Being an activist is rewarding, but sometimes you can get carried away. Once you’ve started a really productive and educational flag-burning session, it can be tough to stop. You might’ve intended to burn only one type of flag you don’t like, but eventually you stop and think: “Hey, what about those other flags? Will they burn too?”
They certainly will, youngsters. Zack Peterson, Tampa Bay Times:
Surrounded by nearly 50 activists, Crystal Wilson steadied a small American flag in one hand, and a lighter in the other.
“The American flag holds as much hatred, as much oppression, as much blood as the Confederate flag,” said Wilson, 25.
She sparked the lighter, guiding the small flame to the red, white and blue cloth. It caught fire, and burned away the flecks of fabric…
Protesters gathered Friday evening at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park to stand in solidarity with the Charleston, S.C., victims and to denounce monuments they say commemorate white supremacy…
“Dylann Roof murdering black people in a black church is racism,” Danya Zituni, a 19-year-old University of South Florida student, said during her speech.
These leaders of tomorrow have the right to burn any flag they want, for any reason they want. And they’re certainly in good company:
That’s the thing about free speech. It can be interpreted in so many different ways. When Dylann Roof burned an American flag, that was bad. When people protesting Dylann Roof burn an American flag, it’s good. It all depends on who’s doing the flag-burning.
American life in 2015 makes a lot more sense when you concede that the most important thing is the messenger, not the message.
(Hat tip: Jazz Shaw)