Dave Special Report: No American Flags on my Watch

read the shocking news here

"Officials at a Northern California high school acted appropriately when they ordered students wearing American flag T-shirts to turn the garments inside out during the Mexican heritage celebration Cinco de Mayo, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the officials' concerns of racial violence outweighed students' freedom of expression rights. Administrators feared the American-flag shirts would enflame the passions of Latino students celebrating the Mexican holiday. Live Oak High School, in the San Jose suburb of Morgan Hill, had a history of problems between white and Latino students on that day."

Pretty soon i'm guessing English will be up for grabs

gamespot gamespot why cant I post a fucking picture for fucks sake

I think these days America is seen as a culture-less nation, where patriotism is pro-imperialism and xenophobic. They call us "flag wavers" as an insult. Ride around with an American flag and be laughed at.....any other country's flag and you are just "honoring your culture."

Saying that....these kids need to lighten up and be Mexican for a day, no different than St. Patrick's Day irish for a day. American adults join in on the fun of these holidays brought here by immigrants to us to meld into our culture. There is no need to defy or protest the holiday by wearing an American flag, it just sends a bad message.

Oh well. I don't care much for CA politics. I fly mine by the lakeshore cabin. I also have one at the front porch of the house. But, I usually display the latter during holidays only.

they only did it because it was a bunch of assholes that only wear flag t shirts one day of the year to protest some other culture.

**** a bunch of hicks that were only using the flag as an attack.

that is more disrespectful of the flag than anything i can possibly imagine.

Why does the most fun state make the most stupid decisions.

@vfibsux: In which countries do you hear more about "The Flag" than the US? It's an actual question, since I'm not all that well traveled but from the countries I have visited flags are normally a Football World Cup kind of thing...nobody ever makes a big fuss about flags one way or another.

Or did you mean "other countries' flags" IN the US?

@Riverwolf007: If they were only wearing it that one day out of the year as a coordinated thing then yeah, that's kinda trolling for attention. I don't like clothes made to look like the flag, it actually kind of sullies it in my view. But I was in JROTC all four years of HS, so I have respect for the flag ingrained in me from that. If any of us ever wore a shirt of the American flag Gunny Martin would have skinned us alive.

Mexicans don't really celebrate Cinco de Mayo, it's probably more celebrated by Americans as a day to go out and get crunked off margaritas and tequila shots, Mexican beer, and (heaven forbid, CUBAN) mojitos. It's no really different than non-religious people celebrating Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras debauchery even though they don't observe Lent, people who celebrate Saint Patricks day as mainly a day to go get shitfaced. Seems like taking issue with the shirt would be unnecessary, unless the school somehow had good reason to believe the student wore it with the intention of be adversarial, and being it's North Carolina I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

Dave, learn to post pictures, newb.

@Randolph: this exact same news story in various california high schools has come up once a year like clockwork for at least the last 5 years so i know without doubt this is just some little jerks trolling the mexicans at their school.

@airshocker: I click on the img thing in the editor then it just grays out and doesn't do anything after that. I'm beside myself

Good thing. I'm sure if I showed up in my finest red white blue attire those passionate students would show me a fiesta of fists.

the school did because they was receiving threats. they only did it to try avoid any students getting injured.

now I think police should step and in crack down on it

I wonder, would they have told any students to remove any Mexican flag apparel on Independence Day?

this is not suprising coming from cesspool California

Once again, political correctness strikes again. It's sad that the school had to give in be a pussy over fears of violence being arisen from a few "offended" dumbasses being pissed over the American flag being displayed in the United States. Jesus, this makes me wanna run into a busy intersection.

this is why uniforms are good ideas in schools. you're there to learn, not try to make a point. save your fake activism for college.

Not sure which flag reference you are speaking of since I stated the word "flag" several times in my post. I am assuming you are talking about my last statement. People who have the flag from wherever they are from hanging from their mirror or whatever, or on a hat, shirt, etc. Typically it is hispanics. I was just pointing out that when they do it here in America it is all good, but God forbid you wear a shirt with an American flag or you are probably some dirty "redneck Republican." Just the stereotype I see these days far too often.

I would never discriminate against anyone because decide to display their flag, but I will admit that when I lived in Portugal I would see flags from other countries and think "cool, foreigners" and saw the flag as their reminder of "home" so when I saw Portuguese flags (quite uncommon, I might add) I'd think "yeah, you're Portuguese like most people here, what's your point?". Funnily enough, now that I live in the Netherlands, whenever I see a Portuguese flag I go "Cool, Portuguese people!!" =P

Yea I don't care either, I am always interested to know where someone is from. But like I said, when I get frowned upon for wearing my flag in my own country something is wrong. This is why Colbert is so popular with the left, he mocks patriotism. Wear an American flag and you are probably a "teabagger, gun toting, bible thumping redneck."

but muh freedums

Yeah, that's stupid. Maybe some of them are, but generalisations are always a bad thing...if they're not harming anyone and they want to show they're proud of their country, I say go for it...

School got oversensitive, unless if those teenagers were known to be troublemakers.

The decision is stupid. American culture supersedes foreign culture on American soil. The decision to make the students turn their shirts inside out is an act of treason and should be punishable by death. Shame abounds.

or perhaps a patriotic person would read the flag code and know that using the flag as apparel is disrespectful and unacceptable.

section 8 d.

(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/8

http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf

Wow, you guys have a code specific for the flag? You really take it seriously, don't you? Live and learn, I guess. Never knew this...

@Korvus85: i would imagine every country has one since flag display has a lot to do with diplomacy.

there would be display rules at embassies and such all over the world.

@Riverwolf007: Maybe, but in Portugal you can even knit the flag into butt pillows and nobody cares. It pretty much equals a "Made in Portugal" stamp. Like I said earlier, mostly you only see flags on Football World Cups and on touristic souvenirs.

EDIT: Holy crap, you're right =P We do have rules for hoisting the flag, folding it, etc. It's not treated anywhere near as sacred as the US flag, but still, the code is there. Never knew that either. Shame on me =P

here is a few.

http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1359048153800/1359048247377

http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags/flying-flags-in-the-united-kingdom/british-flag-protocol/

http://www.australianflag.org.au/

@Korvus85: lol, well it's not held very sacred or anything.

people screw it up all the time.

what's funny is just like in this case it is the people that are all into the flag that screw it up the most.

sporting events are always displaying the flag laid flat and super patriotic people are always putting it in truck windows and putting pictures and slogans and messages on it.

it's not a big deal.

as evidenced here most of the bigtime flag wavers have no clue there is any such thing as flag etiquette.

I really dont understand the people who cant see that the whole purpose those kids whore American flag shirts was solely for the purpose to trash and start some shit against the Mexicans.

How would you like it if mexicans came in with Mexican propaganda on a 4th of July celebration?

Its simple.

Also, anyone finds it messed up that it is against the law in the US to have a flag other than the American in front of your home? What happened to that freedom of expression/speech?

i would have to see that law in writing before i would believe it exists.

i'm not saying it does not because i have never looked it up.

but i flat out don't believe that unless i see some proof.

But American culture is inferior to Mexican culture.

lol, holy shit i found one.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/20/navarrette.flag/

what the hell happened to you cali?

Your reading comprehension needs some work.....this is for an ACTUAL flag, not a drawing of it on a T-shirt. The story is about wearing shirts with U.S. flags on them, no one is suggesting wearing a freaking flag. I am military, I don't need some GS-OT smart ass to tell me the rules of MY flag.

In the end you know what my f'ing point was so don't change the subject. You no doubt are on the side of those I am speaking of.

Get a new schtick man. We get it, you hate America.

Hahaha. No I don't hate America at all.

You have negative shit to say in every topic regarding my country, how else is one to take it? Or are you just trolling?

I just think alot of Americans need to open their eyes a bit more and realize that there is a big world outside of their country. I think the same about the people in Sweden, maybe even more so. But I'm not posting on a Swedish forum cause I wouldn't stand it. YUCK! It could probably be said about the citizens of most countries, but most non-Americans on here seems to be comparatively open minded. And I find it peculiar that you didn't show a reaction to the post calling for the death of people who said that the people should turn their shirts inside out..

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/20/navarrette.flag/

Pahrump NV have 30,000 residents? Wow. I've been gone from my home state too long. Last I remembered, there were maybe a couple thousand residents there. My hometown (much farther north) used to have more people.

I have no idea what post you are talking about, but I made it clear what my stance was on this subject. If you are just wearing a US shirt to provoke or protest it is stupid. Everyone can enjoy the holiday, that is what America is about. You are supposed to bring your culture here and meld it into what we already have, that is what makes us who we are. What I don't like is the double standard that exists regarding this issue.

Anyway, about Americans...it is more perception than reality. Most Americans love other cultures and visiting other countries, just because they can't point every country out on a map doesn't mean disrespect for it being there. We have ignorant people here who don't even know what the capitol of our country is, why should they know where yours is? Just the same they are typically fascinated enough to go and visit it.

9th "Circus" Court of Appeals strikes again...

Should never be punished wearing something with the American flag on it in no time or place on American soil.

I will wear what a wear and if you don't like it come at me, bro.

It seems like some douchbags just trying to start shit. Pathetic.

One thing you have to realize about the US Flag Code is that it is a suggestion but not mandatory. Unless you are in the military you cannot be legally punished for breaking the Flag Code because of the First Amendment. That is why you see people like the Westboro Baptist Church flying the flag upside down and stomping on it, or why you have Spike Lee burning the US Flag into the shape of an X in the opening of the movie Malcolm X, or why you have pictures of Bill Hicks lighting a cigarette with a burning flag.

On the other hand, you have a place like Brazil that makes it illegal to disrespect their flag in any way. A few years ago WWE wrestler Chris Jericho was almost arrested because he disrespected their flag during a house show to get over with his heel (villain) role and get the audience to boo him. He ended up being forced to apologize to the crowd by the police so he wouldn't get arrested.

Yea you can intentionally disrespect the flag in any manner you want in the U.S. and it is considered freedom of speech. Not sure that is what our forefathers had in mind with freedom of speech but oh well.

@ad1x2: I understand it's not mandatory, but you do hear a lot (at least on US selective news in Europe) about people going ape-shit because somebody "disrespected the flag", while most people over here wouldn't care. I'm assuming there's also plenty of people there who don't care; like I said, selective news...

Never knew about Brasil though, poor Jericho =P