# Do people in countires other than the US burn their own flag? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298 "2007-01-24T20:13:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298/21 "2007-01-25T13:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=JRDelirious] I believe his objection was to your second sentence’s matter-of-fact intrerpretation that the flag-burning is supposed to portray hostile intentions to the nation. After all, someone could conceivably burn \*\*their own \*\* flag to symbolize “I am so ashamed by our actions that I wish to symbolically cleanse with fire our nation’s sin”; or to say, in effect: “I think your fetishization of this 3x5 piece of fabric is ridiculous, so I’m burning it in demonstration that no lightning will smite me or plagues hit the land”. [/QUOTE] … aaaaaaaah. Then it would be nice of him to say what part is it he disagrees with. Americans can wear their flag on their asses without blushing. Spaniards avoid mixing yellow with red because it feels disrespectful: the notion of printing soft-porn calendars of neumatic blondes clad in flag-bearing thong bikinis is something I’m still trying to swallow and it’s been years since the first time I saw one. The Navarrese flag is completely red and I know people who will not use things like a red tablecloth because it’s “too much like using a flag for a tablecloth and you just don’t do that.” (I know some people like that, not everybody is that picky). OTOH, part of the “Pamplonica” dress is a sash and bandanna “in your colors” and there’s some pieces of decoration which commonly have flag colors, but that’s done to show allegiance, it’s ok. My own interpretation expressed above attempts to be “the Spanish interpretation of flag-burning” and I know very well it’s not how other people will see it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298/22 "2007-01-25T13:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] Come to think of it, has there been a US flag burned in the US since the Viet Nam war ended? [/QUOTE] IIRC, some bozo in the early 90s triggered the flag-burning case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298/23 "2007-01-25T17:49:37Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] IIRC, some bozo in the early 90s triggered the flag-burning case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. [/QUOTE] That was the case I was thinking of. Was it just one guy? I remember people trying to pass a constitutional ammendment to outlaw flag burning. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298/24 "2007-01-25T18:41:46Z")
[Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_desecration) on this, giving flag desecration examples from NZ, Australia and other countries. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298/25 "2007-01-25T18:56:48Z")
This is bit of a hijack, but I always toss this out whenever the flag burning issue comes up: The ideal punishment for flag burning is to _burn the flag burner in effigy_. Any local American Legion chapter can field an anti-flag-burning effigy squad that can spring into action–and alert the media–whenever an incident occurs. No need to involve law enforcement or make an exception to the Constitution. [http://www.squeakywheelsblog.com/symbols/symbols.html](http://www.squeakywheelsblog.com/symbols/symbols.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-in-countires-other-than-the-us-burn-their-own-flag/389298.md?page=1)