The church burnings have GOT to stop. I have a personal connection to one that was burned today. I am heartbroken.
Who’s proud now?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/fire-black-church-south-carolina_n_7702070.html
Now the ire has turned to the American flag
Obviously not all of these people would commit such an act of treason, but a large portion of them are anti-American to begin with. They pair some racism and unfair treatment in their lives to the US simply because they posses the judgement of a child. I’m not familiar with the law, but any American flag burner should be deported and banned from the US regardless of their status.
That looks like a propaganda piece to me considering the source. I would certainly hope it doesn’t come to that but the photos and associated articles lead me to believe that it’s the source itself more interested in fanning the flames than anything. When it ends with a Rush Limbaugh quote as the parting barb I think a bit of skepticism is in order. :-@
The photo was taken in Pakistan in 2011. Where would you have us deport them to?
Stugace, burning the flag is not something I would ever do or condone, but it’s not treason. Look up the definition: treason is giving aid to an enemy of the country. And, as the Supreme Court ruled years ago, there happens to be a First Amendment right, if you own a flag, to burn it or do anything else you want with it. It isn’t a sacred icon. You can’t even be arrested for it, let alone “deported.”
The Blaze is a far-right website that exists solely to whip up a frenzy in its constituency, and loves to deny the existence of racism against black people. The group that’s planning to do the flag-burning is a tiny group that represents nobody but themselves.
We obviously can’t do a thing if it was in another country. As for the domestic American flag burners, we can deport them off to the ocean. If that’s too cruel and unusual, then off to jail they go.
Yes, these recent church burnings, following so closely on the heels of that horrible massacre, clearly demonstrate how not post racial America still is. These acts of hatred stand in stark relief against the loving and forgiving response of the families and congregation of Emmanuel AME. I may laugh over the Klan’s plan to protest the removal of the CBF, but really, the state of American race relations is no laughing matter. Still.
“Treason: the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.” Straight from a Google search.
Anyway, I’m aware of that ruling, but does it make it right? I understand it doesn’t represent everyone, but from my experience, there’s large anti-American immigrants/children-of-immigrants that most people don’t know about.
Treason is [defined in Article III Section 3 of the United States Constitution](America's Founding Documents | National Archives). It “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” Burning a flag by itself falls short of this definition.
Even someone properly [disposing of an old worn out American flag that is no longer fit for continued use](Flag Etiquette - VFW)?
In any case, burning your own American flag is protected by the First Amendment according to Supreme Court decisions (Texas vs. Johnson and United States vs. Eichman). And rightly so – the freedoms protected by the Constitution are more important than the mere symbol of such (flag).
If disposing of that American flag is done properly, then no. Don’t ask me about the procedures to an appropriate disposal because I wouldn’t know.
Rebellion starts with destroying a symbol. I’m not saying anything with red, white, and blue shouldn’t be disposed of, but the symbol itself shouldn’t be tampered with.
Also, I just want to make it clear that I have no clue what the article was about because I only read what GMT included in his post.
Well, you may think it shouldn’t be tampered with, but that’s not how things work under the U.S. Constitution. I think the USA is strong enough to survive the burning of an occasional flag out of the millions that exist.
@saintsfan @poetsheart In reference to your link to The Huffington Post . If you read the post, it states that the klan was not given permission to meet at the Statehouse and the organizers were from our northern neighbor, not South Carolina .
The rally is about the flag in general. Do you think that it means something different in NC than it does in SC? My point is that when the ugly comes out in force around the flag the images may clarify things.
Well then, I guess I can hear a collective sigh of relief coming from the lawmakers in SC who wish to preserve the status quo. If they can prevent the Klan from embarrassing them from the grounds of the statehouse, they can continue beating the denial drum for a few more days, weeks, or hell—maybe even a few more years, once that rather inconvenient massacre is forgotten.
@stugace The burning of the American flag is generally brought up every 4 years as a dog whistle questions that national candidates are expected to take a stand on. It is often presented in a “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” type of way where an answer that supports the constitution as currently written and understood is extracted as a sound bite to imply that such a person supports the burning of the flag. In this country, just as individuals are allowed to display confederate flags without being charged with treason by the federal government we are also allowed, as individuals, to burn the American flag if we choose. In fact, that we are allowed to do it as individuals without government sanction is one of the beauties of this country. I am not promoting or supporting that but I do support the idea that we have the freedom to express our opinions and beliefs. We may incur censure by our fellow citizens or in the marketplace (see Donald Trump) but we will not be deported or thrown in jail over it.
Did anyone happen to catch this? Be sure to watch to the end. Gotta love Karma https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3b7PK_1hV98
@stugace If US citizens are thrown in jail for burning their flag, we become much more like countries that we really abhor. It would be a very, very bad idea IMO to incarcerate someone who did that, not to mention the expense of keeping someone in prison. It would be better to find out what they are upset about, and talk about trying to fix it.
"As for the domestic American flag burners, we can deport them off to the ocean. "
Stugace, burning an American flag may be offensive, but it’s not a crime. it’s protected as free speech, as it should be. I say - why not burn a bunch of Confederate flags? I know, it would inflame the bubbas.