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Whose flag is it? Mine? Yours? Theirs?
Found this interesting article in The Progressive "No Upside Down Flag in Iowa"
Looks like a rather un-used section of Iowa code was dusted off to silence a protester. Luckily, the ACLU is stepping in to defend the person fined in the incident. What Iowa law did he break?
(from the article)
"Chapter 718A is a whopper. It reads: “Any person who in any manner, for exhibition or display, shall place or cause to be placed, any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement of any nature, upon any flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or upon any flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, or shall expose or cause to be exposed to public view, any such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or any such flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, upon which shall have been printed, painted, or otherwise placed, or to which shall be attached, appended, affixed, or annexed, any word, figure, mark, picture, design, or drawing, or any advertisement of any nature, or who shall expose to public view, manufacture, sell, expose for sale, give away, or have in possession for sale, or to give away, or for use for any purpose any article or substance, being an article of merchandise or a receptacle of merchandise or article or thing for carrying or transporting merchandise, upon which shall have been printed, painted, attached or otherwise placed, a representation of any such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or any such flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed, or who shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon, cast contempt upon, satirize, deride or burlesque, either by words or act, such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, or who shall, for any purpose, place such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, upon the ground or where the same may be trod upon, shall be deemed guilty of a simple misdemeanor.”
Now - if you are still lucid after reading that run-on sentence from hell, the reason why this is controversial is not that he broke the law- he clearly did (whether you think the law is right or wrong is another issue entirely, believe me). The controversy is that he is the ONLY person who has been prosecuted under the law. By the terms of the law, anyone who uses an image of the flag in advertising, commercial media, or any other manner other than respectful display, should be prosecuted. This would put the entire marketing industry out of business when it comes to 4th of July sales, and President's day media blitzes! Not that this would be a bad thing.........using patriotism to pimp capitalism makes us all whores in the end, doesn't it?
In the meantime, as a matter of civil disobedience, I am posting this image to "to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed, or who shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon, cast contempt upon, satirize, deride or burlesque" (whatever that heck that means).
Looks like a rather un-used section of Iowa code was dusted off to silence a protester. Luckily, the ACLU is stepping in to defend the person fined in the incident. What Iowa law did he break?
(from the article)
"Chapter 718A is a whopper. It reads: “Any person who in any manner, for exhibition or display, shall place or cause to be placed, any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement of any nature, upon any flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or upon any flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, or shall expose or cause to be exposed to public view, any such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or any such flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, upon which shall have been printed, painted, or otherwise placed, or to which shall be attached, appended, affixed, or annexed, any word, figure, mark, picture, design, or drawing, or any advertisement of any nature, or who shall expose to public view, manufacture, sell, expose for sale, give away, or have in possession for sale, or to give away, or for use for any purpose any article or substance, being an article of merchandise or a receptacle of merchandise or article or thing for carrying or transporting merchandise, upon which shall have been printed, painted, attached or otherwise placed, a representation of any such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or any such flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed, or who shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon, cast contempt upon, satirize, deride or burlesque, either by words or act, such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, or who shall, for any purpose, place such flag, standard, color, ensign, shield, or other insignia of the United States, or flag, ensign, great seal, or other insignia of this state, upon the ground or where the same may be trod upon, shall be deemed guilty of a simple misdemeanor.”
Now - if you are still lucid after reading that run-on sentence from hell, the reason why this is controversial is not that he broke the law- he clearly did (whether you think the law is right or wrong is another issue entirely, believe me). The controversy is that he is the ONLY person who has been prosecuted under the law. By the terms of the law, anyone who uses an image of the flag in advertising, commercial media, or any other manner other than respectful display, should be prosecuted. This would put the entire marketing industry out of business when it comes to 4th of July sales, and President's day media blitzes! Not that this would be a bad thing.........using patriotism to pimp capitalism makes us all whores in the end, doesn't it?
In the meantime, as a matter of civil disobedience, I am posting this image to "to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed, or who shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon, cast contempt upon, satirize, deride or burlesque" (whatever that heck that means).
