Protesters Say Carrying Mexican Flag Isn't Meant as Lack of U.S. Loyalty

Many Americans have been turned off and angered by the sight of many participants in the recent protests against a crackdown on illegal immigration carrying Mexican flags. But protesters and their backers are saying the flags are meant as a sign of cultural pride, and are being misconstrued as a lack of loyalty to the U.S.

Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Cesar Chavez, told AP, "The Mexican flag is like a symbol of dignity and identity and pride for the people who carry it. ... Pride and roots is what it is. It definitely does not mean separation or nationalism in the sense that we want to go back to Mexico." Gabriela Lemus, director of policy and legislation at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), compared it to another ethnic group carrying their flag, telling AP, "Nobody gets upset with the Irish on St. Patrick's Day." But, she said, LULAC is encouraging protesters to carry both the U.S. and Mexican flags.

Isidro D. Ortiz, a political scientist and professor of Chicano and Chicana studies at San Diego State University, had slightly different take. He agreed that the flag is primarily a symbol of Mexican pride, but said in the current climate, Latinos also want to express dissatisfaction with how they're treated. He told AP, "[They] have been trying for some time to imagine themselves as part of the United States. What they've experienced is refusal."

Does it bother you when the protesters against an illegal immigration crackdown carry the Mexican flag?

What do you think of Professor Ortiz's statement that carrying the Mexican flag is also meant to show dissatisfaction by Latinos at how they've been treated?

Do you believe that the U.S. has shown Latinos a refusal to accept them as part of the U.S.?