Consequently, the court proclaimed, Live Oak High assistant principal Miguel Rodriguez acted constitutionally when he told students to turn their American flag shirts inside-out or hit the road with an excused absence because he was trying to prevent potential violence.
On Thursday, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a California high school’s decision to outlaw American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.
Officials at Live Oak High School banned American flags on May 5, 2010 because the year before there had been altercations between white students and Mexican students. There were American flags and chants of “USA.” According to reports, there were also Mexican flags and kids running around saying, “Fuck them white boys. Let’s fuck them up.”
The high school, located 20 miles south of San Jose, has had numerous gang problems. Nevertheless, the school seems to have organized an impressive Cinco de Mayo celebration.
On Cinco de Mayo in 2010, a handful of students showed up with shirts emblazoned with American flags. The principal told those students to turn the shirts inside out or leave school.
All kinds of threats against those flag-wearing students occurred around May 5, 2010 as well.
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