06-24-2005, 06:00 PM
YuunliJun 24 2005, 05:50 AM Here's what I wrote in another forum this morning:
Free speech? I don't see why destroying something could be called "free speech". There are other ways to express dislike.
Burning something is an act of damage to property. So you're not allowed to burn something that doesn't belong to you. And even then there can be restrictions, because burning certain materials causes pollution.
What are flags usually made of? If it's a material that can be burnt without causing harm to the environment, go ahead.
Flags are more than a piece of cloth, though. They represent something, in this case a country. So burning the US flag is an expression of dislike toward that country. In that case, your free speech argument might hold. I don't understand those nationalists who think "their" country's symbols are sacred...
By the way: I come from a country where flags only fly on special occasions, and then only in front of government buildings. [/quote]
What country is that?
BTW, I think stealing somebody else's anything and burning it is theft and destruction of property. I'm certainly not in support of that.
"The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
(Who is an extremely interesting American to read about ... as another of his quotes that I love: "Young man, the secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered that I was not God.")
Free speech? I don't see why destroying something could be called "free speech". There are other ways to express dislike.
Burning something is an act of damage to property. So you're not allowed to burn something that doesn't belong to you. And even then there can be restrictions, because burning certain materials causes pollution.
What are flags usually made of? If it's a material that can be burnt without causing harm to the environment, go ahead.
Flags are more than a piece of cloth, though. They represent something, in this case a country. So burning the US flag is an expression of dislike toward that country. In that case, your free speech argument might hold. I don't understand those nationalists who think "their" country's symbols are sacred...
By the way: I come from a country where flags only fly on special occasions, and then only in front of government buildings. [/quote]
What country is that?
BTW, I think stealing somebody else's anything and burning it is theft and destruction of property. I'm certainly not in support of that.
"The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
(Who is an extremely interesting American to read about ... as another of his quotes that I love: "Young man, the secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered that I was not God.")