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Currently, I'm in the process of removing some of my more dicey content from my legacy newsletter into blog posts. Up first on that list is an article about a man, Rashad McAdory, who stood on an American flag in protest. Buckle up because I'd like to welcome you to Erie, Pennsylvania: the home of hate. Free Speech In late 2017, USA Today put out an article that claimed Erie is the worst city for Black Americans. Now, I knew my hometown was pretty bad in terms of values and beliefs, but I wasn't sure I would have placed it at the bottom of the list in terms of discrimination. That was until Rashad McAdory stood in protest outside the Erie County Courthouse. That's when I saw Erie's true colors. To be fair, Rashad got Erie's attention by standing on an American flag and holding a sign that said: "White supremacy works at Erie County Courthouse. Systematic racism must end now!" Regardless, I don't think many people were truly concerned about the flag. At least not based on many of the social media comments I read. Just take a look at this post: https://www.facebook.com/Eriecurrentevents/posts/1596632800400264 For reference, I've provided a list of some of the worst social media comments I've seen in the next section. The Wall of Shame Welcome to Erie's wall of shame. If you ever wanted to visit, now's probably a good time to change your mind. "Disrespectful little shit what time is it why isn't this guy at work talking about black money get a job dude""Stepping on our flag is not a peaceful protest !!!!! I personaly think public hanging should be more accepted than that !!! Just my my view""Cut off his welfare checks""They would have hauled me off to jail! I guarantee it!!Fu#%ing loser!!!""This is what he wants. His picture plastered all over the news and social media... attention. Stop giving it to him.""Well seeing as how the flag is dirty maybe someone should have lit it on fire with him on it.""yeah and the POS is wearing $200.00 shoes !! SCUM BAG""At least his pants are above his knees.""Probably collects food stamps""Somebody needs a shovel to the head""SEND HIM TO NORTH KOREA MINUS A LEG. ""If I was walking by him, I would have spit in his face... why?? Because I have the right too.....""Where's the clan when u want them""No one can do anything... cause then it will be because it will turn into some type of “racial injustice”...""Fucken crack head nasty ass scum i would love to stand on that sob .for standing on are freedom""This begging mother fucker needs his ass kicked""If u don't like Merica then get the fuck out... Just sayin""people like him don't deserve to live in the United States" Just reading these over makes me feel sad for humanity. The Retaliation Unfortunately, after reading all these social media comments, I couldn't help but add my two cents. After all, the entire situation needed someone with some critical thinking ability. Here's what one of my comments said: Based solely on the comments, I'd say Erie has a median IQ of about 75. Since y'all probably can't understand what I just said, I'll put it bluntly: We have this document called the constitution. It's basically the supreme law of the land. Of course, it's not perfect, so occasionally we make amendments. For example, the 13th amendment ended slavery. Meanwhile, the 1st amendment granted freedom of speech, so you could speak freely as long as you weren't a second-class citizen. However, the 1st amendment doesn't protect everything. For instance, a lot of you are probably going to get fired from you jobs for your comments here. If you don't, that's called white privilege. In addition, the first amendment does not cover threats. Again, something many of you have decided to make from the security of your keyboards. However, it does allow citizens to desecrate the flag. After all, it's private property which was likely made in China. Finally, may I remind all of you what the flag actually symbolizes: the 13 colonies, the 50 states, purity, innocence, hardiness, valor, vigilance, perseverance, and justice. Anything else is a projection of American Exceptionalism or Nationalism. Sorry, but this man is doing just about the most American thing you can do: using the first amendment. If you enjoy censorship, might I recommend a handful of countries that don't give you freedom of speech? If you love freedom, might I recommend a handful of countries with more freedom than us? We're not special, and stuff like this only serves to prove it. Regardless, I don't expect any of you to take this seriously. Y'all can go back to breaking your Keurigs and burning your NFL gear. Keep it classy, Erie. Naturally, these comments had me a bit heated. My Personal Take Clearly, you get an idea of how I feel about the whole situation from my comment, but I wanted to take a minute just to talk about this issue. First, I understand that standing on the American flag can be perceived as disrespectful. However, people need to understand that's the point. If he had never stood on the flag, we probably wouldn't even be having this discussion. Instead, he'd be falling off into obscurity. So, I have to ask: what do you think led him to this point? I can't imagine that this was his first attempt to get someone's attention. It takes an incredible amount of guts (or stupidity) to hop on just about any country's flag. Unfortunately, no one seems to care. We're so fixated on the flag that we're completely ignoring his cry for help. As a result, I'm pretty frustrated with everyone's knee-jerk reaction. Based on many of the reactions, I think most people actually value a cloth over another human life. It's insane. Personally, I don't care that he's standing on the flag. If we're not allowed to judge our country, then what's the point of having all this freedom? It reminds me of the following scene from That '70s Show: https://youtu.be/EjCdznA4sgY Maybe it's time we actually ban the Pledge of Allegiance from schools. I don't even think North Korean citizens are this indoctrinated. The Ignorance Never Ends Of course, my comments will never stop the ignorance train. In fact, I've seen several other racist posts floating around. For instance: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.l.forsythe/posts/1745273545484841 Now, this is public information, so I don't feel too bad. Regardless, I felt like it was too ignorant not to share. First off, this person seems to forget that MLK Jr. was assassinated. The political climate of the time was so bad that even the most peaceful of protests got this man killed. As a result, it's no surprise that his more aggressive counterpart, Malcolm X, was assassinated three years earlier. In addition, this person must think black people can't protest because laws have somehow made everyone equal. Seriously, when is it okay for a black person to protest? Clearly, kneeling during the national anthem and standing on the American flag are both bad ways to protest, so what's the right way? I suppose MLK Jr. had the wrong idea as well. Maybe as soon as white people have a reason to protest, we'll find out how it's supposed to be done. In the meantime, I'll keep reminding everyone that Nationalism and American Exceptionalism are diseases. Eventual Arrest After all this, McAdory eventually got arrested for what was effectively nothing. I don't have much of a comment, but I figured I should share this in the interest of being transparent. At any rate, thanks for checking out this story. If you're interested in content like this, let me know. I don't like to be overly negative all the time, but this really struck a chord with me.

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