[inquest]

It makes a little more sense in the context of the full decision, but his shorter dissent in Street v New York is also a bit clearer about where he was coming from.

OK, I can see your point there. In defense of Black, he did point out that the ban applied regardless of what the flag-burner's opinions were, so therefore he wasn't prosecuted for engaging in an opinion, just for engaging in a particular act that the state decided to outlaw. There's a subtle difference between this and the black armband, because the latter wasn't prohibited because people didn't like the sight of black armbands, but because of the message it contained. It's hairsplitting, I know, but it still seems to preserve the basic intent of the first amendment.

So can we ban rap music? I bet you I can dig up a lot of people who consider it a public nuisance - in fact, I bet I could dig up nearly as many as consider nude dancing a public nuisance - and if we ban all rap music regardless of the opinions being expressed in the performances, we're clean, right?

Actually what I think people find noisome is the blasting of rap music from car stereos and such. It would be much harder to argue that rap music confined to a concert hall is a public nuisance - unless of course you start talking about the secondary effects it's believed to have (violent behavior, etc.), but that's opening up a whole new can o' worms.

[general_re]

In defense of Black, he did point out that the ban applied regardless of what the flag-burner's opinions were, so therefore he wasn't prosecuted for engaging in an opinion, just for engaging in a particular act that the state decided to outlaw.

Right, but also notice that implicit in that is the dismissal of the notion that the burning of a flag is itself an expression of a particular opinion. And we all know very well what that opinion is - burning a US flag in public is shorthand for some variation on the I-hate-the-United-States theme.

Now, I can't help but think that people usually reach for the secondary-effects argument when considering nude dancing, pornography, and the like, so let's try our hands at a little creative editing.

Actually what I think people find noisome is the blasting of rap music from car stereos public display of nudity and such. It would be much harder to argue that rap music nude dancing confined to a concert hall private club is a public nuisance - unless of course you start talking about the secondary effects it's believed to have (violent behavior, etc.), but that's opening up a whole new can o' worms.

:^)