May 09, 2010 17:38
Cinco de Mayo.
What's there to say about this day? Frankly, I don't know since no one at my school ever taught us about this holiday...that or I'm being inattentive. The only thing I will ever remember about May 5th is that whole dilemma with that one school and those kids with their American shirts (you like all my demonstrative pronouns? c:).
Now, it seems that all of America is flaring up over this whole controversy and not because the school was clearly in volation of First Amendment rights that were previously defended during Tinker V. DesMoines (oh God, PoliSci...) but because children with Mexican heritage are outraged and are making attempts to defend their culture.
Here's the thing, they, as people in the U.S., have a right to express themselves just as American citizens have the right to do so too. And so that is what they did, expressing their discontent at the 'disrespect' shown to their culture. First off, hell, anyone has the right to wear a flag on any day of the year as long as it doesn't inhibit learning. So, I don't quite understand where the hell that principle gets of sending those four kids home. If he's got a problem with it, he should make a ruling to ban all flag T-shirts. I mean, seriously, if I wore the Union Jack on Fourth of July, I'm certain no one would pick fights with me. Yeah, they might give me evil stares, but they can suck it up because it's guaranteed to me by the First Amendment.
What irritates me even more is that now adults are jumping on this and criticizing children that are no more than perhaps seventeen or eighteen years of age. And yeah, these are like forty-or-so year old men like Glen Beck etc etc. A lot of integrity they have, really. That kind of behavior just amazes me, amazes me.
It is not the children's naivete that makes them think such things about this country, make them believe they are something else other than American even though they are born here. No, it is the fault of society and it's twisted values. Whenever you (for those of you that bubble in an ethnicity other than 'white') go out and someone asks you 'what are you', if you reply with 'American' the questioners will most likely reply with 'No, you're not. Where did your parents come from'. Right there is where the problem begins. Society as a whole stresses classification. Everyone has to belong to a certain race and this ideology directly conflicts with 'being American'. So, no, if you're angry about the whole Cinco de Mayo thing, don't go criticizing other children who will probably grow up to become tax paying Americans. And don't you dare say that 'they're not tax payers now'. Guess what, their parents are probably tax payers and so they are entitled to their opinion.
If people have a problem with this whole 'I'm not American' issue, go take it up with the government or your local area and start implementing some kind of structure in which race is not a deciding factor. If you have such hatred toward this 'I'm not American' ideology, then go fight against affirmative action programs (frankly, I'm not for AA programs myself, but that is for another journal about a different argument). This whole ethno-centric way of thinking is the fault of society and government and the children, the outcomes of such thinking, should not be targeted. So, those of you that are unhappy and talking about these children, stop. Don't lower yourselves to the level of Glen Beck and other radio celebrity of whom I do not know the name.
society is stupid,
hating on humanity,
slice of life,
ew politics