Rekna

If you have a problem with the flag ask the owner to remove it. If he doesn't remove it then contact the police who will remove it for him. But don't break the law to remove it.

On a side note does this country always have to be afraid of the bogeyman? First there were Communists, then there were Arabs, now there are Mexicans!

Racnad

McDonalds should be repremanded.

http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html

MrTia

an interesting sidebar: obama announced today he's taking off his flag pin, which i think is cool of him -- that whole thing was starting to really smack of conformism.

i remember when the whole flag decal fad got popular thinking, wait a minute, these aren't flags, these are fake pictures of flags. is that kosher based on the whole flag etiquette thing? and it looks like they had to make an exception for it. i wonder if they wrote that part after 9/11 or if wavy flag decals have always been loopholed in to the rules.

__________________
The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.
-- Bruce Lee

roachboy

the flag fetish set enjoys it when public figures genuflect in their direction.
"see?" they say.
"he's one of us."

in democracy in america, tocqueville noted a quirk amongst the 1830s americans that he met--you had to flatter the country and in their need for flattery, these folk were more demanding than any courtier.
genuflecting is a form of flattery just as most other submissive behaviours are.

what's curious about obama's choice is that it is getting press as if it were meaningful in some way.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

Willravel

The flattery, being necessary as it is, explains the press. 'Meaningful', of course, is subjective. I'm sure you and I don't care, but for those to whom the flag is something holy it's a big deal. I'm not saying it's right, just sayin.

Rekna

Not really, fox news is the one giving it press. The are trying to paint him as unpatriotic. This is right next to the article that states 1 in 5 dem's want us to loose the war in Iraq which is right next to the article about how 86% of Americans are praying.......

roachboy

ah--i saw "coverage" of obama as a blurb on the front page of the nytimes.
tha faux news is on the case is no surprise.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

dc_dux

Just for the record, it is NOT illegal under federal law to fly another flag above the US flag.

The so-called federal law, the Flag Code, codifies a set of ADVISORY administrative rules, with no penalties or enforcement provisions regarding the "proper" display of the flag:

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

MrTia

i'm pretty sure, as a jihadist demoncrap, obama "osama" mohammad would have no use for the stars and stripes according to faux nooz.

__________________
The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.
-- Bruce Lee

Rekna

Thanks! So the LEGAL immigrant was breaking no laws when this guy decided that he was offended so he defaced and stole the mans property. Looks like the vet needs to go to court.

dc_dux

There may be a state law or local ordinance in Nevada, where this occurred, but if so, such laws would certainly violate first amendment rights, based on a Supreme Court ruling in the 90s regarding flag desecration.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Digbudro

I have worked in several other countries around the world. If americans tried the things in these countries that the aliens do over here there would be more americans in foreign prisons than they could hold. Try waving an american flag in mexico & see what it will get you. I think the mexican who flew the mexican flag over the american flag should be deported. If they want to be here follow the rules or go somewhere else.

edited by cynthetiq: please do not use ALLCAPS in posts.

archetypal fool

First of all, the man is an American Citizen, just like you. It's interesting that you're still calling to have him deported. If you see a white person desecrating the flag, would you also call to have him deported to whatever country his family originates from? (And this includes people who keep their flags out at night unlighted, people who have flag bumper stickers, people who wear cloths decorated with flags, people who decorate their home with the flag, people who use flag handkerchiefs, people who buy flag-covered napkins and plates [I always see them everywhere on Independence Day, despite the fact it is many times more disrespectful than what the store owner did] etc. Source)

Second, if he was indeed ignorant of the "law" then he meant no disrespect (this doesn't mean it's right, but dammit, he didn't know - his intention wasn't to make a political statement). However, that's just speculation and taking his word for it. On the other hand, if he knew it was against the "law", then it was a political statement, and is therefore protected by the First Amendment - if you want him deported, then you're a hypocrite, and you've gone against the very thing that flag represents - meaning that you've completely missed the point of it and that you're idolizing a piece of cloth.

Third, read dc_dux's post above regarding the "law" in this matter.

__________________
I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet

Willravel

When I try to post in all caps, it stops me.

JumpinJesus

I wonder if the jingoistic knuckleheads who froth over the flag know whether the framers of our country (you know, the ones they claim kinship to in their seething hatred of anything un-American) were more interested in private property rights or flag etiquette.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Terrell

I think that the Vet should be prosecuted. Whether or not the store owner knew the flag code is irrelevant. Being offended by someone does not give you the right to criminally trespass, vandalize, and steal their property. Prosecute the vet to the fullest extent of the law.

37OHSSV

Your avatar makes your post more interesting. If that flag had had the word "nigger" (yes, I said it) on it, no one would be questioning the appropriateness of its removal.

Burning a US flag is free speech; removing an illegally flown Mexican flag is not.

Conclusion: Free speech must be approved by the left.

dc_dux

How many times need it be said that flying a Mexican flag above the US flag is NOT illegal.

In fact, it is no more illegal than flying the US flag in inclement weather or not placing your hand over your heart when reciting the pledge of alligence.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Baraka_Guru

This is nonsense. The same could be said about a pornographic flag, too, and has little to do with the fact the flag was Mexican.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Journeyman

I looked around and couldn't find an update on what's going on, but this would be a perfect opportunity for the store owner to ask the vet to help him hang the flag properly, and it would be happy time for all. Just because it's only etiquette and isn't a crime to hang another national flag over our own doesn't mean it's not a dick thing to do. With wearing the flag, flag bumper stickers, etc, you can usually tell what's meant to display pride in America. The problem with hanging a Mexican flag over an American flag on U.S. soil is that it's an (unintentional) signal that somebody desires Mexican nationality in the fullest sense of the word brought to where he's settled. Imagine having served your country, America, in military service, only to walk around and find out people were immigrating here and acting like it was still Mexico, treating their U.S. citizenship as secondary.

Now I enjoy good humor in immigration style, ie "American by birth, (Your Nationality Here) by the grace of God." And I don't think private flag displays are going to present much offense to anyone. But this shop (I'm assuming) being open to the public brings it to higher standards than a place of residence, does it not?

highthief

Let's face it - it's because it is a Mexican flag. People would not be getting their knickers in a twist (at least to this extent) if it was the Canadian, Swedish or Australian flag. Or the McDonald's flag, which I've certainly seen flying higher and more centrally than both American and Canadian flags across North America. I get the feeling that the level of hate towards other nationalities in parts of the US goes, in order: 1) Mexico 2) Cuba 3) France 4) Iran

If you've got a problem with the guy, don't shop at his store, protest, have a march or something, but defacing the property is the wrong way to go. Stealing is the wrong way to go.

That Mexican should take advantage of the US gun laws and legally cap that old guy in the ass next time he tries to steal from his property.

__________________
Si vis pacem parabellum.

dksuddeth

wrong on so many levels. I'd care, and I WOULD cut them down no matter the country.


you obviously have no grasp of the reality of gun laws in this country.

__________________
"no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."

Willravel

You'd break the law, and you'd be trying to enforce a law through vigilantism that barely anyone knows exist and that clearly wasn't being broken intentionally. That's neither brave nor noble.
How many times have you talked about shooting someone who was attempting to rob your house? The property is private.

dc_dux

I just saw the video for the first time.

The vet pulls both flags down, cuts off the US flag and crumples it up in his hands.

MSN video

I dont think that treatment of the US flag is recommended in the Flag Code.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

dksuddeth

bravery and nobility would have nothing to do with it. Flying a foreign flag OVER the US flag is an indicator that the property in question is being claimed by said flags representative country. case in point, flying the US flag on the statue of saddam after baghdads fall. what an uproar about us 'claiming' the country.

But, I know the laws of most of the states. In TEXAS, after dark, with an expectation that said property would most likely not be able to be recovered, I can shoot. During DAYTIME, that would be unlawful. I KNOW the gun laws very well so I know that simply shooting someone over property being stolen is not in itself a lawful act....UNLESS certain conditions can be met.

I'm thinking that the OP isn't quite like what the video shows.
I would now have to call that particular veteran....whats that word? oh yeah. MORON!!!

__________________
"no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."

dc_dux

Stop the presses.....we agree on this point!

I even support your right to commit vandalism, malicious mischief (or however the crime of destruction of or damage to the property of another is codified in Nevada) if you consider it a personal act of civil disobedience (rather than vigilantism) and are willing to pay the price for your action (fine, jail time, paying for the destroyed property or all of the above) in response to an action by a fellow citizen who committed no crime, but simply broke a voluntary rule of flag etiquette.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

highthief

Illegally entering a person's property to make some sort of citizens arrest on a bit of material fluttering in the breeze is not a rational act.

As stated, the correct way to handle such things is within the bounds of the law - protest, sue, demonstrate, lobby. The armegeddon and the accompanying survival of the best armed has not been visited upon us yet.

But anyway, it's your country, do what you will with it.

__________________
Si vis pacem parabellum.

Superbelt

Exactly. While in the act of committing a crime against someone who was violating a guideline for flag display, this guy disrespects the flag he is trying to protect even further by balling it up and shoving it up his armpit.

I'm pretty big on proper respect for the flag. I'll point out to people frequently when they are doing something wrong, like the filthy displays they have up on their car.
But I won't go and commit a crime to gain resolution.