If the supreme court where to draw a line they are not respecting the constitution, they are changing it according to their own interpretation, no? At least that is the way I see it. When you decide to kick somone's butt for going against 'your' idea of respect, that is also against the law I believe, and I am not aware that attacking someone is free speech. I imagine others might do the same to you if you violate their rights. If a certain segment of society demands punishment for such things, does this make it right? It appears so for some folks.

Because the military taught you the way you think, I as an unprogrammed citizen I don't have to think the same way, is that not correct? I don't particularly mean programmed in a bad way but you are programmed none the less.

So I guess your saying that you are perfectly with in your rights to kick someone's ***. I guess then that would go for those who stand up for the guy your kicking. Then we have a brawl over interpretations? Somehow that doesn't compute for me.

When the Constitution was written, they didn't have any of the technology that we have today, but the men that wrote it, wrote it as a living piece of paper, and it has expanded over the last 200+ years. They gave our government the ability to make ammendments to it, and the interpretations of it are why the Supreme Court gets any challenges to it.

I know that me kicking someone's butt over disrepecting my flag is illegal. I was a Deputy for 8+ years. For every action, there is a reaction. Disrespecting my flag near me is in the same class of offensive behavior as hitting a woman or a child. This does not refer to this case where the man flew it upside-down, but to someone putting it on the ground where it can be walked on, or draped over a toilet.

We had a guy here that was charged with inciting a riot for wiping his butt with the flag at an assembly of veterans. This was when he got out of the hospital, of course. This is the VERY reason the Supreme Court has a difficult time finding the line between speech and the flag.

Those that have gone into battle, or served in the military under our flag, or any nation's flag, have a different viewpoint of where that line is. I see no problem in a t-shirt with the flag on it. My Father, a WWII vet, ... He was disgusted by it.

BTW. The military did not "TEACH" me the way I think. I joined the military already thinking that way.

Does anybody remember what happened to flags during protests in the 60s? This has been an on-going thing.

Uh yeah. That was somewhat of a rhetorical question but asked because the previous poster seemed to think it was just a piece of cloth.

The fact is, that it [is] literally a piece of cloth which each person ties their personal meaning to.

I have never disrespected our flag and I do love our country. I guess I prefer to remain accepting of the fact that we don't all share the same beliefs. What someone else does is no reflection on me. I respect that you feel the way you do about your country and your flag, not because I believe as you do, but because I believe in your right to believe as you choose and your right to express it.
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Ellwood, to answer you, I meant to add that some probably did go into the service already having the same beliefs as the military or close to it. Again I respect your right to see as you do in a free country.

I would view someone using the flag to wipe his butt as seriously in need of help, but I wouldn't beat him up or arrest him. Though I might laugh my *** off that he would be that crazy to do it where he did. Not knowing why he did it, could be it showed courage, but I don't know the whole story.

I think it's worth mentioning that even with in the ranks of the military not all will believe as you do on this particular issue. I think I have only one service member of my family that would take issue with what someone else did with the flag. The others fought for his right to do as he saw fit even if they themselves would never think of doing it.

Not sure what the point of the constitution is then if we can change it so easily.

This whole thing reminds me of the video clip of American soldiers draping the flag over the head of Saddam's statue....(What a friggen STUPID thing to do) then lamely taking an Iraqi flag and tying a neck tie on the statue after some commander ordered those idiots to get the American flag off of it quick.

The damage was done as far as what it symbolized.....not because it is was a tangible item....stricly for what it symbolized.

I remember that day, I remember thinking wtf?

At my very first football game, when we stood for the national anthem, there were a couple of guys near me that still had their hats on after the song had started. I said "HATS, gentlemen!", and they took them off right away. There was an older couple in front of me, and the lady turned around and said, "Thank you!" So I'm all about showing respect for the flag. However ...



... you couldn't be more wrong here. Yes, there are "rules of protocol" dealing with how the flag should be displayed. But disobeying those "rules" is NOT breaking the LAW, which is what the police are charged with enforcing. They have ABSOLUTELY no legal authority to do what they did. It does not matter what you or I or anyone else "feels" about it, it only matters what the law is, and in this case, it is the police who acted outside the law. [Edit: And since the police were advised to do so by the District Attorney, he was acting outside the law as well.]

Its a shame the police did not simply go to him and ASK... Under the circumstances he might have been willing to fly it right or take it down for a day.

Or did they ask first?

To each his own

Aye and well said.

Ain't that the American way.

Life, Liberty and so forth...

I am willing to protect that flag when it is attacked by an enemy...

If I see the distress I will try to help... If there really isn't distress I'm going to think the owner is an idiot...

IT's STILL HIS RIGHT TO DISPLAY IT AS HE WILL ON HIS PROPERTY.

is it not? How AMERICAN are you?

AB...you are right. What he did maybe disrespectful to some, but not illegal. He was in his own way...protesting

Get real.

In the sixties and early seventies they were protesting a little more than the in ability to obtain a liquor license.

I'm with elswoody and Auburngirl.
I'd have beat his *** and taught him a little respect but then I'd have been arrested for a hate crime.
I guess that's why the law exists in his town and most others,

("It is illegal to cause a disruption," he said.)

to keep the balance.

The law was enforced without arresting anyone. I say good job to the police for keeping the peace in his town. It might have gotten ugly otherwise. esp on the fourth of July.
Let's not forget another veteran from an earlier era objected to the guys ignorant disrespect of Old Glory as well as several others on here and the majority of vets across America.

Like the song says,
"you've got to stand for something or you've already failed."

Let's dont be hypocrites here.

I was referring to what they did to the flags. I was not referring to the reasons.

Either way...none of the situations were against the law.

Are you saying that you have no problem with disrespecting the flag if the reason for disrespecting it is good to you?

I feel that it doesn't matter what the reason is..either way...it bothers some people and it's not against the law.

I really can not relate to beating someone up over an upside down flag.

Ok we have one man who is distraught or whatever over what he perceives as an injustice to him personally. He hangs his flag upside down from his own home.

The towns people get bent out of shape over it and let's say some beat the hell out of him. I would seem that the towns people caused the disruption, not the disturbed man who hung his flag upside down.

We have police officers to protect the people from violence. If people have no more control of themselves than someone angry because they didn't like something some else did, that concerns me.

The man might be ignorant or any number of things but he was not violent and didn't attack anyone physically, there for if someone attacked him, they would be the bully, would they not.

Forget for a moment that we are losing some of our freedoms, It's really scary that we might just have to start fearing what our neighbors belief system is. What will set him off and cause him to violently beat someone to supposedly teach him a lesson? I thought soldiers were taugh control in difficult situations. It's something I actually admire in emotionally secure males.

Wow....people willing to kick someones @ss over a self-percieved insult to ideologies.....sounds...."christian/moslem"

hey...leave my belief out of this twisted logic

sounds controlling and manipulative to me

but hey ........

You lot would absolutely hate me, I fly my flag upside down and have been for about six years...

depends on why

as i said in an earlier post

the flag flying upside down is appropriate but maybe not in this situation