The nutbags in the House have passed the flag burning amendment, while the Senate looks to do so as well. Free speech? What’s that?
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June 22nd, 2005
24 Comments
Welcome to Republicanism. Utter Incompetence on all fronts. This does WHAT to solve any real issue this country faces?
I could say:
Look. Can’t you respect our beliefs. Like the Koran, the flag has special meaning to us Red Staters. You should be sensitive to our religion and ideology. Just thing of the flag as a Red Stater’s Koran. Otherwise you may well be torturing us or certainly culturally insensitive.
But I won’t, because, I agree it infringes free speech.
Dugger,
Did you know that the high cost of medical care in America is due to flag crapping?
Burning American flags on laws: Not okay.
Burning crosses on laws: Okay.
At least we’ll have some new questions for the naturalization test.
But, but, OMG, like, teh Democrats have no new IDEEEAAAASSSSS!
Nationalism isn’t a religion or an ideology….unless you’re a fascist.
I agree. We have a very serious problem in this country with flag crapping.
Curmudge… use the little handy-dandy travel size flags ( like you see all the Real patriotic americans shaking to and fro at Dear leader ) as kindling to get things started.
So I guess my flag burning days are numbered. Damn. I’ll need to have a flag bonfire this weekend, just to get it all in.
Let’s say that my Flag lawn chair gets caught in the fire is that bad? Or my Flag Sweater that is so popular gets a cig burn is that bad? What about that Flag skirt I just bought for my girl – what happens if it burns?
Hey – why aren’t they working on putting old ladies in jail for smoking marijuana because they are sick…they should work on that…that is important too…oh…wait…
Welcome to the brave new world – full of assholes and idiots.
Don’t piss on your burning Flag lawn chair…that’s two crimes. O’Hatch ‘ll have your ass for that!!
Guess I’ll have to retire my red, white and blue shirt with the stars on it during the 4th of July parade in our town. Wouldn’t want to be seen as unpatriotic, you know.
Someone better tell the VFW…you know when your flag gets dirty or touches the ground and you take them to the VFW and they take your dirty old flag and give you a new one.
Guess what they do with the dirty flags. yup…bonfire.
Today you can’t burn the flag. On its face, this is a statistically irrelevant bill. However, like the comparison between Camp X-Ray (not to mention Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and all the other mini-gulags making up the Bushie torture archipelago), the scale is itself irrelevant. What is important is that the Merrkin Fascists have succeeded in pulling off an anti-democratic, anti-free speech coup that is all the more potent because of its inherent symbolism.
By placing a legal prohibition on the intentional damaging of the national flag (which is, itself, supposed to represent all the freedoms the nation supposedly guarantees), the Republican Fascists have, if only symbolically at this point, rewritten the nation’s core values. Considering that those who burn, deface, or otherwise ‘disrespect’ the flag are almost always doing so as a political statement, the Rethuglicans have stated that blind allegiance to the nation-state takes precedence over dissent.
Most importantly, the flag burning amendment is the first inch down the slippery slope of legally proscribed dissent. Sure, all you shithead fascist cheerleaders and apologists will make the nitwit claim that the flag is a precious symbol deserving of our reverent protection.
HORSESHIT. The flag is a piece of cloth, and it only has as much meaning as our actions place behind it. To look at this another way, if the flag really represents the ideals of freedom and liberty, then burning it, spitting on it, or stomping on it won’t cast the slightest shadow on its sacred glow.
On the other hand, if it is just a jingoistic symbol that the powerful can use to manipulate the idiotic masses, then by all means it needs to be protected from physical harm under penalty of imprisonment. Once this law is on the books, you’ll soon see its parameters expanded with abandon. You’ll see people getting arrested for shit like properly flying flags at protest rallies (”that’s desecration!”). While the cases may not hold up in court, it’s the arrests and harassment that will count (”OK, no flag desecration, but let’s nick ‘em for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.”).
Of course, you nitwit wingnuts can’t or won’t comprehend these extrapolations, but you’re not intended to. You’re supposed to cheer, grab your ankles, and take in the next fucking that your filthy rich Republican masters are giving you. Enjoy.
I know this is quickly turning into a Republicans are fascists theme on this thread, but … could somebody explain to me why we are so overwrought over the perception that a Quran might have been mishandled, and so blatantly contemptuous of those that might not want to have our national symbol desecrated ?
Maybe because the question was a useless spasm of meaningless spunk. If only your father had used a condom, then another useless spasm of meaningless spunk might have been prevented from spawning yet another wannabe Merrkin Nazi.
Before you climax from being sodomized by your own beloved Straw Man, why don’t you review the lapse of logic (the word “lapse” generously implying that you are wont to use logic) on display in your ‘question’?
I rephrase myself: if we are supposed to be a nation of free, democratic people who are better than those who allegedly get murderously worked up over the mistreatment of a book, then should we really be passing laws to protect a piece of cloth? If we value the ’symbol’ more than we do the freedoms (including the freedom to burn the symbol as an act of protest) that the symbol is supposed to represent, then what does the symbol really represent?
I admonish you right-wing jackasses to adopt a symbol more worthy of your sensibilities, and I urge you to contain any future urges to attempt rational debate. Next time, instead of typing your mindless froth, perhaps you should stick your left hand into your ass, and with your right hand imitate your kindred spirits.
Still did not answer the question …
Well…JD. I’m consistent on it. I no more care what people do with their own Bibles and Qurans than I do what they do with their own flags. I support the willful destruction of any of the above as long as you’re destroying it to protest what said object represents. (And I have…all of the above.) If you’re destroying them with the sole primary intent of insulting people who hold said symbol sacred; you deserve the as$kicking. If you’re destroying something that doesn’t belong to you without cause; you deserve the as$kicking. (which is why the Quran-pisser deserves a long term in Levenworth and his commanding officer a CM for not brigging him for it in the first place.)
It’s the same reason that as a vegetarian, while I don’t support the consumption of meat, I don’t have as big of a problem with people that hunt for basic survival needs (Having been to Appalaichia, I can vouch these people exist in our own country.) and why I make a habit of icepicking the tires and peeing in the engine vents of trophy hunters. The “confrontational iconoclast”, irrespector of other’s property and the trophy hunter are all destroying something “sacred” for the sake of being an a$shole.
*Note that I said without cause. I have a great cause for icepicking tires…they’re the as$holes that started it. If they didn’t go trophy hunting, they wouldn’t need a new set of Michelins. Besides, I’m keeping tire manufacturing strong and “what’s good for manufacturing is good for America”*
I don’t get the flag/Bible/Quran parallel.
Umm, since when was America a religion?
I’ve read that Constitution, and I didn’t see a damn thing in it about the flag being a religious icon. Or about worshipping anything, least of all a peice of cloth.
I could understand why a Theocratic government would want to make it illegal to desecrate some religious symbol (cruxifix, bible, quran, cow, whatever), but, um, last I checked, America wasn’t supposed to be a Theocracy.
I guess I missed that meeting.
Frankly, I’m a Taoist. We don’t have religious icons or holy books so it befuddles me as well. I burn them because I figure one less Bible or Quran is one less lying around to mislead the flock and encourage people to believe and do dumb shit. Someone else (JD) brought up the Quran, I just ran with it. We’re not a theocracy and thank something, I’d be the first one in the stocks.
I think his point is why should people be allowed to burn or destroy symbols. I retorted that it’s perfectly reasonable as long as you are doing it as a symbolic act that you oppose what said symbol stands for. I don’t think anybody approached the Quran or Bible as objectively sacred but more as a symbol of faith, much like some people view the flag as a symbol of America. Personally, I view having symbols as dumb. I can make myself as clear by writing “F*ck America” on my t-shirt as I can by burning a flag. More people will understand my POV.
Alex appears to have become temporarily disconnected with reality. I did not advocate any position, I simply asked a question. My parents would surely appreciate your assessment of their choices to procreate, and I guess whether or not I am the result of a useless spasm of meaningless spunk is open for debate. I had no idea that a simple question could produce such profound and enlightened debate.
By the way, I am not a Nazi, or whatever choice of words you use to attempt to denigrate me. I am also against the flag burning amendment, but you were quite quick to make me part of the Hitler clan, SS, etc … Might want to be a little less quick on the trigger next time.
Whatever you call yourself, the fact still remains: you asked a jackass question. Personally, I’m not ‘contemptuous’ of anyone’s desire to revere the flag. Who would be? Do you have any examples of people who are? If not, then what the hell was your point?
I called you a Nazi because you asked a question that seemed ridiculously slanted toward justifying the fascistic Flag Burning Amendment. If you don’t support the amendment, why ask the question? Was that a lame attempt at playing devil’s advocate? Geez. You may not be a wannabe Nazi, but I can imagine legions of people like you mincing around the Reichstag spouting pointless rhetoric while the Nazis were cracking skulls and seizing power. I apologize for calling you a Nazi; the apology is directed to the Nazis, of course, because they at least had some conviction (otherwise known as “balls”).
The flag burning amendment is a bad thing that needed to be vociferously opposed without quarter. It yet another step in the federal government’s efforts to nullify the more enlightened, free, and democratic elements of the constitution. You want to impress yourself by playing rhetorical footsie with the Fascists? Be my guest. In the meantime, if you don’t want to be shot at, don’t hold up a target. I may not always be so “quick on the trigger”, but I will go for a kill.
I wonder when the genuine conservative voter actually tires of their party’s wasteful efforts in office (gay marriage/flag burning,dean, durbin…et al ) and actually begins to demand that their elected GOP officials begin to do something to solve this countrys glaring shortcomings…education ( digital divide, overcrowded classrooms…high tuition…little aid…student loan debt), healthcare ( most expensive in the world…), environmental degredation (raping and soiling of the living system that we DEPEND on for our survival) , disastrous foreign policy……and on and on and on….
I think the reason the republicans aren’t all that concerned with the nations real problems is because they’d rather create diversions to take our focus off the real problems that occur in life.
it’s almost like they’re counting on us dems to clean up their shitty mess
we’ll do what we can but I cannot promise anything
i don’t work sanitation but you expect me to wipe ur ass? =)