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Really? Why is my first impulse to go out and burn a flag in protest?


Because you're a real American.


one man's subversive is another man's patriot.


I find that statement subversively patriotic... or patriotically subversive or ...hmmmm???


Because they want you to take the bait for news clips for Fox and OAN


Think hard about the psychology there. You want to burn it because he told you not to. You want to burn it to declare your autonomy from his authority. But burning it is a symbol of hate of our country, not Trump. Perhaps he knows this, and perhaps that’s exactly how he wants you to act.


IAmGraydon says >But burning it is a symbol of hate of our country<

No. You don't know what the symbol means to any other person than you. And there is no absolute meaning of a symbol.

You are one person in a world of billions, each with their own symbols and interpretations.

Burning a flag could be done for an infinite number of reasons. It could be a constructive ritual that ensures "purification", or "cleansing" or even "betterment" as in a metaphor with wrought iron wherein the heat and pounding shapes and strengthens the metal.

Some Chinese burn goods (and paper models of goods) to send them to their dead ancestors.

Symbolic behavior is incredibly complex.


No, I have the urge to burn it because America - the America I love - is dead, or at least dying.

I love an America that has free speech, including burning the flag. That America is dead, assassinated by the President.

I love an America that has rule of law, not rule by executive order. That America is dead, killed by Congressional incompetence and pettiness.

I love an America where the President has limits on his power. That America is dead, killed by judicial inaction.

I have the urge to burn a flag to say: This? This thing that you are turning the country into? This is not America.


> Perhaps he knows this, and perhaps that’s exactly how he wants you to act.

Attributing "4D chess" to Trump's actions is tiresome.




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