Occupy protest rekindles debate about flag-burning

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**ParatrooperSimon**

If someone was burning a Canadian/New Zealand flag, I would just nock their lights out, and tell them to stop their whining and harden up and deal with it. IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

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I'm very left, like very left, but when it comes to flags... you burn them, I burn your balls off...?

**d-usa**

ParatrooperSimon wrote:If someone was burning a Canadian/New Zealand flag, I would just nock their lights out, and tell them to stop their whining and harden up and deal with it. IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm very left, like very left, but when it comes to flags... you burn them, I burn your balls off...?

Because a piece of cloth is more important than a persons life. Hyperbole much?

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

ParatrooperSimon wrote:If someone was burning a Canadian/New Zealand flag, I would just nock their lights out, and tell them to stop their whining and harden up and deal with it. IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm very left, like very left, but when it comes to flags... you burn them, I burn your balls off...?

That's not very left-wing of you.

**dogma**

ParatrooperSimon wrote:IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

What about, say, Iran, or North Korea, or Somalia?

**Mr. Burning**

OWS is acting a lot like Miley Cyrus.

They jabber on about nothing in particular and when noone is looking at them any more decide to get a bit edgier for a bit of attention.

OWS problem is that they have protestors' from so many different backgrounds. Sure, the claim is that they are standing up to the 1% but they them selves are between 2 and 100% with widely differnt aspirations. They are held back by this knowledge too, I think. They know that to be heard they need a single voice, who will that voice be and what will it say?

.

**Monster Rain**

Mr. Burning wrote:They jabber on about nothing in particular and when noone is looking at them any more decide to get a bit edgier for a bit of attention.

This sums up my feeling on the current upswing in activity.

OWS is making the Tea Party look like a reasonable protest movement.

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remilia_scarlet wrote:the occupy protest is going to be going on for a while, since the protesters are, at this point, just the dregs of society, since all the functioning members are either

A) going to work/school

B) looking for work

C) have something better to bo

I lol'd.

**CptJake**

Bromsy wrote:Burn a flag if you want.... busting up city hall to steal flags to burn is gak kid behavior, not protesting. Seriously, are the corporations going to be forced to replace/fix that stuff? Jesus, support the general ideas behind the OWS stuff if you want, but the Oakland guys are just doing the loot burn destroy idiot crap that makes people look down on and hate the whole shebang.

Yep.

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Ouze wrote:
Bromsy wrote:Pics or it didn't happen?

It happened.

Maybe you missed this part:

Lawrence Brewer was executed by lethal injection for this crime by the state of Texas on September 21, 2011. King remains on Texas' death row while appeals are pending, while Berry was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Seems rule of law comes in and justice is done.

But if your answer is Burn It All Down, then dragging folks to death becomes possible, and will only be answered by mob violence in turn.

**Ouze**

CptJake wrote:
Ouze wrote:
Bromsy wrote:Pics or it didn't happen?

It happened.

Maybe you missed this part:

Lawrence Brewer was executed by lethal injection for this crime by the state of Texas on September 21, 2011. King remains on Texas' death row while appeals are pending, while Berry was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Seems rule of law comes in and justice is done.

I do seem to have missed the part where that was, in any way, relevant to the post at hand ("Pics or it didn't happen"). I proved it happened. There was no discussion about the rule of law, truth justice & the American way, or anything like that, simply a dispute of a historical event that was refutiated. If you wish to extrapolate that "pics or it didn't happen' into something that requires more context, then we're engaged in a classic round of goalpost-moving, and certainly don't feel the need to engage in that sort of calvinball.

Alternately, people could post actual coherent thoughts instead of memes like "pics or it didn't happen", which would save us all the trouble of pretending it was a real post ever worth replying to, let alone branching out into further discussion.

CptJake wrote:But if your answer is Burn It All Down, then dragging folks to death becomes possible, and will only be answered by mob violence in turn.

I certainly missed the part where I said, implied, inferred or otherwise gave the idea "Burn It All Down" was my answer, either now or ever. But don't let me stop you from whaling away on that strawman.

**AustonT**

I somehow don't think he wasn't talking to you Ouze.

**Ouze**

If not, my apologies. I'm super distracted at work with, can you believe the nerve, customers.

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

dogma wrote:
ParatrooperSimon wrote:IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

What about, say, Iran, or North Korea, or Somalia?

This is of course what happens when a person who claims to be "very left" shows what are more traditionally right-wing tendencies, dogma. It's probably not worth paying attention to.

**Tyyr**

And out of the ashes will rise something the American people can truly believe in

Yes, that in the future instead of letting a bunch of malcontent hippies camp out we'll let the cops break them up riot style immediately.

OWS has no plans, no vision. The fact that months after the start of all this all most people can tell you about OWS is that they're pissed off about something or other shows just how ineffectual the movement is. How is anything going to "rise from the ashes" if the OWS movement is utterly incapable of articulating what they want the thing that rises to be? If you give a damn about the movement at all you'd be trying to get Occupy Oakland to disperse before they make you look any worse. If the OWS had any real mental muscle behind it they'd have realized that they got the attention they needed with the actual occupations but it's time to let that come to an end and start a real poltical movement with clearly articulated goals and plans to get there. It's time to grow the feth up and prove you deserve a place at the adult's table.

**Ouze**

dogma wrote:
ParatrooperSimon wrote:IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

What about, say, Iran, or North Korea, or Somalia?

why would anyone want to burn this?

**biccat**

Monster Rain wrote:OWS is making the Tea Party look like a reasonable protest movement.

That's because it was.

Ouze wrote:As they say, "Seriously, biccat gave the perfect response to this topic"

Thanks. I now plan to take this completely out of context and put it in my signature.

**Frazzled**

dogma wrote:
Johnny-Crass wrote:Frazzled your response of violence is typical of those who hold strong nationalistic ties or who use brute force to enforce the militaristic oppression of the poor.

No one in the United State is oppressed, militaristically or otherwise. If you want to see people who are oppressed, there are plenty of nations I'm willing to buy you plain ticket to visit. Of curse, I can't promise you a two-way ticket, I'm on a budget after all.

Johnny-Crass wrote:
All the bullets, teargas, pepper spray and government oppression in the world will not silence the idea of equality.

I see we aren't terribly familiar with North Korea.

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Frazzled wrote:
Pff. I see you jokers every day near work. Its so hard to tell the difference between the protesters and the homeless guys hanging out. At least the homeless are honest about it. The OWS guys are just a joke. All 8 of you.

To be fair, taking the OWS protester in Texas as emblematic of OWS protester in general is a lot like taking Republican politicians from New York as emblematic of the Republican Party in general.

Agreed on all points. This is a day of days.

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Bromsy wrote:Pics or it didn't happen? And dogma, I've heard a lot about the people of Bavaria being oppressed, and if you want to buy me a plane ticket out there for a fact finding mission, say in late September or early October I would be happy to find my own way home.

I've heard Tahitians are incredibly oppressed. The Wife says they are too. Can we get two tickets please? The wiener dogs can sit in our laps.

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Ouze wrote:
dogma wrote:I suppose I should have specified, "oppressed by the state" is what I meant

Fair enough.

Plus they were convicted. I believe one got the needle and has already been needlized.

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d-usa wrote:
ParatrooperSimon wrote:If someone was burning a Canadian/New Zealand flag, I would just nock their lights out, and tell them to stop their whining and harden up and deal with it. IMO if you burn a countries flag, you deserve to be shot...

Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm very left, like very left, but when it comes to flags... you burn them, I burn your balls off...?

Because a piece of cloth is more important than a persons life. Hyperbole much?

Maybe he doesn't value a person's life?

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Occupiers Dump Condoms on Catholic School Girls

A group of Occupy Wall Street protesters disrupted a Right to Life rally and threw condoms on Catholic school girls inside the Rhode Island state capitol building.

Barth Bracy, executive director of Rhode Island Right to Life, said their rally had to be cut short after the Occupiers began screaming and refused to allow a Catholic priest to deliver a prayer.

“This is their idea of civil speech but we believe it’s an outrage,” Bracy told Fox News & Commentary “They started heckling, chanting and blowing whistles. They shouted down a priest.”

Last week’s rally was held inside the rotunda of the state capitol in Providence. Bracy said the Occupiers, along with some pro-choice demonstrators, infiltrated the crowd of some 150 pro-lifers. He said the pro-life crowd was made up of senior citizens, mothers with young children, Cub Scouts, and school kids.

Bracy said one of the most egregious incidents occurred when an Occupier climbed to the third floor balcony and dumped a box of condoms on girls from a Catholic school.

“What kind of individual throw condoms at Catholic school girls,” Bracy asked.

FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK!

Bracy said capitol police were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the protesters. At one point they even attacked State. Rep. Doreen Costa.

“This was one of the most disturbing sights I’ve ever seen,” Costa told Fox News & Commentary. “It was horrendous. “

Costa said a female Occupier hit her on the head with a sign and shoved her “moppy” hair in the lawmaker’s face.

“I told her that she really stunk bad and needed to take a bath,” Costa said.

Costa said she was “speechless” when they showered the young girls with condoms. So was Father Bernard Healey, the executive director of the Rhode Island Catholic Conference.

“It’s disgraceful behavior,” Healey said. “The week before, the pro-abortion people had their rally and no one bothered them. Apparently freedom of speech only applies to those who agree with you.”

Healey called the protesters “mean-spirited” and “ugly.”

He was trying to deliver a blessing to the crowd when the demonstrators shouted him down.

“I led the crowd in singing ‘God Bless America’ to try and down out their awful chants,” he said.

Joseph Little, the chief of the capitol police, told Fox News & Commentary that he did not receive any reports of condoms being dropped on children. He also said to his knowledge, nothing happened to that rose to the level of needing to call in additional support.

Little said no one was arrested.

**Warrior Squirrel**

Amerekeh feth yeah!

How are you supposed to argue against someone like that?

**AustonT**

“What kind of individual throw condoms at Catholic school girls,” Bracy asked.

Me, stapled through the middle to a business card with my phone number and address.

Also who brings Boy Scouts to a pro life rally...with catholic priests? This doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster?
They should have brought Boy AND Girl Scouts to the rally stepped aside at let them go at it over the abortion issue.

**Frazzled**

AustonT wrote:
“What kind of individual throw condoms at Catholic school girls,” Bracy asked.

Me, stapled through the middle to a business card with my phone number and address.

Also who brings Boy Scouts to a pro life rally...with catholic priests? This doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster?
They should have brought Boy AND Girl Scouts to the rally stepped aside at let them go at it over the abortion issue.

Pff! The scouts were there to work the crowd. Girl scouts selling cookies and boy scouts selling popcorn. Free enterprise baby.

**Monster Rain**

biccat wrote:
Monster Rain wrote:OWS is making the Tea Party look like a reasonable protest movement.

That's because it was.

I honestly thought they were kind of goofy at the time, but I wasn't being snarky in that statement. At least not toward the Tea Party.

**Squidmanlolz**

AustonT wrote:
“What kind of individual throw condoms at Catholic school girls,” Bracy asked.

Me, stapled through the middle to a business card with my phone number and address.

Also who brings Boy Scouts to a pro life rally...with catholic priests? This doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster?
They should have brought Boy AND Girl Scouts to the rally stepped aside at let them go at it over the abortion issue.

Wouldn't the staple through the condom make it worthless?

**Grakmar**

Unless I missed it, the article doesn't say how old these "schoolgirls" were. If they're 15+, what's wrong with giving them free condoms? If they're under 15, they're not old enough to really decide if they want to be at a pro-life rally, and their parents/school is using them in a totally inappropriate manner.

Plus, they only interview the leader of the Pro-Life group, a Catholic priest, and a state rep notorious for being a right-wing nutjob. (Not saying all right-wing is nuts, I'm saying she's crazy, and is very right-wing) What happened to "balanced"? The only balanced part of that report was from the police chief who gets a minor blurb at the end (not even quoted) saying that all of this is unfounded.

**Samus_aran115**

I find flag burning to be a personal insult, and don't approve of it for any purpose.

**sourclams**

Johnny-Crass wrote:Frazzled your response of violence is typical of those who hold strong nationalistic ties or who use brute force to enforce the militaristic oppression of the poor. You stereotype us as the dirty drumcircle hippie but honestly they are the minority in the OWS movement. I have seen so many kinds of people march beside me and I am proud to be one of them. All the bullets, teargas, pepper spray and government oppression in the world will not silence the idea of equality.

I just want you to know what a kick I get out of posts like this, originating from a Random American that still quietly enjoys the lowest food:income ratio in the world.

What will silence your movement is simply a slow slide back into prosperity by the majority of America. Bullets (although the only bullets I know of were from drug dealers into Occupy Oakland's tent ghetto) and oppression won't break this civil movement, and indeed that is exactly the sort of negative attention that Occupy needs to feed its passion-based support network to thrive. However the Occupy movement as a whole is destined to die from a slow suffocation due to the indifference of a detached public.

You are not the 99%. You are the representatives at the margine of the bottom 25%.

**Frazzled**

Grakmar wrote:Unless I missed it, the article doesn't say how old these "schoolgirls" were. If they're 15+, what's wrong with giving them free condoms? If they're under 15, they're not old enough to really decide if they want to be at a pro-life rally, and their parents/school is using them in a totally inappropriate manner.

Plus, they only interview the leader of the Pro-Life group, a Catholic priest, and a state rep notorious for being a right-wing nutjob. (Not saying all right-wing is nuts, I'm saying she's crazy, and is very right-wing) What happened to "balanced"? The only balanced part of that report was from the police chief who gets a minor blurb at the end (not even quoted) saying that all of this is unfounded.

On a personal level, if someone threw condoms at GC there would be a high chance they would be in an ambulance very quickly.

**AustonT**

Squidmanlolz wrote:
AustonT wrote:
“What kind of individual throw condoms at Catholic school girls,” Bracy asked.

Me, stapled through the middle to a business card with my phone number and address.

Also who brings Boy Scouts to a pro life rally...with catholic priests? This doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster?
They should have brought Boy AND Girl Scouts to the rally stepped aside at let them go at it over the abortion issue.

Wouldn't the staple through the condom make it worthless?

I'm still Catholic mate. It's just a memorable delivery system.

Frazzled wrote:
AustonT wrote:
“What kind of individual throw condoms at Catholic school girls,” Bracy asked.

Me, stapled through the middle to a business card with my phone number and address.

Also who brings Boy Scouts to a pro life rally...with catholic priests? This doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster?
They should have brought Boy AND Girl Scouts to the rally stepped aside at let them go at it over the abortion issue.

Pff! The scouts were there to work the crowd. Girl scouts selling cookies and boy scouts selling popcorn. Free enterprise baby.

I was more peanut towards the BSA being generally pro-life and the GSA being generally pro-choice. It's pretty epic...I think.

**dogma**

Monster Rain wrote:
I honestly thought they were kind of goofy at the time...

You certainly weren't the only one.

biccat wrote:
Monster Rain wrote:OWS is making the Tea Party look like a reasonable protest movement.

That's because it was.

And I'm sure people that are part of, or support, the OWS movement believe it to be reasonable as well.

**Cannerus_The_Unbearable**

Symbolism is nothing worth getting butt hurt over.

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

Cannerus_The_Unbearable wrote:Symbolism is nothing worth getting butt hurt over.

Yep, pretty much.

**Monster Rain**

I guarantee there are symbols that both of you would probably be annoyed by if they were defaced.

**Frazzled**

Monster Rain wrote:I guarantee there are symbols that both of you would probably be annoyed by if they were defaced.

Anyone messing with Winnie the Pooh is going down, and hard!