July 4th, 2006
Dear Chichi,
You are almost 3 ½ now Chichi. What a journey your birth and fatherhood has been! The day will soon come when you will no longer be a little boy. I wonder how many of the more poignant moments of your childhood and your formation you will remember. I wanted to activate my pen in order to capture some of these memories as I have lived them alongside you.
The moment when you discovered the “American flag,” or “la Bandera de Sangre,” is a lasting one for your father.[1] Like every other American, when I was growing up, I was taught to call “the red, white and blue,” “my flag” and “our flag.” This letter to you is an opportunity to reflect on why I could never identify with this nationalist sentiment. I hope one day you can read this and jot down your own reminiscences of these and other events that marked our coming of age together.
Roadtrippin’
Everyday we create and share wonderful father-son moments. We love to go for rides together. We love to pump Rage Against the Machine and Ice Cube out of my grey 2001 Mitsubishi Galant. You comment on everything you see out of my car window. You started off with “big, big trucks, red and blue” and then “Look Dada, a big, yellow school bus.” I brought you up to identify the Dominican flag, the Cuban flag, the Palestinian flag and the Venezuelan flag, which you called “el Hugo Chavez.” You are discovering the world and asking new questions everyday. My cousin Mike taught your cousin Christopher, at three years of age, to be able to identify every Patriot and Red Sox player by their uniform number. You were precocious as well, only in a slightly different way. The prism through which we see the world influences the unique worldview of our young ones! It is the earliest form of socialization, or to use an even more direct term, indoctrination, that will surely reverberate long into the future.
One Sunday at our church, San Romero de las Americas, a liberation theology congregation in Washington Heights, we were talking about solidarity and communication beyond language. You and the other children were playing with miniature Venezuelan flags we had picked up at a rally to defend this besieged nation. Your last flag snapped in two and you came sprinting out of the playroom, crying desperately in front of a room of forty activists “Papa se me rompió mi Hugo Chavez.”[2] Everyone’s heart melted because of how cute and innocent you were. I scooped you up protectively and promised you there were many other “Hugo Chavezes” to replace that one. The indispensable moments of childhood and a most apt analogy for the challenging future Venezuela would endure!
Lately you have been seeing American flags everywhere. How can you not? They are everywhere and used to brainwash us in the worst brand of American exceptionalism and nationalism. My knee-jerk response, the first time you asked me about “our national flag,” was; ‘Oh no, Chichi, that is the “bandera de sangre,” the flag of blood. And guess what Chichi, it stuck. As often happens with children at this age, they follow what they learn from their parents.
I’ll turn my attention away from reminiscing to address the question before others parents and my own family members; Why would I teach you, my three year old son, that the American flag is the ‘flag of blood?’
Meditations
Several years ago at the height of the struggle to remove the US navy from Vieques I worked in solidarity with the Puerto Rican national liberation struggle. During a UN session dedicated to the issue of Vieques — an island that forms part of Puerto Rico — protesters planned to replace the US and UN flags with the flag of Puerto Rico’s independence. A few years earlier, activist Tito Kayak suspended himself outside of the Statue of Liberty and raised the Puerto Rican flag over it. I was assigned to hoist Tito Kayak up onto the UN pole. Security disrupted our plans before we could carry out the task and 25 of us were arrested. I was the only white man or North American involved in the action. I had a Haitian flag wrapped around my head that day. Inside of the jail cell, an elder called me over and told me that the most eloquent statement on my part would have been to carry out this act of defiance but with the flag “of my own country” wrapped around my head. He expressed that the image of a North American shoulder to shoulder with Puerto Ricans in protest would be a significant expression of multinational unity. He was a former political prisoner and I deeply respected his view. I paused to reflect, was I denying a piece of who I was?
The Weight of History
The more I thought about it my son, the more unthinkable it became to imagine myself representing an American flag in any shape or form. You are the offspring of distinct realities, the Bronx, Brockton, white poverty and Dominican migration. Why would your father be ashamed and repulsed by his “own” flag? To answer this question it is necessary to review a bit of history.
- I trace part of my ancestry all the way back to one of the original families that came over on the Mayflower; John Shaw. But what I learned from a young age conflicted sharply with the family legend. Outside of school, I learned that April showers bring Mayflowers and Mayflowers bring disease, destruction, and holocausts. When my 13th great grandfather arrived in Wampanoag land — later called Plymouth, Massachusetts by the settlers — there were more than 50 million indigenous people living in the Western hemisphere, 8 to 12 million North of the Rio Grande.[3] My 11th grandfather and the trail of European colonizers initiated a campaign of extermination that would reduce the population of the Americas to approximately 5 million by 1900.
- How many Africans lost their lives in the holocaust inflicted upon them by the European powers? Howard Zinn and other historians estimate that between 50 and 75 million Africans lost their lives as a result of the slave trade. These are the two pillars upon which the American nation-state and its flag were founded. Was I supposed to celebrate this legacy?
- The third historical event I want to highlight is the decolonization struggle that emerged throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America in the 1960’s and 1970’s. If we tally the number of deaths inflicted by US foreign policy against liberation movements in Vietnam, Mozambique, Central America and throughout the three colonized continents, serious research indicates that we approach a number beyond 10 million casualties. There are a plethora of sources that document the war against third world liberation. For starters check out the documentaries “Destructive Engagement,” “The Trials of Henry Kissinger” and “The War against the Third World.” Mamood Mamdani’s Good Muslim, Bad Muslim is also a good starting point. What was falsely called the Cold War was really a global class struggle in which millions were murdered for daring to assert their independence. Any rigorous look at history confirms this.
- The US’s did not just support regimes of repression abroad. How many of this soil’s most eloquent daughters and sons have been murdered for daring to resist and dream beyond a failed socio-economic design? Only in 1969, 29 Black Panther leaders were targeted for assassination and executed. The list includes Fred Hampton, Bunchy Carter and George Jackson among so many other freedom fighters. These are some of the most courageous and intelligent human beings to have walked this part of the earth we know as the USA. How many more fallen warriors do we add to this list when we calculate the number of members of opposition groups — like the American Indian Movement, the Young Lords, the International Workers of the World, and the CPUSA — who were murdered? I wrote 365 Days of Resistance to document the sacrifices and lives of the fallen.
“Old Gory”
From a dry, objective and empirical view, “old gory” outdoes the swastika. “The flag of blood” has surpassed any symbol of death and destruction ten or twenty times over. Does all of this blood count for something? Despite our society’s best attempts at collective denial, I always sensed there was a cover up.
The American flag is unrecoverable and irredeemable. This past summer, representatives from the misnamed Communist Party USA unfurled American flags in Venezuela at the International Youth Festival. The peoples of this hemisphere saw this act as a grave insult to the dignity of the Latin American peoples and all colonized peoples. Just Latin America has been invaded and occupied more than 100 times during the 20th century by the United States. No one would ever talk about recovering symbols such as a Ku Klux Klan hood or a swastika. We are convinced that it’s up to us — the masses of everyday people — to prepare the final burial of “la bandera de sangre” and to hoist up fresh symbols of liberation in its place. Only then, can we all breath and grow freely as we are meant to.
Our Historic Responsibility
A former Vietnam veteran, S. Brian Wilson, poses the following question; “I wondered why it was okay to burn innocent human beings 10,000 miles from my home town, but not okay to burn a piece of cloth that was symbolic of the country that has horribly napalmed those villagers.”[4] This essay “What the Flag means to Me,” by Private Wilson is worth reviewing. Now here we have a true patriot! Wilson’s story is that of a naive young man who enlists in the army wanting to do good, only to learn the true motives behind the U.S. government’s ongoing wars.
Ernesto: mi hijo: I wish it weren’t so.
I wish I could fly this flag carefree little guy. But my loyalty is not to a genocidal, myth-making machine that hides behind the cloak of the red, white and blue. My loyalty is to history and to humanity. The day we take power we will not only replace this fake democracy, we will also do away with all of its divisive anthems and symbols. Anyone who identifies with this flag is delusional. I don’t blame them as they have clearly been misled but I do hope they can open up their hearts and minds. The day we achieve liberation in the imperial center, is the day we will wave the flag of all of humanity. What colors or symbols might this flag contain? What will happen to the statue of liberty and other statues or symbols of the US? That is for the people to decide. But there will be no stripes of blood and white supremacy, with 50 stars squeezed together symbolizing this prison house of nations. I think its important that we look at the Sandinista, Angolan, Mozambican flag and the Red Black and Green flag of Black liberation, among others, for examples of flags that really symbolize growth, resistance and freedom.
When we learn to step outside of our own chauvinism, we can begin to truly discover ourselves.
Indoctrination?
One of my aunts contended that the way I raise you, Ernesto is indoctrination.
Ok, I don’t contest this. We believe in indoctrinating our children… with the most serious doses of love, collectivism, sensitivity and a deep understanding of history so that we can rescue this world of ours teetering on disaster.
It is the ruling class’s form of indoctrination that we will never accept; the worse forms of greed, individualism and a selfish thirst for fortune, fame and power. When I teach you, my son, that this is ‘the flag of blood’ it is based on an all too accurate understanding of history. In contrast, these American dreamin’ patriotic parents are filling their children’s heads up with falsehoods and fallacies. The fact that today the US has 740 military bases spread across 140 different countries tells me and you Chichi that it is our responsibility to keep tearing down and stamping upon this “bandera de sangre” every time we come across it.
How interesting it will be for you to read this one day and leave your own imprint on the wide open world that lies before you!
Muchos abrazo Chichi,
I love you and the humble oppressed peoples of the world more than anything in the world.
Your old man,
Dada
This article is making think about my childhood and what I was taught growing up. when you say, children are brainwashed at very young age that also reminded me about my middle school and how I was taught the history of my country compare to the history of United States and its allies. I remembered my country history was taught to us like a tale, almost not sure if it was true or false because not documented. However, the history of the United States and its allies were the heroes well documented. It is also true that children learned from their parents. And I am sure when you told your son that American flag is the flag of blood he still remembered it. In contrast, I grew up learning about my flag from school. At least, you could teach your son about the different colors on American flag and it real meaning hidden behind it. I was thought about the colors on my flag but what it really means I wasn’t taught about that by my parents. In addition, Puerto Rico is called territory of United States, but it is really a territory or a military playground. Otherwise, United States flag and Puerto Rican flag both should be hangs in United States territory. And that shouldn’t be a problem to jail someone because of swishing American flag to Puerto Rican flag. Moreover, ancestry legacy, we have no choice Shaw because what you can see today your ancestors didn’t see that yesterday. They were all about expansion, how to become powerful, no humanity, and that’s why they did what they did to others. They couldn’t see indigenous kindness, beautiful souls, peaceful people. Instead, these people were called savage (Howard Zinn) and that’s why they destroyed them and used them as slave. Thus, they had no feeling for others like you do. You can call decolonization, but to me, my country is still under colonization. The only difference is they are not physically presented in my countries. The reason why I am saying this, it’s because if they are not presented in it, but they create a system that will not allowed the country to never be decolonize. For instance, Commonwealth between United States and Puerto Rico. Today, Wall Street in Manhattan own countless properties in Puerto Rico. And Puerto Rico owed $ 72 billion to United States. Today, Mali where I come from owned almost nothing on our land. It all been taken by west for reimbursement of their credits Mali owed to them. And any president who don’t respect that rule will be overthrown. I believed It will be very difficult to fight against indoctrination of United States because lots of people are influenced by the powerful myth under United States flag. Only few people in these 140 countries will believed you. I myself was influenced by these myths. I believed one day the true will reveal itself. And this article will not only open your son mind but also it will open many others uneducated people around the world.
This article is very interesting. The flag is what represent us, and makes us different from other nations. Our flag is what identify us everywhere we go. I don’t feel that the American flag is my flag, because even though I’m a U.S citizen, I identify my self as Dominican with the flag that represent me, and for the one I feel proud to belong to. It represent the struggles our founder fathers went through to fight for our liberation. For us, to feel free. I have a little brother who since he was little growing in the Bronx, was getting information about our country, about our flag.There are many people who believe that the American flag is their flag, because they have an influence to believe it. In my opinion, this article is very helpful for many people, to get more knowledge and more information. Help them to think more and be open minder.
This article teaches me that people come different nations.It also teaches me that the flags represents us where we come from. Like one year ago I make my U.S citizenship, but that doesn’t make me think that I represent the American flag because I have my own flag that represents me. I’m proud to represent the Dominican flag. I know some people that after they came to this country they think that they represent American flag. I think this is a good article for people to understand where they belong to and to know more about our flag that represents us. I think if people read this article it will change their mind of what they think about the American flag. Some people that I know should read this article because they have to think about they flag and I know that this article will open their mind.
That was a very interesting piece. As I move forward with my education I’ve learned that “America the great” has oppressed, murdered and stolen so much, from so many. Being born and raised in NY from kindergarten all the way to the end of high school I was for the most part always taught how amazing and great the US was. It makes me feel an inner conflict. My parents both left their countries to build better lives for themselves and for their future family (me being one of them). See my mother gifted me with all the perks that come with being an American. As an American I have the ability to fly to most countries without any immigration issue. As an American I have access to an education that being born in Dominican Republic like my mom I most likely would of not have. I cannot help but feel a bit hypocritical If I did not acknowledge the flag that my parents gave up so much for me to be a part of.
On another note when asked what I am? or where I’m from I’ve always said I’m Dominican and Puerto Rican but I was born here. My parents heritage, culture and traditions define me.
I do believe that it’s a great thing that from such a young age you introduced your son to some cruel but harsh realities about America. I do think that education system lies to children about the things that America has done to get where they are today. Unlike me who’s becoming “woke” in her mid twenties your son has been “woke” since he was toddler.
This piece made me reflect on what I’ve been taught in all of my history classes. I’ve always been taught what’s presented to us as our history in our textbooks and have never thought to question it until not too long ago. I migrated to the United States when I was five years old so everything I know about this country is what has been taught to me by the opressor’s biased retelling, and I didn’t know any better than to believe it. I wish that my parents had educated me on the harsh reality that is, as you said you are doing with your son, but they were also fooled by the idea of the American dream. Many are sold on this idea that America stands for the “liberty and justice for all”, not seeing anything but what is being portrayed. However, in my lifetime, I’ve seen less and less of that within our country. There are too many people who hide behind what this country is supposed to stand for in order to justify their racism and prejudice against those they believe aren’t “American”. But wasnt America built upon the foundations of immigration? Looking back, immigrants are in some way a part of mostly every great accomplishment that this country boasts about. To reject us, is to reject the evolution of this country.
When I first read this particular post, I was confused as to why the post started off as a letter. But as I kept reading, I soon realized that this was a letter for your son about the brutal reality of the infamous American Flag. The American Flag for those dawned by oblivion represents freedom, independence, and equality. But those who have overcome the brainwashed antics put forth by the media and government know that the American Flag is a symbol of destruction and a symbolic fabric for the oppressors. This post reminded me a lot of my Social Studies classes in elementary – high school, which failed to teach us America’s real history. Instead they brainwashed us and taught us the sugar-coated version of the truth. Social Studies classes and our history textbooks always made America look like the “hero” who “rightfully” discovered a new land. They failed to fully disclose the full version of the truth. Instead of telling us that with Columbus’s “discovery” of the new world brought disease and corruption to a land that was run by indigenous people, they instead corroborated a distorted version of the truth by stating the indigenous people “allowed” for the settlers to deliberately take their land away from them. In your post you stated that “The American flag is unrecoverable and irredeemable,” and “this is ‘the flag of blood’” (Shaw, 2013). To the majority, your statements may sound radical and demeaning. But those who are open minded and like the millennials say “woke” would fully understand what you’re talking about. The American Flag symbolically represents all the bloodshed on this stolen land to attain what is now the supposed “land of the free.”
I really like how you’re introducing your son to America’s tainted, legitimate history at such a young age. I think it’ll be beneficial for him in the long run when he’s older because his judgement on America’s history and his perspective towards the American flag would not be clouded by a distorted version of the truth.
This writing piece right here is very deep to the writer, me and as it should be to everyone else reading. I know I was born in the United States but I remember when I was young I would tell anyone who asked me where I was from that I was both Dominican and Ecuadorian. I never told anybody I was American just because my parents were not American and they had no connection with America. You say that the American flag is what represents us but most people would think that just because is all we ever learned in our schools. They well tell you everything positive about America or what they did that was good but then you have important secrets hidden that when you start to do research or learn from others who know these secrets then you start figuring out that America is not as good as some of you people think. Then that is where there are some people or me who believe that this flag does not represent us at all. I sometimes wish that as a kid I was taught about every flag i can learn from other countries so we can have a better understanding of each one of them and really know who should be considered the good and bad countries. Your son is lucky that he had someone who thought him about other countries and their flags besides about the United States of America and their flag.
I wanted to read this article in particular because in school history is taught in such a way that it almost feels like fairy tale. Our education system is design to make the US and its allies look like the heroes in every situation and war but don’t get me wrong there were some honorable people in history that made a big differences but for the majority of time truth is bend. I remember when I was in high school I had a american studies teacher that taught his classes in a very different compared to the teachers that I had before, he never sugar coated the truth about why we invaded other countries and the things that we did to them. He became one of the teachers that I really looked up because of the way he made us look at history, instead of brainwash us he made think and understand why things happened, I remember how we never used the textbooks because they were “written by some old white supremacy”
I like the fact that you taught your son from a very young age the truth instead of brainwashing him like every other kid in America. I’m pretty sure your son would follow your footsteps and do the same thing with his own kids.
Now that your son is older, I wonder if he has read it and what his reaction was after seeing him come to class with you and hearing the things you’ve told us about him. From what you’ve shared with us, it seems that you’ve showed him to fight for what he wants and believes is right, not to be oppressed. Sometimes I think you might have done too well of a job. He’s rebelling against the school system because he might feel like just another cog in the beast that is NYC public school system. Even if he is lost in the school system, it’s important that he gets his education because it is the most important thing out there. No one can take away your knowledge, they might be able to force you to do things or take away your belongings but knowledge is forever yours.
I think so many people are happy to be Americans because of the “power” and “safety” our nation holds but so many forget how we came to have this sense of false security. The blood that has been split and continues to be spilled today so that we might be “the land of the free.” The red strips on the American flag does symbolize the blood lose in war but just the blood of the wrong people.
It’s a good thing you taught your child about other nations’ flag and history along with ours. It helps him understand what he has and is happening in the world around him. A major problem our youth have today is their limited knowledge of world events. They are so busy on facebook and IG taking pictures and wasting time on their image that they don’t know that kids their very age are being forced to fight wars, being stolen from their homes, or murdered for trying to make a future for themselves. I think your “indispensable moments of childhood” about the “Hugo Chavez” flag, is indeed indispensable but also unforgettable. Its great that people continue to stand up for their rights and what needs to be done. We need as many “Hugo Chavez” to make a stand to create lasting differences for the better. If a time comes and hopefully we can have that “flag of all of humanity.”
As kids, we were taught to say the pledge of allegiance in schools without even knowing what we were saying at the time. Now, a child should not have to recite the pledge if they don’t want to or if it goes against their religious beliefs. Being born and raised in America, I was taught that the American flag was great because it represented unity and justice for everyone. However,this is proven false throughout the years because many people who came to this county were denied. For instance, African Americans who fought in wars for the country were treated as second class citizens when they came back from them. Along with them, immigrants and Muslims were met with discrimination, prejudice, and racism. This hasn’t changed which is why people are protesting against this such NFL player Colin Kaepernick.
NFL player Colin Kaepernick made headlines when him and his teammate Eric Reid chose to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality.The idea to kneel came to them because it’s a peaceful gesture instead of choosing to sit out. Kneeling has always been seen as a sign of respect in many ways such as prayer, royalty, and the army. Kaepernick and Reid chose to protest against police brutality because it is affecting the African American community along with systematic oppression and the criminal justice system. It is also not the first time that this has happened. It also happened during the Olympics in 1969. Athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists up while wearing black gloves and taking off their shoes during the the entire time that the National Anthem played. I agree with this post because it is telling the truth about the history behind the flag and how many people suffered because of what the flag was suppose to represent but it doesn’t.
I completely agree with all the points you addressed in the article. As young as the age of six, we are planted with false information in elementary school. We are taught that America is the land of the free and the full pursuit of liberty. This false information is introduced to us in the Pledge of Allegiance. It is expected to be said every single day of the school year. We obey and we do not question. We repeat word after word without knowing the real meaning behind it. America loves to claim itself as a country that has justice for all. However, it is not. The flag itself is a big lie. It is representing something the country is not. The true representation of the flag is seen only if you dig deeper into the history of the U.S. The flag was built upon genocide and the oppression. By pledging to the flag on a daily basis, are we contributing to the celebration of many deaths?
Change will only start from the generations to come. Just as you are using indoctrination to educate your child, many other parents should also continue to do so. That is the only way to prevent the newer generations from continuing to be patriotic of America and proud of the flag. Children can learn and adapt to anything their parents teach them so it is important to be aware of that.That is where the change will happen.
There are a few cities nation wide that understand what America really stands for. These cities seem to be the ones with more diversity. Growing up my whole life in Queens, I have been surrounded by people from different nationalities. I’ve seen how many of my close friends have been Americanized and changed by this country. I thank my parents for allowing me to choose the path in regards to my identity. When anyone asks me where I am from, I respond Ecuador. I am a United States citizen but I don’t identify myself as an American. I don’t agree with America being free and just for all. When I was in 7th grade, there was a student in my class who wouldn’t stand for the pledge of allegiance to the flag. His excuse was that the word god was in the pledge and that he didn’t believe in religion. He would get in trouble for not standing up but he wouldn’t care. From that moment on, I realized that we were being forced to repeat a pledge that wasn’t necessarily something I meant. This fellow classmate opened the eyes of all of us. Some would still stand and participate and others would not. The pledge states terms like indivisible, liberty, and justice for all. The nation seems to be divided, and the pledge now more than ever seems to be arguably wrong.
I think this reading is a very genius idea not only because your son will be able to read this in the future and be able to have a clear vision of what you stands up for and also have a remind of those beautiful memories you included, but also because this will help the future generations to understand the way people like you think about America. I think you’re a really brave father because you have the courage to start educating your child about the brutal reality of the American Flag at a very early age. Many parents these days are not really interested of educating their child about these horrible historic events happened years ago or what is happening currently today because they are afraid that their child will follow the wrong track and get them self in some big trouble. As we discuss many times in the classroom, a child isn’t born with the mentality of white supremacy , a child believe on what they being taught by their parent, you’re building this strong base in your children brain that everything is not as good as it look like and sometimes a lot of bad things need to happen in order to achieve something good out of it.
America is most known for freedom,but is there is really freedom in America ?. I strongly agree when you call the American Flag “ La Bandera de Sangre” not because the flag is red like blood, but because all the US has cause is war and they government built this image to their people that they are the victims and they did the right thing for the people. Today we talk about the government hiding things from people and the lies that they want us to believe and how they get away with it because the power they have on people and also how they are able to manipulate people because of it. America is built of blood and injustice not freedom and peace. I really appreciated what your are doing for us your students because each class I take with you is like opening a new door to fully understand the reality of America and how it has impacted the world. Many people still believe that one people can’t make a change in the world but I believe your are slowing doing it and maybe not today or not tomorrow but one you will become one of the most known in the world because there isn’t anything more powerful in this world than the truth.
I agree with what the article says. Although I was born in the US I don’t feel I am a citizen. We all come from different nations and we represent our own nation. The american flag does not represent us. Being In college and in a latin studies class I’ve learned that The American flag really stands oppression and the murder of a whole race. Growing up in the US though we are taught that the US is amazing and every other country is somewhat below us. So for a long time one is actually neglecting their real nationality and ignoring years and years of traditions and culture. So one of the ideas i have learned in my class is that it is good for young kids to prepare them and introduce them to the ugly side of America. This opens their eyes and mind. So from a young age they are aware of the truths from America.
Some would argue that the American flag is a symbol of freedom and liberty. But, I believe that it represents the complete opposite. When I was in high school, I didn’t stand for the pledge of allegiance. I was reprimanded by a history teacher and threatened with detention. It was ironic because a history teacher should’ve known how our flag came to be. As kids, we were taught false information. We should have been taught that it was wrong that we killed millions of people for economic gain. Our flag represents blood and white supremacy. I had a similar conversation with my step-father. He tried to explain that I should at least stand for our soldiers. Soldiers are toys that have been brainwashed to follow orders and not question them, which they are slowly doing to us. How can they fight for our freedom, when they can’t fight for their own.
Our country was built on genocide, oppression, and fear. I believe that you taught your son to be brave and question everything. I was born and raised in America, and I do not hate it, I just wish for a better future for us. Everyone should know the true history because we were only taught the winning side of history. This letter was a powerful lesson, and the more this is taught ignorance and denial will slowly fade away.
I come from a very different society than the U.S because of that my perspective about patriotism is dissimilar. I came from a country where the feeling nationalism unites us, I come from Peru, in my community people live proud of being Peruvians. I remember since I was a child every day in my school all students have to line up and must to sing the National anthem, placing the right hand in our heart, and look it at the flag. This action was a ceremony that we have to do a least one or twice a week before the beginning of classes. My and all the students and professors will sing the National anthem with so much emotion and passion. The National anthem of my country narrates the history of 300 years colonization ruled by Spanish conquerors also shows the death of many indigenous people in the hands of them, the fight for our independence after many years of colonization. I can not imagine my country without my flag or my National anthem. Americans citizens o persons that were raised here will agree or disagree over their American flag. But as I said I was raised in nationalism society, and my flag and National anthem represent my cultural identity. However, if my country will still colonize but the Spanish and they will replace my flag for the Spanish flag I wouldn’t like that, I’m trying to put myself into Professor shoes and trying to understand why he disagrees with the American flag.
As young a child, I, Brazilian-American, was told to stand up tall, put my hand on my heart, and say “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I, like many others, were not explained why we had to say this and what it even meant, we were just brainwashed into saying it. I said those words every weekday for about 11-12 years of my life. Looking back at it, I ask myself why? “Justice for all.” America is a completely unfair, racist country. There are people being killed every day, because of color of their skin, and there are people dying and struggling, because they don’t have enough money to get the resources they need to live a good life. How is that “just?” It isn’t. Justice for all does not exist in America. Indivisible? Indivisible means something that can’t be broken or divided. Look at America. We are completely divided! The lower class, the middle class, and the upper class. Minorities and Majorities. The people in this country are 100% divided, because of race, money, political views, etc. Looking back, it’s disgusting how I was brainwashed for so long to love a flag that stands for absolutely nothing good!
In this article, The American Flag is Not Our Flag, I 100% agree that we should be thinking about the flag as, “La Bandera de Sangre.” Like you, Professor Shaw, stated that flag stands for the many people America has killed in many different wars, protests, and revolutions. America’s flag stands for all the people the military/government has killed in Latin America, Vietnam, currently the Middle East and many other countries. The flag right now stands for deportation of innocent people just because of their religion/nationality, for the rich who have control over everything, for those who continue to corrupt the country. The flag never did stand for “land of the free.” America has never been truly free, we are told to live a certain way, to believe in certain things, and to be okay with what our government decides. That is not freedom.
This article is very educating and interesting. As I was reading this article it got my attention why you call the American Flag, “The flag of blood”. The first thing that came in my mind was that I totally agree with you, calling the American flag “the flag of blood” because as today thousands and thousands of soldiers had die, in honor of this country. But wait a minute, to honor this country? A country that is formed of hatred that Americans see minorities less than them, that is built of racism. I am pretty sure that not only white Americans have serve for this country, also African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, etc. If we go back to what the people in the government portray, Americans need to love their flag, it is a great honor to be part of this nation, a nation that fights for justice. I do not think that attacking countries such as Syria is to honor this country. Americans feel proud that their beloved country took a lot of Mexican territory. California belonged to Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and is funny to see that in their citizenship exam one of the questions is, Why the United States have 50 stars in their flag? Really, they are proud of what they had done to Mexico, still what belongs to them.
This article brought me way back when I was 6, 7, and 8 years old. In Honduras all the people talk about America, how great America was and how others respect the criminal system and how proud people were when they got their citizenship, now they want to carry with them the American flag. Man it is ridiculous that this people are so ignorant that they do not know the meaning of those stars. How America got them, they got them because they killed people not because Mexico came to them and gave their territories. As today, people that is educated can see beyond that, I can relate as you that the American flag is built of blood, why because as you mention if we go to history many Africans die being slaves, many people have die serving for this country. We frequently see Africans Americans being killed by a police officer and this is what you want to be proud of? I respect the American flag but I do not feel proud of it, because those who portray that we should honor the flag are those who had done the cruelest things for my community.
This article is going beyond its context and how we are raising our children to do as they are told, in a sense. The words we sing in the national anthem and the words recited become words we not only realize aren’t what we mean, but they are words we recite without knowing the history because we are simply taught them at a young age. Growing up you are taught things to be sung and recited without being told the meaning. As you get older it becomes something installed in one’s head and not many care to see what goes beyond the words.
I agree with this article, teaching your child from a young age the meaning and history behind our flag along with many other flags. People fail to see the mile stones that impacted this country in more ways than just the positive. Many times symbols are idolized and not looked at the roots of its origin. The symbol of the American flag represents many things but known most for freedom. “La Bandera De Sangre” (the blood flag), the blood shed throughout the history of this country, the things sacrificed and the hurt shared during these times all play its role.
I definitely enjoyed and found this article interesting because we have been taught to blindly love and follow the flag of the United States. I have always seen the flag as an incredible symbol of freedom and justice because of the little and whitewashed history that we have been taught during high school and lower education before that. It seems that we have forgotten the great contributions of African Americans and other “minorities” have made in this country. Aswell about our shameful past and even present day in colonization and oppressing of Latin American countries. The flags history has been tainted so much but I have never been opened up to the idea of changing the flag. It is such an interesting idea that I am actually opened to it.
Changing the flag would be great when we start of a new beginning in this country. I am also on board with the idea of changing the flag because our pride, honor, and humanity can never be represented by only an object, specially with a history of the opposite of its “reputation”. I am also proud of you professor in teaching your son the true history of the US. and to question everything. I am planning on doing the same when I have children, I could already see the school calling me to limit my kids knowledge. I do see people disagreeing with this “anit the flag” because they have been to only think one way with a limited education. That is why I fight for free and better quality education over increasing the armed forces budget.
Brandon Jimenez
Today’s discussion on the flag and talking about independence really opened up my eyes to what it really is. We do not have our 1st amendment access and available to use at any given time. The government is so corrupt and manipulative they the system is unstoppable. I believe 50 years ago this topic of racism, the American flag, the national anthem was not as openly discussed like today because of social media and the influence it plays in society. The American flag does not identify with people’s view on America and in additional the meaning behind. So many lives have been lost due to war and slavery that people do not want to respect or even acknowledge the flag. I remember as a kid pledging every single day to the flag repeating the same words and not I question what was I saying and do those words mean anything to me.
One of the girls in class posed the question, “But what can we really do about?” That question really has been on my mind the last few days and I have come to the conclusion that you can do a few things like to go protest, rallies, volunteer your time at functions but it is better done in numbers instead on individual level. We have been programmed to always stand, pledge to the United States flag by standing but now people are stepping up and making a change. Fredick Douglas once said, “If there is no change then there will be no progress.” This is the prime example of what we are seeing today.
The American flag is taught to young children to be a symbol of freedom, hope, and prosperity. As a child, we are told that this great flag is what we showcase, for this nation being one of the best in the world. We are told that our great nation once had 13 stars for the original thirteen colonies, and how America was able to conquer more land from the “natives” and create a better world making it jump from 13 to 50 stars. However, as a child, we are never told about how we gained those colonies or how we took land from other countries. All we are told as a child is that the people we did take from, were “barbaric” and “uncivilized”. It was repeated throughout the elementary years that the first to colonize America, were the saviors of the first inhabitants. From the Native Americans, to African Americans, anyone who was not white or a “patriot”, were seen as a race that by all words were “uncivilized”. The first acts of genocide began when the Americas came to be, when the first “Americans” massacred and enslaved those they saw beneath them and in need of redirection. After the perfect society was achieved with white supremacy and the blood of its victims, Americans were proud of the nation they felt they had created. The flag is the utmost symbol of the lands stolen from Mexico, the lives stolen from Native and African Americans, and the diversity stolen from a group of “patriots” who wanted nothing more than white supremacy.
I agree with this letter fully, as it points out the very importance of socialism in the early stages of growth. How we are able to interpret things as adults is gravely impacted by our abilities to see things from an early stage. It is often hard to believe other than what you are told your entire life. The American flag was never a symbol I saw of utmost respect and freedom, instead I always questioned why in school we had to pledge our allegiance to something as simple as a flag. While my teachers tried telling me the flag was a symbol of our great America, I could not believe them. And often, I would point my middle finger to the flag during the pledge of allegiance. Maybe it was because I was feeling rebellious, or maybe it’s because my oblivion to the world around me had ended. As a child we are taught so much, how to behave, how to think, how to act, basically we are told how to live in a world that will penalize you if you do not listen to the rules. We agree with everything as it’s our parents and teachers who teach of these skills, we learn to not question anything. It was around middle school, I noticed this nation was a fraud. The America I knew as a child, the supposed America we lived in, was killed and replaced by an America that promotes social injustices, genocide, racism, classism, we could go on for days. It was one of the hardest things to get over mentally, to realize that I did not live in the world I once thought, to feel lied to by those who are supposed to care for you and love you. I respect Professor Shaw for being one of the few parents in America to not allow his child to be brainwashed or lied to into thinking America is everything it is played out to be. “La bandera de sangre”, is the American flag. And as an American citizen, this flag does not represent what I stand for nor does it represent history that I support. For a flag that supposed to represent an entire nation, why does it only represent what the government has to show for?
I strongly believe that I identify with many of the ideas in this blog post. I was only seven years old when I arrived to this foreign country and it wasn’t until I had arrived to the U.S that race became a factor in my life. I was on seven but I sure knew my place and that there wasn’t anything about being Mexican to be proud of.Language became a great factor for me because I didn’t know the language but having been bullied into thinking that my Spanish was not a good thing and to forcibly learn to speak English changed everything for me.For the next 15 years, I was condition into thinking that standing up to the American flag and forgetting my roots was the only gateway to be accepted.
I was taught by my closes peers that looking to Mexican was not a good thing and until this day I hear the same phrase “Wow you are Mexican?” yes I am, “You sure don’t like it” I been condition to deny the sacrifices of my ancestors and adopt and rise up to a flag that doesn’t recognize me as a human but only a bargaining chip. I once read that teaching the history of those oppressed does something to them, it empowers them to understand that the rules have been written that way to oppress them.We don’t have to walk too far to see this first hand, visit your local school and you’ll find a majority of Latino and African American students start dropping out because they believe that this is it for me, I cant go any further. To those I say NO! this is not it, there is so much more out there waiting for them but also people who are willing to help them understand their history and how their ancestors have risen to stand for their right as HUMANS.That the end of the tunnel is not working for those who profit from their labor but that they too can change history.
This is a very interesting article and definitely forces us, as “Americans”, to question our flag and what it represents. Especially in today’s political climate, you see more and more white Americans defending the flag and becoming enraged when people kneel at the anthem. But do they become enraged when black men are murdered in cold blood by the people who are supposed to protect them? Or when an entire nation stole the history of African people, enslaved them and treated them as non human animals and second class citizens? Or when Christopher Columbus performed a whole genocide of an entire group of people who were already here, claiming he had “founded” what he thought to be India? The flag, in literal terms, represents the 13 colonies and 50 stars that represent the 50 states, but those 50 states are those of which are stolen land. This is where the great divide comes in our country, ones who are represented by the flag and those who are not.
Especially today with Trump in office, the underlying racism, ignorance, and hatred has really been brought to light and people think it is okay because of a leader who says awful things about oppressed and marginalized groups. I used to think America was “never that bad”, and that people like this truly couldn’t exist in this day and age, but it always has been there. Trump has just made it easier and made people proud of publicizing their hatred and ignorance. So why should oppressed groups stand for the flag? What are they standing for? Centuries of oppression, genocide, discrimination, murder, and enslavement against their own ancestors and people? The government is so good at denying it’s history and will never accept the fact that this country was built on the backs of Africans stolen from their homes and the genocide of Native Americans. We stole their history, and this economy was built off of them, but America will never admit that because it is a white man’s world. No one has the right, especially white Americans, to tell people how to react to their own oppression. If a black person wants to stand during the anthem, they have every right to and they should. The flag does not represent them, nor does it represent any person of color in the US. History has proven that and continues to repeat itself time and time again.
I can strongly relate to this blog because I too do not identify myself with the American flag. I identify with the Dominican flag, which I have so much pride for. When I go back to the Dominican Republic and I hear my family members speaking about how they wish to visit America one day I get upset. I understand the urge of curiosity that must roam through their heads. But what they do not know is the bitter reality of what it means to live here. Most people from there hold America to be such a free land and a land full of hopes and dreams. I however disagree with that. It takes a lot to survive here. Even if you are financially stable, the color of your skin and your background have a lot to do with how you are treated here.
America can be such a beautiful place without all the discrimination, violence, and judgments. Instead of having peace, we are stuck with hatred everywhere we turn. There is no true escape to this, its just the way it is. I am a proud Latina and everywhere I go I’m always asked what am I or where do I come from. That is my favorite question to be asked because I love telling people about my background and where I come from. I am 100% Dominican regardless of where I was born or where I live. In the future when I have kids I will teach them the same way I was taught which was to love where you come from more than America, because there is nothing more beautiful than that.