Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The Mexican Revolution: 2017

We got yer backs, Mexico.
A conservative public interest group has released a report which claims that a California elementary school which instructs urban children from immigrant families in native languages to foster the indigenous identity of the students is training the next generation of Mexican revolutionaries with U.S. taxpayer money, RAW STORY has learned...

"Parents of students from Academia Semillas del Pueblo, an elementary charter school located in El Sereno, CA, will gather at the KABC-AM station to address concerns regarding the safety of their children," according to a media alert. "The parents are reacting to threats received by the elementary school that occurred after a segment on KABC-AM’s McIntyre in the Morning radio program aired on Wednesday, May 31, 2006."

"The report depicted the elementary charter school as a racist institution funded by local taxpayers," the school's statement continued. "The parents are demanding that Disney intervene and hold KABC-AM accountable for the inaccuracy of the information disseminated from its station on behalf of the safety of the students of the Academia Semillas Del Pueblo."...

– Academia offers an 8th grade United States history and geography class entitled, "A People's history of Expansion and Conflict – A thematic survey of American politics, society, culture and political economy; Emphasis throughout on the nations the U.S. usurped, invaded and dominated; Connections between historical rise of capitalism and imperialism with modern political economy and global social relations."

Disney to the front lines!

Seriousnessly, any action on this by authorities will provide a precedent for ensuring that no children learn anything other than the party line, especially those things which are critical of US policy. But, frankly, this is wacky territory. Far right conservatives have created a new bogeyman, not only out of Mexicans (that one's old), but out of a very minority view that the US southwest belongs to Mexico. Here's another case of irrational fear integrating into policy proposals.

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