands on the subject of patriotism and national pride, this was handled innapropriately and has only served as a device to fuel racist tensions.

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I know its foxnews, but still a little more to the story
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/california-students-sent-home-wearing-flags-cinco-mayo/
"Lis Wiehl, a former federal prosecutor and a Fox News legal analyst, said the incident appears to a "blatant" violation of the students' First Amendment right to free speech. She noted that inciting violence is an exception to a First Amendment legal defense, but Wiehl said she saw no indications that the students provoked anyone.

"Unless I'm missing something, this seems like a blatant violation of the First Amendment," said Wiehl, adding that uniforms are not required at the public school. "And they're wearing, of all horrific things, the American flag.""

 

It's bullshit...

 

I normally don't watch O'Reilley, but I will be tuning in tonight for this story.

It's too funny NOT to watch reporting on this story.

 

Do you guys even know what Cinco De Mayo is about. It commemorates the mexicans defeating the French in the Battle of Puebla. Do you know why that war started?

Mexico was in huge debt to Spain, England, and France. They decided to defaault on all their debts, putting a 2 year moratorium on them. England and Spain accepted but the French said fuck you we want our god damn money so they invaded. Eventaully, mexico won the war.

That being said I don't see why anyone would be proud of what happened on Cinco De mayo.

 

That Mexico was briefly ruled by an austrian monarch put into place by the french is one of the oddest incidents in history, imho.

 

I find this ironic. Many Hispanic people are mesitzos, a mixture of indigenous people of the Americas and white conquerers. In Canada, they call these people (under a slightly different historical context, mind you) the Metis; they are classified as an indigenous people.

Anyhow, Canada recognises people similar to Mexicans as indigenous. Indigenous, as you know, means native to the land. Mexicans, as indigenous Americans, thus have more right to say that than you, as a presumably non-indigenous person, have to tell them to leave their native soil.

Just one of my thinkings/ramblings

 

its not a mexican holiday haha they dont even celebrate it in mexico and by your logic we shouldnt celebrate st pattys day or chinese new year

 

I think they probably wore them to incite a reaction, but by punishing them you're doing exactly what they want. It's like replying to trolls but in real life, if they had just let them wear the damn shirts they wouldn't get all this free publicity.

 

"All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."


fucking L.O.L.


These guys got all gussied up in the red white and blue to intentionally be douchebags. Everyone knows it. The administrators knew it. The dopey right wingers know it; everyone knows it. But alas, it's cannon-fodder "where did our cunnntry go ya'll??" for the Fox News crowd.

Expect to hear about this shit incessantly for the next 2 weeks if you have cable.

I recommend not having cable.

 

Yeah man, I find it hilarious too that wearing flags and colours, symbols of nationalism, is considered 'expressing your individuality'. By that logic, all of them brown shirts back in Nazi Germany were just expressing their individuality too! Rallying behind a flag is an expression of 'us' - 'we the people', 'American patriots' and whatever else. Not an individual thing, a group mentality that has the obvious implication that if you're not wearing a US flag shirt then you're not 'one of us'. Make of that what you want, but it's certainly not fucking individualism...

And I agree also that these kids were out looking to provoke. Ultimately, it's a trivial thing that is only an issue if the Mexicans make an issue out of it, but why the hell would you want to go out of your way to make it an issue by wearing a US shirt on a Mexican holiday... Fuck man, it's like wearing a Japanese flag to an ANZAC Day rally in Australia, you'd get torn to shreds. Ultimately, freedom of speech and expression blah blah blah, but there's a time and a place - this is 4th July, I believe. Yes, I certainly don't sympathise with these kids for what is plainly a confrontational, antagonistic action.

 

It's only not obvious if you want something to bitch about.

I usually stick to Jon Daily, South Park, and Futurama.

 

Wasn't one of the kids wearing a Confederate flag, and his argument was that he was being 'patriotic'?

I have nothing wrong with displaying one's pride in their nationality, but does he even realize how incredibly ironic his statement is?

 

Now if I was have'n a house party and these guys showed up-

 

i wish the one with the american flag shoes was in the front so he can show off his patriotic kicks...

 

On another note...

If these goddam kids wore UNIFORMS we wouldn't have any of these problems...

 

and I negged you because i wish you'd stop posting one analogy after another to a group of people who is never going to concede anything to you. there comes a time when you need to let go.

And you're no better. It's obvious this stunt was inspired by certain recent events in that state. You look ignorant or irrational trying to insist it wasn't. And comparing it to racism? What's next, the Godwin rule? The defining question is whether the kids had the right to be obnoxious in that way and the answer is yes, like it or not, they do and punishing them just gives them free media.

 

This was a poor showing of patriotism IMO.

Of all days, you and you're buddies are going to dress down in American flag gear and peacock around campus on Cinco de Mayo? Their is a underlying message in this and since the pussbags don't use a single word to truly express themselves they are now under a microscope.

There are better ways in getting a point across. Take a slice out of the lunchroom, write a paper, etc.

Schools are to be regulated folks and this principal was doing so in the best interest of the school as a whole.