It's been very interesting to watch the debate raging at various sites, mainly at Hot Air, a bastion of illegal bashing, where pundit Allahpundit has been releasing his inner liberal against a blevy of those supporting Brossard's act of heroic lawlessness. My take? It was an heroic act of patriotic symbolic lawlessness borne out of frustration in order to make a broader point, similar in some ways to the Boston Tea Party.
No, it doesn't rival the magnitude of the tea party, whose vigilantes were pushing back against a distant oppressive government but both committed illegal acts of private property destruction to make their points. The parallel lies in the symbolism. Mr. Brossard's symbolism was a push-back against the very government he fought for, represented by the disrespected flag, for not enforcing the border laws of this country. All this minutiae about his improper handling of the flag after cutting it down or the fact that flag images are found on T-shirts or coffee mugs completely misses the point.
The Tea Party was not remembered for its illegality. Reportedly, even Ben Franklin condemned the tea dump at the time and offered to reimburse the merchants from his own pocket. He was a law and order guy. I'm not advocating widespread law-breaking but let's remember, as Brossard said, the illegals are being allowed to break the law, steal identity and evade taxes. Therein lies the exasperation.
Yes, he broke the law. In another time and another place I might have condemned his actions as unnecessary. Even today I'd have no problem seeing him prosecuted or even going to jail for a few days. But his real trial is being held in the court of public opinion. My vote is not guilty, and I'm not alone.
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