Idaho Student Says Teacher Tossed His Mexican Flag In The Trash

[Yeah me]

Actually, I believe the student. He didn't contact the ACLU, they contacted him. The teacher's story sounds like he was making it up as he went along. It didn't sound like a logical defense, IMO.

 

[Rino]

Correct me if I'm wrong - but it the ACLU contacted him wouldn't they then initiate a suit. It says the boy is thinking about a suit.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Correct me if I'm wrong - but it the ACLU contacted him wouldn't they then initiate a suit. It says the boy is thinking about a suit.

They can't do it by themselves. They need to have a "client."

 

[Yeah me]

Correct me if I'm wrong - but it the ACLU contacted him wouldn't they then initiate a suit. It says the boy is thinking about a suit.

I'm going off of this line in the article from page 1 of this thread: Camelo said he then took the undamaged flag out of the garbage. He said he's been contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union and is considering a lawsuit against Straatman.

 

[Karole28]

But a child cannot be discriminated against in class, Karole. That is a right that is protected. The teacher should not have taunted the kid out of guise of "protection". It seems to me that this teacher enforced this only because he had a personal problem with it.

As an aside, I would be mortified if a teacher approached my child in any state of undress, much less to take something that symbolic of their heritage.....like a St. Christopher necklace or something similar.

did other kids have their flags? Was he allowing the US flag to be held by other children? There's nothing I've read to indicate there was any discrimination.

 

[Karole28]

Isn't Idaho small town cowboy country.
I guess all people's Human rights and civil rights should be respected. The Us and Them mentality has just never worked out so well in the past.

The irony here is mind boggling.

 

[Filly]

Oh. Then you won't mind me bringing my Confederate flag to your school.

Right on!

(Again, it (most likely) was brought to school to incite a problem, the school has the right (as do the teachers) to do what they feel is best for ALL students) Not just this little precious snowflake.

Karole since we're speaking of flags. My friend's son just recently did a project for school on The Confederate Battle Flag. Instantly there was some rumblings about his choice for this history project. The kid did some in depth research and it was very interesting. I knew the difference between The Stars And Bars, but not the complete history of the Confederate Jack and The Confederate Battle Flag. That's American history I never learned and I know my child's peers and nieces and nephews completely didn't know anything about. My DD has always been an avid reader and has studied the history of the South extensively so she was helping the boy as well. My friends even wound up going to Fairfax, Virginia for the marking of the birthplace of The Confederate Battle Flag. Her son got an "A+" and was asked to share his research with some other classes. Just thought I'd share that some of us Yankee's are interested in all American history.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

My 2nd grader had to bring in Tortillas for Cinco de Mayo and they had a fiesta in the classroom. I went in the Friday before and stayed all day decorating with the students and other parent volunteers for the fiesta. I thought it was fun and the kids learned alot too. I don't really know what the big deal was for this teacher to take the boys flag but on the other hand I don't understand why our kids can't pray in school either. I think if your going to ban one thing then you have to ban everything..

 

[Yeah me]

did other kids have their flags? Was he allowing the US flag to be held by other children? There's nothing I've read to indicate there was any discrimination.

Not necessarily, but why are you limiting it to just flags? People show their heritage in various ways, hence the St. Christopher reference. This was the way he chose to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

The problem I see is the recent marches creating hostility toward this specific emblem, that this teacher acted upon. I don't think the student should sue either, but the teacher should be disciplined.

 

[Karole28]

Karole since we're speaking of flags. My friend's son just recently did a project for school on The Confederate Battle Flag. Instantly there was some rumblings about his choice for this history project. The kid did some in depth research and it was very interesting. I knew the difference between The Stars And Bars, but not the complete history of the Confederate Jack and The Confederate Battle Flag. That's American history I never learned and I know my child's peers and nieces and nephews completely didn't know anything about. My DD has always been an avid reader and has studied the history of the South extensively so she was helping the boy as well. My friends even wound up going to Fairfax, Virginia for the marking of the birthplace of The Confederate Battle Flag. Her son got an "A+" and was asked to share his research with some other classes. Just thought I'd share that some of us Yankee's are interested in all American history.

Yeah, it makes me so sad that our heritage is so stained. (with a lot of misconceptions, as well) I won't get started on that. But, good for your son! and good for you! I do think for the most part, we're a misunderstood people.

 

[Karole28]

Not necessarily, but why are you limiting it to just flags? People show their heritage in various ways, hence the St. Christopher reference. This was the way he chose to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

The problem I see is the recent marches creating hostility toward this specific emblem, that this teacher acted upon. I don't think the student should sue either, but the teacher should be disciplined.

I'm limiting it to flags, because that's the issue we're discussing. If you'd like to discuss different religious artifacts, perhaps you could start a thread on that.

You're injecting YOUR politics into this subject. You're taking the word of a teenager who apparently has an axe to grind and is well aware of the reaction he'd get by bringing the flag to school in the first place. (And, may have done so, to illicit the reaction you're having now)

 

[Annie]

This was gym class. It wasn't a celebration time. How was the student going to do the exercises or games holding a flag? Many things are taken away if a child brings them to a class. This might include toys, cell phones, a radio, or anything that might interfere with the class. I can see how a flag could stir up things and interfere with the teacher's ability to conduct a class or activities. If the school was having a celebration, why didn't he leave it in his locker until time for the celebration instead of bringing it to class?

 

[Karole28]

This was gym class. It wasn't a celebration time. How was the student going to do the exercises or games holding a flag? Many things are taken away if a child brings them to a class. This might include toys, cell phones, a radio, or anything that might interfere with the class. I can see how a flag could stir up things and interfere with the teacher's ability to conduct a class or activities. If the school was having a celebration, why didn't he leave it in his locker until time for the celebration instead of bringing it to class?

Yes! this! :clap:

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Perhaps if the students bringing in these flags knew the first thing about our and THEIR heritage, there would be fewer problems with the flags:

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.

The French had landed in Mexico (along with Spanish and English troops) five months earlier on the pretext of collecting Mexican debts from the newly elected government of democratic President (and Indian) Benito Juarez. The English and Spanish quickly made deals and left. The French, however, had different ideas.

Under Emperor Napoleon III, who detested the United States, the French came to stay. They brought a Hapsburg prince with them to rule the new Mexican empire. His name was Maximilian; his wife, Carolota. Napoleon's French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.

The French Army left the port of Vera Cruz to attack Mexico City to the west, as the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy -- as European countries traditionally did.

Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans awaited. Brightly dressed French Dragoons led the enemy columns. The Mexican Army was less stylish.

General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a most stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to butcher them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians armed only with machetes.

When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz' superb horsemen miles away. The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War.

Union forces were then rushed to the Texas/Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico, City.

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows?

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America.

Mexicans, you see, never forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That's why Cinco de Mayo is such a party -- A party that celebrates freedom and liberty. There are two ideals which Mexicans and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect, ever since the 5th of May, 1862. VIVA! el CINCO DE MAYO!!

http://vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm

 

[Yeah me]

I'm limiting it to flags, because that's the issue we're discussing. If you'd like to discuss different religious artifacts, perhaps you could start a thread on that.

You're injecting YOUR politics into this subject. You're taking the word of a teenager who apparently has an axe to grind and is well aware of the reaction he'd get by bringing the flag to school in the first place. (And, may have done so, to illicit the reaction you're having now)

Nope, my point is about heritage and the symbols that go along with it. That seems to be what is at issue here, with this particular teacher that didn't like this kind of cultural representation. If you want to get "flag specific" they allow German flags in the German speaking class, Spain and Mexico flags in Spanish class, French flag in French class, etc.

This is the kind of "if you don't like it go back where you came from" mentality that needs to stop. I don't believe this kid had an "axe to grind" based on the statements I've read. Maybe you're reading a different article than I am, please share.

 

[Yeah me]

This was gym class. It wasn't a celebration time. How was the student going to do the exercises or games holding a flag? Many things are taken away if a child brings them to a class. This might include toys, cell phones, a radio, or anything that might interfere with the class. I can see how a flag could stir up things and interfere with the teacher's ability to conduct a class or activities. If the school was having a celebration, why didn't he leave it in his locker until time for the celebration instead of bringing it to class?

The kid said he was approached while dressing in the locker room. If he was in the gym, this would be a different situation, imo. I don't believe the teacher's story for a minute. The trash bin is the only place he could find to put it? B..S..

 

[Karole28]

Nope, my point is about heritage and the symbols that go along with it. That seems to be what is at issue here, with this particular teacher that didn't like this kind of cultural representation. If you want to get "flag specific" they allow German flags in the German speaking class, Spain and Mexico flags in Spanish class, French flag in French class, etc.

And then allow them to carry the flags back to gym class?

This is the kind of "if you don't like it go back where you came from" mentality that needs to stop. I don't believe this kid had an "axe to grind" based on the statements I've read. Maybe you're reading a different article than I am, please share.

You're focusing on this as an anti-immigrant discussion, because that's what you want to argue. The subject is that this kid took a flag to gym class and the teacher took it away from him. Period.

The teacher had a right to take the flag away from this kid (or anything else that he thought was serving as a distraction to his class).

Period.

 

[Filly]

Yeah, it makes me so sad that our heritage is so stained. (with a lot of misconceptions, as well) I won't get started on that. But, good for your son! and good for you! I do think for the most part, we're a misunderstood people.

Indeed. It was my friend's son, but my father made sure my DD learned all of her American History and not just what was force fed in school. I'm thankful for that and understood this isn't the thread to get started. On a side note when not one child can tell you who Audie Murphy was for an example you know there's a problem. All good things for you down South, Karole.

 

[Yeah me]

And then allow them to carry the flags back to gym class?



You're focusing on this as an anti-immigrant discussion, because that's what you want to argue. The subject is that this kid took a flag to gym class and the teacher took it away from him. Period.

The teacher had a right to take the flag away from this kid (or anything else that he thought was serving as a distraction to his class).

Period.

No, you are injecting into my posts. It all depends on whose story you believe. If you believe the teacher, the kid was being a dip&hit. If you believe the kid, the teacher stepped over the line and it's the teacher who makes this an anti-immigrant prejudice issue. The latter is obviously what I believe. If he was dressing in the gym, he wasn't disrupting anything and it was the teacher who had the problem with the flag.

 

[Rino]

If he was dressing in the gym the teacher would have wrapped him in the flag..