Flag Burners (7 Viewers)

[Gowr]

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20522453-5005941,00.html

Is it just me, or do the rest of you also find it an absolute outrage that this traitorous teen who burnt a flag stolen from an RSL club in front of 150 people hasn't been punished yet?

I mean, of course, the Cronulla riots were a reprehensible display of racism that was wholly un-Australian and should never be repeated. They were organized by racist neo-nazi thugs and were a slap in the face to all those that have worked so hard to make our country a multicultural one. However, this neither excuses nor diminishes the severity of the retaliation of the Lebanese community, especially the crime of this particular teenager.

I find it sad that someone needs to appeal for him to be humiliated and embarassed. I mean, by burning the flag this person is shunning the country that gave his family sanctuary from the Hezbollah controlled shithole of Lebanon and that has provided him with healthcare, education and other services. Flag burning is tantamount to a rejection of the morals and values of our society and an attack on our way of life. Worse, this flag was from an RSL club, therefore insulting the memory of all those who fought to defend (and are still defending) our country from tyranny. A flag burner is a traitor to our society, and there should be no question as to his full humiliation. There should be no compromise. He should be fighting to avoid jail time, not the police fighting for him to get a slap on the wrists.

My honest opinion: If you must burn our flag, please wrap yourself in it first

 

[_dhj_]

I'm afraid it's just you.

There is nothing wrong with flag burning beyond the damage of property. Yes, the person must pay the club for the flag, but he or she should have a right to protest against what the flag stands for - that is, nothing wrong would be done had the flag belonged to the flag burner.

 

[Gowr]

Where does it say in that report anything about him being from Lebanon. You take a media article, twist the context and add your bullshit bigotry on top.

I agree that my comment was a bit over-the-top, although I never said that he was from lebanon - just his family. Although, as I tried to show with the second paragraph, this is not meant to be an attack on the ethnicity of the teen - but rather the fact that he burnt the flag.

I would be happy if someone made the argument that Australia shielded my family from the persecution that they escaped if the roles were reversed

There is nothing wrong with flag burning beyond the damage of property. Yes, the person must pay the club for the flag, but he or she should have a right to protest against what the flag stands for - that is, nothing wrong would be done had the flag belonged to the flag burner.

Well, to me burning a flag is not shunning what was done in the name of the flag, but rather what the flag stands for - that is our country. The fact that it was from an RSL club makes this even worse - wth did soldiers who defend Australia from tyranny have to do with the Cronulla riots? The fact is that even if the teen did not wish to attack the country itself (and im not sure about that) he did so - and should be disciplined as such.

 

[bored6]

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20522453-5005941,00.html

Is it just me, or do the rest of you also find it an absolute outrage that this traitorous teen who burnt a flag stolen from an RSL club in front of 150 people hasn't been punished yet?

I mean, of course, the Cronulla riots were a reprehensible display of racism that was wholly un-Australian and should never be repeated. They were organized by racist neo-nazi thugs and were a slap in the face to all those that have worked so hard to make our country a multicultural one. However, this neither excuses nor diminishes the severity of the retaliation of the Lebanese community, especially the crime of this particular teenager.

I find it sad that someone needs to appeal for him to be humiliated and embarassed. I mean, by burning the flag this person is shunning the country that gave his family sanctuary from the Hezbollah controlled shithole of Lebanon and that has provided him with healthcare, education and other services. Flag burning is tantamount to a rejection of the morals and values of our society and an attack on our way of life. Worse, this flag was from an RSL club, therefore insulting the memory of all those who fought to defend (and are still defending) our country from tyranny. A flag burner is a traitor to our society, and there should be no question as to his full humiliation. There should be no compromise. He should be fighting to avoid jail time, not the police fighting for him to get a slap on the wrists.

My honest opinion: If you must burn our flag, please wrap yourself in it first

Honestly, this guy is either a bot constructed with conserative views or a member from www.australianrednecks.com...

 

[dieburndie]

Isn't freedom one of the things the flag stands for?
I think by prosecuting someone for burning the flag, we would effectively be committing a similar attack on the values that flag supposedly represents.
If it was his flag, he should be able to do whatever he wants with it.
Because it wasn't, he should be prosecuted. There shouldn't be any sort of law against burning the flag.
Whether or not you feel this guy is a bad person for doing it is another matter.

 

[Serius]

I dont think flag burning should ever be illegal because of our fought for freedoms. However the law should come down harshly on anyone who burns a flag in any other way it can, in this case they guy should face the maximum penalty of the law for stealing a flag, inciting hatred, throw in the new rioting laws and surely we could lock this kid away for a few months.

If someone peacefully burns their own flag on their own property i would still be offended, but i recognise it is their right to do so.


Whats so bad about this?
1.) The kid STOLE a flag from an rsl club and burnt it which is spitting in the face of what our soldiers fought so hard to acheive. Its like if i were to risk my life protecting your freedom of speech, see my mates die, sustain injuries and then in payment iam publicly ridiculed for this - an action which is perfectly legal because of the freedom of speech which i fought to protect but nonetheless highly disrespectful.

I dont know what the fuck is wrong with this kid, but if he doesnt have any respect for war veterans who fought to protect the freedoms he currently enjoys, i dont even know why he should be here.

2.) Its our flag. In heaps of other countries you would be executed for burning that country's flag. Never mind the RSL stuff, it is highly offensive to burn a country's flag. If he thinks so poorly of us why doesnt he move to pakistan where he can no longer enjoy the freedom of burning his home nations flag.

I recognise the right to burn a flag if you so wish but that does not mean it is offensive. Just as someone has the right to go on tv and spout of heaps of racist shit, talk about how they think rape is cool and that they wished anyone who was homosexual was shot just like in the motherland. Both of these scenarios are permissable by law, but they are also very offensive.

If i saw a fuckwit burning our flag, i would be hoping that someone bigger than me would step in and send him to hospital. He is a bad person for doing it but the day we start prosecuting for burning a flag is the day our freedoms go out the window. Try and nab him for something else like possesion.

 

[ur_inner_child]

Ah yes, gaol because of the initial act rather than to delve deeper into the social influences and conditionings which led up to it.

It's not as if it's murder or rape that requires a swift cut from society. Its offensive yes, I don't disagree with you at all there. I just feel gaol is just some easy way out. I'd be concerned about our government and its absolute laziness if it became a prosecutable offence, adding to what others have pointed out, about freedom.

 

[_dhj_]

Spouting racism or condoning rape would be far more unacceptable to the society than flag burning in my opinion. In this day and age protest against nationalism and against foreign policies (e.g. U.S.) which the flag represents is quite acceptable. The fact that Pauline Hanson draped herself in our flag, the xenophobia of Howard's recent refugee policies and the Cronulla riot justify flag burning to the extent that it reaffirms multiculturalism, acceptance etc in Australia by symbolically cleansing the despicably regressive moments in our society's history.

 

[syera]

theyre just making a big deal out of this for nothing. he's already apologised, what do they want him to do. seriously there are more important issues out there.

 

[ElendilPeredhil]

He apolgised. The RSL people who apoligised to said they believed him, that he looked very upset and embarassed, I think it's time evryone got off his back. Kids do stupid things, and the way to fix their problems isn't to demonize them in the media and lock them up. It said in the Telegraph that he spent some time talking with them, they explained what RSL stood for and they talked about the anzacs etc...well I think that was great, and he hasn't really done anything too terrible. He's just a stupid kid who hopefully learnt his lesson.

 

[Calculon]

1. By burning the Australian flag, a symbol of freedom, in order to exert your freedom of expression, you're a fucking hypocrite.
2. By banning flag burning you're restricting freedom of expression, and thus creating a law counter to what everyone who fought under the flag believed in, freedom.

Ergo only retards burn the flag, but by the same token, sacrificing everything the flag represents in order to protect a piece of fabric is also wrong, imo.

He should be charged with theft and made to pay for the flag, but that's about it.

 

[wuddie]

Isn't freedom one of the things the flag stands for?
I think by prosecuting someone for burning the flag, we would effectively be committing a similar attack on the values that flag supposedly represents.
If it was his flag, he should be able to do whatever he wants with it.
Because it wasn't, he should be prosecuted. There shouldn't be any sort of law against burning the flag.
Whether or not you feel this guy is a bad person for doing it is another matter.

I am with you there. There's absolutely nothing wrong with burning the flag is the flag owner wants to, but moral-wise its another story. If the guy wants to burn the flag to show his disapproval or discontent about the way the society is, then let him be. The most the law enforcers can do is to prosecute him if the flag is not his or he's doing the wrong thing. I think it's true what some of you have pointed out - that the government should look at the deeper side of things and see what the real cause of this discontent is all about, and most importantly, do something about it.

Lastly, I think it is fair to point out that racism still exists in Australia, and will forever be, because some people are conservative and hard to change. But that doesn't mean we can't minimise these kind of people by the means of education.

God bless Australia

 

[turtleface]

yes the flag burning was offensive and incited emotions, and was disrespectful, but a bigger priority would be bringing the full force of the law down on the trailer trash that beat up random lebanese looking people, as well as the gangs of thugs that beat up random non lebanese looking people - something that by all accounts hasn't really happened

 

[Calculon]

yes the flag burning was offensive and incited emotions, and was disrespectful, but a bigger priority would be bringing the full force of the law down on the trailer trash that beat up random lebanese looking people, as well as the gangs of thugs that beat up random non lebanese looking people - something that by all accounts hasn't really happened

More Anglo-Saxons were arrested for the Cronulla riots when in fact the destruction by Lebs in the following weeks was far more destructive, and almost none of them have been arrested.

 

[turtleface]

More Anglo-Saxons were arrested for the Cronulla riots when in fact the destruction by Lebs in the following weeks was far more destructive, and almost none of them have been arrested.

That is a shame I think, and I would go so far as to guess that political influences played a part (the need to appear multicultural and fair to lebanese)

Although I'm left wing, I have to say one of the most disgraceful acts I saw on the news was when 30 or so "non anglo side" thugs started beating the shit out of this guy walking on the street.

As was the stabbing by probably the same thugs, as was the bashing by the trailer trash bogans of some lebanese people on the train

 

[Captain Gh3y]

That is a shame I think, and I would go so far as to guess that political influences played a part (the need to appear multicultural and fair to lebanese)

Although I'm left wing, I have to say one of the most disgraceful acts I saw on the news was when 30 or so "non anglo side" thugs started beating the shit out of this guy walking on the street.

As was the stabbing by probably the same thugs, as was the bashing by the trailer trash bogans of some lebanese people on the train

The answer is "What electorate is Morris Iemma the MP for?"

Lastly, I think it is fair to point out that racism still exists in Australia, and will forever be, because some people are conservative and hard to change. But that doesn't mean we can't minimise these kind of people by the means of education.

Off topic, but still, do you mean to say that conservatism = racism?

 

[Serius]

you know racism goes both ways right? threatening to rape girls because they are white is racism but there was no real media backlash until those lifesavers were bashed.

 

[ElendilPeredhil]

you know racism goes both ways right? threatening to rape girls because they are white is racism but there was no real media backlash until those lifesavers were bashed.

Yeah it sucks...I couldn't believe that that stuff went on before...but seeing on the news random people, lebanese and otherwise getting chased and bashed...and that stupid crowd that threw shit at an ambulance...well I can understand why the strong reaction to the Cronulla incidents...I mean, attacking an ambulance? Just idiots.

 

[saurus]

cronulla riots was inevitable and im glad it happnd cuz it taught ppl respect for fellow australians and to flag burners piss off why live in a country u hate. australia wuld be a better place without ppl like that eg flag burners and lifeguard bashers which ironically weere both middle eastern youths ....... wat a coincidence

 

[ElendilPeredhil]

cronulla riots was inevitable and im glad it happnd cuz it taught ppl respect for fellow australians and to flag burners piss off why live in a country u hate. australia wuld be a better place without ppl like that eg flag burners and lifeguard bashers which ironically weere both middle eastern youths ....... wat a coincidence

A more serious problem would be the extreme lack of literacy you just displayed.

Australia would be a better place if more attention was paid to basic literacy skills, and less time spent worrying over a stupid teenager who burned our flag.