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Immigration tensions spark flag-burning in A.J. (Mexican Flag Burned)
East Valley Tribune ^ | March 31, 2006 | Blake Herzog

Posted on 03/31/2006 4:49:21 PM PST by Nachum

This week’s tensions over immigration reform literally caught fire in the East Valley on Thursday when students raised a Mexican flag over Apache Junction High School — and then other students yanked it down and burned it.

“I know (they) shouldn’t have burned the Mexican flag,” said Jacob Stewart, a 16-year-old sophomore. “I heard it was raised above the American flag and that just irked me.”

He said the turbulence was tied to the newsmaking debates in the state Legislature and in Congress, where ideas from offering illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship to making them felons are being considered.

Freshman Chelsea Garcia, 15, and junior Brittany Ramage, 16, said the unrest had more to do with longrunning racial tensions at the school.

“(This week’s events) might have sparked a little more anger,” Ramage said. “But kids are not very deep about that stuff.”

The Hispanic student who brought the Mexican flag said he was responding to a racist remark directed at him Wednesday. The flagraising, flag-burning and shoving match that followed happened before most students arrived at school.

Six students — three Hispanic and three white — will be disciplined, principal Chad Wilson said.

Officials with the Apache Junction Unified School District would not specify what kind of punishment the six students face.

Wilson said in a letter sent home to parents that there would be “increased supervision, including additional police officers, on the campus over the next couple of days.”

District spokeswoman Carol Shepherd said the additional security was being brought in as a precaution.

“It’s one of those situations where if you didn’t have additional security and something did happen, we’d be challenged by parents about why we didn’t do anything,” she said.

Wilson said the increased security would include four off-duty police officers the district hired as security guards, along with its regular school resource officer.

By early afternoon Thursday, district officials said the environment on campus had sufficiently calmed down to continue preparing students to take Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards test next week.

“It’s much more conducive to quality learning today than it could have been,” Superintendent Gregory Wyman said.

Shepherd said parents were calling the district office about false rumors their children had brought home: “That the American flag had been burned — not true. That this had happened four or five times before — not true.”

The confrontation happened at the flagpole in front of the school’s Navy ROTC building, but Maj. Bill Parker, one of the organization’s advisers, said he did not know whether any of his students were involved.

He said ROTC provides diversity training to all its students, and about 20 percent of his NJROTC students are Hispanic.

About 17 percent of the overall student body is Latino, according to the district.

Wilson said he e-mailed teachers separately Thursday about the incident, but left it up to them to decide if and how they should address the issue in their classrooms.

He emphasized that six out of the school’s 1,618 students were involved in the flag fight, and many students might not have the same problems dealing with the racially charged immigration debate.

School flagpoles have been lightning rods across the country this week, including an incident in which a Houston high school principal was disciplined after he flew a Mexican flag underneath his campus’ U.S. and state flags.

A new political awareness among high school students has also been grabbing attention, as thousands of teenagers have walked out ofclasses to join rallies nationwide.

More than 100 students from Mesa’s Carson Junior High and Westwood High schools marched in protest on Mesa streets Tuesday.

Organizers of last Friday’s protest that drew 20,000 people of all ages and shut down miles of 24th Street in Phoenix are gearing up for another one on April 10.

During a news conference Wednesday, they begged high school students not to join in until after school lets out.

Former Mesa resident Mercedes Mercado-Ochoa, who attended the conference as a member of Unidos in Arizona, said many of the students are part of struggling families and may be the American-born children of illegal immigrants.

She said the way to get kids to protest responsibly is to provide them with positive role models, rather than encourage bad choices such as those made on both sides of the Apache Junction dispute.

“We need to be educating them on what César Chávez was all about — he wasn’t a boxer,” she said.

“And about Martin Luther King — what he wanted for the people.”


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: aj; apachejunction; burned; flag; flagburning; immigration; in; mexican; spark; tensions
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1 posted on 03/31/2006 4:49:23 PM PST by Nachum
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To: Nachum

The liberals always defended flag burners in the past, but only when its an American flag.

The Mexican illegals are calling for a nationwide strike on May 1, Communist day. Good, let them overplay the hand.
Americans are simmering now.


2 posted on 03/31/2006 4:57:39 PM PST by wrathof59
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To: Nachum

Burning is good when it is a foreign flag raised on our soil.


3 posted on 03/31/2006 5:03:13 PM PST by taxesareforever (Never forget Matt Maupin)
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To: Nachum
“We need to be educating them on what César Chávez was all about — he wasn’t a boxer,” she said.


Martin Luther King did more for hispanics than Chavez ever did; and the hispanics have never really acknowledged it. I wept when MLK died but couldn't care less about Cesar. And I am mexican.


4 posted on 03/31/2006 5:03:20 PM PST by CAWats (And I will make no distinction between terrorists and the democrats.)
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Deconstructionist

Prime time to round all thier asses up.


Need to start building holding camps NOW!


7 posted on 03/31/2006 5:06:30 PM PST by Stopislamnow (The 2nd Amendment was written for a reason. It's the biggest fear of corrupt politicians.)
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To: Nachum
She said the way to get kids to protest responsibly is to provide them with positive role models, rather than encourage bad choices such as those made on both sides of the Apache Junction dispute.

Au contrair, Senora Estupido!

It has been determined that burning a flag is "responsible protest". Sauce for goose, sauce for gander, etc., etc., etc.

8 posted on 03/31/2006 5:11:41 PM PST by Thumper1960 (The enemy within: Demoncrats and DSA.ORG Sedition is a Liberal "family value".)
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To: Nachum

Posted on two other threads:


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606949/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606660/posts?q=1&&page=1#1


9 posted on 03/31/2006 5:12:07 PM PST by antceecee (Hey AG Gonzales! ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW!!!)
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To: Stopislamnow

Build the wall and retroactively fine the heck out of employers who employ them.

Catch them commiting a crime and immediately deport them.

offer no public services to them

If they break the law by being here, don't reward their sorry beggard asses at all.


10 posted on 03/31/2006 5:12:55 PM PST by wrathof59
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To: CAWats

They need to be educating them about being tolerant and respectful to their host country, instead of allowing them to act like beggardly ingrates.


11 posted on 03/31/2006 5:15:24 PM PST by wrathof59
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To: Nachum

Re "...what César Chávez was all about — he wasn’t a boxer,...”

As I recall, didn't he prefer working with a high-powered hunting rifle?


12 posted on 03/31/2006 5:17:57 PM PST by Uncle Jaque (Club Freedom; Dues: Vigilance.)
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To: William Creel

That was Cesar Romero.


13 posted on 03/31/2006 5:21:28 PM PST by wrathof59
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To: Nachum
I might have gotten this fellow mixed up with another Revolutionary - not really sure.

As to his not being a Boxer - what's up with this:



Pretty scrappy looking chap, I'd say.
14 posted on 03/31/2006 5:23:27 PM PST by Uncle Jaque (Club Freedom; Dues: Vigilance.)
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To: Nachum
“We need to be educating them on what César Chávez “And about Martin Luther King

Yep...not George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,Thomas Paine,Ben Franklin,John Garrand,John Moses Browning, or a host of founding fathers,statesmen,inventors,scientists,war heros,or honest men who sacrificed all for the love of country and their children's futures...

Surprised he didn't mention Che

15 posted on 03/31/2006 5:23:36 PM PST by joesnuffy (Guest Worker Program Is To Border Security As Campaign Finance Reform Is To Free Speech)
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To: Nachum

Lettuce learn more about César Chávez and his famous dressing.


16 posted on 03/31/2006 5:24:40 PM PST by joesnuffy (Guest Worker Program Is To Border Security As Campaign Finance Reform Is To Free Speech)
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To: wrathof59
They need to be educating them about being tolerant and respectful to their host country, instead of allowing them to act like beggardly ingrates.

Selling Chiclets on the street can't be far behind.

17 posted on 03/31/2006 5:39:43 PM PST by CAWats (And I will make no distinction between terrorists and the democrats.)
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To: Nachum

Just heard on the radio.

The kid was arrested and held by the police for arson and the family is getting death threats


18 posted on 03/31/2006 5:46:47 PM PST by Marine Inspector (Government is not the solution to our problem; Government is the problem)
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To: Uncle Jaque

He was basically just a pinko protege of commie Delores Huerta.


19 posted on 03/31/2006 5:51:32 PM PST by tertiary01 (Why are those who say a fence is not the answer most likely to live behind high walls)
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To: wrathof59
"Build the wall and retroactively fine the heck out of employers who employ them.Catch them committing a crime and immediately deport them. offer no public services to them
If they break the law by being here, don't reward their sorry beggared asses at all."

Great post. Succinct and perfect.

Bet you are not a lawyer.
20 posted on 03/31/2006 6:17:52 PM PST by HonestConservative (Bless our Servicemen!)
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