It’s a shameful thing to report, especially since the news broke on Veterans Day, but a student at a California middle school has been told that he is no longer allowed to fly and display the American flag on his bicycle while at school. Cody Alicea, a 13-year-old at Denair Middle School, has been told by officials he cannot fly the American flag on his bicycle because it causes racial tension.
“First Amendment is important. We want the kids to respect it, understand it, and with that comes a responsibility,” said Denair Unified School District Superintendent Edward Parraz, who noted that racial tensions first boiled over at the school around Cinco de Mayo. “Our Hispanic, you know, kids will, you know, bring their Mexican flags and they’ll display it, and then of course the kids would do the American flag situation, and it does cause kind of a racial tension which we don’t really want. We want them to appreciate the cultures.”
I want to get all indignant and irritated about this, but I just don’t have it in me. I’m tired. If I was his father, I’d tell him to fly the flag like he has been, and to continue to remove the flag and take it into the school with him. If it offends the Mexican students, they can move back to Mexico or exercise their right to ignore it. That seems like a perfectly reasonable solution for all involved. Then again, California isn’t known for its reason.
Tags: Denair, California, Denair Unified School District, Superintendent Edward Parraz, student told to take US flag off bicycle, Cody Alicea, Denair Middle School, student told not to fly US flag, racial tension, flag display forbidden by school system, American flags banned by school district
