Friday, May 07, 2010

Boom!

My head exploded when I read this story.
Administrators at a California high school sent five students home on Wednesday after they refused to remove their American flag T-shirts and bandannas -- garments the school officials deemed "incendiary" on Cinco de Mayo.

The five teens were sitting at a table outside Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Wednesday morning when Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez asked two of them to remove their American flag bandannas, one of their parents told FoxNews.com. The boys complied, but were asked to accompany Rodriguez to the principal's office.

The five students -- Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano, Dominic Maciel and Clayton Howard -- were then told they must turn their T-shirts inside-out or be sent home, though it would not be considered a suspension. Rodriguez told the students he did not want any fights to break out between Mexican-American students celebrating their heritage and those wearing American flags.

Dariano's mother, Diana, told FoxNews.com she and parents of the other four students are now demanding an apology from officials and are considering a lawsuit.

"We want an apology," Diana Dariano said Thursday. "Who in the United States of America would have an issue with that? It's a sad, sad day."

Dariano said her son has at least four T-shirts with American flags that he wears often and did not try to cause any conflict at school.

"I'm more hurt than anything," she said. "It is so hurtful and disrespectful the way this has turned. These are American kids."

The boys told Rodriguez and Principal Nick Boden that turning their shirts inside-out was disrespectful, so their parents decided to take them home.

"I just couldn't believe it," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mother, told the Morgan Hill Times. "I'm an open-minded parent, but it's got to be on both sides. It can't be five kids singled out."

Galli told NBC Bay Area, "They said we could wear it on any other day, but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it."

In a statement released Thursday, Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent Wesley Smith characterized the incident as "extremely unfortunate" and said the matter is under investigation.

"The Morgan Hill Unified School District does not prohibit nor do we discourage wearing patriotic clothing," Smith's statement read. "The incident on May 5 at Live Oak High School is extremely unfortunate. While campus safety is our primary concern and administrators made decisions yesterday in an attempt to ensure campus safety, students should not, and will not, be disciplined for wearing patriotic clothing. This matter is under investigation and appropriate action will be taken."

Officials at Live Oak High School did not return several messages seeking comment on Thursday. A secretary told the Morgan Hill Times that Boden and Rodriguez were unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

According to its website, Live Oak High School is a 1,300-student institution in the southern part of Santa Clara County, with most students residing in the nearby cities of Morgan Hill and San Jose.

"The student population reflects the rich ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the community," the website reads.

More than 100 students were spotted wearing the colors of the Mexican flag -- red, white and green -- as they left school, including some who had the flag painted on their faces or arms, the Morgan Hill times reported.

While bandannas of any color are banned at the school, its dress code policy does not contain references to American flags.

"However, any clothing or decoration which detracts from the learning environment is prohibited," the policy reads. "The school has the right to request that any student dressing inappropriately for school will change into other clothes, be sent home to change, and/or be subject to disciplinary action."

Freshman Laura Ponce, who had a Mexican flag painted on her face and chest, told the Morgan Hill Times that Cinco de Mayo is the "only day" Mexican-American students can show their national pride.

"There was a lot of drama going on today," Ponce told the newspaper.

Some other Mexican-American students reportedly said their flags were taken away or asked to be put away, but no other students were sent home on Wednesday.
First of all, Principal Nick Boden and Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez need to be fired.They're clearly not fit to educate our youth and shape them into good Americans the way that our schools used to and should still be doing today.

Next, this balkanization of our society by the liberal left has to stop. We are one nation, indivisible, and that nation is represented by this flag:Generations of Americans have fought and died under this flag, including many whose ancestry traces back to Mexico. A number of them were recent immigrants themselves when they enlisted, and they did not fight at placed like Belleau Wood, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Pork Chop Hill, Khe Sanh as French-Americans, Italian-Americans or Mexican-Americans, they did so as AMERICANS.

Someone needs to tell Bodin and Rodriguez and the little wanna-be reconquistas running around Live Oak High School and the rest of California that there is only one culture in this country and that is the American culture. Everyone is an American and we are all represented by that flag above 365 days a year. If you are one of those people who feels that you are not an American, if you feel a primary loyalty to some other country, allow me to direct you to the nearest border--it can be crossed both ways. If you're an American, this is your flag. If our flag offends you because you consider yourself a citizen of another country, then by all means go to that country today and live under theirs.

And don't bother coming back.

8 comments:

  1. Welcome to my world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't know if you read Gateway Pundit, but he has an article relating to this story, kind of a follow-up. http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/05/hundreds-of-hispanic-students-leave-school-hold-march-demanding-respect/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1:50 PM

    check this out

    http://www.ktrh.com/pages/michaelberry.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. unfrigginbelieveable...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sadly, it doesn't surprise me at all.. :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. Like I tell people, if you don't like our flag, then leave. Nobody will stop you.

    I am still stunned that a principal sent these students home for displaying the AMERICAN flag. Who the heck cares what day of the year it is! This is AMERICA!!

    And if you noticed, several of those students were hispanic/american....and they still chose to wear the American flag with pride.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7:44 AM

    California is going down the toliet fast. With the illegals and progressives running the state. Guns fixing to be outlaw for the most part.

    If I lived in the state, I'd be moving in short order.

    I can see Calinfornia going the way of Greece pretty darn soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I smell a Section 1983 lawsuit! I hope that the parents file it!

    ReplyDelete