For many people in the United States, the American Flag is a symbol of freedom Americans enjoy every day. It also represents the bravery of the men and women who’ve died to obtain and protect this freedom. Unfortunately, this symbol of Americana is increasingly coming under attack. According to KUTV, police in Hurricane, Utah discovered an American flag had been ripped from a flagpole at Hurricane High School. After the flag was forcibly removed, it was shredded. Even worse, the Stars and Stripes was replaced with the flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS.
Officer Ken Thompson of the Hurricane Police Department informed KUTV they weren’t aware if a student or someone passing through the town instigated the demeaning act. After investigating the high school’s campus more thoroughly, police also detected the words “ISIS is comi” sprawled on an outside wall located on the east wing of the school with spray paint.
Thompson told KUTV investigators think the criminal(s) weren’t able to finish the word “coming.” Therefore, the individual(s) left the phrase on the wall ending in “comi.” Shortly after discovering the inflammatory graffiti, Washington County School District employees took it down.
School officials also confiscated the ISIS flag and replaced it with a new American flag. According to a post on the Facebook page of the Hurricane Police Department, “HCPD investigators sent an image of the flag to the FBI who analyzed it, [and] based on information we received from the FBI we do not believe this act was perpetrated by someone linked to the Islamic State.” This disturbing incidence in Utah occurred mere days after Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, defended an art professor who desecrated an American flag.
According to Fox News, Lisa Rockford, an assistant professor of art, splashed white paint on an American flag, cut it into two pieces, and placed it on the floor where it resembled a mat. Allegedly, Rockford photographed those, who without knowing it, stepped on Old Glory.
Jess Karcher, a student at Broward College, was first confused when he spotted the desecrated American flag on January 26, 2018. His confusion quickly turned into anger. On the Todd Starnes Radio Show, the Marine veteran said, “It was extremely disrespectful to our flag and to every American.” He went on to state, “There were so many other ways of getting her message across other than disrespecting the flag and tricking people into doing so.”
Karcher informed Campus Reform that Rockford laughed as people unsuspectingly stepped on the American flag. Broward College released a statement that read, “The provocative nature of the piece is protected by the artist’s Constitutional rights, specifically the First Amendment right to the Freedom of Speech.” The statement also said Rockford’s so-called art exhibit represents her opinions and aren’t “indicative of the values at Broward College.”
While Broward College appeared detachedly dismissive of Karcher’s concerns, the inexcusable exhibit was moved to a different location “to give gallery guests the choice to opt out of the experiential nature of her art.” In his interview with the Todd Starnes Radio Show, Karcher lamented, “It’s such a kick in the gut to have to come to school on a daily basis and see our flag disrespected, especially when so many of our brothers and sisters died defending it.”
In yet another incidence of disrespecting the Stars and Stripes, staff members from the social sciences and English departments of York High School, Chicago, put an American flag on the floor in the library of the school. According to Fox News, the demonstration was related to a project about First Amendment rights. Unlike the exhibit at Broward College, students weren’t permitted to walk on or deface the flag.
Both students and parents alike were incensed by the un-patriotic action. A representative for the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 notified the Chicago Tribune that neither district administrators nor the school board were informed prior to the exhibition. In a letter to parents, Principal Erin Deluga stated, “It was used for students to reconcile their feelings about current issues and whether their First Amendment rights are protected,” and “The purpose of the forum was to explore the complexities of the constitutionally protected right of free speech by examining real cases.”
While educational institutions are disrespecting the American Flag under the guise of art and the like, Antifa and other leftist groups are burning the Stars and Stripes in hideous demonstrations. Sadly, these disgusting displays are sowing the seeds of hatred for America in the hearts and minds of the youth in this country. Expect more events like the aforementioned one in Utah to continue.
