Soapbox, Soapdish. What the difference?

People are far too worried about pissing others off. I am guilty of this myself. Well, not so much being worried about pissing people off, but I do worry too much what others think. A school in CA crossed the line yesterday, as far as I'm concerned. You can read the article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36981179?GT1=43001

Here's the gist of it, if you're not interested in the article. Four kids got sent home from their high school yesterday for wearing tee shirts that had the American flag on them. The reasoning was because it was Cinco de Mayo and they were being offensive towards the Mexican-American students.

I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. If I were an atheist, I would not get pissed off if someone wore a shirt with a nativity scene on it to a Christmas party. I may decide not to socialize with that person because we clearly have a different belief system, but I'm not going to shake my finger at them or ask them to get out of my sight. I am a firm believer in "to each his own" and just because I don't do something doesn't mean I don't respect another's right to do it. This goes for celebrating a particular holiday or dressing in a particular style. (I think mohawks are stupid and a cry for attention but I'm not going to be offended by someone else having one.)

The argument for the school officials could be that the students chose to wear the flag on Cinco de Mayo as a way to incite something, but I just don't see that it's a big deal. They were celebrating their heritage just as the Mexican-American students were. Would there have been a big stink if those same students wore shirts with the flag of Mexico on them? That could be construed as them mocking the Mexican-Americans, but couldn't it also just be that they are celebrating the day as well? I work across the street from a Mexican restaurant, and I know that everybody and their mother was celebrating Cinco de Mayo yesterday. How many of those people in that restaurant were actually of Mexican descent? Well, not including any employees, I'd say maybe 1/4. Does that mean Mexican-Americans should all be offended by other people celebrating their holiday just because they don't understand its true meaning? No.

Did I celebrate Cinco de Mayo yesterday? I'm glad you asked. I celebrated by having two Sangrias (malt beverage manufactured by Bacardi, not ones I made) while playing Lego Star Wars. And I spilled one of them and stained my carpet.