Salon.com > American flag

Lil Wayne dances on top of American flag in new music video

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:28:00 +0000

Not long after a major health scare landed him in the ICU, Lil Wayne is back in headlines for his music. The rapper recently filmed a video for his political track, "God Bless Amerika," which boasts bold lyrics like: “My country, tis of thee/ Sweet land of kill them all and let them die/ So God bless America, this so Godless America."

Over the weekend, the video, which shows the rapper dancing on top of the American flag, ignited anger as it spread across the Internet. Veteran of Foreign Wars spokesperson Randi Law told the NY Daily News that walking on the American flag is “disrespectful and shouldn’t be done."

“You’re clearly not supposed to walk on the American flag and he’s doing that in front of a group of people,” Law said. “I would think the respect of the flag needs to be upheld and clearly it’s not.”

President Obama orders flags flown at half-staff

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:24:00 +0000

The president has ordered all government buildings to fly the flag at half-staff in remembrance of the victims of Monday's explosions in Boston, until April 20.

The latest casualty count from the bombings includes three dead -- including an 8-year old child -- and 176 injured. The Miami Herald reports that 17 are in critical condition and eight are "very critical" with "injuries to lower extremities; many amputations."

New York City has responded to the tragedy by raising Boston's flag to half-staff, as well:

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Teacher could be fired for stomping on U.S. flag

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:15:00 +0000

A South Carolina English teacher may lose his job for stomping on an American flag during a class demonstration. Scott Compton was attempting to illustrate to his students that the flag was a symbol and also that the physical flag is just piece of cloth -- a point likely lost on the class now that Compton has been suspended for treating the "piece of cloth" as such.

Compton, described by a local conservative news site as "very liberal," teaches in a community with a "robust military community," adding to sensitivity around the treatment of flags, the HuffPo reported.

Although flag burning and desecration of the flag is legal and constitutionally protected, the Lexington-Richland school district deemed Compton's behavior "unprofessional and inconsistent with conduct standards."