Woman Loses Job After Confronting Family Over Mexican Flag
An Ontario, California, woman who recently filmed herself confronting a family over a Mexican flag flying in their yard has lost her job after the video went viral, and denies that the incident was all just a campaign stunt.
Tressy Capps, a political activist who is currently running for a city council seat in Fontana, California, spotted the Mexican flag flying outside of an Ontario home and decided to confront the homeowner, recording the incident on her smartphone, according to the Daily Mail. The woman who Capps addressed does not speak English, and did not understand her questions.
“Hi. Is that a Mexican flag in your front yard?” Capps asked. “You know we live in America right? This is the United States. So, why are you flying a Mexican flag in your front yard?”
“This is America,” she added. “Maybe you can move to Mexico if you want to fly your Mexican flag. Does that make sense?”
Sigifredo Banuelos, the homeowner whose wife appeared in the video, told KCLA 9 that his family had no intention to offend anyone by flying the Mexican flag, but rather wished to celebrate their heritage. He pointed out that his family also flies an American flag outside of their home as well.
When Capps’ employer, Coldwell Banker, heard about the video, they terminated her independent contract position, according to Fox News Latino. Coldwell Banker Real Estate released a statement explaining the decision.
“We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We hold our affiliated companies to high ethical standards. Each of our franchised companies is independently owned and operated and we fully support the local owner’s decision to disassociate this independent agent from the brokerage firm and, by extension, our franchise system.”
In the video, Capps also alleges that the family may face legal penalties for flying the Mexican flag outside their home, yet according to Ontario, California City Attorney John Brown, that isn’t the case.
“The City of Ontario takes great pride in being one of the most ethnically and racially diverse cities in Southern California,” Brown stated. “Those expressions of ethnic and racial diversity take many forms throughout our City, and the City has always taken the position that such speech is absolutely protected by the both the United States and California Constitutions.”
Capps alleges that she has received threats since the video went viral, and that her son has been bullied at school. She insists that taking offense to the Banuelos’ Mexican flag doesn’t make her a racist, but rather, a patriot.
“I don’t understand what all the hatred is about,” she said. “Why everyone is labeling me these names. Racist? I don’t understand why everyone is so angry.”
Earlier this month, The Inquisitr noted that a Florida shop owner was told to take down his Gadsden flag since it violated a town ordinance dictating that only the American or Floridian flags may be flown in the municipality. The city of Ontario pointed out that flying the Mexican flag does not violate any city, state, or federal ordinances.
[Image via Newsrender]
