Media Defend Mexican Flag Being Flown at L.A. Riots: ‘Tradition’; ‘Diversity’
Eric Thayer / Associated Press
Mainstream media outlets, perhaps eager to help Democrats deal with the public relations disaster caused by rioters waving the Mexican flag at riots in Los Angeles, are rushing to provide explanations or interpretations.
Politico explained in a sub-headline that flying the Mexican flag is a “long tradition … during times of anti-immigrant sentiment.”
It added:
Angelica Salas, a prominent activist in the state and executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, noted protesters also hoisted the flag in 2006, during massive demonstrations against George W. Bush-era legislation to crack down on illegal immigration.
…
When you see a lot of young people with their flags, it’s also claiming and [showing] support for their parents. So many of the young people who are marching are U.S. citizens, they’re second-, third-generation, maybe they are the first who were born in this country. Very much U.S. citizens by birth, but they want their parents to also know that they’re standing with them.
I feel like every time I ask a young person — whether they’re carrying a Mexican flag, a Salvadoran flag, a Guatemalan flag, or any other flag — it’s just about, ‘I want people to understand I’m proud of who I am. I’m not ashamed to be Mexican, and I’m certainly not ashamed of my parents. And I want them to know that I will not reject them.’ Because there’s a lot of pressure to reject the Mexican heritage.
The New York Times cited protesters who said they wanted to stand up for “diversity” against President Donald Trump’s supposed intolerance:
Bonnie Garcia, 32, a U.S.-born citizen from Los Angeles, said she had briefly considered stopping to buy an American flag before attending a rally on Monday that denounced the deployment of National Guard troops in the city. But she stuck with her original plan to bring two small flags representing the countries her parents came from, Guatemala and Mexico.
“I’m proud to be American, but in these times, being Californian is what makes me proud, and seeing the diversity here, seeing that a lot of people haven’t forgotten the roots,” she said. “I feel like that’s why Trump fears diversity and fears representation in people’s faces because he doesn’t want people to remember, he wants to erase us, and I’m not going to stand for that.”
At protests in Los Angeles, Mexican flags have made up a solid majority, many flown by young Americans whose grandparents or great-grandparents came from Mexico. Among the crowds, there has also been a sprinkling of American flags, flags from Central American countries and Palestinian flags. Some demonstrators brought hybrid flags that had the Mexican colors and coat of arms along with the American stars and stripes.
The majority of Americans favor Trump’s actions in Los Angeles, including federalizing the California National Guard to stop the riots, according a recent poll.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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