Look, I'm pro-immigration. We are who we are because immigrants flocked to our country and became Americans, leaving (eventually) their Old World conflicts behind them. Promoting Balkanization is not the same as promoting a nation of immigrants. I wasn't going to comment on this issue, but a recent protest by ethnic Mexican students against other students who wore American flag clothing on May 5 (and the school administration's initial decision to side against the 5 students showing their pride in America) is discouraging:
About 85 mostly Hispanic students staged a noon protest march through Morgan Hill on Thursday, one day after five students at Live Oak High School were sent home after showing up in clothing with American flags on Cinco de Mayo.
The attitude that inspired the protests is revolting:
But some students at the school, including Thursday's protest participants, objected.
"I think they should apologize 'cause it is a Mexican heritage day," student Annicia Nunez said. "We don't deserve to get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."
Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that celebrates the Mexican army's victory over French forces in 1862.
Thursday's student protesters said "they wanted to be treated with respect" in the wake of Wednesday's incident, said City Manager Ed Tewes, who met with a handful of students from the group after a rally they held at the flagpole outside City Hall.
While I am pro-immigration, as a nation we have the absolute right to control the pace and terms of that immigration, including limits on pregnant women to reduce the cases of women coming here for the purpose of giving birth to a citizen. I would never support the idea of denying citizenship to someone born here--even if born to a an illegal immigrant or a foreigner visiting here. The problems that would flow from making a permanent alien class with people who don't even speak or know their "homeland" language or culture.
And we have the right and need to make sure that immigrants (or at least their children or grandchildren) assimilate. The idea that it is somehow wrong to enforce immigration laws and expel illegal immigrants is just bizarre to me.
So the protest I mentioned is revolting. Sure, kids do stupid things. But adults have made equally stupid protests. And the adults in charge of the school compounded the stupidity by supporting it. Worse, from the pro-uncontrolled immigration lobby's point of view, the student protesters are just making the point of people worried about uncontrolled immigration that places little emphasis on assimilation. Ethnic pride is certainly justifiable--I love St. Patrick's Day. But I could never think that the display of an American flag on that day disrespects my ethnic heritage. Why on Earth should Mexican-American students think our flag disrespects them?
Ah yes, the protesters want "respect":
Respect for their ability to drown out other voices, is more like it.
And they want "apologies":
My guess is that someone will kiss their butts.
But before we go too far in this direction, we should have a little history lesson for the outraged protesters who want respect and authority. That May 5, 1862, victory by Mexican forces over the French might not have meant much if an American army 50,000 strong under General Sheridan hadn't marched to the border in 1865 to warn the French from conquering Mexico, thus cementing the early 1862 Mexican victory over a French attempt to make Mexico their colony.
As a pro Cinco de Mayo site concludes:
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.The Mexicans would likely have lost despite the May 5, 1862 victory, after the French sent a large army to Mexico. Americans were sympathetic to the rebels because the pro-French government had supported the Confederacy and we worried that if the Mexican rebels lost, Mexico could be a sanctuary for Confederate die-hards to retreat and continue the rebellion against the United States. Combined with rising pressure from Prussia in Europe, American pressure helped persuade the French to go home. (See this Army publication, which has a good description of the episode starting on page 41.)
And the impact of American help according to the Cinco de Mayo site?
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!!
So just as American soldiers disembarked in French ports in World War I, crying out "Lafayette, we are here!" in gratitude for French help in our own war of independence against the British, Mexicans have viewed our help in the same light.
Some students in America seem to have forgotten who their friends are--and what their country is. Shouldn't this day be a day that Mexicans and Americans (and Mexican Americans) can join together to celebrate a common victory? Perhaps the school's administrators should make sure that the history of May 5, 1862 is taught to their pupils so that the holiday isn't a celebration of ethnic Mexican chauvinism and anti-Americanism, but a holiday of Mexican and American solidarity.
So who is disrespecting the history of May 5, 1862? And who should be apologizing?
