Merci, Michael! Vous êtes un homme de bien!

I just explained, in greater detail than I should have to whenchatting with adults, how there was no "offended" in this situation,and he relpies asking why they were offended.

Pretty clever,Victor - for a second there I was really thinking you were taking thisseriously, and I was all "Wow! That guy out-anti-establishments evenme! Que cojones, hombre!" But as much as your faux stand on the issueimpressed me, your sly "Ha ha, I was kidding all along" is even moreimpressive.

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De rien! J'ai besoin de pratiquer mon français.

"Oh, and Jeff, at the school you attened, there was a list of items thatyou could wear and not wear?"

No the only rule was that the loincloths had to be long enough to cover the naughty bits, but not so long as to get in the way when running from the dinosaurs.

I admire your passion for fighting the system - I'm usually with you on that one.

"Offend" who? It's not a real term anymore - it's just an excuse, a loaded word tossed around to elicit sympathy.

If people reporting the story say the administrator was "offended" or acted to prevent people from being "offended" it's because they're just using tha word that's in their heads thanks to constant repitition in the media, not because that's the word that accurately describes the guy's reaction or motivation.

Do you have an answer for my points about the school having American flags up all over the place, or how those kids weren't wearing the flag on other days? Context matters, Matthew.

Victor's right, really - the kids were pricks for being passive agressive little shits, but more, the administration should have let the kids handle it themselves. Now the punks are media-approved martyrs. Had the other students just beat the holy shit out of them, they would have learned not to poke the tiger with the stick. At this point, the punks probably still think they were correct in their actions.

I think my context note goes a long way - you sincere about immigration? Let me see you building a border to Canada, too. You really care about immigration, let me see you out there picking that fruit or scrubbing those toilets. You love the flag? Wear it every day, not just days where other people are celebrating something.

Otherwise it's all just trying to get a reaction, which I think is something that just irks me personally.

Who was offended?

But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.

"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

Mexican Heritage Day?  This is the first time I've heard of Cinco de Mayo described that way.

(By the by - again, her quote doesn't use the word, the person writing the article did, but I'll give that one half-credit, since the girl in question also revealed that she's a moron in her next sentence.)

Title 4, USC Chapter 1, Section 4(d) states: The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.

Furthermore, Section 4(j) states: “No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.”

Oh and also the fact I leave my flag out all night in a unlighted area, that's wrong too. :0(