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 omething shocking
happened at Lucille Erwin Public School in Loveland, Colo. earlier
this year. And the most
shocking
thing about it was that the ACLU still hasn't complained.
School officials summoned a 12-year-old child, Kevin Weston, out
of his homeroom. He was ordered to report to the library along with
all other students of his ethnic background. You see, Kevin Weston
is a dark-complexioned Hispanic young man.
When Kevin's parents, Liam and Carmen Weston, heard about this,
they were outraged. Their permission had not been sought. Kevin's
teacher refused to discuss the matter. The school principal was
no help either. The Westons felt compelled to remove their son from
the school.
The unusual thing about this tale is that not one word of protest
was uttered on Kevin's behalf by any of the organizations so quick
to cry "coercive indoctrination" at the sight of a classroom display
of the Ten Commandments or when met with proposals to increase student
patriotism.
Had Kevin Weston been forced to attend a Christian Coalition meeting
on school grounds, his story would have been page-one news across
the length and breadth of our land. But the meeting Kevin Weston
was forced to attend was one conducted by the League of United Latin
American Citizens (LULAC). Only WorldNetDaily.com
reported his story nationally.
The Weston family fits few stereotypes, despite the efforts of schools
in both Colorado and California to pigeonhole the two Weston boys
into a politically correct box. When they lived in Santa Clarita,
Calif., the school system insisted that the Weston's other son,
Brendan, be put in an English-as-a-second-language program. This,
it seems, because Brendan had admitted on a school survey that Spanish
was spoken in his home.
Not one month later, Brendan was ranked first among 100 nominees
as the "Best and Brightest" students in the region by the Los
Angeles Times, which captioned his picture:
So phenomenal is [Brendan's] command of the English language that
judges in a district writing contest questioned whether Brendan
was using his own wording. Quizzed by his teacher, Brendan spelled
every one of his five- and six-syllable words correctly and used
them in the proper context.
Liam Weston had been a Boy Scout leader and knew that formal parental
permission was required before a child could take part in any scouting
activity. His son had also asked his permission to attend other
school activities.
The Weston family complained. Dan Johnson, the school-district superintendent,
defended the lack of parental permission to the Daily Reporter-Herald:
"I don't think anyone involved in this situation did the wrong thing….
It is
| “A
boy who just wanted to go to school and study was turned
into a political pawn in this organization's efforts to
inculcate in Hispanic-American children a sense of grievance
against America and America's values.” |
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typical in many school districts that they don't ask parental permission
for (clubs)."
So, there is nothing "wrong" with singling out a child based on
his skin color and summoning him out of his homeroom while his classmates
watched? Loveland, Colo., is neither Nazi Germany nor Communist
Russia, where this sort of thing was eerily routine.
Superintendent Johnson even told WorldNetDaily.com that he "[did]
not see LULAC as a political organization."
On March 13, this
"nonpolitical" organization will present Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton of New York with its 2001 President's Award. Al Gore earned
the same award in 1999.
LULAC's choice of honorees dovetails nicely with its 'nonpolitical'
agenda, as expressed by its 2001
Legislative Platform.
LULAC strongly endorses affirmative action, amnesty for illegal
aliens, census sampling, "the expansion of medicare to cover the
cost of prescriptions," and "an increased minimum wage." LULAC also
"opposes the privatization of Social Security and any tax cut plan
that would compromise its future stability" as well as "time limits
on welfare."
Even Hillary Clinton did not dare run on such an extreme-left platform.
Cuban-American businessmen, Mexican Americans with large families
who would benefit from tax cuts, and Americans of Hispanic descent
with views to the right of Paul Wellstone or Alec Baldwin most certainly
are not represented by this organization.
Not surprisingly, "LULAC strongly opposes all legislation that designates
English as the official language of the United States, " but then
adds: "We recognize the value and utility of English proficiency."
(Just imagine the hours of negotiation this codicil must have required!)
"LULAC believes that all textbooks should reflect the Hispanic community
in a positive way and should be language appropriate and culturally
sensitive." Coverage of Aztec religious practices or the Alamo in
a history textbook might be problematic. So, too, might the defeat
of the Spanish Armada.
LULAC itself has evolved a great deal from its founding in 1929.
The organization's constitution stated that English was LULAC's
official language and required that all members teach their children
to speak what it called the "official language of our country."
As one chagrined observer noted: "Notable by its omission among
twenty-five articles (in the LULAC by-laws) is any demand for any
form of cultural pluralism."
How times have changed. LULAC today stands squarely against assimilation
and firmly in the camp of the Democratic party. (In 1998, LULAC's
executive council even passed a resolution opposing the impeachment
of Bill Clinton.) And a boy who just wanted to go to school and
study was turned into a political pawn in this organization's efforts
to inculcate in Hispanic-American children a sense of grievance
against America and America's values.
Kevin Weston has a loving father and mother who have chosen to continue
their son's schooling at home. Other Hispanic kids aren't so fortunate.
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