You Cannot Wear A Shirt With An American Flag On It In America… Wait… What?

“Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees

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.”

What the hell is wrong with that school.  The American flag is “incendiary” in America?  Not Iran or North Korea but America?  You can’t wear an American flag to school in America?  Plus if you think it will cause violence you punish the kids that didn’t do anything and don’t even pay attention to these “violent kids”?  You are punishing innocent children because you don’t want to deal with children that a so enraged by their own ethnocentrism that they will attack other children for wearing a t-shirt with an American flag on it (the country everyone lives in)?  Peoples tax dollars are going to this school?  What the fuck, ever hear about the First Amendment?  Wait, never mind.   It’s a public school in California, probably not…

Here is a great quote:

“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.”

Um, shut up…  Just shut up…

OK, Annicia, I have some questions for you.  Do you wear the American flag – t-shirt, pin, hat, anything – on the 4th of July (FYI the holiday is called Independence Day, the 4th of July is not a holiday, Independence Day is a holiday that happens to fall on the 4th of July)?  You know, to celebrate the country you live in?  I just want to know.  How is it disrespectful to wear an American flag on a t-shirt in America even if it is May 5th?  You Say it’s Mexican Heritage Day, but are you in Mexico?  Wait, what your aren’t?   It’s not disrespectful you twit!  You just want to make it into something it’s not.  You want to have some ethnocentric complaint about people who are not Mexican so you can feal superior to them and their little flag is letting you do that.  Shut up.

Anyway back to the point.  A school kicked kids out because they were wearing t-shirts with the American flag on it, in America on a Mexican holiday people in Mexico don’t even celebrate (I’ll get to that in a minute).  Are you Fucking Serious?   If you want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the US go right ahead, it’s not hurting anyone just remember you are not in Mexico and just because you care doesn’t mean the 93% of America that isn’t of Mexican origin has to care.  Hell they barely even celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Mexico outside of one Mexican state and even in that state it isn’t a big thing  (yes I know I said they don’t celebrate it, they do but it’s so small that you might as well say they don’t, plus I was making a point, so shut up).  Cinco de Mayo is basically a Mexican Holiday that is really only celebrated in the US making it more culturally American than Mexican.  And you want to bitch about some kids with a US flag on a t-shirt?  Are you all insane, stupid or looking for some bullshit ethnic grievance?

I live in Japan.  I don’t yell at people if they have  t-shirt on with the Japanese flag on it on Independence Day because that would be fucking stupid and ignorant.  Some of the bars in Tokyo, Yokohama and around the US bases in Japan have specials and such for American holidays like the INDEPENDENCE DAY (seriously, knock off the 4th of July shit, it irritates me) because they do get business from Americans and it’s a good way to attract more business.  And it’s fun for all involved, Japanese, American and and other peoples that show up, but no one, and I mean no one would be offended if someone showed up with a t-shirt with the Japanese flag on it.

Look there is nothing wrong with celebrating Cinco de Mayo, even if you are not Mexican, it can be fun.  Everyone celebrates ST. Patrick’s Day – even in Japan – because it’s fun and it gives us all an excuse to drink Guinness and Murphy’s stout, listen to the Puoges and have a really good time.  In America of ST. Patrick’s day you see both the American flag and the Irish flag (and tonnes of flags with a shamrock on them), and it’s the same with Oktoberfest (something else they do have celebrations for in Japan, and it was fun).  This weekend in Tokyo they are having the Jamaican festival, I’m going, because it will be a good time.  Hang out with friends, meet new people, listen to some good music drink Red Stripe and eat some good food and when the have the Indian festival at the same park I’m going to that too for the same reasons.  It’s fun, and everyone even if they are not Indian or Jamaican can have a good time.  So why do we have to turn Cinco de Mayo into some ethnocentric bullshit when we could all get together eat some good food, hang out with our friends and drink some Negra Modelo or Dos Equis?*  Wake the fuck up people.  You never hear Chinese Americans yelling about American flags during the Chinese New Year you you?  What, you don’t?  I wonder why?  Because they aren’t trying to pull some bullshit ethnocentric crap.

America is a melting pot, start melting or shut the fuck up.  America is a rich tapestry of different cultures and peoples coming together to form something new, you don’t have to abandon your heritage but you can’t keep it all and everything starts to blend together.  My ancestors wanted to be American, that’s why they moved there.  There is nothing wrong with honoring your ancestry  but you are American first.

Look, we can either all be Mexican for the day like being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and have a good time or you can all go fuck yourselves.  There is no option “C”.

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I hate it here…

* I didn’t put Corona on that list for a reason, because much like Budweiser it sucks and is only good for two things; giving you diarrhea or a hangover and usually both (even if you only had one).