Is anyone else losing respect for Leo Manzano running around with the Mexican flag??

Because Lagat "willingly" came to america and changed his citizenship. He also had beef with Kenyan coaches and officials. While Manzano and Lomong came as children for a better life, they were basically raised here.

Mexican wrote:

How would u feel if some country just took North Dakota?

Well, if Canada defeated us in a war and took North Dakota, I'd be pretty embarassed.

Not sympathetic wrote:

I don't have a problem with Leo. Americans tend to treat Mexican-Americans with disrespect, like the law in Arizona which allows them to ask anyone who looks hispanic for proof of citizenship.

Arizona, Texas, California, Utah, Nevada, parts of Oklahama and Colorado were all part of Mexico until the 1860s. Many of the people who lived there have descendants who are as American as anyone else but are hispanic looking. As poorly treated as Mexicans are, it's little wonder that they want to show pride in their heritage.

Yeah, it's so great when your neighborhood suddenly has houses with 27 people in it getting in fights and drunk all the time. I can't imagine why Arizona has a problem with the steady stream of lawless drug mules mixed in with the poor ba$tards looking for a better life.

In Mexico there is a name for people who are born there, immigrate here, and then go back to the old country to visit. They are called "Cholos," by the evious people down there who don't have it in them to take a risk for a better life. It hurts to face racial hatred here and envy and resentment there. Leo was just trying to to let his friends and relatives back in Mexico who have supported him know that he still remembers them and remembers where he came from. !Bien hecho Leo!

Like I said, I have no opinion on what Leo did. I was just curious about the Lagat case because all I knew was that Lagat came to America, but I didn't realize the issue Lagat had with Kenya.

Honestly I don't believe Leo would have been the only one who would have done this. Take Diego Estrada, I have a feeling that if he ran for the U.S. and were to have won a medal he probably would have done the same.

Either way, it's a medal for the U.S. which is all I care about. In addition it's motivation to Americans that we can medal and can contend in such distance events that no one would have believed in us.

Suggestions wrote:

America is a free country. Leonel can do as he pleases. If you don't like it you can move to a zionist dictatorship with millions of political prisoners locked up in Warsaw ghettos. Places like North Korea, Russia, China, Texas, Iran, Syria, Israel, Cuba, etc. See how you like it there you dumboh.

Texas???

DougC wrote:

Well, if Canada defeated us in a war and took North Dakota, I'd be pretty embarassed.

I'd imagine Canada would be pretty embarrassed too. For fighting and winning a war only to get stuck with North Dakota.

I can't believe how Fuking INSECURE you losers are. Get over yourself. You take offense for details that don't matter. Lonel Manzano has the right to celebrate as he pleases. He being born in Mexico ran for the United States and won a medal FOR THE UNITED STATES. How fuking ungrateful can you be? Get over yourselves.

It's not Leo's fault that you losers don't know where the fuk you came from and have no pride in your roots or heritage. If you don't care to have pride in your root FINE. But don't tell other how to feel or how to celebrate. Specially if he just WON A MEDAL FOR YOU!!

INSECURE MOTHER FUKERS

Davy Crockett wrote:

Remember the Alamo!

What kind of pie do you want? I'll be by around 7.

It is just further confirmation to other than American observers, that the USA these days is anything other than united and will soon break up into two or more probably three different countries. One, a sort of Greater Mexico - another, a sort of a South African type country - and the other, more like an advanced European country.

Salud to Mexicans, Semites, Asian athletes in America. Please stay and feel free to show pride in your culture.

Semites like Ammar Moussa, Adam Goucher, Lauren Fleshman, Matt Scherer, Cameron Levins, Aly Raisman are welcomed.

Asians like Vikas Gowda, Yoo Suk Kim, Apolo Anton Ono are welcomed.

Mongol-Europeans like Chris Solinsky, Zsofia Edelyi, Katinka Hosszu are welcomed.

Americans fully support you and your pride in your fantastic people and culture.

The Mexican flag was a good Christian thing to add to the American flag, you know "honour thy mother and thy father" and all that...

I'm much more concerned with that they let Mo Farah's wife and doughter down on the track after his victory - there's a "progression", first it was winners and flags and victory laps, then it was all the medalists and flags and victory laps, now they've added unauthorized family members to step onto the arena, it's good TV but where will it end and how long before someone that shouldn't be there gets in the way of someone still competing in another event or someone sneaks in to do an improper publicity stunt...

Leo does not ask for respect, respect asks for Leo.

Just as we're all so privileged to voice our ill-begotten, bigoted, and idiotic opinions to a message board on this glorious website.

I gained respect for Manzano. I admire him for carrying the Mexican flag likely knowing full well that racists and xenophobes on the right would likely skewer him. He did what made him happy and what he thought was right, which is something deserving of respect. If Leo had decided not to carry the flag out of fear for the backlash then I would have lost respect for him. Manzano accomplished more than any of the haters on this board will likely ever accomplish and he deserves to celebrate it in the manner he chooses.

Props to Manzano, he is yet another example of why America is great and is only made stronger by acceptance of other people and cultures.

Yeah way to go Leo. You know you morons it isn’t a bad thing to be proud of where you live. You all have been brain washed by the liberal education system into the belief that America is bad in some way. No one is perfect as someone who actually has lived in another country let alone visited one I am always surprised by the idiots who like to bash our country yet 99% of them have never been anywhere else let alone left their own state. We live in a great country and Leo should just have carried the American Flag as that is who he represents, otherwise we should have every American athlete carry the flags that make up their heritage and for that matter why didn’t Leo carry the Spanish flag, I mean what the hell his ancestors didn’t just sprout up in Mexico. I’m thinking we should just do away with the American flag and instead make one that has all the counties of the world on it or better yet adopt the UN flag. You don’t see other athletes from other nations doing this or is America the only country with immigrants...No we are just the only ones who are dumb enough to think that we have to apologize for success and then point out every part of heritage like that was the reason we got what we did.

Simple answer: No. Not at all.

Leo is a great guy. I also think it's great that he can be an American and also honor his heritage. The criticism of him is just silly and ignorant.

No. I ate Mexican food last night to celebrate!

I also poured out some Corona for Centro.

Just to be fair on Sunday AM i ran with a breathe right strip in honor of Rupp.

Rush O'Hannity wrote:

I'm not very patriotic, so I don't care much. I do think it's rather hypocritical of anyone on LR to mention it though. After all, the lot of you have been kissing Lagat's butt for years and he's a freaking Kenyan.

When Lagat won double gold in '07, he didn't whip out a Kenyan flag or talk about Kenya in interviews. All he could talk about was how happy he was to compete for the US and bring medals home to the nation he loves. And when he was competing for Kenya, even though the US supported him, he didn't whip out a US flag when he won medals or talk about the US in interviews; he supported the country he was representing, and that country only. I'm sure he's proud of his Kenyan heritage; he should be.

But he doesn't place his heritage above his CHOSEN home.