I'm just as American as you jackass, and I have no problem with people celebrating Cinco de Mayo or any other independence day? Let me ask you this, do you have a problem with people flying the Confederate flag?
Hey, I never said that you are any less American than I am, I just think that you arent as patriotic and that you are ultra liberal. I also never personally attacked you either but that is obviously how you are but anyway. I dont think that the Confederate Flag should be flown because it has become something that stands for hatred and defiance. And I mean that in more ways than just racially. It was the flag that stood for a country that almost brought America to its knees and I dont care to see it also. I dont see any good reason for it to be out and paraded anywhere.
Rocketman95: how old are you...five? As soon as you hear something contrary to what you think, you attack the person with the opinion, not the opinion itself. I remember you calling me a Nazi once because my opinion differed from yours. Now you're inferring that MB is a bigot. Maybe anger management would help you with your "problem".
Americans in Paris do celebrate the 4th through their various organizations/groups. Here is a very general group that includes celebrations: http://www.parlerparlor.com/microcosm.html People celebrate Thanksgiving and Halloween in Paris, as well...both are not native French holidays. By the way, Cinco de Mayo is not a very big deal in Mexico...for some reason it is much bigger here.
No, I don't have a problem...I'm not the one freaking out because people like to celebrate their heritage.
I'm not freaking out, I dont go and protest what people do, it is my opinion. What I think is not going to change anything. I just feel that it is bull**** and this is a forum for me to vent. What do you think of California trying to make May 5th a state holiday?
Is anyone here really opposed to people celebrating their heritage or is the concern that they celebrate their heritage more than their status as Americans? RM95, you should check into that Anger Management thingy.
It isnt celebrating their heritage, they are celebrating the country. A country that is not their own. I am half Czech. My family gets together and we make authentic food, we do stupid Czech crap at weddings, but we dont go flying the Czech flag on our house or celebrating whenever the Czech holidays come around. I dont even know what the Czexh flag looks like and dont really care. Everyone should celebrate their heritage to remind them of who came before them. So to make a short story long, my concern is that the are celebrating their heritage or whatever you want to call it more than their status as an American.
So, celebrating one day a year and calling themselves Mexican-Americans means they think of themselves more as Mexicans than Americans. OOOOkay. Basically, they are doing the same things that your family does, their just a little bit more knowledgable about it than you are (they know what the flag looks like). As for the state holiday thing, I don't think it should be one, but if the voters vote for it, that's what democracy is all about (I'm sure my sister will vote for it since she works for Santa Cruz county...she'd love an extra day off!!). giddy up, Thanks for the advice, but I'm doing just fine. I may type pissed off, but I'm not really.
<b>MB</b>: I see the difference that you are drawing, but I think we are saying the same thing. Be an American first and evermore, that's all I'm saying. Cinco de Mayo is fine. St. Patrick's Day is fine. Have a beer. Whatever. Just don't promote Mexico or Ireland over the good old USA. If you do, go back there!
I think the issue here, really, is this: where is it all headed? We have a large influx of Mexican immigrants. Though many of them leave Mexico illegally and arrive here illegally, there is not adequate concern coming from either country. Mexico still recognizes their Mexican citizenship and encourages them to vote in American elections for pro-Mexican positions. We in the US are over-run with illegal Mexican immigrants and so we get pressure to start bi-lingual education programs, etc because of the romanticism of multi-culturalism that some people are so caught up with. A little cream or sugar or both in the coffee is tasty; too much and you don't even have coffee anymore. I don't think anyone really objects to people celebrating their heritage or even there former nationality, but I do think there is legitimate concern about what lies underneath and beyond those celebrations. There are Mexican youth organizations (NAZA, I think) in the US on US college campuses which have as their symbol an eagle (American Eagle) with a dagger through its heart. God bless the USA?
Point 1: There is a dominate american culture. Point 2: It is not strictly anglo-saxon but a mixture. Point 3: Those who contributed to the mixture are ambivalent toward this shared culture. Point 4: The writer of the e-mail wants them not to be ambivalent. Point 5: I agree with point 4 but understand the people of point 3.
<B>If they know that you are making an effort to be like them, they are incredibly hospitable. Celebrating the 4th of July would not go over as well as you think. </B> As someone else mentioned, people celebrate July 4th in France. I was also in London for July 4th in 1997, and there were plenty of Americans celebrating it there... and that was in the country we were celebrating indepedence from! And you know what? The British people had no problem with it whatsoever. And why should they? The American celebrations <B>had no impact on them</B>. Amazing how conservatives want government to leave them alone but then turn around and want to tell others what they should and shouldn't do when it has no impact on them or anyone else. Have you been to any of these countries you're claiming are so different? No offense, but the "customs" and "attitudes" you seem to be describing are more China / USSR / Iraq-like than Western Europe. Most countries could care less if you celebrate holidays of your choice.
I have never been in a different country during the 4th of July so I dont know how it was celebrated. I just do not like how people celebrate other countries independence days in mine. It is a matter of pride for my nation.
<B>I have never been in a different country during the 4th of July so I dont know how it was celebrated. I just do not like how people celebrate other countries independence days in mine. It is a matter of pride for my nation.</B> But why can't someone love two nations? If an immigrant came here from Mexico, but still has family there, why shouldn't they love the country they grew up in and probably still have plenty of ties to?
Hey love that country all you want, just dont go out and wave their flag and tell me how great it is there because I dont care to hear or see about it. See also Rockit's post.
Sorry MB, but that's their Constitutional right. Unless you can argue that another Constitutional right outweighs their right to free expression, you have no base on which to stand. It's been very interesting to see how many people on this board actually believe in American ideals. Unfortunately, it seems that many fewer than I would have guessed actually understand the concept of a free society.
More than disrespect, there is an underlying fear that our sovereignty as a nation is compromised by people whose loyalty may be elsewhere, in spite of enjoying our freedoms. I believe that the fear is baseless, as the government has always a keen eye for uprisings, etc.
Do these people have a constitutionally protected right to achieve their goals? http://www.americanpatrol.org/MECHA/MEChAindex.html Read a few of the stories here, and then come back and tell me that they 'just want to become good americans, but it will take them a while'... BTW, MECHA is not just a fringe group.
