BREAKING: Baseball Player Steals American Flag from Protestors About to Burn it at Dodger Stadium...

[cherokeeprogressive]

April 25th, 1976... A protestor jumps from the stands during a day game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles with an American Flag and a can of lighter fluid. He runs to a spot in shallow center field and spreads the flag out on the ground, then starts dousing it with the lighter fluid. His 11 year old son runs up a moment later and begins to light the flag on fire...

Enter Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs. He swoops on the two protestors, sweeps up the flag, and keeps running. One of the protestors throws either the can of lighter fluid or the lighter at him from behind...

When Rick Monday, Chicago Cub, comes up to bat the next inning at Dodger Stadium, he gets a STANDING OVATION from the Dodger crowd while the scoreboard flashes in the outfield "RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY!"

The next season, he's traded to the Dodgers, where he goes on to be instrumental in their World Series championship in 1981 and is with the Dodger organization to this day as an announcer.

You tell me: Juxtaposed next to the skateboarder who stole the Koran that was about to be burned... who was right, and who was wrong? Both right? Both Wrong?

Edited to provide forgotten link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZzeEaBHUBM

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[joshcryer]

2. I love DU.

[meowomon]

3. The guy shouldn't have been on the field

So, yes it was ok to do this. The protester was trespassing.

[Orrex]

4. The protester in this case was (I believe) on private property, and as such he was wrong.

Not his statement, mind you, but his choice of venue. Mr. Monday was right to act against the protester because the protester was trespassing. Additionally, the act of throwing the lighter or the lighter fluid is aggravated assault.


The kid who stole the Quran did so on public property specifically to prevent a protester from making a political statement.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. Gotta go with you on this one. Monday right, skateboarder wrong.

I have a right to protest, and I have a right to counter-protest. My right to counter-protest though shouldn't overlap the protestors rights in such a way that I can use my right to stifle his by means of theft, violence, or any other means other than presence and/or volume.

[TexasObserver]

29. Good calls on both.

[meowomon]

5. The Quran burner was in a public park

He should do that crap on his own private property and not in a public park unless he was going to cook up some weiners on the grill.

[tabatha]

6. Perfect answer.

It is also illegal to make verbal threats against the President or armed forces.

Burning the Koran is that.

[Orrex]

7. How does the burinng of the Quran constitute a verbal threat against the President or armed forces?

[LostinVA]

31. It doesn't, by any stretch of the imagination

[meowomon]

9. IMHO burning the Quran is much like burning a cross.

And it is illegal to do that on public property.

[Orrex]

22. I respect your view, but that view is not currently supported by law

Elsewhere the point has been made that, historically, cross-burnings were a terrorist act intended to intimidate the person or persons on whose lawn the cross is burned. It was typically a way of foreshadowing direct, physical violence against that person or persons. That is why it is now recognized as an act of terroristic intimidation.

Linking the burning of a Quran to the burning of a cross is an attempt to amplify one act by cheapening the significance of another.

[Recursion]

28. You can still burn a cross in your backyard

You can't put a burning cross in your neighbor's yard.

Burning a cross in a public square is an interesting question; I imagine it would be constitutionally protected, though fire ordinances would prohibit it, most likely.

[LostinVA]

30. Burning a Koran is not making threats against the President or the AF

Oh brother.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. So only "approved" protests should be allowed in "public" parks?

If you don't like my protest, I should do it on my own property? What if I don't OWN any property? Where would I stage an anti-war protest if I were homeless?

[meowomon]

11. No, protest all you want

Just don't burn shit unless you're having a cookout. You may need the fire deprartment to put out the fire when the dried up leaves catch and burn down the whole park. I'm sayin, be safe! Carry signs. Yell your brains out. If you want to burn a book or flag or whatever, do it within safety guidelines. Did the ignorant preacher even have a fire extinguisher? Was he even concerned for the safety of those around? Probably not.

[MrModerate]

12. Certain acts are incitement to riot and rightly earn public opprobrium . . .

And those thus incited are seldom cited.

[MadHound]

20. I can't exercise my right to free speech in a public park?

So much for any more anti-war protests.

[Orrex]

21. Exactly.

You have no right to make a political statement because some might find that statement objectionable.

Additionally, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld told us that anti-war protests undermine the war effort and put American troops in danger. Therefore your political speech is an incitement to violence and must be curtailed.

[boppers]

13. 1976? really?

That was before personal computers and cell phones.

Freaking dark ages.

[Art_from_Ark]

14. 1976 sure seemed like modern times to me

By then there had been 6 successful moon landings, Pioneer had been sent to Jupiter and Mariner had been sent to Venus, and the new scientific calculators were all the rage.

[boppers]

16. *yawn* eom.

[boppers]

17. The 1400's were exciting too.

(re) Discovery is like that.

[Art_from_Ark]

18. Obviously you weren't around back then

No doubt young people are going to yawn when you tell them what it was like in today's "dark ages" 34 years from now.
pfft.

[boppers]

26. I'm already there.

They're totally mystified that I used to put money in video game machines, instead of just playing video games at home like everybody does.

:evilgrin:

[Art_from_Ark]

27. Now you've done it

You have reminded me of "The Arcade", which was a rather seedy video game establishment that operated in my hometown from about 1973 to 1976. It was one of the most popular places in town for teenagers, but when the cops heard *why* it was so popular, they shut it down in a big hurry.

:evilgrin:

[blogslut]

15. The person who wanted to burn the Qu'ran surrendered his lighter before the skater yoinked the book

Here's the video:

http://myhighplains.com/fulltext?nxd_id=154085

Grisham gave up his hatefest because protesters covered the grill with their hands. It was after he chose not to burn it that the skater snatched the book. That Qu'ran was eventually turned over to the police who have it stored, classified as "stolen property".

[malaise]

19. Getting up off the floor

:rofl:

[mmonk]

23. Which party was promoting through its rhetoric the burning of the flag

and encouraging a denial of some Americans their Constitutional rights?

[WI_DEM]

24. Good!

[bigtree]

25. ha ha

I admit, I'd be rooting for the ball player . . .