A sixth-grade boy at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla., refused to stand for the pledge, telling the substitute teacher that he thinks the flag and the National Anthem are “racist” against black people. The boy ended up being arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. I had a first thought when I heard about the incident. I wondered did it happen in Texas or Florida? Those are the first two states I think of when I hear stories like this.
The substitute teacher, Ana Alvarez responded to the boy’s comment on racism in America, “Well you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba, and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore, I would find another place to live.” I guess Ms. Alvarez hasn’t noticed that people in this country wearing MAGA hats feel she is not welcome here. They don’t distinguish between Cuba and Mexico. They want your Spanish-speaking brown ass kicked out of this country. Forget about whether you are legal or illegal, when these folks say, “Make America great again” they mean make it white again.
Trumpsters went online to trash this 11 year-old who had a legal right not to say the pledge or stand during it. These same Trump supporters defend their president who made fun of Gold Star families and called POW war heroes losers. We support our troops and military with our tax dollars. Trump brags about not paying his taxes and calls those who pay taxes, dumb. While 60,000 US soldiers died in Vietnam, Trump said his great sacrifice during that time was not getting an STD.
We live in a nation that loves to brag about our supposed freedom. Yet, we want to violate people’s First Amendment freedoms. I’m not worried about an eleven year-old boy destroying our country. I’m worried about politicians who voted for a law they hadn’t even read because it was called, “The Patriot Act.” I’m worried about a president who calls the press the enemy of the people. I’m worried about chicken hawk politicians who start wars they won’t fight in. I’m worried about our so-called, “representatives” who don’t believe in science or care about the planet because they are in the pocket of corporate lobbyists. Let’s not be people who will give away our freedoms while we applaud taking them away from others. We can do better than taking kids from their parents, locking them in cages and arresting eleven year-olds for expressing their opinions.
Bruce Cockburn : “Call it Democracy”
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
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Elecpencil 