I realize that. In this particular case I'll quote mctiger from a little further up the page: Unless I misunderstand, what they are doing is against the law...the same laws that you agree they should be playing by.
There are lots of ridiculous and meaningless laws on the books. Are our lives in the US now so problem-free that we need to start enforcing and punishing people for all of them or just the ones you choose?
"two wrongs dont make a right". the more effective punishment would have been a very well orchastrated boycott and negative publicity campaign. drive the business out of business. or at least cripple it into "seeing the light". throwing a fit and tearing the flag down accomplished nothing.
All true, but it really shouldn't be about one alien (illegal?) who doesn't know American flag etiquette. People once came to this country to be a part of what it stood for. Sure, they may have come and settled near other immigrants from their homeland, still held on to their language and taught their children their customs. But they also went through the legal process of becoming American citizens, and took pride in that citizenship. Now people sneak across our border, take advantage of whatever freebies they can get, and send the money they make to their relatives back home. They come here to take from the American dream, not to be a part of it. We've heard people talk about the lack of respect for America abroad that the war in Iraq has supposedly created. I say there is no greater demonstration of that lack of respect than what illegal immigration is doing to our country, and that began long before W was president.
Who is to decide which laws are pointless or ridiculous? I don't make the rules. I just follow them. I'm not saying what the guy did was right, but I can't say I blame the guy either. He was a vet. He fought for what we have. As much as it pisses me off to see this kind of thing go unchecked, I can't imagine what he feels like. It's a simple law to abide by. I don't really see why it is so "ridiculous" that we have this rule in place or why it is so outrageous to enforce it. It's not meaningless. It's respect. How hard is it?
lol, this is funny. play by our rules, speak our language. lol I thought freedom was about expression. First Amendment, remember that? I guess that doesnt apply. I believe in showing respect for our flag. But play by our rules, lol.
Sigh. If the point hasn't made it across yet it isn't going to. Forget it. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Yes, play by our rules. Just because you come here from another country doesn't mean you get to ignore our laws.
i dont know what "What is the U.S. Code? The United States Code is the official, subject matter order, compilation of the Federal laws of a general and permanent nature that are currently in force...." means but assuming this is a law. then it should be enforced. thats up to the cops and prosecutors. perhaps you should write or phone them. i would hope the judge hands gives him a suspended sentence.
I know the point you're trying to make. I'm just pointing out that it's foolish and you know that it's foolish. You're stopping the conversation now because you know exactly where this road is leading. If the entire world decided to fly the US flag at the top of all flag poles and eradicate all other flags from the face of the earth, we would still be faced with the same issues of poverty, racial inequality, sexism, greed, etc. There's no shortage of Nationalism or Jingoism in America and no one's confused as to their geographical position on this planet because of what position the US Flag is flown, shown, displayed, etc. I choose to use my outrage on a cause that actually matters. The US Code agrees with me as evidenced by the absence of a punishment for breaking this law. It's an unenforceable, nonpunishable law which begs the question if it's unenforceable and nonpunishable is it really a law? I'd say a more accurate term would be "recommended practices".
