Is it worth it to knock out someone who walks on the American flag and then secure the flag?

Beg to differ..I don't care about freedom of speech... I care about respect.. man woman don't care who it is.. I don't have a problem protecting what I fought for..I'll knock your ass out.. that's why the country has problems we don't stick up for what we fight for.. u took a oath looking at that flag... it doesn't end..protect it like a real american

CPL Aloysius Grimaudo - wow - just wow. We do NOT get to decide what rights we care about, or even get to discriminate what is allowed by those rights. We all swore to uphold the Constitution, above all else, and to see a fellow Brother in arms exclaimed he doesn't care about the 1st amendment saddens me. This right was the very first right our founders put forth for the people. more important then bearing arms, and you would ignore it for a piece of cloth, it is not the cloth that carries the ideals of our country, it is our hearts, and as long as we, in our hearts, carry those ideals, then no one can desecrate our Flag, no matter how many times they stomp on it.

CPL Aloysius Grimaudo - Courts have ruled that it is "free speech," and to assault such an idiot is a criminal offense. I admire your passion, but would question your common sense. I'm not trying to insult you, but seriously - part of your oath is to uphold and defend the Constitution, and among THE MOST sacred in the Bill of Rights is the 1st Amendment's FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

CPL Aloysius Grimaudo - "Each person enlisting in an armed force shall take the following oath: I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;" If you are going to beat someone up for exercising their right to Freedom of Speech then you are disrespecting the Oath you took upon enlisting.

Well said. We need to remember that we swore to defend the Constitution and the rights of the people. Just because we don't agree with what someone is doing, doesn't mean we violate the law and our oath.

I salute you sir, finally someone who sees the point of view I have been trying to make. The flag serves the people, the constitution serves the people, but people first.

I agree with your statement exactly - well said SFC Robert Wheeler! For those that would still assault someone for their actions, just remember an assault conviction can take away some of the very rights you fought to protect. To quote the old "Baretta" theme song, "If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime"!

Good points and well said SFC Wheeler. I do think it should be against the law however to desecrate the flag, trample on it, etc. Too many politically correct assholes in this country if you ask me.

MSG (Join to see) - Yes we who have served all swore an Oath, so you have to look at it in this perspective. Your feelings don't Trump someone's 1st Amendment Right's. Even if it pisses you off to no end. It's not worth going to jail over and getting an assault Charge on your record and or possibly spending time in jail over this ordeal.

Amen Padre!!!

That asshole has a right to free speech as affirmed and protected by the Supreme Court of the US.

That's perfectly fine and why I would choose not to assault them. I have no qualms about grabbing the flag and running away with it. Catch me if you can.

They'll have to find me, and do you really think the cops are going to pursue someone who stole a flag from someone disrespecting it.....when no assault was involved?

I'm with you on this one Chief...I would be the guy that would drive the get away car for you.

Like you alluded to SSG Roger Ayscue , easy to say, not so easy to do if you witness it. I see it as not playing into the media's hands. Someone gets you on tape and you are cannon fodder for their claim of persecution. To be convicted of assault, the prosecuter better hope there are no veterans on the jury.

It always seems like Christians and uber patriots have this burning desire to force their values on other people. No, you don't get to call any American a scumbag for exercising their 1st Amendment rights. You don't get to force your beliefs on anybody with your fists. It is not patriotic and it is not respectful and it is not the traits a good soldier should show a fellow citizen of this country. If you disagree with the law, then change the damned law but sitting at your keyboard and spitting venom at your perceived enemies does not change anything. You don't get a freaking free pass to implement your own version sharia law on your fellow citizens. You are a service member or a veteran. You are not better than any other American just because you served. I served, my father served and his father before him. None of us ran around acting like we were God's gift to patriotism and letting the whole world know about it. We have always believed it was an honor to serve and our personal beliefs and values were not to shoved down anybody's throats because we have served for three generations. If I don't like something, I work to change it though my vote and advocacy for various causes. That does not entitle me to proselytize.

SFC Wheeler, I am both a Christian and a Patriot, I take it from your posting that you are likely to be the liberal at the dinner party. OK bang, you got me...I do feel like fighting when someone desecrates the flag. I do share my faith if the opportunity presents itself, just as I am sure that you share your love for whatever you love. It amazes me that liberals are all in favor of using their rights to usher in change that would deny you the very rights you say you stand up for. Just look at the political philosophy that the left espouses. Those Left-leaning governments normally turn into police states and Workers Paradises.
SFC Wheeler, you say it is the first amendment, and it is well said, but for a Christian to share his or her beliefs is also the First Amendment. I will not argue the point with you. If I see someone desecrating that flag that has draped too many coffins, been presented to too many grieving mothers, and has liberated so many oppressed people in this world, well the last thing I will think of is the freedom of speech of that ungrateful pee-ant who thinks something is owed to him. He and anyone else reading this for that matter that thinks that they do not owe a debt that can not be repaid for their freedom go out and face toward the east and shout it really really loud, because Arlington National Cemetery is a long long way from here.

SFC Wheeler, yes I can call you a scumbag as it is my 1st Amendment right. I can call you anything I desire because words are not considered to be physical in any sense. Name calling is not prohibited under any law, period. This has also been ruled on by the US Supreme Court. So, you can protest and I can call you a moron for doing so. That is well within both of our rights.

Who's to say you can't get him to punch you first? Then you can end it.

Why would it be a hate crime?

Because the protesters that are doing this are black and the person that asked the question is white. White on black crime is always touted as a hate crime in the media.

They, mostly Jessica Walker, may be getting all the media attention for stomping on Old Glory but blacks aren't the only ones doing it.

I will admit that with all the attention flag stomping is getting recently, it was difficult to find pics of non-blacks doing it but I did find some...

SGT Jimmy Carpenter Dumbassery transcends all bounds.

And by this same reasoning, they are not disrespecting the piece of material that is dyed red, white and blue. They are disrespecting what and who it stands for. It is the meaning behind their actions that I would take issue with. Not the mere desecration of the flag, but the total lack of respect for what it stands for. For this reason, I would probably be willing to do some time for the assault.

1SG Stephen Burgess, yes, that is precisely my reasoning: that such action can only hurt people's feelings (via disrespect of others' values), rather than actually harm anyone. "I do not agree with what [they] have to say, but I will defend to the death [their] right to say it."

U took an oath to that flag.. and yes it does hurt people.. quit being so liberal and fighting for the weak

CPL Aloysius Grimaudo to the CONSTITUTION

"The Flag stands for the right to burn it."
-- a 1st Cav door gunner/crew chief, Viet-Nam