Texas History Gets New Mexican Twist

Fox News ^ | May 29, 2002 | Douglas Kennedy

[JuanAntonio]

"Remember the Alamo" is a battle cry that Texans learn early in their formative years.

But the call to remember the Texas revolution of 168 years ago has a new place in Texas history, somewhere in the back of the textbooks.

[Joe Hadenuf]

This is the Houston school district, which is a typical, liberal, bloated, poor-performing inner-city school district. It's not representative of Texas

Oh, I am glad you cleared that up. And I thought Austin was the only liberal city in Texas. Yes, I am being a little sarcastic.

But please know, that from sea to shinning sea, the majority of these public school teachers are teaching the kids their socialist agendas. It's everwhere, not just Texas.

[ricer1]

This Texan wants to spit bullets...

[metesky]

Everybody that fought at the Alamo were not Anglo-Wasps. I mean, weren't there Mexicans and Indians there too. Why not teach that it was a multi-cultural revolt against an oppressive tyrant?

[Tancredo Fan]

Thanks for the ping. This is getting to be nutzo! I just saw a piece on Fox News about this (Shepard Smith). I hoped that PC anmd shameless pandering would die when Clinton got the boot, but I guess not. This is ridiculous. These folks need to be deported, not kowtowed to.

[ricer1]

My great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle died at the Alamo... I'm not impressed with this shovelful of steamy bovine leavings.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform website is here

[honeymagnolia]

There is no problem, if a society allows in the individual of another inheritance, another race or culture. In that situation, he accepts the climate of his adoptive land; their heritage becomes his; his gratitude for being there may make him more avid in its defense than those originally born to it. Is that what the Europeans did when they came to America? Accepted the climate of seemingly endless bounty? And how did the immigrant Europeans rate on the gratitude part? Such musings serve to make many feel better about what our ancestors ultimately committed.

There was an old adage I once studied at length. "Sins of the fathers will be visited upon the sons." In my experience, it has never failed--in spite of (or maybe because of) Jesus. And here we all are--fussing about the "immigrants." Sweetest of hypocrisy. Frightening for our children.

[Tancredo Fan]

Keep your powder dry, boys!

...and keep it handy. We are being infested at an astounding rate. Like Xavier Hermosillo said in 1992: "We may not overcome, but we will overwhelm." And how!

[Restorer]

Remember that the Texican revolution was a lawful revolt against Mexico, and that most of the people defending the Alamo were Mexican citizens, and this makes absolutely no sense, except to denigrate the winners of the Texican revolution!

Ahem.

More or less by definition, there is no such thing as a "lawful revolt." Revolts are against the laws and/or those who make them. Justified revolt, certainly.

If most of the men in the Alamo were Mexican citizens, it was only because they had undergone a less than whole-hearted naturalization required to get a landgrant. Most considered themselves more "American" or "Texan" than they did "Mexican."

There ought to be a warning in there somewhere for us about immigration today.

Aside from these minor points, I agree with you.

[Dog Gone]

The Houston city limits are carefully structured to keep liberals in the majority. About 2 million people live in the city limits, but the metropolitan area is 2.5 times bigger. The greater urban area is decidedly conservative and has the voting record to prove it.

There aren't any Democrat elected judges in the city, because they're chosen on a broader level, for example.

Houston does have large liberal neighborhoods. Sheila Jackson-Lee represents the inner city, and she'll never be defeated as long as she wants to hold the office. But if she ran on the County level she'd get her ample ass handed to her on a platter.

[Boonie Rat]

If the 40% of Hispanic students are Texan, then they learn Texas history. If they want to be Mexican they can go back to Mexico. Texas history is Texas history. Remember The Alamo! Remember Goliad!

Boonie Rat

MACV SOCOM, PhuBai/Hue '65-'66

Texan

[J Jay]

"There is only one way to teach Texas history and that's Texas history," said Dan Stein

Dan got it right!

[Brownie74]

Should we not teach about Iwo Jima? Should we not teach of putting a man on the moon? I am sure that anyone of our accomplishments will offend someone somewhere for some reason.

Memo to all aliens:

IF AMERICA OFFENDS YOU, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE!!

[hillyes]

And don't forget a couple of years ago when Dubya as Gov. removed the plaques from the court building regarding Robert E.Lee's praise of Texans. "I know I can depend on the Texans if a place has to be taken"(or something like that). Dubya's men removed the plaques at night. He did not want anyone "offended".

[Joe Hadenuf]

About 2 million people live in the city limits, but the metropolitan area is 2.5 times bigger. The greater urban area is decidedly conservative and has the voting record to prove it.

Oh, I understand all too well. Calfiornia has a similar situation.

But as far as voting goes, I question all elections. Anyone can vote and the fraud is rampant.

[El Gato]

I guess these Bozos don't know about Juan Seguin and other hispanic heros of the Texas revolution. Go look at the monument outside the Alamo, you'll see quite a few Spanish surnames on there. They aren't those of the Mexican soldiers, I guarantee! In fact, I'll save everyone a trip to San Antonio, not that a trip to San Antonio wouldn't be nice anyway, provided you do it soon, or wait until October, maybe November :), Defenders of the Alamo

[Ohioan]

There is no problem, if a society allows in the individual of another inheritance, another race or culture. In that situation, he accepts the climate of his adoptive land; their heritage becomes his; his gratitude for being there may make him more avid in its defense than those originally born to it.

Is that what the Europeans did when they came to America? Accepted the climate of seemingly endless bounty? And how did the immigrant Europeans rate on the gratitude part? Such musings serve to make many feel better about what our ancestors ultimately committed.

I don't know what you are suggesting "our ancestors ultimately committed," but most of the early European immigrants, who came in relatively smaller groups than the recent pattern, did indeed accept the Settler culture that had created America. Certainly, so long as we had an open frontier, those who didn't like what they found when they first came had an escape valve, other than seeking to change what they found.

But again, for a discussion of the whole question of immigration, see Immigration.

William Flax

[cowgirlcutie]

This is more PC insanity. I heard a woman on FOX talking about this, saying that since more children in Texas schools have a Mexican heritage, that they didn't want to offend them. I have a Mexican heritage through my mother and have NEVER been offended by the history of the Alamo. There were Mexicans that fought side by side with the defenders of the Alamo. If people get offended by the true history of the Alamo, then they need to go back to Mexico.

[El Gato]

I thought the Mexicans disliked Santa Anna almost as much as the Texans

They do, they call him "traitor" nobody likes a loser, especially one who "loses" large parts of one's country to the Gringos. Their dislike is not so much about losing Texas, but rather about losing the rest of the American Southwest, including California, some years later following Texas admission to the Union, in what we call the Mexican war.

[El Gato]

Why not teach that it was a multi-cultural revolt against an oppressive tyrant?

Well, hell that's what it was. What political purpose would be served by teaching the truth? Can't have that.

[steve-b]

There are legitimate criticisms of the Texians -- they had been invited into the country on the understanding that they would become assimilated, Spanish-speaking, non-slaveholding Mexicans. They didn't, and never intended to.

Somehow, I doubt that noting these points in the history texts will mollify radical Hispanicists.