Tracey Chandler of Whittier displays an American flag that has been burned and slashed by
vandals near the informal September 11 memorial on Whittier Boulevard . (Staff photo by Bernardo Alps)
Posted on 03/11/2003 12:29:00 PM PST by rimmont
Police in a Los Angeles suburb allowed anti-war protesters to trash a patriotic 9-11 memorial, citing the vandals' "freedom of speech."
The protesters burned and ripped up flags, flowers and patriotic signs erected on a fence along a boulevard in La Habra, Calif. The display had been maintained since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said the local Whittier Daily News.
Officers witnessed the vandalism Saturday afternoon but did not arrest three people seen damaging the memorial because they were "exercising the same freedom of speech that the people who put up the flags were," said La Habra Police Capt. John Rees.
"For this to be vandalism, there had to be an ill-will intent,' he said, according to the Whittier paper.
Police would take action only if the owner filed a complaint, said Rees.
Owner Jeff Collision said he might press charges.
"Their free speech stops at destruction of private property," said Collision, who runs The RV Center of La Habra. "If they are allowed to come on my property and burn flags, does that mean I can go to City Hall or the police station and light their flags on fire because that is freedom of speech? To me, this is vandalism."
A local resident who helped maintain the spontaneous memorial said she was shocked by the destruction.
"They trashed 87 flags, ripped 11 memorial tiles made by myself and my children out of the ground and glued the Bob Dylan song to a sign that said, 'America, land of the brave, home of the free,'" said Tracey Chandler, a mother of four, referring to Dylan's "With God on Our Side," an anti-war anthem of the 1960s.
"It's unbelievable, because there were absolutely no political messages on this fence," said Chandler, according to the Daily News. "It was all about supporting our troops, which could mean bringing them home, and about remembering 9-11."
The paper quoted Les Howard, a sociology professor at Whittier College, who said he did not condone the destruction but believed the incident might reflect confusion among people trying to prevent a war against Iraq who are uncertain about how to express their sentiments.
"Some think [the best way to support the troops] is to not question their role," Howard said. "Some think the best way is to pursue all means possible to avoid putting them in danger. That still does not excuse any desecration of people's symbolic participation."
Chandler said she is going to help rebuild the memorial, promising "it will be brighter, bigger and better than ever."
When will they ever learn?
Uh no. Thats vsandalism and destrcution of property, whether its public or private. These peopel should have been arrested on the spot and the PC policemen should be suspended for not protecting property rights and upholding the law.
Some America-hating aftholes come onto private property and destroy a memorial constructed for those lost on 9-11. The LAPD not only did not arrest those involved, they stood by and watched as the carnage took place.
To quote Vincent Bugliosi, it is so damn obscene there are no words for it.
That's like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If you think morons like this are confined to California, you are incredibly insular.
La Habra Police Capt. John Rees needs to be suspended until he can demonstrate that he understands the law.
The cops standing by looking is another issue. They need to be questioned as well.
Some America-hating aftholes come onto private property and destroy a memorial constructed for those lost on 9-11. The LAPD not only did not arrest those involved, they stood by and watched as the carnage took place.
To quote Vincent Bugliosi, it is so damn obscene there are no words for it.
That's Los Angeles for you. The Left can do no wrong in the eyes of many here. That's why we have a CITY COUNCIL that thinks it knows more about foreign affairs than Washington.
Of course, if these actions had been conducted by a self-described right wing group, it'd be all over the L.A. Times as an "act of hatred."
But no...there'll be no L.A. Times coverage of this. It's for the Left to engage in hate speech and hate-actions, provided it's pointed at America.
And they wonder why the rest of us consider them un-American? Sheesh...
-Jay
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.