Double Standards

This courtesy of Fox News:

Flag Flap

San Francisco State University is being sued for allegedly violating the rights of students who stomped on Hamas and Hezbollah flags during an anti-terrorism rally. The Alliance Defense Fund and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education — also called FIRE — have filed the suit in federal court on behalf of the College Republicans club and two individual students.

The lawsuit contends the school conducted an illegal investigation into the flag stomping incident. FIRE says it wrote to the school president twice to stress that a public university is not permitted to prosecute students for engaging in a peaceful protest or desecrating any type of flag.

The students ultimately were cleared by the school after a five-month probe.

Of course, if the above were radicals stomping on an American flag, there would be no investigation sponsored by the university. I'm arguing the act of stomping on a flag is disrespectful (though considering Hamas & Hezbollah flags "legitimate" is another argument) though if the courts see fit to declare the American flag - a symbol of justice throughout the world for which people have proudly given all - can be desecrated by misguided college youth, then certainly flags of oppressive terrorist organizations are fair game.


My personal view is this: Any official American flag (one of the eleven sanctioned sizes) should be considered in league with national monuments & it should be a crime to deface them. Argue freedom of speech all you want but to defile such a powerful symbol so closely associated with the American persona is, at best, to impugn the good the United States has brought into this world.

Additionally, any flag of our recognized allies (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Israel, etc.) should be treated with similar respect. After all they *are* our friends - even if we don't always agree.