Every April 25 our family commemorates ANZAC Day. It marks the anniversary of the first military battle fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli during World War I, where the ANZACs proved themselves as courageous fighters. It's part of our multilayered heritage and we proudly fly the Australian flag.

So it was disturbing to read that a member of the San Diego Minutemen bragged about paying a visit to a family in San Marcos chastising them for displaying a Mexican flag outside their home. It is, after all, National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The SDMM flag police said they left a pre-printed flier that read: "Dear Mexico lover. This is America, not Mexico! We have room for but one flag! If you must fly your foreign flag, please fly it inside your house or below the American flag in public. Thank you for following U.S. flag etiquette. Sincerely, the American People."

Jeff Schwilk, president of the SDMM, e-mailed his supporters saying that he left the same flier at a home in Vista and gave the family a week "to fix it; otherwise, we won't be so nice."

Could foreign flag harassment become the new cross burning?

I researched U.S. flag etiquette and found no prohibition for individuals to fly another country's flag. The SDMM is also mistaken about flag placement.

According to the American Legion, "When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace."

Ironically, when Schwilk and other members of the SDMM wear their flag-themed clothing as they threaten and harass day laborers, employers and Catholic priests, do they violate Section 8d, which states that the flag should never be used as wearing apparel?

This isn't about flag etiquette. This is about an organization's frustration with national immigration policies. But does the SDMM really speak for the American People as they claim when they use bully tactics of fear and intimidation? Americans want reform but not at the expense of our humanity and compassion.

Immigration reform is a complex, emotional issue and will require compromise from all sides. An amendment to the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, that could be voted on in the Senate this week may find the SDMM in another ironic situation. The act would offer conditional legal status to eligible high school graduates who arrived in the U.S. illegally at 15 or younger and have lived here for at least five years, provided they attend two years of college or serve two years in the military. Those illegal aliens so utterly despised by the SDMM could actually become the troops who fight our enemies to protect the freedom of Schwilk and his ilk to express their hateful First Amendment rights.

Ay caramba!

Carmel Valley resident Gail Chatfield is a freelance columnist for the North County Times. Contact her at my500words@yahoo.com.