Students Sent Home for Wearing American Flag Clothing
For a while I was worried that the political correctness craze had died down, until I saw a story about high school students being sent home for wearing clothing that had the American flag on them to school on Cinco de Mayo. What were these kids thinking?
Everyone knows that on Cinco de Mayo you are supposed to wear clothes that are in line with the spirit of the holiday. And it doesn’t matter if you are in Mexico or the United States. Wearing a shirt with the U.S. flag on it is of course not a good idea. Perhaps if the kids had also worn sombreros along with the flag clothing, things would have gone a bit differently.
Watch the news video.
Loading ...
Free speech is only free if it complies with the liberal agenda.
Same goes with the conservative agenda. Freedom of speech is only applicable if it fits with the local government’s agenda: liberal, conservative, doesn’t matter. If someone is offended by what is being said and tries to censor what is being said, it becomes a freedom of speech issue.
Couldn’t have been said any better.
I was speaking to Joe…and George, you are so full of chit, its coming out of your mouth.
your mom’s so full of c..k it’s cumming out her ass.
“Wearing a shirt with the U.S. flag on it is of course not a good idea”
WTF?
Sarcasm is wasted on idiots.
and life is wasted on you.
I wore underwear with the American flag on them. Thankfully, I didn’t get caught.
Male or female?
This is a valid question because Bob is a name that can apply to females as well as males. Astute attention to detail Mr. Bill Dong. BTW what kind of a name is Bill Dong, your parents must have hated you, maybe as much as i do.
Yes, Joey, I’m sad to say that my parents hated me very much. They never really supported me. I suppose that’s why I love your mother so much – her massive frame can support every thrust, no matter how pounding.
Dear Bill Dong,
You are the epitome of maturity. It is people like you that give me faith in humanity. You are not only intelligent enough to recognize the possibility of Bob being a female name, but when congratulated for it, you respond with an insult to my mother (who by the way is a woman of impeccable morality and would never associate herself with a man as slow witted and immature as yourself).
Thanks! ; )
Dear joey,
Your sense of humor is only outmatched by the proper capitalization of your name. Your mother must be proud, being so morally upright, that you would not stoop to the low depravities of sarcasm in which I delve.
But I must assure you that, while I may occasionally indulge myself in a That’s What She Said or Your Mom joke, my humor can, at times, be as highbrow as your own. For instance, my own mother is also woman of impeccable taste: she only f..ks rich men who are twice her age (or 1/4 her age, but that is a different matter entirely – best left unmentioned to the Board of Education).
Though, I hear she is obsessed with the show, “Friends.” So, I’m certain that you two would get along just fine. Only, I must warn you: she does like to call her bedtime companions by my name. Old habits and all.
Your welcome! ;-)
Mr. Dong,
You create an interesting algebra problem. If Bill’s mother only f..cks men twice her age or 1/4 her age, how weird is that?
Let’s say your mother is 40. That means she’s getting boned by 80 year olds at the senior center. Good for her! But the 10 year olds she’s involved with really spell out trouble for her down the road. Hmm. For the sake of your family, I hope that’s not it. Have a talk with her, maybe.
OK, so let’s assume your mother the cougar only digs legal boys. 18 and up…so, she’s 72 at least. Wow! A total GILF, I guess. Good for her. Hook me up! I’m a bit old for her, though, as I’m well over 18. But not old enough that she’d be after my money, like those rare 144 year old millionaires.
Best thing I read on this site, ever.
Ryan, you spell “f..ks” funny. I mean, you spelled it like f..cks. So… is that like “Foocks?”
But more on the point, no she definitely goes for the ten-year-olds. It’s kind of disturbing, but really not her fault, you see. The education system is so f..ked up that now everyone treats teachers like they have AIDs, so the only people who will f..k teachers are students.
And old rich men who really do have AIDs.
Oh, and your mother. But she has more genital disorders than Michael Jackson.
this is beautiful everyone in my office spun around to see what i was laughing so hard at!
A sombrero would have been an insult too, sort of like the chihuahua selling tacos. Wearing the American Flag is supposed to be defamatory as the flag used to be a sacred symbol of freedom and democracy (both of which no longer exist).
To be fair, if you watch the video, it appears that the students were flaunting the American flag. One kid’s shirt WAS an American flag, one kid wore shoes that were covered in a depiction of the flag, one kid wore swim trunks that were covered in the American flag, and one kid wore a bandanna. So it seems to me that the decision to wear clothes depicting the American flag on an important Mexican holiday in a community that is largely Hispanic (their school is 40% Hispanic) was deliberate. Now, I’m not saying they should have been sent home for it, but they are FAR from innocent in this.
Now, Auzzy, consider that the opposite of ‘innocent’ is ‘guilty’. Of what offense, may I ask, were these kids guilty?
Really no different from the Hispanics who wave Mexican flags at rallies on Mayday. And really, this is America, its a shame these kids were sent home. Where is America’s backbone gone to?
Further, would these articles of clothing be so, er, offensive on any other day of the year? If not, why not? If so, why?
apparently its not that important since not even mexico celebrates it and we are the only country who does.
So these kids are somehow at fault because they needed a reason to wear the flag of their country? Even if they were rabble-rousing, that’s kind of the POINT of the 1st Amendment, rather than just the byproduct.
The beauty of free speech is that you don’t need an excuse to flaunt ideas, ideals, or messages. It is incumbent upon the LISTENER to disregard any objectionable message, not on the SPEAKER to shut the hell up.
On that basis, I must regrettably opine that you, Auzzy, are an idiot, and possibly an a**hole as well. You too, Bill Dong.
Dear god!, Joey thought my name was bad. Mr. Phule, I must inquire as to whether I am to be called an asshole for exercising my First Amendment right to -opine- that it was likely in the best interest of the health of the citizens of whatever f..ked up city this was we are discussing for the “rights” of three or four troublemakers to be encroached upon so that a vast amount of bloodshed might be avoided.
I wouldn’t go so far as to insinuate your stupidity, and so will assume that you know damn well that had these teenagers been allowed to carry on all day, at some point violence would have ensued.
And of course, when that violence hit the news, it would have fallen on many a racist prick’s ears as “Hispanics Beat Up Flag-Wearing Whites.” Which would then have led to, in my estimation, at least four innocent hispanic home being burnt in retaliation.
I must now assume, my dear U. Phule (is your first name Ulysses or Unwerth?), that you are a frequent viewer of “The O’Reilly Factor,” and as such will understand what I mean when I say that you, sir, are a f..king blooter.
kthxbai. :)
Bill Dong is right. And maybe next year, all the white kids will avert their eyes from the majority Hispanics–just for the one day–in the interest of keeping the peace.
they are AMERICAN students, living & going to school in AMERICA. their school does not have a policy against wearing clothing depicting AMERICA on any other day. cinco de mayo is a MEXICAN holiday that originated in MEXICO. i find it wonderful that any hispanic students wanting to celebrate the holiday can choose to wear clothing depicting the MEXICAN flag while attending school in AMERICA. i find it despicable that AMERICAN students were threatened with suspension for wearing AMERICAN clothing in AMERICA. those school officials are idiots.
Nikolai M. (that’s a really cool name, by the way), I’m honestly completely confused as to what you’re trying to say.
Mrs. H., I find it wonderful as well. I find it very confusing, though, that you completely miss the point of the school’s decision – to protect the students involved.
It’s like saying I should let my imaginary teenage son walk into the ghetto wearing a tux and screaming “Motherf..king n..gers!” because it IS his First Amendment right to do so.
That would be incredibly stupid. I’d personally have no problem with the Police pulling him out of the ghetto and telling him he can’t go in there. In fact, that’s probably what they’d do – because when it comes down to it, you’re also guaranteed a right to life, which sometimes has to be prioritized over your right to liberty when you’re a stupid motherf..ker who wants to start s..t.
And please watch the f..king video, woman. It specifically stated that they were NOT suspended – and never said they were threatened with it. Get your facts straight, bitch.
Dear god!, I can’t believe I’m participating in this conversation!
In other news, I’m going to see Mickey Rourke pet his chihuahuas in IM2 tomorrow.
Dear Bill Dong:
Thanks for complimenting my moniker since, clearly, you know from good names. Now, to clarify my position for the man who has previously stated that “sarcasm is wasted on idiots.” (Let’s hope irony fares better, eh old friend?).
I’m a Canadian living in Canada and as such I concede that there is an entire dimension to this story that I’m just not getting. It would, however, be very un-Canadian of me to hold my peace just because I don’t know the whole story. So here goes: the way I see it–and Mr. Dong, please tell me if I’m incorrect–American citizens living and schooling in the USA ought to have the right to wear whatever/wherever/whenever they want. I’ve seen poor sartorial choices over the years, but I saw absolutely nothing offensive in what the kids in that video were wearing. I don’t even see an issue with one, or a few, or all of the students in that school dressing up like Uncle Sam from the Army recruitment posters, on Cinqo de Mayo, or any other day of the year. The fact that school admi’n recognized a potential racial incident waiting to happen speaks to a bigger race-relations problem, the likes of which we’ve never seen way up here in the snowy North. And if you, Bill Dong, can fathom why it might be understandable to beat these kids up for wearing their nation’s colours to school on May 5th or any other day of the year, then maybe you’re the one with the problem.
No, you’ve got it right. I’m smart enough to know that Canadians aren’t as stupid as they look.
I completely agree that the teens wearing Old Glory on every square inch of their body should have no negative reactions from anyone – hispanic or caucasian. But I’m not naive enough to believe that because it shouldn’t means it won’t.
So, as an educated person (I finally graduated from the fourth grade last year), I must use logic and ask whether it is better to “fight racism” by pretending it doesn’t exist, or if it’s better to not stir up racism by sending some troublemakers home.
I think it’s interesting that you point out that, in essence, the teenagers wearing the flag any other day wouldn’t be a problem, so it shouldn’t be on Cinco de Mayo. The problem with that logic is that it brings up the question, “Why DIDN’T the teenagers wear the flag any other day?” I very much doubt that these happy little patriots wear the flag daily, or even on any other major holiday – probably not even the 4th of July.
And the 40% hispanic population of their happy little town knows that as well. And that’s why it’s a big deal – because of the subtext. The subtext is “This is America, take your f..king Mexican holidays back to your own country, you illegal motherf..kers!” Which is why I wouldn’t be surprised at any hispanics/Mexicans who took offense to this and ultimately reacted in a violent manner.
I’m not at all saying that it’s right for them to do so. I’m saying that it would have happened had the principal/vice principal not sent the troublemakers home.
It’s just like showing up to a dead Marine’s funeral with protest signs saying “Thank God for dead soldiers!” It’s all well and good that you have a right to speak your mind, but if you’re stupid enough to do it in a place where you absolutely know it’s going to cause trouble – and you do it FOR that reason – you deserve the consequences. In most cases, the consequences would have been a motherf..king beat down. In this case, the school cared more about the teenagers’ lives than their phony display of selective patriotism.
And by selective, I mean “I only show up to school with the American flag when I know it will piss off some Mexicans.”
@ Bill Dong:
Where you and I differ is in our respective definitions of ‘troublemaker.’ You presume that the only time those kids—even those of mixed latin ancestry— wore anything patriotic was on an occasion when it might cause controversy and, if you’re correct, I might be inclined to agree with you. That be makin’ trouble, all right. However, like most Canadians, I just assumed every American wore a flag on some part of their body every day. What’s interesting to me is your position. Rather than say “too bad we can’t all get along,” you said “whew! Good thing those little cracka’s didn’t get what they had coming, else some innocent Latinos might have suffered for it later on.”
And for the record Bill, I look even smarter than I am. Whatever that means.
being a non American can someone explain the fuss about the t shirts. i live in the tropics we have less carbon monoxide down here and as a result all this drama is beyond me.
My dear Nikolai (may I call you Nikolai? Or maybe Nikki?),
I understand your point, and do agree that it’s shameful that we can’t get along here in America. My response, however, is to the fact that almost no one is bitching about the hispanics being offended, nor are they mourning the fact that violence may have been a result of teenagers wearing American flags on their clothing (which is a very rare thing, for what it’s worth).
Instead, everyone is bitching at the school for stepping in to avoid trouble. They are insisting that the school is out to follow some sort of far-left politically correct agenda and “Don’t offend the hispanics!” And so now the school is attacked viciously for supposedly having a “Don’t offend politically correct minorities!” agenda instead of a “Keep the peace!” agenda.
Also, just to make this clear, as it’s hard to convey “humorous sarcasm” over the internet (it always comes across as mean), I actually was being honest when I said that Nikolai is a cool name, and the comment about Canadians was supposed to be followed by a wink, but this site has funny formatting issues which cut out anything placed between these: “>” “<"
Trini, America is the hypersensitivity capital of the world. *grin*
Bill, I understand a good number of Latinos escaped hardship and landed, gladly, in the USofA. Sure, many had to take thankless and demeaning jobs but they have a hope there that they didn’t have where they came from. They would do well to remember that, even on rainy days. My parents similarly escaped the austerity of Eastern Europe in the ’60′s and landed in Canada where they were, let’s say, not always made to feel welcome. Even to this day, we face discrimination but no one ever hears about us ‘cos we’re not white enough for the front-of -the-line privileges enjoyed by some by virtue of their family name, but just white enough for those noisy visible minorities to presume that we do. Consequently, we’re everybody’s nigger. Our people are denied access to some services in a showing of what used to be called “reverse racism”, so that certain other vociferous activists will be appeased. “Look at these white people we turned away to make room for your historically oppressed kinfolk.” Trying to undo an old injustice by wreaking new. We’re what Chris Rock called the “Romanian Cracker.” (see his performance titled “Bigger & Blacker”). It sucks. But you know what else sucks? Having to hump two pails of water 1/2 mile and back so you have something to drink. Or washing your bedsheets on the riverside in January when it’s -40 degrees outside. Or having to make dinner out of a tomato and a potato. My folks look weak and weary but they’re the toughest people I ever saw. So hard you can rollerskate on them. And it’s because they faced the hardship and endured. They never accepted a state check, and were never bitter when the ruling elite kicked their teeth in, which happened a lot more than they ever talked about. And on July 1st, Canada Day, they wave their Canadian flags with pride and sincerity. They get up early to watch the Canada Day parade, and party in the park with all the (other) white folk, and yellow, and brown, and black. Because they remember that they have siblings and cousins back on the other side, still milking goats for their sustenance. In spite of all the sh*t they’d been force-fed over the last few decades, they choose to remember that they’re the lucky ones ‘cos they got out alive with a new hope in America. And that flag, to them, represents not a grudging bitterness, but a second chance, 365 days o’ the year.
Nikolai, your parents are good people. You’re right, in a way, that people should be thankful – but that’s not to say that we should feel like we have the right to put them down (as I’m sure you’d agree with).
I think both sides acted immaturely – I just think the school made an important decision to value lives over displays of pride. :)
I wanted to read the article, but went to watch the video first as requested. Three clicks later, I hit a 30-second, non-stopable commercial. Bye bye.
Yep. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video without a commercial.
It’s okay, Sarcasmist – I sacrificed my virgin eyes to a 15-second commercial in the interest of posting intelligent comments.
I’ve witnessed MANY different people in this country wear clothing depicting MANY other countries at MANY different 4th of July events. I’m sure that at some points it DID bother me…until I remembered what MY country believes in and countless lives given so that we could have a country so FREE! God bless the U.S.A.! You want to take that away? Prepare for a hydrogen aenema!
All agendas aside, the kids were completely innocent. If one of them was half hispanic, it clearly was not motivated by race. Maybe they simply wanted to remind the school that while they’re celebrating a mexican holiday, they ARE in fact celebrating it in America.
If someone were to take offence to the American flag while in the US, they can either deal with it or leave. You come to a country, you respect it’s symbols/traditions, which I don’t think is asking too much.
While I strongly disagree with the school sending the kids home, consider the alternative: white or half-white kids wear the American flag to school (no doubt to start something, proclaimed innocent intentions aside) and get the s..t beat out of them by some offended mexicans/hispanics. Now, every white motherf..ker in the neighborhood goes and burns an hispanic home or two.
Neither result is ideal, but sending home some trouble-makers is the least of my concern.
So in the interest of the of the majority (those celebrating) it is ok to infringe on the rights of the minority (those demonstrating peacefully)? And why would any mexicans or mexican/americans be offended? They were allowed to celebrate this holiday at school. I guess everyone not wanting to bash a pinata or eat a taco should have been sent home as well.
No, as I said to Mrs. H. above, it’s about protection. To repeat my analogy, if a couple teenagers walk into a ghetto and start saying “F..k n..gers!”, the Police are going to pull them out and tell them to go home. Is it free speech to walk into a ghetto and yell “F..k n..gers!”? Hell yeah. But, it’s going to get people hurt – and we, as (partly) civilized folk, know how to forfeit our liberty for the sake of keeping the peace.
Is it my FA right to walk into a Muslim section of town wearing an image of Muhammed? Yeah, but it’s probably in everybody’s best interest for me not to.
That’s not to say we should cop out, as seen in the South Park bulls..t. F..k, I’ve even said I think it was a dumb choice by the school – but not entirely unfounded. Their hands were tied.
It’s all well and good for Trey Parker and Matt Stone to get themselves killed over their FA rights – but they know what they’re doing. A couple teenage gangstas starting s..t on Cinco de Mayo? I doubt it.
You see, some people, like the principal of this school, have the good sense to be like Batman (yes, I totally am making this analogy/metaphor/parallel/I-can’t-think-of-the-f..king-word-and-don’t-feel-like-looking-it-up-even-though-it-would-be-easier-than-writing-like-this-to-explain-why-I’m-not-using-the-right-word) and do the things that aren’t popular, but keep people safe.
You want to play games and tell your little Johnny to go to school all dressed up in an American flag basically saying to the 40% hispanic population “F..k you, this is America, get back to your own f..king country!”? Go right ahead. But if I were the principal, I’d do the same thing and put little Johnny’s life above your own sense of self-importance.
Wearing a flag on your shirt does what, exactly? Shows that you care about your country? Bulls..t. If you gave a goddamn, you’d be signed up for Habitat for Humanity instead of the RNC or DNC.
If you want to show your patriotism, pull your kid out of school and teach him how to be a man – how to think for himself, how to research, hypothesize, theorize, categorize, study, observe, calculate and form logical conclusions of his own.
I just LOVE throwing these long epic speeches into Sarcasmist’s blog feed. Sarcasmist, I really hope you enjoy it. :)
With all due respect Bill, I think you’re reading too much into the wearing of the image of the flag. I saw an Old Navy t-shirt in the video, (I had the same shirt, and I’m a regular nice guy), with a flag on it. No swastikas, or anything else which might incite hatred or violence. And maybe those kids do wear stuff with the flag on it regularly, I don’t know. Maybe it’s cuz I’m a Canuck. That sort of thing would never happen here. Even our Nazis are polite.
Haha, well I’m young enough to know a lot of people their age from all kinds of backgrounds, and in my experience, even the patriotic ones don’t really wear flag-patterened clothing. I haven’t worn anything like that (even just an Old Navy T-shirt) for two years, and I’m honestly one of the most patriotic guys I know.
I could be wrong, and I’ll admit to that – it just seems coincidental that they happen to paint themselves head-to-toe in the American flag on the one day it would be offensive.
well i guess here’s the deal….as usual if the roles were reversed all would be well…but oh no…let an american show that he/she is an american ,and the shit hit the fan….look around…figure out what country your in and shut up or go home to where ever you came here from….this racial political correctness is bullshit…your in america…be us or be gone….
It’s “you’re” for one. Two, America was founded on freedom, this includes the freedom to be unamerican.
You want to be unamerican. then don’t be surprised when some super patriot decides to pummel you into the ground or you can be unamerican all you want so long as its outside the borders. Now go away Patricia and get down on your kness and thank the Lord that you don’t live in some 3rd world country where you post would get you imprisoned …or worse.