ACLU: Rights of Man Told to Remove American Flag From Desk Not Violated
Posted on December 11, 2008
Check this crap out! Ralph Silvestro works in a court room, so how dare he have a small American flag taped to his computer! Doesn’t he know that might offend some sensitive jerk-wad?
Ralph Silvestro, a legal clerk who works at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia, never imagined that anyone would have a beef over the American flag he had taped to the side of his work computer.
After all, he works in a courthouse.
To Silvestro, who served in the Navy for six years and in the Air Force Reserve for another six, the miniature American flag affixed to his computer was a symbol of his patriotism, he said.
For months, that flag and another one that Silvestro had taped to his computer – a black “pirate” flag with skull and crossbones – greeted a steady stream of folks, mostly lawyers, who lined up daily at the front counter of the court’s Active Criminal Records department to file motions that Silvestro processed.
No one complained about the flags, Silvestro said. Then on Sept. 23, Silvestro got an e-mail from his supervisor:
“Keith has advised me as your supervisor, that the flags must come down. They are not appropriate for the workplace,” the e-mail said.
The “Keith” mentioned in the e-mail was Keith Smith, the new director of Active Criminal Records.
See Ralph? You went and offended someone! Can’t you be more sensitive to people’s feelings? There are people that hate freedom too you know!
So, surely his right to free speech was violated! Right? Surely the organization known for defending people’s right to burn the American flag will also defend people expressing patriotism! Right? WRONG!
When asked if Smith had violated Silvestro’s constitutional rights, perhaps infringing on his freedom of expression, a civil-rights lawyer said: “No.”
“Here’s the thing: Your boss rules your life,” said Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia office. “Your employer gets to make the rules! Source
Un-freakin-believable!
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Bill Of Rights, Patriotism, Stupidity
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10 Responses to “ACLU: Rights of Man Told to Remove American Flag From Desk Not Violated”
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Roper overstates the case a little bit, but she’s basically right. The employer owns the land, the building, the equipment, and the employee’s actions while on the clock. There are very few rules they can’t set. That’s not so hard to understand, is it? Dems usually have trouble with this concept, but I would expect the Repubs to understand.
Having said that, Silvestro probably would have been fine if he had left the pirate flag at home. Smith probably just decided to ban all flags rather than get caught up in a debate about which ones are appropriate.
I wonder if Roper would think the situation more dire if it was a flag with a crescent emblazoned upon it? Just askin’.
Oh, and thanks for the linkage!
Your boss can tell you not to display things or wear clothes with a particular message in THEIR workplace. They don’t have to let you decorate your desk at all. I am sure the ACLU would not be interested in defending against this perfectly legal action. Your right to free speech does not extend into requiring your employer to let you say or express whatever you want in their place of business. Wow, you guys really don’t know much here, do you?
If he works for a court house, then his boss is the taxpayers and he should as “them” if his flag was wrong.
They are his real boss.
If he were a frickin muslim and were told to take down a flag emblazoned with a crescent moon the ACLu would have sung a different tune
Indeed. Pass a constitutionally-valid law and you can trump the manager’s decision.
It’ll have to be constitutionally valid, though. That means the law can only specify flags in general. You’d have to live with everything from pirate flags to crescent moons.
And yet the ACLU will defend the rights of people to wear clothing decorated with the CONFEDERATE FLAG to work against a similar workplace ban…WTF
The ACLU once again showing they are diametrically opposed to the pursuit of actualy justice, they only wish to make to world safe for perversion!!!!
The ACLU will be the downfall of America! They need to be exterminated like a bunch of cockroaches!
How sad it is that the guy who has put his life on the line to defend the American flag has no rights to free speech and display it. If only he had the same rights to free speech as those who burn the American flag…
Even more unfortunate is how others such as Mary Catherine Roper are privileged to destroy America from within thanks to the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave men and women who proudly represent the United States Armed Forces.
Abraham Lincoln could not have said it better…
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln
pmi GREAT JOB! If every true blooded American that truly loved this country,could read that and not be touched, I think we would have a little hope.