[andyofne]

I am really annoyed by this 'controversy'.

I got into an internet argument with some chick who said that those kids were assholes and bigots. Actually, she called them racists.

Forgive me for having the belief that an American citizen should never feel that he or she cannot display the American flag in the United States out of fear of hurting the feelings of people from another country.

I read a post by someone who asked something roughly like "What if you were an American living in Mexico and on the 4th of July you saw some Mexicans wearing t-shirts with the Mexican flag on them. Would you be upset and demand that they stop doing that because you're an American and it's your day of celebration?"

Perhaps I live in a different world than some folks. I spent 15 years in the Navy and I always felt that I was very patriotic. I was proud of my military service and I never did anything or saw anything that made me think twice about my commitment to service.

Over the years I bought plenty of t-shirts for myself and my children that had American flags on them. I still have several and I wear them all the time. Maybe I'm just an idiot. I dunno.

Had these kids gone on a field trip to Mexico on Cinco de Mayo and held a noisy protest against Mexico and Mexicans (they'd have probably been killed, but whatever) and wore the same American flag clothing, I guess I'd see where the outrage is coming from.