Protestors burn US flag to protest cops but have to be recued by cops when bikers chase after them.

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**Frazzled**

You can't make this stuff up and yes there's a guys in a pink skirt in the back of the photo

http://nypost.com/2015/07/02/cops-save-anti-nypd-flag-burners-from-angry-bikers/

Weenies burn flag to protest cops, get attacked by bikers, need cops to save their asses
Now they probably love the cops.

A group of flag-burning anti-NYPD protesters needed New York’s Finest to save their skin from a gang of angry bikers who tried to pummel them in a Brooklyn park for setting Old Glory ablaze Wednesday.

The fiery stunt by a few dozen members of the group Disarm the Police led to a chaotic scene at about 8 p.m. in Fort Greene Park, when the activists enraged 40 members of the Hallowed Sons Motorcycle Club by roasting the flag on a tiny barbecue grill.

“They took off like little b—hes,” said one biker. “They lit the f–king flag and took off running once they got slapped once or twice.”

The anarchists had announced on social media that they had planned to burn the flag in protest of NYPD policies, drawing a large group of flag-waving counterprotesters, including the bikers.

While it’s illegal to openly burn anything in Fort Greene Park, the self-styled anarchists managed to find a loophole in the law that allows cooking in closed barbecue grills.

Thus, they started to roast the flag, but they didn’t burn it for long. One of the bikers rushed forward in a fit of rage and kicked over the grill, sending embers flying. He then doused it as members of the pro-flag crowd chanted “USA! USA!”

The bikers then started trying to rough up the protesters — who were quickly saved by members of the same police force that they criticize.

The protesters were shielded by the cops and escorted out of the park.

“I served in the Marines,” said counterprotester Brian Christopher, 23. “We defend this flag. We are ready to die for it. When I see people burning it and showing complete ignorance, it’s very offensive.”

No arrests were made in the scuffle, and the group’s flag-burning stunt went up in smoke.

**Steve steveson**

Ah yes, the right to free speech is sacred, until you do something we don't like... I don't see what is wrong with them burning the flag in protest, and protesting the NYPDs policies is not the same as hating the police. Those bikers are a bunch of idiots. They want to complain about double standards, yet hold such double standards about loving the country but not believing in free speech. With reporting like that, I take it the NY post is a gutter tabloid?

**Kilkrazy**

"We defend this constitution. When I see people making use of their freedoms I fought to preserve, it's very offensive."

feth off and learn some civics.

Well done to the police. They played a very straight bat.

**Do_I_Not_Like_That**

Didn't SCOTUS rule that burning the flag is protected by the 1st amendment?

**Kilkrazy**

Yes.

Hence good work by the police.

**zombiekila707**

The police handled it very well... Both sides are a bit ignorant though.

Glad no one was hurt!

**Frazzled**

To me its more :"Cops are evil pigs! Oh crap save us cops!"

**Desubot**

Is that guy in a fuschia dress?

**Frazzled**

THATS WHAT I SAID ITS PINK DRESS MAN! RUN AWAY!

**Tannhauser42**

Frazzled wrote:
To me its more :"Cops are evil pigs! Oh crap save us cops!"

Yep, pretty much.

I'm still scratching my head over how burning the US flag is a protest against a municipal police force...

**Desubot**

Tannhauser42 wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
To me its more :"Cops are evil pigs! Oh crap save us cops!"

Yep, pretty much.

I'm still scratching my head over how burning the US flag is a protest against a municipal police force...

Some people want to watch things burn

And or its a symbol of guvment that they can rally behind.. i dont understand them.

**Gordon Shumway**

So everybody basically acted as one would expect them to act. And is that first line of the story really indicative of how the NYPost writes?

**Ahtman**

Bikers tend not to like cops much either so we have a group that doesn't like cops threatening to assault another group that doesn't like cops running to the cops for help.

**Ouze**

Everyone involved in this sucks:

1.) The protesters, who have the right to burn an American flag but lack the wisdom to see how crappy and lousy a thing it is to do,

2.) The bikers, who seem unable to understand that the flag represents the rights of Americans, including the right to burn the flag,

3.) The NYPD, who made no arrests despite there being presumably no shortage of video and eyewitnesses of the assaults and attempted assaults,

4.) The NY Post, which has been a useless rag my entire life, and it's ability to see novelty in the basic idea that the NYPD - a taxpayer-funded organization - is still responsible for upholding the law, even for people who are protesting against them,

5.) OP, for buying into the NY Post's garbage story by reposting it here and so perpetuating their "reporting",

6.) Me, for responding to this story and bumping it back to the top.

**Ahtman**

7. And me for recognizing some of the irony even though it was pretty obvious.

Don't forget that.

**Nostromodamus**

Tannhauser42 wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
To me its more :"Cops are evil pigs! Oh crap save us cops!"

Yep, pretty much.

I'm still scratching my head over how burning the US flag is a protest against a municipal police force...

Donkey caves just like to burn gak and call it a "protest" to try to convince others it's somehow legitimate behavior.

Just look at the Ferguson "protests".

**Ahtman**

Alex C wrote:
Just look at the Ferguson "protests".

Oh come on you can be less obvious than that now.

**whembly**

Okay... have an exalt there!

**Nostromodamus**

But still, whether it's a flag or a grocery store being torched, it has nothing to do with a local police force.

**Hordini**

I don't find it very surprising that a group of people decided to purposely take a provocative action, and then people were provoked by it. Isn't that what they wanted? I guess they just ended up provoking the wrong people.

**Ghazkuul**

I agree with the 1st amendment, but I disagree with how the SCOTUS interpreted the meaning of it. Everyone should have freedom of speech, unless the goal of your "speech" is to inflame hatred or purposefully upset a group of people for no real purpose. And this is a perfect example.

If you want to protest the NYPD then why not hold a bunch of signs or some other such nonsense. Burning a US Flag has no purpose in this other then to piss off a bunch of Military Veterans who had to watch friends being draped in that flag for their long trip home. Kind of a d*ck move.

**CptJake**

Always freedom of choice, never freedom from consequences should be what we all want.

Yep, the 'anarchists' had The Right to burn a flag. The consequences in this case was the pissed off bikers exercised their right to show they were pissed off. Maybe the bikers whined like bitches to prevent themselves being arrested, but the story doesn't mention that. I suspect the bikers involved would have accepted being arrested as the consequences of their actions if it came to that.

Kick a hornet nest, you get stung, even if it was your right to kick it. Burn a flag in front of some groups (obviously to include these bikers) and expect to get smacked a bit, even if it was your right to burn it. Actions have consequences. At times expressing Your Right to something will get you a beating. Ask the folks who marched at Selma. Expressing Your Rights only when it is safe to do so is pretty damned cowardly.

**DarkLink**

Ouze wrote:
Everyone involved in this sucks:

1.) The protesters, who have the right to burn an American flag but lack the wisdom to see how crappy and lousy a thing it is to do,

2.) The bikers, who seem unable to understand that the flag represents the rights of Americans, including the right to burn the flag,

3.) The NYPD, who made no arrests despite there being presumably no shortage of video and eyewitnesses of the assaults and attempted assaults,

4.) The NY Post, which has been a useless rag my entire life, and it's ability to see novelty in the basic idea that the NYPD - a taxpayer-funded organization - is still responsible for upholding the law, even for people who are protesting against them,

5.) OP, for buying into the NY Post's garbage story by reposting it here and so perpetuating their "reporting",

6.) Me, for responding to this story and bumping it back to the top.

Just wanted to point out that it's often up to the person being assaulted if they wany to press charges. Otherwise, there'd probably be millions more people behind bars because they got a little too physical in an argument.

**Steve steveson**

Frazzled wrote:
To me its more :"Cops are evil pigs! Oh crap save us cops!"

People can dislike the policies of the police without disliking the police, and given the recent issues we have seen in the U.S. with the police I can see why people would protes against them. You don't have to agree with their actions to expect them to protect you. I guess the flag is representative of the administration behind the police.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

CptJake wrote:
Always freedom of choice, never freedom from consequences should be what we all want.

Yep, the 'anarchists' had The Right to burn a flag. The consequences in this case was the pissed off bikers exercised their right to show they were pissed off. Maybe the bikers whined like bitches to prevent themselves being arrested, but the story doesn't mention that. I suspect the bikers involved would have accepted being arrested as the consequences of their actions if it came to that.

Kick a hornet nest, you get stung, even if it was your right to kick it. Burn a flag in front of some groups (obviously to include these bikers) and expect to get smacked a bit, even if it was your right to burn it. Actions have consequences. At times expressing Your Right to something will get you a beating. Ask the folks who marched at Selma. Expressing Your Rights only when it is safe to do so is pretty damned cowardly.

Utter nonsense. If being attacked is a consequence of free speech then you don't have free speech. The other side has the right to protest against them, NOT attack them. Otherwise it becomes a matter of "might is right". beinf safe to express your rights is a pretty fundamental mark of a free and just country. And these guys probably didn't feel safe from the moment a bunch of bikers turned up, yet continued to protest anyway. If you have a safe and free country people should not live in fear of violence for protesting.

**d-usa**

Come on, clearly we should be allowed to assault people that open carry if we don't like guns. Their freedoms don't protect them from consequences!

**Kilkrazy**

CptJake wrote:
Always freedom of choice, never freedom from consequences should be what we all want.

Yep, the 'anarchists' had The Right to burn a flag. The consequences in this case was the pissed off bikers exercised their right to show they were pissed off. Maybe the bikers whined like bitches to prevent themselves being arrested, but the story doesn't mention that. I suspect the bikers involved would have accepted being arrested as the consequences of their actions if it came to that.

Kick a hornet nest, you get stung, even if it was your right to kick it. Burn a flag in front of some groups (obviously to include these bikers) and expect to get smacked a bit, even if it was your right to burn it. Actions have consequences. At times expressing Your Right to something will get you a beating. Ask the folks who marched at Selma. Expressing Your Rights only when it is safe to do so is pretty damned cowardly.

What if the flag burners had on being attacked, exercised their 2nd amendment, self-defence and Stand Your Ground rights by spraying the bikers with automatic weapons fire.

**von Hohenstein**

Freedom of speech. You may not always like it, but the alternative is censorship - you would like this even less.
The US are a "free" country. You have the right to say what you want and defend yourself. Even if it means to burn a flag and shoot the veteran, that tries to stop you.

Same gak as with the anti muslim cartoons. If you want to be allowed to say what you want, you have to allow others to say what they want as well.

**d-usa**

Kilkrazy wrote:
CptJake wrote:
Always freedom of choice, never freedom from consequences should be what we all want.

Yep, the 'anarchists' had The Right to burn a flag. The consequences in this case was the pissed off bikers exercised their right to show they were pissed off. Maybe the bikers whined like bitches to prevent themselves being arrested, but the story doesn't mention that. I suspect the bikers involved would have accepted being arrested as the consequences of their actions if it came to that.

Kick a hornet nest, you get stung, even if it was your right to kick it. Burn a flag in front of some groups (obviously to include these bikers) and expect to get smacked a bit, even if it was your right to burn it. Actions have consequences. At times expressing Your Right to something will get you a beating. Ask the folks who marched at Selma. Expressing Your Rights only when it is safe to do so is pretty damned cowardly.

What if the flag burners had on being attacked, exercised their 2nd amendment, self-defence and Stand Your Ground rights by spraying the bikers with automatic weapons fire.

What kinda crazy thing will you post next, Je suis Charlie?

**sebster**

There's the core of a really funny story here, with some anti-police kids suddenly needing the police, and some bikers who love their country so much they'll attack people for enjoying the freedoms their country constitutionally guarantees. But the tone of the article, and it's choice to focus on the silly protesters only kind of made it annoying and not funny.

Steve steveson wrote:
With reporting like that, I take it the NY post is a gutter tabloid?

It's a rag, yeah.

Ghazkuul wrote:
I agree with the 1st amendment, but I disagree with how the SCOTUS interpreted the meaning of it. Everyone should have freedom of speech, unless the goal of your "speech" is to inflame hatred or purposefully upset a group of people for no real purpose. And this is a perfect example.

The protesters were making legitimate political speech. It's impossible to argue against that. You may agree with or disagree with their method of making that speech but there's no asterix in the constitution that says "*unless we don't like the way you've told you're message, then you don't get to make your statement".

Automatically Appended Next Post:

CptJake wrote:
Always freedom of choice, never freedom from consequences should be what we all want.

Yep, the 'anarchists' had The Right to burn a flag. The consequences in this case was the pissed off bikers exercised their right to show they were pissed off.

If the bikers shouted at the anarchists and did so well enough to scare them, then your point would be okay. But at least one biker struck at least one anarchist, "once they got slapped once or twice”. As such you have no point, because you have no right to hit someone, even if they're really annoying.

**Frazzled**

Tannhauser42 wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
To me its more :"Cops are evil pigs! Oh crap save us cops!"

Yep, pretty much.

I'm still scratching my head over how burning the US flag is a protest against a municipal police force...

Indeed. Wouldn't have to be the seal of the city or emblem of the police force or something. Dickheads just being dickheads and they had to be saved by the people they were being dicks to.

Now, anyone care for some spotted dick?

Automatically Appended Next Post:

d-usa wrote:
Come on, clearly we should be allowed to assault people that open carry if we don't like guns. Their freedoms don't protect them from consequences!

I'm ok with that, if you tell me first so I can get some popcorn.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Kilkrazy wrote:
CptJake wrote:
Always freedom of choice, never freedom from consequences should be what we all want.

Yep, the 'anarchists' had The Right to burn a flag. The consequences in this case was the pissed off bikers exercised their right to show they were pissed off. Maybe the bikers whined like bitches to prevent themselves being arrested, but the story doesn't mention that. I suspect the bikers involved would have accepted being arrested as the consequences of their actions if it came to that.

Kick a hornet nest, you get stung, even if it was your right to kick it. Burn a flag in front of some groups (obviously to include these bikers) and expect to get smacked a bit, even if it was your right to burn it. Actions have consequences. At times expressing Your Right to something will get you a beating. Ask the folks who marched at Selma. Expressing Your Rights only when it is safe to do so is pretty damned cowardly.

What if the flag burners had on being attacked, exercised their 2nd amendment, self-defence and Stand Your Ground rights by spraying the bikers with automatic weapons fire.

Thats New York. In NY:
1. There is no stand your ground. You have an absolute duty to run away. If you are in a dwelling you hagve an absolute duty to try to exit the dwelling, even out the escape ladder, even if you're old. Thats why Stand Your Ground was created, because of NY case law.

2. Automatic weapons are illegal.

3. In NY weapons of any sort are generally illegal.

4. Self defense is only applicable if (in addition to 1) you have a reasonable fear of death or grievous bodily harm. In NY thats means it touch and go even if you're facnig the Son of Sam. In Louisiana that means if you can fit it in a pot.