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Dual Pride at the Olympics?
With all the ridiculous obsessions about “unfair advantages,” “light-skinned, exotic beauties“ and “disgraceful hair-dos” flooding around the Olympic athletes these days, it’s hard to avoid the negative hype. It seems there is a never-ending supply of insults flying around and a whole lot of not-so-wholesome Olympic finger pointing going on.
Earlier today, CNN published a story on the insult of a Mexican-born, U.S. Olympian who showed pride for both America and Mexico by presenting both flags after his win. Basically, the story pointed out that it’s not so bad for Mexican Americans to show their pride, but when Americans who were once Mexican immigrants do it, it’s just in poor taste.
Ok…
Is there something special about Leo Manzano being an immigrant? That’s the part that rubs me the wrong way about this story.
Are we to believe that a Mexican American born and raised here can have dual pride, but if you’re an immigrant – you can’t? Interesting.
It seems the author somehow feels that this Mexican-born, U.S. Olympian is minimizing his tribute to the USA by paying tribute to his birth nation. I can see the point, especially for a country that sees dual identity as a threat. How will mainstream Americans perceive this? It’s a valid question.
In America, you have to choose, right? You can’t be both. Even speaking a second language can get you into trouble here…since many still view a second heritage and pride as a form of nationalism.
I agree that it’s debatable whether or not making a point of your dual heritage or ’bicultural identity’ at the Olympics is acceptable (I personally love it…but that’s just me). True, he’s there representing the U.S.A. But why is there a double standard that prevents immigrant Americans from expressing their dual identity, while an American-born Olympians are free to express themselves?
Immigrants have every right to their dual pride and being an immigrant shouldn’t make you any more “suspicious” of ill intentions or foster assumptions that your pride for America (your home and the catalyst of your successes) is lessened by your pride for the country that gave birth to you and raised you with the determination to make dreams possible.
It’s a double standard that minimizes the immigrant experience in this country. Maybe he shouldn’t have had two flags at the Olympics, but let’s not question his allegiance because of it.
Jonathon Rodriguez commented on the article,
So it was alright and “symbolic” for De la Hoya to do it but unacceptable for this guy to do it? I don’t see the difference or what is wrong with it. As far as I can tell the American flag is the one flying and the one he is embracing, the Mexican flag is just crumpled up in one of his fists. Nothing wrong with embracing your new culture and still keeping your own, that’s what the United States of America is all about.
I couldn’t agree more. Let this Olympian celebrate fully…by embracing both his roots and the country that gave him wings.
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This is the Olympics. You are there to represent YOUR country – the name on your jersey. Mexico sent their own athletes. Very disrespectful and inappropriate to wave another country’s flag.
He was BORN in Mexico and RESIDES in America. He went as a professional athlete to showcase HIS talents. He, the Mexican born. It is an honor to be an Olympian and he competed as an American because he obviously is honored to be a representative of America BUT his truest roots are of Mexican descent. How many opportunities does one have to be in the Olympics?? He was saying America WE did it and he was also saying Mexico look at me, THE AMERICAN DREAM. THERES HOPE. HAVE PRIDE. LIFT YOUR HEADS MY PEOPLE. I MADE IT! Has anyone ever been to Mexico. Has anyone ever witnessed the poverty, the corruption, the trials or do you know the plight of the immigrant.? He LOVES his country but knows that to live his definition of success he must do so in a country that allows him the luxury of those freedoms. I GREATLY RESPECT what he did. HE represented the TRUEST nature of his circumstance and pride. HE WON. Not just for America but for himself. The Mexican born-American with a story to tell. I wish I could shake this courageous mans hands. How dare anyone cast stones. His victory is not ONLY winning the olympics it is also being a victorious Latino who has broken the status quo. Who said “F**k You” to every stereotype thrusted upon his people.
Natalie, thank you so much for leaving this amazing comment with your thoughts. I couldn’t have put that into words and I thank you for doing so because it’s a perspective that needs to be heard. ♥ Thank you so much for speaking up and for putting this on our hearts.
Thank you. ♥
E Pluribus Unum… You know where that’s posted? Have we forgotten what that means? My 7yr old son, finds that phrase to be the BEST phrase he’s ever heard. In a child’s voice he says “That’s why AMERICA is GREAT” because here in this COUNTRY we are all together from different nations with the HOPE & ASPIRATION of becoming greater than where we came. With that in MIND, the TRUTH of the matter is that there exists a xenophobic blanket which the ignorant and RACIST must quickly run and grab to alleviate the fear of the inevitable. THIS COUNTRY WAS, HAS, IS and will FOREVER be about IMMIGRANTS prospering and to deny that is backwards and disrespectful. The OLYMPIAN has every right to display his flag of origin. SO GET OVER IT. FREEDOM RULES… Roman S @FunnyLatino
Theodore Roosevelt on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN
“In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile…We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
His dad was an illegal immigrant,,,,,,,we cheer him on….yet carries two flags….Now we will pay him millions to be on the cover of our cereal? No thanks.
Totally inappropriate. He was representing the country that sent him to the Olympics, which is the USA, not Mexico. If he wanted to carry the Mexican flag why wasn’t he an athlete for Mexico?
I really hope that he doesn’t get any endorsements for products that are advertised in the USA. Maybe he can get endorsements, which equals money, from Mexico. His disrespectful actions showed that he is not proud enough of America.
He is not there just as an individual. He is there as part of the AMERICAN TEAM not the mexican team. There are MANY AMERICAN OLYMPIANS who are immigrants… You didn’t see track star Sanya Richards-Ross waving a Jamaican flag along with her American flag, she moved to the US as a preteen. You can choose which country to represent at the Olympics, he chose to go for the American teams. I understand why he did it but I don’t LIKE that he did it.