by Steve Y do I even bother
Member since:
September 15, 2006

Yale Students Burn American Flag!!! --> It was still attached to a house, and not theirs...

April 04, 2007 12:41 PM EDT
views: 57 | comments: 18
 

From the source of my article I am sure there will be some stating that this is being blown out of proportion, or used as a propaganda tool.

 

While I agree that citizens have the right to burn the flag, for whatever reason they deem necessary, maybe it shouldn't be a flag that is flying from someone's front porch?

 

Three Yale Students Arrested for Burning American Flag

 

Apparently Said Hyder Akbar, Nikolaos Angelopoulos, and Farhad Anklesaria didn't think of this little tidbit prior to torching it and letting it burn still connected to the house.

 

Anklesaria is British and Angelopoulos is Greek, Akbar was born in Pakistan but is a U.S. citizen.  This, in many ways just adds fuel to the fire, so to speak. 

 

Do non-citizens in this country on student visas have the right to burn American flags too?  Besides being tasteless and insulting, just wondering if that right was covered for them as well.  If so, do they also have a right to burn them while they are still attached to the house?

 

This story entertained me on many levels...what do you think?

 

 
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Comments: 18

jJack Midknight Apr 4, 2007, 1:02pm EDT
ah.... college boys *chuckle*
Greg Schiller Apr 4, 2007, 1:14pm EDT
Hilarious!! Well done Steve.
جيرسي جو Apr 4, 2007, 1:17pm EDT
I'm sure you want to burn Free Speech, who needs it?
They destroyed private property and should be forced to make restitution. if this is a crime that normally requires visas to be revoked then so be it.

If you want to burn YOUR American flag then fine. But you have no right to burn someone elses.
Steve Y do I even bother Apr 4, 2007, 2:15pm EDT
'I'm sure you want to burn Free Speech'

I read through my article again, must be me but I cannot find where I implied that...thanks for stopping by

'If you want to burn YOUR American flag then fine. But you have no right to burn someone elses.'

That about sums up where I was going...

Thanks Shelley, Greg and jJack
Natalie Neal Whitefield Apr 4, 2007, 3:46pm EDT
Incredible. What has burning another person's flag (and their house) got to do with preserving free speech? Am I missing something?
justJoe . Apr 4, 2007, 3:48pm EDT
Burning someone else's flag while attached to their house is ARSON, not the exercise of free speech.

"I'm sure you want to burn Free Speech, who needs it?"
Doesn't even make sense.
M.K. Mueller Apr 4, 2007, 3:58pm EDT
If someone wants to burn the flag, that's fine but as justJoe pointed out when it's attached to someone else's house that's arson and in my mind the argument of the right to burn the nation's flag is irrelevant. Unless we're just looking for an additional charge or layer of severity to add to someone's punishment....
Greg Schiller Apr 4, 2007, 4:14pm EDT
I guess this incident speak volumes about the lack of critical thinking skills at Yale.
Steve Y do I even bother Apr 4, 2007, 4:49pm EDT
Good point Greg, another thing that just adds to the entertainment value of this story.

I agree justJoe and M.K. Not looking to pile on charges, I am sure they will face enough of them. The fact that two of them weren't even US citizens struck me odd though...there is a good chance they might lose their student visa :)
Greg Schiller Apr 4, 2007, 5:33pm EDT
What we have here is narcissism posing as politics.

Why burn a flag on someone's front porch when you can spend a few hours picking up litter along the highway or helping a kid learn to read, or helping an adult study for their GED?
Steve Y do I even bother Apr 4, 2007, 5:50pm EDT
LOL...yes, so many better ways for young professionals to assist their communities
Actually you have a point Joe - if the cops hadn't noticed the blaze it would have been arson and there were people upstairs in the house.
justJoe . Apr 4, 2007, 9:33pm EDT
Shelley, we agree. But it was actually arson. In their feeble attempt to say something they did, "I'm an arsonists". They set fire to someones home, starting with the flag attached to it, that's arson.
Rob Appell Apr 4, 2007, 9:42pm EDT
Sure, they have the right to burn the flag...just not if they don't own it and it's flying on someone else's property. Just like this country has the right to revoke their student visa and ship them back home, except for the one who is now a citzen. Give him some jail time and see how he likes our country now.
vickey w Apr 4, 2007, 11:36pm EDT
These students need to be either arrested or shipped back, the ones who are not citizens here , will probably go back to their countries and get congratulated on a job well done. I dont see where burning the American flag is freedom of speech though. I think it is disrespectful to all who have served this country.
Dale Coparanis Apr 4, 2007, 11:42pm EDT
This is where the old fashioned stocks would come in handy. Leave them out during the day for a couple of days and let them soak in all the "love". Then ship the non citizens back to their countries and have the American do some work at a VA hospital.
Ishbel R. Apr 11, 2007, 5:25am EDT
Judging by his name, the 'British' student is of Muslim ancestry... This may explain his actions more than the fact that he is British.

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