by Juan Lee
Live Oak High in Morgan Hill was celebrating Cinco de Mayo and kids of Mexican ancestry were wearing tee-shirts bearing the Mexican Flag and Mexico’s colors and all was going fine, until five trouble makers showed up wearing the American flag on their tee-shirts claiming they had just as much right to wear these tee shirts as the Hispanic kids with theirs.
The Vice Principal, Miguel Rodriguez, told the boys to turn their tee-shirts inside out so they would not offend the Hispanic students. They declined saying this would be disrespectful to the flag. The principal escorted the five racist students into his office where he showed them his Mexican memorabilia that adorned his walls and carefully tried to explain to these bigots what Cinco de Mayo was all about and how they could be in danger by sparking a fight with the other students, the majority of whom were of Mexican ancestry.
Confirming they were mean spirited bigots, the boys’ shorts and shoes also had American flags on them. When the boys refused to remove this offensive clothing they were sent home. Austin Carvalho, one of the boys, said they were not trying to start trouble. At least two of the boys are part Mexican.
Many members of Live Oak High School’s large Mexican-American student population that felt it was offensive for the students to wear the American flag on a day that’s supposed to celebrate Mexican heritage.
“I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican heritage day,” Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, told NBC. “We don’t deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn’t do that on Fourth of July.”
The thing we must remember is this state is composed of 37% Hispanic and most are
from Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is very important to them. When they wear the Mexican flag or colors on their clothing they are merely celebrating their heritage and their rightful pride in their home country. The same holds true when they fly the Mexican flag at rallies to protest racism in California, or when they take down the American flag and raise up the Mexican flag as they did last year at the Montebello high school in Southern California. This is about pride and patriotism and when the American flag is shoved in their face by these five racist students it is understandably offensive. I am amazed these offending kids were not beaten up.
Let’s not forget that California was stolen from Mexico by the United States and it rightly belongs to Mexico. We therefore should be extremely sensitive to celebrations like Cinco de Mayo and take down our American flags. Viva La Raza.
For more on the ruthless conquest of Mexican lands please follow this link.