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Flag protest

Below is an article about a college basketball player who has been protesting the flag all season (for different reasons every time she is interviewed). It has caused alot of contraversey and got her national attention. The head coach of UConn said if she played for him, he would kick her off the team and not worry about the lawsuits.

This all raises some interesting questions. Is this the appropriate place to protest this way? It's a team sport, is it appropriate to fracture your team (not all her team mates agree with her stance) to gain national attention for a protest who's meaning seems to change from day to day? She most likey recieved scholorships of some kind. Is she right to use those funds in a way that may not reflect the views of her benefactors? She has said that this is based on what she's been taught in some of her classes. What the hell is being taught in colleges? Is this just a publicity stunt?


Fans boo as Smith again turns away from flag
Associated Press

NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- A college basketball player who turns away from the U.S. flag during the national anthem was jeered by flag-waving students at a road game, even while she was on the bench.

Toni Smith, a senior at Manhattanville College, was booed at Mount St. Mary at a game Thursday night.

Smith is protesting "that the government's priorities are not on bettering the quality of life for all of its people, but rather on expanding its own power.'' She has turned away from the flag all season.

Before Thursday's game, the Mount St. Mary student government handed out small flags before the game. More than 500 people filled the small gym, and jeered Smith at every opportunity.

At the end of the game Thursday night's game between Manhattanville and Mount St. Mary's, the crowd sang "God Bless America.''

When Manhattanville played at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Feb. 11, more than 300 flag-waving midshipmen greeted Smith with chants of "USA'' and "Leave our country.''

When Smith picked up two fouls in the first three minutes and was benched, the crowd chanted, "We want Toni,'' according to The Journal News.

"For some time now, the inequalities that are embedded into the American system have bothered me. As they are becoming progressively worse and it is clear that the government's priorities are not on bettering the quality of life for all of its people, but rather on expanding its own power, I cannot, in good conscience, salute the flag,'' Smith said in a statement released Thursday.

Manhattanville President Richard Berman said he told Smith "what she's doing is courageous and difficult.''

protest Flag

I think she has all the right to feel in the way she does, and her team and the people should respect her views. If she doesn't feel to salute the flag, well, that's her choice. I think that if the United States of America likes to portrait as the land of freedom and free expression then they should not critize her but respect her views on this matter. She , as an american citizen, has the right to show her discontent about the goverment in the way she thinks will have some kind of impact and without any doubts, she's getting the attention she wanted it.

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I agree with you LDS. It's her right to protest. That's the beauty of Freedom. But the basketball court is not the place to do this. Not on the college's dime. And the flag is not the thing to disrespect. Because it symbolizes so much more than whatever it is she's protesting. She really needs to think twice about this.
things like this don't happen around here...

protest Flag

Hey, this is America.
Nobody has to toe any line here.
If she has a particular opinion, at least she has one, which you can't say for a lot of the potato heads walking around.

protest Flag

lol yep we are agree in this one Stranger. Now, What's the big deal about all this?. I mean is not like she's insulting the flag when everybody is signing the anthem. She's just not participating in the whole thing. I don't see any big deal about it really.

Flag protest

[quote]I don't see any big deal about it really.[/quote]

I see many things that some go absolutely ballistic about that make no sense to me.

The one thing that irritates me about some of our more hard line conservatives is to label people as anti-American or as traitors because they don't agree with a government policy.

Hooey on them. I don't agree with most of the things our government does, but that doesn't make me a traitor.

Flag protest

[quote]

This all raises some interesting questions. Is this the appropriate place to protest this way? It's a team sport, is it appropriate to fracture your team (not all her team mates agree with her stance) to gain national attention for a protest who's meaning seems to change from day to day? She most likey recieved scholorships of some kind. Is she right to use those funds in a way that may not reflect the views of her benefactors?[glow=red,2,300] She has said that this is based on what she's been taught in some of her classes. [/glow]What the hell is being taught in colleges? Is this just a publicity stunt?

[/quote]

I am not sure whether LDS or Stranger have got the point here..

What are the teaching now days in some US colleges, it seems to me that they are the base of this protests and that they fully suport 'em.. I mean if you were to be an imigrant student in Canada and they give you the oportunity to study and work for a better life (financial laid, student loan,Job trainiing, etc..) ..Would you go around disrespecting the flag of Canada??.. you may say yes, why not? is the price of freedom, but not too long ago the FBI arrested a College Profesor in US FL for suporting terror links.. What are we going to see next?? college students going around bombing buldings because thats what they've been taught in some of their classes??

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[quote]
What are the teaching now days in some US colleges, it seems to me that they are the base of this protests and that they fully suport 'em.. I mean if you were to be an imigrant student in Canada and they give you the oportunity to study and work for a better life (financial laid, student loan,Job trainiing, etc..) ..Would you go around disrespecting the flag of Canada??.. you may say yes, why not? is the price of freedom, but not too long ago the FBI arrested a College Profesor in US FL for suporting terror links.. What are we going to see next?? college students going around bombing buldings because thats what they've been taught in some of their classes?? [/quote]

Well, I think you're exagerating in the whole thing in my humble opinion. What she must be taught in college is free of speech and expression. Everyone has that right not matter where are you from. Like I said before, I don't see that she disrespect the country in any way. She just didn't sing the anthem when she was suppossed to do it.  First of all, I think is pretty stupid to sing an anthem in an sports event. The International Federation of Football Association for example,  want to ban the singing of anthems in the World Cups because they don't want to mix patriotism with a sport event. I would personally support that. But going back to the subject, if you think she was taught in class to disrespect the flag, then you're wrong. Thousands of people don't sing the anthem of their own countries (examples, Jehovah Witnesses) and nobody makes a big deal about it. I'm not saying it's right. Personally I love to sing my anthem and respect my country and the countries where I have lived. Plus,  isn't she  a US citizen? I asked because you mentioned the example of an immigrant going to disrespect the flag of Canada, I could not understand why you put the example of an immigrant and not of a Canadian.
Her protest is similar to NBA guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) of the Denver Nuggets during the 1995-96 season, which led to an indefinite suspension that was lifted two days later.
One of the prices we pay in a democracy is living with people with whom we disagree. And those americans who disagree with this girl should know this better than everybody else.
In my opinion, the singing of anthem and display of the flag should be reserved to ONLY special and solemn occasions, not in a sport event!. Too frivolous in my opinion.
But again, if those who don't like the girl turning her back when the anthem is being sing, they can choose or whether leave the court when she's doing it or don't look at her. But I bet since she's doing that Americans tend to go more to those games just to see 'how she does it' or to shout at her like they have been doing 'Leave our country!' : hello???? It's HER country too!!!!!! :