Student who sat for Mexican Anthem rebuked

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | 10/07/2005

[DesertSapper]

When I'm in Mexico, I'll stand for their national anthem.

The claim of "disrespect" toward a country who actively supports and enables the breaking of our laws is laughable. Respect is a two-way street and all I see is a country south of us that profits from their people breaking our laws. What's to respect?

I've legally spent over 20 years of my life in foreign countries and ALWAYS stood for their anthems. I did NOT expect them to stand for mine!

[OldFriend]

You stood for their anthems. Why would you not expect them to stand for ours?

[OldFriend]

Students are expected to adhere to a certain set of behaviours.

I don't support wearing obscene Tshirts, free speech?, I do expect the opposers to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, even if they remain silent.

There are always those kids who think the rules don't apply to them.

Given the nature of our military and the fact that we have people from all over the world serving, some not even citizens yet, it doesn't hurt to show respect for others.

I'm from a another generation and clearly there's a big cultrue gap here but I expected my kids to be courteous, even in the face of rude behaviour from others.

[sneakers]

What bothers me is that they LOWERED THE AMERICAN FLAG and RAISED the Mexican flag for this! THAT was WRONG!!! Our flag should NEVER be lowered in the presence of another country's flag! ESPECIALLY on American soil! The school should be called on this one!

I'm really, really mad sneakers here! >:(

[seastay]

"Students are expected to adhere to a certain set of behaviours."

What about the schools too, are they not expected to adhere to a set of standards?

My childs school had painted the map of Mexico and The US and Cuba on the playground, with Alaska, as an Island not even connected to the American continent. Even though my child's family came from Canada, they didn’t care if it were missing even after we complained. They taught that the US country was an invasion to this land. Free lunch and breakfast were routinely served to children of Mexican illegal immigrants, while my child had to pack a sack lunch. The spiritually of American Indians were given as assignments, but Christian Holidays were not allowed forcing my child to celebrate a winter festival instead.

The schools here in the southwest are very antagonistic to my heritage while open arms to Mexican Nationals. Respect for others is a two way street, and the schools here have lost all of mine, specially regarding the forced allegiance to Latin America and illegal immigrantion, therefore my child will not attend public school anymore.

I think the lack of confidence and respect for public schools is a generational thing, because my parents generation did not have this problem at all, I can understand those who do not just don’t get the culture war that is taking place, which by the way we are loosing.

[One_American]

Let them know how you feel.

Larkin High School

[Sabramerican]

Sorry folks but this kid is too stupid for the military.

Foreign anthems are played all the time and curtesy is reciprocated.

If he refused to stand for political reasons, maybe for the anthem of Iran, or Mexico- if he had some good reason, it would be political speech. This was just stupid.

[Man50D]

I don't think that's the point. We get offended when the hockey teams from Canada disrespect our national anthem. Common courtesy demands we respect other flags or anthems at appropriate times. We were at a baseball game in NY recently and there were four young adults from Canada in front of us. They came to see the Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos) When our national anthem was played, they stood up, took off their baseball hats and showed respect. When the game was over I spoke to them and thanked them for being respectful. Posting HTML This forum allows optional use of most HTML tags. If your post does not contain HTML, it will be converted to HTML when posted, retaining paragraphs as typed. This conversion is not performed if you have anything resembling an HTML tag in your text.

One big difference is the Canadiens were in our country. The student in the article was not in Mexico.

[OldFriend]

Exactly, thanks for making the point.

Too young, too immature, and a bit too ignorant.

[latina4dubya]

though i would be considered Mexican American, i would never in a million years stand up for Mexico's national anthem... i can see learning about other cultures, but playing other national anthems and standing for them and raising flags from other countries is beyond too far...

[OldFriend]

You are at war with schoolchildren from different cultures and countries.

You are right, I don't understand it at all.

[abigail2]

What bothers me is that they LOWERED THE AMERICAN FLAG and RAISED the Mexican flag for this! THAT was WRONG!!! Our flag should NEVER be lowered in the presence of another country's flag! ESPECIALLY on American soil! The school should be called on this one!

That's what bothered me the most too!

[Guvmint_Cheese]

Wow - I just read the words to the Mexican National Anthem with excerpt below:

May the divine archangel crown your brow,
Oh fatherland, with an olive branch of peace,
For your eternal destiny has been written
In heaven by the finger of GOD.
But should a foreign enemy
Dare to profane your soil with his tread,
Know, beloved fatherland, that heaven gave you
A soldier in each of your sons.

Is that a mention of GOD in there? I'm surprised the ACLU isn't going ape-sh!t over this. I guess ACLU outrage doesn't apply when devine reference occurs in the shoving of foreign influence down our kids throats...

Yet another argument for homeschoolin' the kids.

[R.W.Ratikal]

Under normal circumstances one should stand for the playing of another country's national anthem. Our diplomats, for example, must stand even when the North Korean anthem is played if they are in that country on a diplomatic mission.

But individual Americans are free to choose the nation they are willing to honor.

Mexico is not a nation to command respect. To the extent that Mexico is governed at all, it is governed along socialist totalitarian lines. It's economy is based on government ownership of property, and the one-party ruling elite is among the world's most corrupt. Mexico is, and always has been, badly governed and badly managed.

In addition, President Fox of Mexico is openly hostile to the U.S. and encourages illegal immigration. In the U.N. Mexico more often votes against the U. S. than with it.

Mexico is an uneasy ally of questionable honor and a troublesome neighbor.

[seastay]

"You are at war with schoolchildren from different cultures and countries."

Well, not so much anymore we go to private school, so I can ignore most of what’s going on now, but the graffiti on our wall is sort of hard to not notice, and it isn't painted on by youths who's families are long time US citizens, so that is leaving me a lack of desire to show any respect for this forced diversity. .Nobody said life was going to be fair though....

[aruanan]

Here's the Larkin High School website.

[OldFriend]

I had one child in public school and one child in private school. My daughter in private school had more minorities in her classes than did our son in our rural school.

I expected my children to show respect, no matter what the other kids did.

I never want them to come home and excuse some bad behaviour with the excuse....they did it first, or everyone does it.

I don't blame the children for the lessons learned in the home.

[seastay]

"I never want them to come home and excuse some bad behaviour with the excuse....they did it first, or everyone does it."

We have to repeat the old classic story, "well if everyone jumped of a bridge would you just follow them too?" but they always seem to have some excuse as to why they would,

My favorite comeback to the one about the early bird catching the worm; " that serves the worm right for being out so early"!

[OldFriend]

Thanks for the laugh. It's been a very contention week and in the end we must laugh too.

And of course, pray for our troops as always.

[solitas]

The kid didn't do anything wrong.

If you're in some other country you should at least not be DISrespectful of their anthems/customs/etc. As your Canadians seemed to be.

If you're in your OWN country you should STILL not be disrespectful. The kid merely sat quietly through it all.

He was under no obligation to attend to anyone else's customs except out of voluntary courtesy. He was patient and quietly waited until they were done and didn't cause a scene. NO BIG DEAL. If it got the mexicans' noses out-of-joint then too bad for them - they'll just have to learn that they're not as important as they think they are. And the authorities that hassled him appear to have their heads up their @$$3$ for the sake of political correctness.