This says a lot. About the specific case and the larger issue.
mexico
|
By
Ruben Navarrette Jr. , CNN Contributor
updated
7:31 AM EDT, Fri August 10, 2012
|
CNN.com
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Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a
nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow
him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette.
San Diego (CNN) -- Every few years, I reassess how I feel
about Mexican-Americans who wave Mexican flags. Much of it has to do with who
is doing the waving and under what circumstances.
In 2006, I wrote a column saying it was a bad idea for
immigration reform advocates to wave Mexican flags as they marched through U.S.
cities such as Phoenix, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. It's illogical to show
your allegiance to one country while demanding accommodation from another.
But in 2007, I penned another column after attending a Luis
Miguel concert in Las Vegas where fans of the Mexican singer unfurled Mexican
flags. Nothing wrong with that, I concluded.
It's all about context. There is a big difference between a
political protest and a concert.
Now, thanks to U.S. Olympic medalist Leo Manzano, and what I
consider to be the misguided and ill-mannered way he chose to celebrate his
silver medal in the 1500-meters final, I get the chance to think through the
subject of flag-waving once again.
After Manzano finished his race and secured his medal, he
did what athletes typically do at the Olympics. He held up his country's flag --
the Stars and Stripes.
The 27-year-old was born in Mexico, but the United States is
his country now. His father migrated here illegally from the city of Dolores
Hidalgo. Manzano was brought here when he was 4. Like most immigrants, they
came in search of greater opportunity. And they found it -- for themselves, and
their children.
That little boy eventually became a U.S. citizen. And then,
after a lot of hard work and thousands of hours of training, he got the chance
to represent his country and compete in the Olympics. And, to put the cherry on
the sundae, he actually wins a silver medal. The last time an American won a
medal of any kind in the 1500 meters was 44 years ago.
You can't help but be proud of Manzano and the country that
allowed him the opportunity to fulfill his potential.
So why did Manzano carry two flags with him on his victory
lap? As the world looked on, he held up both the U.S. flag and the Mexican
flag. Not a good look. And not a good idea.
Manzano posted messages on Twitter throughout the
competition -- in Spanish and English. After his victory, he tweeted,
"Silver medal, still felt like I won! Representing two countries USA and
Mexico!"
That's funny. I only saw one set of letters on his jersey:
USA.
Later, he said to the media that he was honored to represent
the United States and Mexico.
I realize that, for many of my fellow Mexican-Americans, the
image of Manzano waving two flags is no big thing. And for many Americans who
are Mexican-born, it's actually a great thing. Both camps might even find the
gesture charming -- albeit, for different reasons.
Most Mexican-Americans I know would need a whole team of
therapists to sort out their views on culture, national identity, ethnic pride
and their relationship with Mother Mexico. They're the orphans of the Southwest
-- too Mexican for the Americans, too American for the Mexicans. Their positive
reaction to the photo has less to do with Manzano than with their own sense of
displacement.
Many Mexicans who came to the United States -- particularly
those who came as professionals or became professionals once they got here --
look to Mexico with a mixture of affection and guilt. They romanticize what
they left behind and find it easier to love the country from hundreds or
thousands of miles away. They may live in the United States, but many of them still
consider themselves children of Mexico -- the kind who run away from home.
For both groups, the fact that Manzano, who holds dual
citizenship, made a decision to show off the flags of both countries was a kind
of signal to the people of Mexico that this accomplished young man hadn't
forgotten where he came from. For some, that concept warms the heart.
But the image didn't warm my heart. It upset my stomach.
Understand, I've been called a Mexican separatist, a racist
who hates anyone who isn't Mexican or Mexican-American, someone who is obsessed
with his ethnicity. In fact, I can't remember the last time someone accused me
of not being proud of being Mexican or Mexican-American. And in the past 20
years, I've written hundreds of thousands of words in defense of Mexicans and
Mexican-Americans.
That said, the photo bothered me.
Some people will insist that this is Manzano's choice to
make, that it was his sweat and sacrifice that got him to London, and this was
his victory to celebrate however he saw fit. Those people are wrong. They're
focused on the individual. But the last thing the Olympics is about is the
individual.
It's about being part of a team -- the U.S. Olympic team.
It's about national pride, not ego. Manzano wasn't there to compete for himself
but to represent his country. All he had to do was decide which country that
was. He chose not to choose.
What am I missing? Where were the Italian-American athletes
waving the Italian flag, or the Irish-Americans waving the Irish flag? I didn't
see that.
I remember that, in 1992, Mexican-American boxer Oscar De La
Hoya held up both the U.S. and Mexican flags after winning a gold medal in
Barcelona. But that was largely symbolic since De La Hoya was born in the
United States. He wasn't an immigrant caught between two countries.
Leo, con todo respeto (with all due respect), you should be
proud of your accomplishment. You deserve it. But when you're an Olympic
athlete, you don't get to have your cake and eat it, too. Sooner or later, you
have to choose which country you're going to represent. And you did. You made
that choice, when you put on the jersey for Team USA.
It wasn't unlike the choice your parents made when they
chose the United States over Mexico a quarter century ago. They voted with
their feet. It would be nice if you haven't left your heart behind.
This country took you in during your hour of need. Now in
your moment of glory, which country deserves your respect -- the one that
offered nothing to your parents and forced them to leave or the one that took
you all in and gave you the opportunity to live out your dreams?
The answer should be obvious.
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