Penny for your thoughts?
Is it a fashion statement or is it fashion making a statement?
This week was Cinco de Mayo and as the following article reports a group of students was sent home when they did not comply and remove their American flag bandannas and t-shirts. Were the teens disrespecting “Mexican Heritage Day”, just because their school has a large student population of Mexican American’s and they were prominently wearing the flag on their clothes? Is the school implying the “American” sentiment should have been removed for the day?
Lets say these students were making a statement. Was it a quiet demonstration or a pointed charge to incite? The students were asked to remove their patriotic apparel and refused; as they thought it would be disrespectful. So, it appears the main incendiary element was the event hitting the media and the school district trying to repair the damage.
It is very hard for many to fathom teenagers wearing patriotic apparel as something not to be proud of – frankly, considering other fashion choices. There are a lot of strong feelings about Arizona’s immigration law so sensitivity is understood…but to the point of taking away a person’s patriotic expression?
Is showing pride for America at any time a bad thing – especially when you are in America? Many Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo and “Mexican American” proudly has “American” attached to it.
Heritage is important – Mexican Heritage Day is celebrated and that is good but stating on that day one group has the right to support their heritage – the Mexican heritage and not the other – American heritage, only expands the already “great” divide.
The thread of patriotism for Americans and Mexican Americans runs longer then threads on a t-shirt or the color on any cotton – there in itself is a common ground to build on and celebrate. – Pen
Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees
By George Kiriyama
NBCBayArea.com
updated 23 minutes ago
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.
“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.
