burning the flag

[Asguard]

This came up after the recent aborigional protests and i was thinking about it

People complain that burning a flag in protest is disrespectful to those who fought under it but is it more disrespectful to use the flag to exercise the very rights the fought for or to turn both the flag into a marketing tool both on items and as the item like australian flag bikinies and tolet paper AND to turn there very fight into light entertainment in games like call of duty and red alert. This isnt to say i disagree with first person shooters but wouldnt it be more respectful to stick to the space marins fighting aliens than WW2 reinactments all the time for more and more profit not to mention then turning that war into a joke by adding zombies

 

[Balerion]

This came up after the recent aborigional protests and i was thinking about it

People complain that burning a flag in protest is disrespectful to those who fought under it but is it more disrespectful to use the flag to exercise the very rights the fought for or to turn both the flag into a marketing tool both on items and as the item like australian flag bikinies and tolet paper AND to turn there very fight into light entertainment in games like call of duty and red alert. This isnt to say i disagree with first person shooters but wouldnt it be more respectful to stick to the space marins fighting aliens than WW2 reinactments all the time for more and more profit not to mention then turning that war into a joke by adding zombies

It's an interesting question, but the argument of disrespect to the soldiers or the country's history have always struck me as disingenuous, and a cheap way to muddy the issue and distract from the very things the protest is meant to illuminate. And for whatever it's worth, I've never met a flag burner who did what they did for any reason other than a distaste for a government's contemporary policies; it's never had anything to do with disrespecting the history of the country, in my experience. (Though, full disclosure: I've never burned a flag in my life)

 

[Rhaedas]

It would be hypocritical to fight for a flag that represents freedom of expression, and then restrict that freedom to use that symbol in anything else. Like JDawg said, burning a flag isn't disrespect for the flag or its history, but a protest of the current state of government. So is the use of flags in mass marketing...people who are likely to buy things like that are being patriotic. Yeah, toilet paper is a bit extreme, but I think it's usually meant for the decor of the bathroom. Although it could be in protest, but again, freedom of expression. As for games, would you rather the younger generation just forget all about past wars, or be stuck with just a wiki entry on a battle? The reinactments teach history, and do help demonstrate the struggles that were fought to win. So some games allow alterations to further play...again, what's wrong with the freedom of creativity?

I would hope that anyone who made a sacrifice to protect those rights wouldn't want them squelched just because of a flag.

 

[leopold]

thank god i live in a country where i can fly the flag upside down with the phrase "fuck you obama" on it with worrying if law enforcement will kick my door down for it.