Whats your position on flag burning?

well i don't know what its supposed to accomplish, destroying anything, but i don't see anything 'sacred' about it either. i mean as long as someone buys or makes one themselves to burn, and doesn't steal it off a dead widow or post office or something, or at least doesn't burn down the post office or the phone company doing so.

america is unamerican, and so is patriotism as far as i can see.

a flag is a rag, unless its one you've completely dreamed up yourself.

personally i think the red is ugly and the white is hypicritical. and rectangular arraingements are a crime against nature.

=^^=
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destroying a flag (obviously) makes people angry.
It gets attention.
It makes a statement.
A very profound statement BECAUSE it is seen as "offensive" and "unpatriotic".
Even if it angers people, at least it does something.
It gets people's attention for a moment.
When a flag is burned, it is an effigy for everything that's wrong with the USA, and it symbolizes that the individual is tired of it and wants change.

 

i think there is one hell of a big problem with this whole thread. it has to do with the way the question is worded: 'what your position on flag burning'? yet every attempt to outlaw this behaviour has been delt with, by trying to enact a law under: 'flag desecration.' here is the problem though... what constitute "desecration" and, by whose standards? the standard in the u.s.a. is the constitution. the final word on this matter rest with the superme court of the u.s.a. both conservative and liberal terms of the court have allways ruled that any law on flag desecration/ burning is unconstitutional.

 

how about I stay right here, burn it, and laugh in your face.

 

Flag burning is designed to incite and therefore I view it as a bad thing.

 

I believe that if I was angry enough, I probably wouldn't hesitate to burn a flag. Since 9/11 though, I'd be less likely to do it, though. I feel that as long as your willing to burn a flag that you paid your own money for, then go right ahead! If you're going to burn a flag that belongs to another, that's another story. I feel that if you're willing to pass a law preventing flag burning, you must protect ALL flags; NOT just the flag of your own nation/community, etc.

I feel that since Vietnam and particularly since the Supreme Court decision in the mid-1980s, this has really been a hot-button issue as some of the people who engaged in said activity were truly hostile to the cause of freedom. Many conservative people saw this as a license for the leftists to pursue their hatred toward America and American values. Said individuals seem to be very much into what I'll call icon worship and this "worship" could also be extended to include preserving certain songs like "The Star Spangled Banner" as our 'national anthem' (frankly, I don't believe we should have one at all!), expressions like "The Pledge to the Flag" and so forth. I feel when the chips are down, said individuals can be quite shallow!

 

it's a fucking rag, and nationalism is idiotic anyway

 

can i bring mine too?

 

Utterly repulsive in mind, I'm sorry but I want what I think most people in this place want is some peace and prosperity and to further the human race a step or two in certain aspects, but to me it's the same thing as some protester back in the day intentionally waiting at U.S. Military airports just so they could give some poor soldier a hard time, who most likely didn't want to go in the first place is now being harassed as soon as he arrives home. I yearn for peace and love, but if I ever saw some random guy spit on a soldier after spending damn near a year in a futile war zone just so we could live the way we do freely, I would most def have to knock that guy out, what are we hypocrites? I'll argue over the Americas fucked up politics all day, but I support the U.S. Troops all day and give them full support, not because I support war nor violence, I just feel the very least I could do is show some respect to those who fight to keep our country safe.

Be proud man, I guarantee you won't ever get a more luxurious place than what we got to offer, what are we still in the middle of a revolution or what?

 

It is a freaking piece of cloth. I don't see it as anything sacred or holy or any of that shit. It is a freaking piece of cloth.

The attachment some Americans have to a freaking piece of cloth is silly. Yea, it is suppose to represent something but in the end... it is a freaking piece of cloth.

I myself wouldn't do it and wouldn't care if others did it but i don't think it should be illegal to do.

 

I have to say I have changed my mind since the last time I posted. I'm definitely leaning toward this lately.

I agree with some that the attachment some have to the symbol is silly, and I have no such fuzzy feeling toward it, but burning it really doesn't mean anything in the end, though the intentions behind it may be good. No one who is shocked enough to notice it is going to see you doing that and take the time to ask "why are you doing that?" They're just going to haul off and kick your ass will you bitch about how they're imposing on your freedom of speech.(Perez Hilton, anyone? )
Those who don't care if you are doing it are going to walk right by you. So really, what does it accomplish?
Protest, by all means, but do it intelligently, not like an ape throwing shit to get attention.

 

Does it really weaken the country? I think it's like, we, the ones who might enjoy burning a flag, represent this country as much as anyone else. Or, we represent the nation better than those who want to act like it's such a crime and that we shouldn't be able to co-exist.

Burning the flag is what America is all about. The act should be a testament to our country rather than a protest.

 

See that's the thing it's not just a piece of cloth, it's a sign. That's like saying the bible or koran is just paper, or a picture of your dead father is just a picture. It all invokes emotion

 

All of which one is free to believe. Whose fault is it if some people are out of control with their emotions? We're just supposed to pander to these...BARBARIANS?!

 

If you purposely do something to enrage and incite the passions of someone, you're fully responsible for said consequences

 

Well... the Bible, Koran, Torah and every other 'holy' book are just paper. As is a picture of any dead relative. If people want to attach an emotion to a book or piece of cloth, I have nothing against that. But if other people want to burn it because they have an opposite emotion attached to that object, I wouldn't be against that either.

 

You can never tell what's going to incite a crazy person. Making assumptions about a person's beliefs (such as they're anti-American if they burn a flag) qualifies you, technically, as insane, I believe.

So basically, by living in fear of insane people, we are condoning insanity -- and at the same time, claiming to be the purveyors of all that is right.

Not only that, but if to Americans burning the flag was something we did as a sacrament, those who use it as a degradation would lose their power.

 

What about flag burning as an expression of freedom?

There was a big deal here in Indiana a few years back when the legislature was voting on a bill to make flag burning illegal. Somehow the bill didn't pass, which is a big surprise for this state.

My friends and I talked about burning some flags in front of the police station that day, not really to protest anything America was doing, or to show any kind of hatred for the country or anything. We were gonna do it simply to celebrate our freedoms - all the better because we'd be doing it to the dismay of the local (and kinda corrupt) police.

We decided in the end not to do it, mostly because the cops would almost certainly have found some bullshit excuse to take us to the station like dangerous behavior or, more likely, suspicious behavior. hell, they'd probably call for an investigation to find out if we were terrorists or something. I'm serious, people around here are fucking nuts - ESPECIALLY the cops.

 

Yeah, that's my only question...is it illegal to burn things in public?

 

I would think it was common courtesy and basic human respect not to walk up to someone and spit in their face, so why do this? Why not something else? I think some people just really want to generate a response that will land them in hot water because it's become the cool thing to do. If it doesn't mean anything, if it doesn't teach anything, it's hollow and stupid and really just a self-indulgent stroke-fest.
I used to think like you. I used to think I should be able to do whatever I wanted when I wanted and people would just have to deal with it. But then I grew up, became a more compassionate person, and I guess I just don't want to cause any more conflict and suffering than is absolutely necessary. I used to say I don't care what people think- back in high school when that was a cool thing to say. Now I realize that's wrong. I still live my life the way I want, I just don't get in people's faces about my rights unless they are ACTUALLY threatened. Burning a flag is inflammatory and ineffective. I don't get a kick out of making war vets' mothers cry, and it certainly doesn't make me feel more "free".