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Flag-Burning Amendment and Another Word War
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 06:28:45 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Date: June 22, 2005 10:41:29 PM EDT To: dave () farber net Cc: lauren () vortex com Subject: Flag-Burning Amendment and Another Word War Dave, The proposed amendment reads: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." Since it specifically says "physical," we can assume that non-physical representations such as illustrations, photos, and so on are not covered. But what does "desecration" mean in this context? Public burning is obvious, but what about hanging the flag in unusual orientations, making subtle (or obvious) alterations/additions, or juxtaposing the physical flag with unsavory or unpopular items or imagery? We've been trying for decades to deal with the meaning of "obscenity" -- are we now setting up for similar battles over yet another word? One thing seems pretty certain. The passage of such an amendment would convert the currently very rare, generally ignored act of flag burning in this country into a potent symbol of political protest with vastly expanded power to draw attention. As such, we're likely to see a massive *increase* in flag burning -- and subsequent crackdowns -- as a result. One hopes that this isn't what the proponents of the amendment actually have in mind. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- Flag-Burning Amendment and Another Word War David Farber (Jun 23)