American flag shirts ignite firestorm

Abdulmutallab will forever be remembered as the underwear bomber. He will also be remembered for re-igniting fears of terrorist attacks involving airliners. He was also the first terrorist to make the news as we entered the second decade of the 21st Century.

Last month, members of the Hutaree, who define themselves as a Christian survival group, made the news when they allegedly threatening a Muslim. The federal government immediately seized their weapons echoing earlier incidents at Ruby Ridge and Waco.

New York City got back into the news when a Pakistani built a bomb out of pyrotechnics and attempted to detonate it in Times Square. The bomb was called "amateurish" but it effectively got the citizens of New York to think about their own mortality (at least for a while)

Another bomb scare on a bus in New Hampshire followed however reports thus far have ruled out another terrorist attack.

As though we needed yet another reason to fear one another, Live Oak students decided to get into the picture. Hispanic students at the school got mad because non-Hispanic students wore American Flags on Cinco de Mayo. The Hispanic students felt this was insulting on their holiday and that the non-Hispanic students had no right to wear the American flag on that particular day (less this escape your notice, Live Oaks is a school in California which I last checked was still part of the United States).

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican army's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It has become a day to celebrate Mexican pride, however it is NOT a celebration of Mexico's independence. Mexico's Independence Day is Sep 16th (Grito de Dolores). Personally I think Cinco de Mayo has become a commercialized excuse to market Tex-Mex food and alcoholic beverages.

Given that Cinco de Mayo celebrates a battle unfamiliar to most non-Mexicans, I'm not certain how wearing the American flag was disrespectful. Certainly the French flag would have historical significance but the American flag? Regardless, we now have yet another reason for people from two different cultures to find fault with one another rather than commonality.

Mexico won its independence from Spain and the United States won its independence from Britain. What's next? Students from Mexico or of Mexican heritage running around with Mexican flags on during the 4th of July? Stupidity is a universal commodity that knows no boundaries. I am sure there are groups already whipping themselves up into a frenzy over this issue and you will see some stupid shit come July.

I am very concerned that people's attention spans are so short they can be drawn into action without fully understanding what all of the fuss is about.


GilroyDispatch.com | American flag shirts ignite firestorm

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