Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (41893)	6/26/1999 5:02:00 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Why is burning the flag ok but burning a cross illegal? Michael, I am not a lawyer, so I really have no business answering this question. But common sense suggests a major difference between the two. In fact, it suggests they have nothing in common except that both acts involve burning something. 1) Burning the flag is burning the symbol of a state, as a protest against a policy of policies of that state. Although not "okay," it is nevertheless not an act designed to threaten another individual or group of individuals, or to offer bodily harm to anyone. 2) Burning a cross, which is the symbol of a faith, is most definitely not aimed against that faith,. Rather, it is designed to threaten a particular individual (black, Catholic, whatever) or group of individuals. And it has often been followed by "bodily harm" to the targets of intimidation. Joan

To: greenspirit who wrote (41893)	6/26/1999 8:14:00 PM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 108807

Burning a cross, per se, shouldn't be illegal, Michael. I worked on a case here in Fairfax which declared a cross-burning statute unconstitutional. Either way, it's symbolic speech. But you may be prosecuted for arson or violation of clean air laws, depending on the circumstances.

To: greenspirit who wrote (41893)	6/27/1999 1:31:00 AM
From: Dayuhan	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 108807

Why is burning the flag ok but burning a cross illegal? A bit late for this one, I know, but it would have to be a matter of historical association. Burning a cross is historically associated with direct personal threat, which is not something anyone is entitled to do. Burning a flag is historically associated with protest against policies adopted by the government the flag represents. The right to protest against the government is one of the basic principles on which our government is founded, so we tend to be very leery of constraints on any form of protest, even those of questionable taste. I understand the feelings of the veterans who saw their comrades die for the United States. I also understand their feelings when they grandly announce "my country, right or wrong". Understanding their feelings does not keep me from believing that this is a more subversive statement than any that ever crossed the lips of a flag-burner. Our government is not automatically right because it is ours and because people have fought and died for it. Knowing when it is wrong, and protesting when it is, is not only a right but an obligation of citizenship.