As opposed to burning it to retire it?anygunanywhere wrote:Whether you disagree with these practices or not, all of these are attempts to display the flag proudly. This is much better than burning it in protest.
I'm very uncomfortable with letting the thought police divine which of identical acts is a crime, versus proper respect. It doesn't matter if a flag is burned in a metal container, tossed into a burn barrel with the household trash, or thrown on the ground and doused in lighter fluid: "desecration" versus "retired" is strictly in the mind of the actor. Thoughts should never be a crime.
This exact same topic came up on a work-related forum recently (our new uniforms have the "reverse" flag on the right shoulder). I pointed out that "proud, flag-waving, patriotic Americans" are the worst violators of the Flag Code, especially as seen recently on Independence Day weekend.
Think about it:
- Baked beans and potato salad dumped onto American flag paper plates, to be mixed with hamburger grease and then tossed in the trash.
- Nasty hands and snotty noses wiped on American flag paper napkins.
- Sunbathers and swimmers stretching out on American flag beach towels.
- Picnickers sitting on the ground in their American flag clothing.
- Or, sitting their sweaty bottoms on their American flag bag chairs.
- Parade-goers proudly waving small American flags, which are then either dropped on the ground or dumped in the nearest trash can, or into the floorboard of the car to be trampled and/or left to fade in the sun.
- Pitiful, faded, torn flags flying in all weather, around the clock, without benefit of illumination.
Frankly, the protester who burns an American flag because he believes his country has gone to heck in a handbasket, earns more respect from me than a "patriot" who has so little regard for the flag that he blows his nose on one and tosses it in the trash.