Posted on 09/25/2007 1:17:19 PM PDT by CedarDave
A University of New Mexico student who tore down the Mexican flag from a school flagpole said Monday he was upset because the university was flying another nation's flag without the U.S. flag.
"I was livid with the situation, and it wasn't the fact that it was the Mexican flag," said Peter Lynch, a mechanical engineering student who served in the U.S. military for nearly eight years. "It was the fact that it was any foreign banner."
He said he was particularly upset that it happened on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, and that university officials did nothing to rectify the situation after he informed them.
UNM officials said miscommunication led to the Mexican flag flying at Scholes Hall without the American flag.
Flag etiquette prescribes that no other nation's flag be flown in place of the U.S. flag. ...
The U.S. and state flags were raised outside the UNM administration building Sept. 14 by Army ROTC [students] ... A third pole that usually carries the UNM flag was left empty so the Mexican Student Association could raise the Mexican flag later that day in honor of Mexican independence day.
At the end of the day, the ROTC students lowered the U.S. and state flags but left the Mexican flag flying because they believed that the Mexican Student Association would take it down. The students forgot and left it hanging all weekend, McKinsey said.
On Monday morning, the ROTC students who were scheduled to raise the American and state flags forgot to do so.
UNM police say Lynch tore the Mexican flag apart on Sept. 17. A criminal complaint charges him with misdemeanor criminal damage to property.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
Works for me.
Way to go Peter! If only he would have burned it.....
Good for him but the pusillanimous multicultural faculty will probably punish him severely. If the Mexican Student Association wants to celebrate Mexican independence day, there’s a whole country where they do that!
FYI...
If there is we should all contribute to it immediately and if not, how do we get one set up?
Why are they trying to bring with them, the very thing they're trying to get away from?
US flag goes up first and comes down last.
As such, there should never be any other flag flying alone except the US flag.
The Mexican flag should never have been flying in the first place.
Good for you Peter Lynch! I’m livid with you.
For your NM PING! list.
He tore it apart? I think it’s commendable that he took it down, but it should not have been damaged.
Miscommunication. The UNM officals problably didn't understand Lynch, who addressed his concerns in English.
That was my reaction as well. This guy better go into hiding, else "THE FACULTY" will quietly ship him off for Re-Education & Sensitivity Training.
Bravo Sierra.
ROTC Students forgot to lower or raise the flags they were tasked with doing? My military mind tells me they might need adult leadership.
ROFL! You done good Peter, you done good!
He would have ended up in jail and extradited to Mexico.
Sounds to me like the students in the Mexican Students Ass who forgot to take the Mexican flag down should have to pay for the flag and make a public apology to the students of the University.
With you. It’s not his property, and not his to destroy.
As far as taking it down, I consider that an act of patriotism. If I walked by a Mexican flag flying solo on my campus, my guts would have roiled.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.