Oh say can you si

The funny thing about public school officials is that they usually try and head off fistfights and riots before they start. Isn't that a strange habit?

Recently, in the wake of an outpouring of nationalistic anger and strife sparked by the immigration bills making their way through Congress, a couple of schools here in our beautifully red state of Colorado banned the wearing of any and all flags, including the American flag.

Why? Because a lot of students were taking sides over the immigration issue, mainly Mexicans and Americans (I only use the word American to refer to citizens of the United States for lack of a better term; actually I think that's a really fucking arrogant word because it implies that America is only the United States- what about the rest of these two continents? but I digress). The ban was aimed at lessening tensions between the two groups, because there had already been instances of violence at both the schools that enacted the ban.

But, of course, there was an outcry from the "patriots" who were upset that they couldn't wear the American flag. The stupid nationalistic bastards lost sight of the fact that the school administrators were just trying to keep a potential powder keg from exploding. Suddenly, however, the right wing in the US is all about the first amendment and civil liberties.

Strange, weren't most of those conservatives eager to hand the bill of rights over to the chopping block when the PATRIOT Act was first proposed? Or up for renewal? Or when it was revealed that Bush authorized illegal wiretaps of U.S. citizens? Shucks, I guess those violations of our constitutional rights were okay, but when it involves the safety of our students, it's just too much to ask.

Not only that, but even CNN fucked up the story, and told it as though only American flags were being banned. Real responsible, Lou Dobbs. Way to be.

Now I want a burrito.