How the fuck does offending someone “cause them harm?” There is no such thing as a right not to be offended. It doesn’t fucking matter what the flag “means” to people. That’s their fucking personal hang-up. If they want to imbue a piece of cloth with all kinds of mystical properties
SHIT!! I didn’t mean to send that!!
If they want to imbue the flag with personal symbolism, that’s their right, but no one else has any obligation to see it the same way.
We’ve already acknowledged that burning the flag is ok when it’s done to dispose of an old one, so what makes it so fucking horrible for some people is not the act itself, but what people are thinking about while they’re doing it.
Why do you give a shit what other people think about?
You’ve thoroughly convinced me to not give a shit about what you think.
Not to stir the pot DtC, but to most people there is a difference between disposal and intentional disrespect.
“Why do you give a shit what other people think about?”, you may as well not post on this or any message board if that`s the way you feel.
You seem to contradict yourself. Hamlet obviously offended you, and vice versa. So for you to say that offending someone should not cause them harm is silly. I bet your blood pressure skyrocketed for a moment, that could have been harmful;) .
If the act of burning the flag was so meaningless, then why even bother debating the issue?
Also, if a group of people (in this case the majority of Americans) decide that the flag represents great symbolism then why should a handful of people be empowered to take that away from them?
Please respond without using the F-word:D .
If you don’t want to see the eff word, Whuck, don’t post in the pit. (I won’t even mention your user name 
)
All kinds of things are offensive. If we got rid of all speech which someone might not like we wouldn’t have any speech left. I think it’s offensive for GWB to drag his religion into every speech and press confrence that he gives. Rush Limbaugh offends people. Eminem offends people. Simon Cowell offends people. Any strong sentiment is probably going to offend somebody.
All that being “offended” really means is that we feel distressed if another person expresses contempt for a sentiment that we hold dear. We are upset, not at what they do but what they think. It bothers us that they can think so differently than we do, that they can be so wrong. That’s a natural way to feel, but it’s silly to say that it really harms us. I would argue that if you feel secure enough in your own position then you won’t care what some other idiot says or thinks. Why expend the emotional energy on being upset by it?
I would argue that the most core value of the US is freedom of thought. The four freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment are really about the freedom of thought, and the expression of that thought. If we are going to hold this value as sacred then we are going to have to accept that some of that thought will be repugnant. We should also realize that we all have and express opinions which are deeply offensive to somebody. If you say that Jesus was God, then you are being insensitive to the religious views of Jews and Muslims. If you say that Jesus was not God, then you may upset Christians. There’s no safe position. There are extremely offensive things said on both sides of the abortion debate, or in any number of other political debates. It’s virtually impossible to go through life without offending people.
Now what is about burning the flag that is so uniquely offensive? Is it more offensive than yelling the “n” word or pcketing Matthew Sheppard’s funeral?
How about other speech which is specifically offensive to veterans, such as directly calling them “baby killers?” I would say that this is more offensive and more personal than burning the flag, but we are not contemplating amendments to outlaw it.
Thje argument over flag burning, IMO, is the epitome of symbolism over substance, thata is, we are treating a symbolic act as if it had substance. It doesn’t.
BTW, in case you’re wondering, I’ve never burned a flag or even seen one burned (except for on tv). I have no intention or desire to burn any flags, I just think people get too worked up about it.
I think of it this way. Flag burning IMO is just an act of public trolling. If you get upset about it, you’re just giving them what they want. I say DNFTT.
Re: The flag thing.
Some of you Americans are crazy. It’s a flag who gives a shit. AFAICS the rest of the world looks at this flag issue and just shakes their head in wonder. I just can’t get why the symbolic nature of a flag is so important to you. Patriotism gone mad if you ask me which you haven’t so I’ll shut up now and wait for the spanking I probably deserve for my blatant anti Old Glory position.
[Artie Fufkin]Kick this ass[/Artie Fufkin]
DtC - Well Said. I think Hamlet would have appreciated that post about 30 hours ago.
Cheers DtC.
Whuck.
yojimbo It`s already been said, so…no comment.
Thanks, Whuck. Sometimes I think my brain is like a dirty faucet. I have to run it for a while before something good comes out. Actually, I think your request for a PG rated response forced me think a little harder and articulate myself more clearly. I think the trolling analogy is probably what I should have posted to begin with and saved myself some flaming.
Cheers back to you.