The right wing is aflame with patriotic outrage over OMG black youth who are using their constitutionally protected right to disrespect the American flag. This morning, Fox & Friends patriot Anna Kooiman advanced the righteous indignation over this desecration of a symbol that, for Fox, is second only to the cross of Jesus.
On today's Fox & Friends Anna Kooiman brought national attention to a story which was originally reported by, of course, Fox's favorite right wing campus watchdog, Campus Reform. She began with video of a black man stomping on the American flag, but didn't mention that their right to do so is constitutionally protected.
After she said that "now that disrespect for America takes a whole new sick level," she played video of a black woman who stomped on the flag and OMG said "fuck your flag." Kooiman sighed as she said "this is so hard to watch." She explained that this video is part of the "Eric Sheppard challenge" on behalf of a "self proclaimed terrorist" and member of OMG the new Black Panther party. (Sheppard was part of the Valdosta protest.)
She welcomed her guest, former Navy Seal Carl Higbie who, on another visit with the morning pals, claimed that a change in the Navy Seal insignia was part of an Obama driven leftist plot. On another occasion he alleged that he was discharged from the Navy because he wrote a book about how Obama is destroying the country so lots of credibility here.
To Kooiman's question of "where does this come from," Higbie said that this showed the "de-evolution of America" and a growing problem of young people who "don't respect authority." Higbie, a self described "small government guy," recommended that law makers enact a law "making it illegal to disrespect the flag and even treat it like a citizen." (WTF? Flag personhood??)
Kooiman informed us that this scary black man has organized other protests. The banner: "Flag Fury, #Ericsheppardchallenge Disrespects US Flag." Higbie whined about how this is tolerated and glorified on social media. His comment, on Fox News, that social media allows "one dumb person" to get national attention was quite ironic.
Kooiman described the "challenge" as a "sick American hating knock-off of the ALS ice bucket challenge." She criticized the "jovial look" of the flag stomping woman. The banner: "Defending Old Glory, Majority of Posts Criticize the Challenge." Higbie showed is that he is a true patriot who, along with his "brothers," fought for what the flag represents." In possibly inciting violence, he urged people, who see this happening, "to stop it" regardless of the ramifications.
Wall of genius Kooiman asked if this is due to a "lack of education" and quipped that if the flag stomping woman "went to another country, she wouldn't have people like you, Navy Seals, fighting for her freedom and she'd be a woman treated like a second class citizen in many other countries." Higbie responded, "try it in China, try it in North Korea." Kooiman didn't mention that the flag stomper told people that if they don't want to disrespect the flag, they can donate $100 to homeless vets.
Is it due to a "lack of education" that Ann Kooiman doesn't know that the Supreme Court, in US v Eichman, stated that "flag desecration -- like virulent ethnic and religious epithets, vulgar repudiations of the draft, and scurrilous caricatures - is deeply offensive to many, the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."
When Christian bakers refuse to make a cake for a gay wedding, Fox & Friends is all 1st Amendment religious freedom. But when angry, black youth stomp on the American flag, the patriotic pals sing a different tune.
BTW, if you want to read some sick, racist shit, written by patriotic Americans, check out the #ericsheppardchallenge.
Funny, when Tea Party guys held the flag upside down, I don't recall Fox & Friends saying anything.
To my mind, that form of desecration should be viewed as a whole lot worse than using the flag as a symbol during a protest against the government for which it stands.
I wasn’t aware of that Texas v Johnson ruling. Will google it immediately while humming “Scalia was right, for once”.
First, guess which current Justice, widely considered to be one of the most (if not, THE most) right-wing justices on the Supreme Court may have very well been THE deciding vote on the Texas v Johnson case which overturned flag desecration laws across the country? (Hint: His last name rhymes with “Malia.”*)
Second, about the China and North Korea comment. Maybe Mr Higbie needs a little history lesson regarding the importance (or, more accurately, the lack of such) of flags in foreign countries. During the various “revolutions” that swept Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall, many LOYAL PATRIOTIC CITIZENS took their countries’ flags and defaced them and even burned them. Now, why did these people destroy their own countries’ flags? Because they represented a government they DISLIKED (even loathed). They also all just happened to have symbols of the state (mostly coats of arms or seals) located in the center of the flags where they were very easy to cut out (I remember newscasts from Romania, in particular, where the protesters were carrying around flags that had big old holes in the middle). All this was going on not long after the Court ruled in Texas v Johnson.
It’s also a bit ironic that Americans were so outraged at the image of American flags being burned by anti-American protesters in foreign countries (especially during the Iranian Revolution) but more than a few of these “patriots” didn’t have any problem burning Japanese and South Korean flags as part of the “protests” against imports “putting Americans out of work.” And there didn’t seem to be any problem from these “patriots” when the foreigners were destroying their own flags as part of their anti-government protests.