Salvation Army flag defaced

[Spike from MN]

Don't know if this has already been posted here but in case it hasn't, the flag outside of the SA in Austin, MN was defaced last weekend.

AUSTIN - Police are searching for the people responsible for desecrating a U.S. flag in front of a Salvation Army office.

Vandals wrote "STARVATION ARMY" and "KEEP WARM, BURN THE RICH" on the U.S. flag that flies outside the agency in Austin. It was discovered over the weekend flying upside down, which is a symbol of distress.

snip...

Anyone convicted of desecrating the U.S. flag faces a fine and up to a year in prison.


That last line is particularly interesting. If they catch the people that did this, I can only hope they will show up in court with a copy of the picture of Dubya autographing the flag. Would make for a rather interesting defense.

Here's a link to the story:

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S5107.html?cat=64

[donco6]

1. I think it's kinda funny. eom

[Spike from MN]

5. I'll admit I laughed like hell when I saw this on the local news.

But maybe that's because I'm a punk rocker from way back when and we always referred to the SA as the Starvation Army. I think there was even a song with that title but I don't recall offhand which band did it. Anyway, I immediately pictured the guilty party in court showing the shot of Dubya defacing the flag and that made me laugh even harder. That would be classic.

[RoBear]

2. Pretty distressing, but

Phred Phelps and his crowd "desecrate" flags in his demonstrations--standing on them, running them through their legs, etc. I'm no flag waver, but it pisses me off that they get away with this and Bush can write on a flag, but the RWA are all upset about a flag flying upside down, which seems to me a legitimate statement.

[noamnety]

3. I'm completely opposed to vandalism

But in a relative sense, discriminating against gays seems like a worse crime, so it's hard for me to get all choked up about this.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. Well, let's just wait for the freeper trolls then.

THEY'll have no problem getting their pants in a knot over this.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. I don't agree with it, but when push comes to shove, a flag

is just a piece of cloth. Burning a flag, or writing on one, should be allowable expressions of free speech if it is your flag. If it isn't, it's simple vandalism.

To grant the flag any higher status comes close to veneration, declaring it sacred, which is both a violation of the first amendment and the second commandment.

[Wapsie B]

7. This will get the Elks Club in a tizzy.

I suppose it's been on channel 3 news but I rarely watch.

[liberalhistorian]

8. What good will that do?

I'm sorry, but that's wrong. There are far better ways to express your feelings about the SA than that. Like it or not, the SA does do some good work. We may not agree with all of their policies and actions, (I sure don't, especially on gays), but they do help a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't be helped, and isn't that what's important? Actions like these are not only wrong, they don't do our side any good at all, they turn people against us.

[noamnety]

9. It's not productive, I agree with that part

It doesn't do our side any good whatsoever. But I completely disagree with this:

"they do help a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't be helped, and isn't that what's important?"

Their good deeds don't excuse them. Saddam arranged for health care for all citizens, that doesn't excuse all the bad that he did.

You can't actively work to spread hate and bigotry, and justify it by saying we fed some poor people, so it's all good. If they weren't getting federal dollars for their discriminatory organization, another nonfaith-based charity would be getting those dollars and feeding the poor without legitimizing homophobia. It's not a choice between a bigotted charity or nothing, it's a choice between a charity that does or a charity that doesn't discriminate.