Clinton campaign to participate in the Wisconsin recount

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by Wasillaguy

1. I don't think a desire to impose penalty for desecrating our national symbol rises to vindictiveness though. How is he seeking revenge in promoting a law? He doesn't even know who will break that law yet, if it gets written and passed. Further, he can't write laws anyway.

2. You may have something here. If he is in fact looking to cause CNN anguish or hurt, it may well be in revenge for their bias. I say his vindictiveness is vindicated by their vindictiveness. I see it more as using the bully pulpit (though it's not officially his pulpit yet) to effect change in a clearly broken media. Obama didn't hesitate to belittle Fox.

So you hear Trump in a cool, dispassionate pondering of consequences there, in the flag thing? I can't believe that, because I know where the desire for this law comes from, and that is emotional ire at, as you say, 'desecration' of a symbol. A lot of emotional ire obviously--that word, desecration, means to offend something sacred, this is, taken literally, holy. Serious stuff. Serious offense. If you're into that religion anyway.

But are we supposed to punish people in this free country for not partaking of the civic religion? Well maybe a little*. It does really offend some people, and a person ought to know that, and show some consideration. But what punishment?

Well, if I'm out in public and I call you mother a slimy bitch that puts it up for pigs (just for an example, not really OK), but if I do that, and the deputy hears it and hauls me off, what the punsihment? 15 days for disturbing the peace, right, and not for dissing your mother, but just for being purposefully obnoxious.

So why is burning a flag worse than that? I call it vindictiveness, by which I mean one is full of emotional offense at the thought of the thing, and wants a bigger hurt laid on the perp. As i see it, one can be vindictive as a general idea, without having to want to hurt a named individual for an actual offense.


* No, don't think so.