Fake Outrage of the Day: US Flag Banned in MA School? (Not)

Right wing rage addiction reaching pandemic proportions

WingnutsMay 2011 • Views: 31,209

Here we go again.

Fox Nation shrieks: School Tells Child to Take Down Drawing of American Flag!

This leads to hundreds of raging right wing comments. For example:

nam_vet6869 2 hours ago

WAKE UP AMERICA, WE ARE BEING OVER RUN BY THE SOCIALIST AND THE PRESIDENT IS HOLDING THE DOOR OPEN.

It’s also being hyped on Fox News, naturally. This is the kind of red meat they live for.

Youtube Video

And the fake outrage quickly spread across the right wing blogs, of course, where the rage never stops.

But as usual, there’s a little more to the story.

22News tried to contact the Superintendent, Dr. Paul Burnim. He refused to go on camera, but told 22News over the phone that nobody ever told Franklin the drawing was offensive, and said the only reason it wasn’t hung was because Franklin was supposed to be doing other work; not drawing a picture. In a statement he said: “Each of our schools flies the American Flag every day. At the Butterfield School, the Pledge of Allegiance is recited by students and staff. And the other schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once per week.”

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92 comments

Alexzander Fri, May 13, 2011 10:38:29am

I cant even be bothered to read about this one.

Kragar Fri, May 13, 2011 10:38:40am

Wait, there were things in the curriculum other than drawing flags? What is this, communist Russia?

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 10:40:31am

Saw this spreading among the usual suspects this morning. I figured there was more to it, but even I did not suspect just how blatant the distortion would be.
This is like claiming that the cops were sent to school to confiscate your kid’s US Army logo sticker, while neglecting to mention that it was affixed to the stock of his M-4.

Stanghazi Fri, May 13, 2011 10:40:44am

Brats get rewarded.

recusancy Fri, May 13, 2011 10:42:06am

What’s that dead animal hanging from that guys lip?

Kragar Fri, May 13, 2011 10:43:15am

re: #5 recusancy

What’s that dead animal hanging from that guys lip?

Bob.

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 10:44:03am

The story was incredible to start with, since the school obviously had its own flags around and probably in every classroom. We would know this because they could not have been removed without us hearing about it from every rage-blog and talk radio screecher.

Charles Johnson Fri, May 13, 2011 10:45:29am

Want to bet that the father is a teabagger?

tnguitarist Fri, May 13, 2011 10:45:41am

I had several witty comments I was going to type, but after a while this just gets tiresome. If people can’t see the huge problem that Fox News is to this country, well, I can’t help ya.

CarleeCork Fri, May 13, 2011 10:45:43am

FAUX NOISE stirring up the base with outrage.

tnguitarist Fri, May 13, 2011 10:46:08am

re: #5 recusancy

What’s that dead animal hanging from that guys lip?

hair bat

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 10:46:43am

re: #8 Charles

Want to bet that the father is a teabagger?

He’s got the strainer attached to this nose.

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 10:47:18am

re: #5 recusancy

What’s that dead animal hanging from that guys lip?

Damn hippie!
/

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 10:47:31am

This must be what Baxter Black has to turn to when funding for Cowboy Poetry gets cut. Sad.

Image: Baxter%20Black.jpg

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 10:48:04am

re: #12 Shiplord Kirel

He’s got the strainer attached to this nose.

PIMF! HIS nose

thatthatisis Fri, May 13, 2011 10:48:58am

For us older folks: Fox News is getting to be like the Church Lady, but without the “Oh. Nevah mind” part.

Bulworth Fri, May 13, 2011 10:49:05am

“…And the other schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once per week.”

Only once a week!? Scandal?! Soshulism!!@

celticdragon Fri, May 13, 2011 10:49:27am

I’ve noticed that the moderators at Foxnews.com are deleting comments from people criticizing the rebel flag at the “Florida rebel flag license plate” story. Even innocuous stuff disappears quickly.

Meanwhile, comments about “I shoulda picked my own cotton” and posters with names like “Buck Ofama” stay high and dry.

Slap Fri, May 13, 2011 10:50:18am

Sorta OT, but tangenitally Faux-related….

Researchok posted this page this morning:

[Link: littlegreenfootballs.com…]

For my money, this is one of the most beautifully-measured and eloquent takedowns I can recall seeing in a long time. Megan McCain sets an example for how to make a strong, critical point without descending into the sewer. Well-written, incisive, CIVILIZED, honest, and yet absolutely resolute in the face of idiocy.

I’m becoming a big, big fan.

I think this one should be spread around….

Bulworth Fri, May 13, 2011 10:50:20am

US Flag Banned in MA School? (Not)

Obviously this lack of patriotism is directly attributable to teh gay marriage. And Common.

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Fri, May 13, 2011 10:51:34am

Jon Stewart coined a good name for all this: Foxygen.

tnguitarist Fri, May 13, 2011 10:52:20am

re: #18 celticdragon

The plus side to all the rebel flags everywhere?….I know which rednecks to steer clear of.

lawhawk Fri, May 13, 2011 10:52:30am

Hey Fox News, get back to me when you actually cover some real news and not some ginned up fauxtroversy nonsense.

And for all those folks who bought into this latest bafflement with bs, here’s a clue - if it* sounds too good to be true (but you really want it to be true b/c it would support your worldview), it usually is.

*it can include everything from conspiracies about 9/11, Obama’s birth certificate, Osama’s death, etc.

Summer Seale Fri, May 13, 2011 10:52:52am

I, for one, am shocked….SHOCKED that there is more to this story than Fox News is reporting!

mikefromArlington Fri, May 13, 2011 10:53:12am

Surprised Drudge didn’t link to this with a picture of Obama not holding his hand to his heart during the ‘08 Primaries. The day isn’t over yet though.

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 10:54:47am

re: #25 mikefromArlington

Surprised Drudge didn’t link to this with a picture of Obama not holding his hand to his heart during the ‘08 Primaries. The day isn’t over yet though.

Flag pin!!!11!

tnguitarist Fri, May 13, 2011 10:55:23am

re: #20 Bulworth

Obviously this lack of patriotism is directly attributable to teh gay marriage. And Common.

Married couples are now in the minority in my state because of the gay marriages here……wait, what?

Interesting Times Fri, May 13, 2011 10:55:27am

re: #8 Charles

Want to bet that the father is a teabagger?

At the very least, he appears to share mustache-grooming tips with Terry Jones.

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Fri, May 13, 2011 10:58:45am

re: #28 publicityStunted

At the very least, he appears to share mustache-grooming tips with Terry Jones.

And John Bolton.

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 10:58:53am

In the meantime, the aptly named PSYCHO-FREEP alleges that the “leftist MSM” are “making a ‘Watergate’ like extravaganza out of the Ensign affair.”

I must have missed that. All I saw was some run-of-the-mill stories about yet another philandering fundy politico being tossed out with the rest of the alley-cats. You’d almost have to be a partisan wonk to even tell thee clowns apart anymore.

Charles Johnson Fri, May 13, 2011 10:59:40am

Wingnut parents have figured out that they can easily get on Fox News by pushing fake stories about the flag.

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Fri, May 13, 2011 11:00:19am

I think I’m gonna go back to the Al Qaeda Porn thread, much less depressing and much funnier.

Simply Sarah Fri, May 13, 2011 11:01:28am

re: #31 Charles

Wingnut parents have figured out that they can easily get on Fox News by pushing fake stories about the flag.

Oh, I’d give them at least even odds of getting an apology from the school and maybe a 20% chance of the teacher being fired or otherwise disciplined regardless of what may or may not have actually happened.

Summer Seale Fri, May 13, 2011 11:01:41am

re: #31 Charles

Wingnut parents have figured out that they can easily get on Fox News by pushing fake stories about the flag.

And Christmas, and the Pledge.

theheat Fri, May 13, 2011 11:05:06am

because Franklin was supposed to be doing other work; not drawing a picture.

I remember a ton of kids, myself included, getting in trouble for drawing when we should have been working. If my parents had been more enterprising we could have become celebrities. And all those kids caught talking instead of working… they’re also pissing away their chance to make it on Fox News. Limitless possibilities here.

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 11:08:52am

re: #35 theheat

I remember a ton of kids, myself included, getting in trouble for drawing when we should have been working. If my parents had been more enterprising we could have become celebrities. And all those kids caught talking instead of working… they’re also pissing away their chance to make it on Fox News. Limitless possibilities here.

I was drawing cartoon piggies. I never thought my choice of subject matter could be so important.

Douchecanoe and Ryan Too Fri, May 13, 2011 11:09:28am

re: #31 Charles

Wingnut parents have figured out that they can easily get on Fox News by pushing fake stories about the flag.

Step 1: Find unsuspecting government or public worker.
Step 2: Do something obnoxious involving a patriotic symbol.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: PROFIT!

(Note: Step 3 may involve arrest, tasering, and other grievous bodily harm. Do not try this at home.)

Romantic Heretic Fri, May 13, 2011 11:09:57am

re: #6 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Bob.

I thought Bob was a skull.

dragonfire1981 Fri, May 13, 2011 11:10:24am

In Soviet America, Flag hangs you!

Simply Sarah Fri, May 13, 2011 11:11:53am

re: #37 thedopefishlives

Step 1: Find unsuspecting government or public worker.
Step 2: Do something obnoxious involving a patriotic symbol.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: PROFIT!

(Note: Step 3 may involve arrest, tasering, and other grievous bodily harm. Do not try this at home.)

Clearly, the lesson here is that the key to fame and attention for a student is to get suspended for making a giant flag engraving across the entire gym floor. Probably should use lead paint, too.

Jimmah Fri, May 13, 2011 11:12:40am

It should have been taken down on aesthetic grounds alone. Kid or not, that is an extremely shitey piece of work.

Douchecanoe and Ryan Too Fri, May 13, 2011 11:13:42am

re: #35 theheat

I remember a ton of kids, myself included, getting in trouble for drawing when we should have been working. If my parents had been more enterprising we could have become celebrities. And all those kids caught talking instead of working… they’re also pissing away their chance to make it on Fox News. Limitless possibilities here.

This raises the question: If all I do at work all day is make patriotic drawings, does that mean that I can get on Faux News if my boss fires me for being a lazy bum? I could really milk this thing!

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Fri, May 13, 2011 11:13:50am

I can almost guarantee this was an attempt to Breitbart the school on the part of the kid and his parents.

Kragar Fri, May 13, 2011 11:14:07am

re: #41 Jimmah

It should have been taken down on aesthetic grounds alone. Kid or not, that is an extremely shitey piece of work.

But its red, white, and blue!
/

Bulworth Fri, May 13, 2011 11:14:15am

re: #18 celticdragon

I’ve noticed that the moderators at Foxnews.com are deleting comments from people criticizing the rebel flag at the “Florida rebel flag license plate” story. Even innocuous stuff disappears quickly.

Meanwhile, comments about “I shoulda picked my own cotton” and posters with names like “Buck Ofama” stay high and dry.

The people who seem to get the crankiest about the actual U.S. flag, i.e. the Union Flag, are largely the same people who tend to think the rebel flag, the flag of secession and segregation, is totally teh awesome and deserving of incredible respect, and that the latter in no way takes away from the former.

More conservalogic I fail to comprehend, probably becuz of my extremely librule private church school upbringing.

Douchecanoe and Ryan Too Fri, May 13, 2011 11:14:23am

re: #41 Jimmah

It should have been taken down on aesthetic grounds alone. Kid or not, that is an extremely shitey piece of work.

You unpatriotic BASTARD, you./

sattv4u2 Fri, May 13, 2011 11:14:48am

re: #41 Jimmah

It should have been taken down on aesthetic grounds alone. Kid or not, that is an extremely shitey piece of work.

he’s in his Expressionist phase

Next up, his Salvadore Dali phase where the flag looks to be dripping off the pole

albusteve Fri, May 13, 2011 11:15:13am

re: #41 Jimmah

It should have been taken down on aesthetic grounds alone. Kid or not, that is an extremely shitey piece of work.

I understand he was blindfolded at the time…that would explain that

mr.fusion Fri, May 13, 2011 11:18:18am

What in the world can be done with this nonsense?

I mean it’s like every day is deja vu all over again. There’s some ridiculous claim made, rebutted by the truth, we all move on, and then the same damn thing happens all over again. Every single day.

Watching Jon Stewart the last few nights is such a perfect example. He absolutely eviscerated FOXNews the last two nights, but is it going to change them or their viewers? Are they going to all of a sudden stop race baiting? Start fact checking?

It’s very frustrating and it feels like this has changed over the last decade or so. For God’s sake we all know what happened to Dan Rather as a result of this website, but what’s the real difference between the Killian documents and what FOXNews is doing on a daily basis? Why has our level of tolerance for this stuff been turned up to 11?

Romantic Heretic Fri, May 13, 2011 11:18:20am

On topic. As a Canadian I find America’s fetish, and I’m using just the word I want, for the flag a bit…strange. The interest in the flag seems way out of proportion to importance. So incidents like this make my brow beetle down as my brain tries to process it.

Furries are more understandable to me. At least sex is involved there. I understand sex.

Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that people on the far right fetishize the flag. A central tenet of their belief, especially among the alleged Christians, is that sex is bad. Maybe the flag fetish is a substitution?

Jimmah Fri, May 13, 2011 11:18:29am

re: #44 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

But its red, white, and blue!
/

You could do a better american flag by smearing a couple of blobs of aquafresh.

APox Fri, May 13, 2011 11:18:52am

THEY ONLY RECITE THE PLEDGE ONCE PER WEEK?

SOCIALISM!

Douchecanoe and Ryan Too Fri, May 13, 2011 11:20:17am

re: #50 Romantic Heretic

Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that people on the far right fetishize the flag. A central tenet of their belief, especially among the alleged Christians, is that sex is bad. Maybe the flag fetish is a substitution?

Hey baby, you can run your flag up my pole any time.

APox Fri, May 13, 2011 11:20:21am

P.S. I’m all for facial hair, but what is that thing growing on his upper lip?

albusteve Fri, May 13, 2011 11:20:32am

re: #49 mr.fusion

What in the world can be done with this nonsense?

I mean it’s like every day is deja vu all over again. There’s some ridiculous claim made, rebutted by the truth, we all move on, and then the same damn thing happens all over again. Every single day.

Watching Jon Stewart the last few nights is such a perfect example. He absolutely eviscerated FOXNews the last two nights, but is it going to change them or their viewers? Are they going to all of a sudden stop race baiting? Start fact checking?

It’s very frustrating and it feels like this has changed over the last decade or so. For God’s sake we all know what happened to Dan Rather as a result of this website, but what’s the real difference between the Killian documents and what FOXNews is doing on a daily basis? Why has our level of tolerance for this stuff been turned up to 11?

I think if you turn off the blogs, and whatever it is they call news, you will see that this stuff goes away rather quietly….reading blogs to the point of frustration is silly

Romantic Heretic Fri, May 13, 2011 11:21:27am

re: #53 thedopefishlives

Hey baby, you can run your flag up my pole any time.

If you gotta pole I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I’m kinky, not gay.

mikefromArlington Fri, May 13, 2011 11:21:49am

OT but speaking of Fox, this ladies response just about guarantees her an hour long spot in their evening lineup.

Youtube Video

The viewers will all nod in agreement to her thinking Europe was a country.

Simply Sarah Fri, May 13, 2011 11:22:30am

re: #50 Romantic Heretic

On topic. As a Canadian I find America’s fetish, and I’m using just the word I want, for the flag a bit…strange. The interest in the flag seems way out of proportion to importance. So incidents like this make my brow beetle down as my brain tries to process it.

Furries are more understandable to me. At least sex is involved there. I understand sex.

Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that people on the far right fetishize the flag. A central tenet of their belief, especially among the alleged Christians, is that sex is bad. Maybe the flag fetish is a substitution?

Honestly? I think it’s mostly just a result of most kids spending their youth being conditioned and indoctrinated that way. When you spend your entire grade school period rising every morning to pledge allegiance to it, it pushes a deeper meaning and links it directly to being “American”.

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 11:22:54am

re: #50 Romantic Heretic

On topic. As a Canadian I find America’s fetish, and I’m using just the word I want, for the flag a bit…strange. The interest in the flag seems way out of proportion to importance. So incidents like this make my brow beetle down as my brain tries to process it.

Furries are more understandable to me. At least sex is involved there. I understand sex.

Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that people on the far right fetishize the flag. A central tenet of their belief, especially among the alleged Christians, is that sex is bad. Maybe the flag fetish is a substitution?

I understand where you’re coming from. You have a leaf on your flag.

Douchecanoe and Ryan Too Fri, May 13, 2011 11:23:05am

re: #56 Romantic Heretic

If you gotta pole I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I’m kinky, not gay.

Sorry, perhaps I didn’t make clear that that was supposed to be read in a rabid right-winger voice.

Romantic Heretic Fri, May 13, 2011 11:24:23am

re: #57 mikefromArlington

OT but speaking of Fox, this ladies response just about guarantees her an hour long spot in their evening lineup.

[Video]The viewers will all nod in agreement to her thinking Europe was a country.

*Face scrunches up in pain* She thought Europe was a country?

Help me, Spock.

Bulworth Fri, May 13, 2011 11:24:37am

Frankie’s father told 22News that he is so outraged that he placed a call to the American Civil Liberties Union.

FAIL. This guy’s conservacredentials just went down the toilet. Doesn’t he know the ACLU is anti-American? And ACORN! Get this guy to one of Glenn Beck’s re-education camps.

Kragar Fri, May 13, 2011 11:25:23am

re: #51 Jimmah

You could do a better american flag by smearing a couple of blobs of aquafresh.

Well, of course I could. I’m fucking awesome.

Summer Seale Fri, May 13, 2011 11:25:43am

re: #57 mikefromArlington

OT but speaking of Fox, this ladies response just about guarantees her an hour long spot in their evening lineup.

[Video]The viewers will all nod in agreement to her thinking Europe was a country.

Being an American who currently lives in France since almost a year, I can tell you all that this clip is incredibly embarrassing to me….. =P

sattv4u2 Fri, May 13, 2011 11:26:51am

re: #64 Summer

Being an American who currently lives in France since almost a year, I can tell you all that this clip is incredibly embarrassing to me… =P

How do you think the French feel about you being there a year!!

mr.fusion Fri, May 13, 2011 11:27:16am

re: #55 albusteve

I think if you turn off the blogs, and whatever it is they call news, you will see that this stuff goes away rather quietly…reading blogs to the point of frustration is silly

I’m not talking about blogs. I’m talking about the mainstream media.

Just off the top of my head, we’ve seen things come and go over the last few years like

The “B” girl
The “whitey” tape
Death Panels
Nirth Certificates
Shirley Sherrod
The ACORN tapes
O’Keefe wiretapping a congresswoman
O’Keefe entrapping a reporter with a room full of dildo’s and handcuff’s
The Csar “controversy”
Obama “indoctrinating children” by giving a “stay in school” message on the first day of class
Michelle socialist food agenda
Beheadings on the AZ border
Various stories from The Onion reported as fact

I could literally go on and on and on and on……and can you name one single person who has lost their job over reporting these stories?

Romantic Heretic Fri, May 13, 2011 11:28:19am

re: #59 wrenchwench

I understand where you’re coming from. You have a leaf on your flag.

Yeah, there aren’t many leaf fetishists around.

albusteve Fri, May 13, 2011 11:30:08am

re: #66 mr.fusion

I’m not talking about blogs. I’m talking about the mainstream media.

Just off the top of my head, we’ve seen things come and go over the last few years like

The “B” girl
The “whitey” tape
Death Panels
Nirth Certificates
Shirley Sherrod
The ACORN tapes
O’Keefe wiretapping a congresswoman
O’Keefe entrapping a reporter with a room full of dildo’s and handcuff’s
The Csar “controversy”
Obama “indoctrinating children” by giving a “stay in school” message on the first day of class
Michelle socialist food agenda
Beheadings on the AZ border
Various stories from The Onion reported as fact

I could literally go on and on and on and on…and can you name one single person who has lost their job over reporting these stories?

yes, I know all about it, it’s been going on for years…after awhile you may not take stories like this too serious…if you watch Fox news, you are part of it

Summer Seale Fri, May 13, 2011 11:32:57am

re: #65 sattv4u2

How do you think the French feel about you being there a year!!

//

They won’t. They’ll sob torrents of tears the day I fly away.

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 11:34:27am

re: #57 mikefromArlington

OT but speaking of Fox, this ladies response just about guarantees her an hour long spot in their evening lineup.

[Video]The viewers will all nod in agreement to her thinking Europe was a country.

Fwiw, I got my Jeopardy slot by correctly naming the capital of Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou). This is actually a city of over a million people but you could probably send a quarter to every American who knows about it and not go broke.

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 11:35:16am

re: #67 Romantic Heretic

Yeah, there aren’t many leaf fetishists around.

Don’t get me wrong, I like your flag.

Nothing beats Oregon’s state flag, though. It has a beaver on the back. Nobody else’s flag has anything on the back.

Jimmah Fri, May 13, 2011 11:36:22am

re: #63 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Well, of course I could. I’m fucking awesome.

Oh me too. Here’s an American flag I just made out of Aquafresh. It goes without saying that anyone who doesn’t upding it is an unpatriotic bastard who deserves to be named and shamed on Fox News ;-)

Image: flag.JPG

sattv4u2 Fri, May 13, 2011 11:41:38am

re: #69 Summer

They won’t. They’ll sob torrents of tears the day I fly away.

Why ,, you stealing sumfin from them?

sattv4u2 Fri, May 13, 2011 11:42:16am

re: #71 wrenchwench

Don’t get me wrong, I like your flag.

Nothing beats Oregon’s state flag, though. It has a beaver on the back. Nobody else’s flag has anything on the back.

Whenever I see a beaver on it’s back, i think,, DEAD BEAVER

Summer Seale Fri, May 13, 2011 11:42:19am

re: #73 sattv4u2

Why ,, you stealing sumfin from them?

Their hearts.

Then again, being French, most don’t have one.

theheat Fri, May 13, 2011 11:57:58am

re: #14 wrenchwench

FYI - Baxter Black’s a prick in real life.

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 12:10:36pm

re: #76 theheat

FYI - Baxter Black’s a prick in real life.

Thanks for the tip.

leftynyc Fri, May 13, 2011 12:39:04pm

re: #49 mr.fusion

What in the world can be done with this nonsense?

I mean it’s like every day is deja vu all over again. There’s some ridiculous claim made, rebutted by the truth, we all move on, and then the same damn thing happens all over again. Every single day.

Watching Jon Stewart the last few nights is such a perfect example. He absolutely eviscerated FOXNews the last two nights, but is it going to change them or their viewers? Are they going to all of a sudden stop race baiting? Start fact checking?

It’s very frustrating and it feels like this has changed over the last decade or so. For God’s sake we all know what happened to Dan Rather as a result of this website, but what’s the real difference between the Killian documents and what FOXNews is doing on a daily basis? Why has our level of tolerance for this stuff been turned up to 11?

I’ll settle for watching Jon Stewart shred billo on Monday night. I have a feeling bill is going to regret this challenge. I can’t believe I’ve been put in the position of HAVING to watch the o’reilly factor.

Romantic Heretic Fri, May 13, 2011 12:49:23pm

re: #49 mr.fusion

Watching Jon Stewart the last few nights is such a perfect example. He absolutely eviscerated FOXNews the last two nights, but is it going to change them or their viewers? Are they going to all of a sudden stop race baiting? Start fact checking?

I keep reading the bolded sentence as ‘Stop fart catching.’ Because The Ministry of Truth’s lip are firmly attached to the wingnuts backsides.

SanFranciscoZionist Fri, May 13, 2011 1:07:13pm

re: #4 Stanley Sea

Brats get rewarded.

Someone here referred to a phenomenon of college kids’ parents insisting that their children were being harassed for being conservatives—I think the term was ‘black helicopter parents’, which I find charming—and I think there’s a more dysfunctional strain that sometimes pops up with younger kids.

There was a really bizarre case a couple of years ago, where a little girl claimed to have been physically attacked at school for having drawn an anti-illegal-immigration ad. The school security camera footage showed that she put the scratches on herself.

It’s not unheard of for people to stage things like racist graffiti or threatening letters to make themselves seem important and victimized, but when it’s a child, you have to think that the parents are involved on some level.

SanFranciscoZionist Fri, May 13, 2011 1:08:29pm

re: #23 lawhawk

And for all those folks who bought into this latest bafflement with bs, here’s a clue - if it* sounds too good to be true (but you really want it to be true b/c it would support your worldview), it usually is.

Yep.

SanFranciscoZionist Fri, May 13, 2011 1:09:30pm

re: #30 Shiplord Kirel

In the meantime, the aptly named PSYCHO-FREEP alleges that the “leftist MSM” are “making a ‘Watergate’ like extravaganza out of the Ensign affair.”

I must have missed that. All I saw was some run-of-the-mill stories about yet another philandering fundy politico being tossed out with the rest of the alley-cats. You’d almost have to be a partisan wonk to even tell thee clowns apart anymore.

I like ‘Psycho-Freep’, though. That is a great name.

theheat Fri, May 13, 2011 1:13:52pm

re: #77 wrenchwench

And the cowboy poetry gatherings, while bringing in lots of tourist dollars, are another venue for some hard core teabaggers, fundies, anti-vaxxers, AWG deniers, theocrats, homophobes, racists, and dominionists… who just happen to be cowboy poets. The mustache is part of their uniform.

theheat Fri, May 13, 2011 1:15:01pm

re: #83 theheat

The mustache is part of their uniform.

And not just on the men…

SanFranciscoZionist Fri, May 13, 2011 1:19:57pm

re: #50 Romantic Heretic

On topic. As a Canadian I find America’s fetish, and I’m using just the word I want, for the flag a bit…strange. The interest in the flag seems way out of proportion to importance. So incidents like this make my brow beetle down as my brain tries to process it.

Furries are more understandable to me. At least sex is involved there. I understand sex.

Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that people on the far right fetishize the flag. A central tenet of their belief, especially among the alleged Christians, is that sex is bad. Maybe the flag fetish is a substitution?

I think it was a bad idea to select a national anthem which is basically an ode to the flag. That may have been an early warning sign.

Dunno. Another American and I once put some German classmates into shock by demonstrating the pledge of allegiance. It doesn’t bother me, having been raised on it, but when I saw their faces, I realized that it might, uh, ring some bells.

SanFranciscoZionist Fri, May 13, 2011 1:22:18pm

re: #70 Shiplord Kirel

Fwiw, I got my Jeopardy slot by correctly naming the capital of Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou). This is actually a city of over a million people but you could probably send a quarter to every American who knows about it and not go broke.

1. I don’t get a quarter.

2. How do you pronounce Ouagadougou?

SanFranciscoZionist Fri, May 13, 2011 1:22:38pm

re: #71 wrenchwench

Don’t get me wrong, I like your flag.

Nothing beats Oregon’s state flag, though. It has a beaver on the back. Nobody else’s flag has anything on the back.

My state has an extinct state animal on the flag!!

wrenchwench Fri, May 13, 2011 2:26:00pm

re: #87 SanFranciscoZionist

My state has an extinct state animal on the flag!!

But not on the back.

/sorry to hear about your bear.

Michael McBacon Fri, May 13, 2011 4:17:34pm

Frankie’s father told 22News that he is so outraged that he placed a call to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Don’t go runnin’ to the ACLU. They’re Commie flag-burners!!

mr.fusion Fri, May 13, 2011 5:07:19pm

re: #55 albusteve

I think if you turn off the blogs, and whatever it is they call news, you will see that this stuff goes away rather quietly…reading blogs to the point of frustration is silly

I was just reading your post again and I just wanted to say, that’s exactly my problem with it. It goes away quietly

renata39.5 Fri, May 13, 2011 6:48:06pm

re: #50 Romantic Heretic

I think a big part of it is the prevalent use of the flag as a metonymy for America itself. As in, instead of “many Americans have died for this country,” the use of “many Americans have died for this flag.” This type of rhetoric is long-standing and common; and honestly, very moving and poetic in the proper place. The problem is when you have a significant segment of American citizenry who take that metonymy literally.

I am a teacher in Baton Rouge, coincidentally; and we have had a recent, flag-related kerfuffle of our own in which three distinct sets of people have made complete asses of themselves—students who vandalized school property to steal and burn a flag that wasn’t there, leaving graffiti in their wake; graduate student who decided to protest the arrest of one of the vandals for said vandalism by burning a flag (yet failing to get the proper permits for his on-campus demonstration, apparently); and large mob of overly-emotional students who tried to run aforementioned grad student out of town on a rail. It led to an interesting debate amongst my 5th graders about the flag. It got a bit heated because some students recognized that the flag is just a piece of cloth—what it symbolizes is what’s important—while others went down the “but it’s the FLAG! People have DIED for that flag!” path. I was thankful for the opportunity to point out that dying for the flag itself and alone would be a really dumb and meaningless thing to do, and that people hadn’t died for the flag itself (a mere piece of cloth), but instead for what it stood for.

All that to say, debates over incidents that involve the flag tend to be emotional and heated. I tend to think it’s because some of us have allowed a symbol, a metonymy, to become literal. And that’s not healthy.

Shiplord Kirel Fri, May 13, 2011 8:25:55pm

re: #86 SanFranciscoZionist

1. I don’t get a quarter.

2. How do you pronounce Ouagadougou?

o-WAH-gah-DOO-Goo

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