Posted on 09/12/2013 6:55:48 AM PDT by kristinn
A 2,977 flag memorial was ripped out of the ground in front of Mead Memorial Chapel shortly before 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11 by a group of five protestors claiming that the flags were on top of a sacred Abenaki burial site.
The flags — meant to commemorate each of the 2,977 lives taken in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks — have been posted in the grass between Mead Chapel and the Davis Family Library annually in a joint effort between the College Republicans and Democrats for nearly 10 years.
Ben Kinney ’15, president of the College Republicans, spent two hours putting the flags outside of Mead Chapel on Tuesday night, and happened to be walking up the hill towards the chapel when he saw four females and one male stuffing the miniature flags into black trash bags.
“I got there just as they were taking the very last of them out of the ground and putting them in piles,” he said. “At first, I the group was comprised of College Democrats helping put the flags away before the rain rolled in, but then I realized what they were doing.”
Kinney said the protestors told him they were “confiscating” the flags in protest of “America’s imperialism.”
Julia Madden ’14, was walking back from Proctor when she saw the five people uprooting the flags.
“I was just getting out of class, but when I saw what they were doing I decided to say something,” she said. “They were quickly putting them into two big plastic trash bags. I’m mad at myself for not being more aggressive. I was just dumbfounded.”
There was no discussion. No compromise. We asked if we could put them somewhere else, but they wouldn’t listen.”
Sasha Schell ’15 also walked by the protest.
“I was thinking to myself ‘why are people cleaning them up now and why are they doing it in such a hurried and haphazard manner?’ I went up and asked them what they were doing. They said ‘this is an Indian burial ground and you can’t have anything penetrating the earth.’”
“It is really disrespectful to our community. It is disrespectful to the firefighters who went into the towers to save people. Most of all, it is disrespectful to anybody who lost somebody on that day,” he said. “It was completely out of line for anybody to come remove those flags. This is a travesty.”
Kinney, who said he received permission to erect the memorial from Associate Dean of Students for Student Activities & Orientation JJ Boggs, said he had never seen protests against the yearly memorial during his time at the College.
“You can’t say that one death is more legitimate to commemorate than another,” he said.
Identify the students and reply appropriately.
We should create a fund to help leftists like this permanently emigrate to a country which reflects their values. Perhaps Russia, Cuba, China, or Iran would be more suitable for these ‘enlightened’ America-haters.
We have to realize that 9.11 wasn’t solely the work of Osama bin Laden, nut also of his muslim cohorts everywhere, and of Democrats like Obama as well as all the leftist organizations.
There is more and more evidence that Obama himself indeed was part of the attack.
Since when are Vandals to be considered protestors?
Oh thats right, the new reality considers Occupier types to be protestors.
Oh my.
Not just vandals, but thieves. Even if those flags only cost a buck a piece, taking all of them is grand larceny.
I certainly wouldn’t have let them walk off with my flags in a plastic trash bag.
That’s called theft. Charge them with it.
In reality it was time to open a can of Whoop-ass.
They are asking for a serious case of what goes around comes around.
Their removal is a felony that much I know.
how about we call them Felonious Punks?
Their removal is a felony that much I know.
how about we call them Felonious Punks?
I'm proud to say that way back where I went to college, some 'Good Old Boys' would've quickly "handled" the situation.
In case anyone wants to take bike ride there.
the possibility of thier being an Abenaki ....? burial site there...about as great as there being such a site ANYWHERE in the area.
STOP ALL BUILDING....Gardening.....etc Just In Case there may have been an Abenaki burial site in whatever location one could imagine.
come to think of it...think of the deceased Insect Carcasses that might be disturbed by those flags
Doesn’t anyone up there have any balls? This story SHOULD be about 5 vicious beatings instead.
So they are using the old “sacred Indian burial grounds” claim again?
No punishment either, it appears. I'll bet there would have been hell to pay if they were Democrat political signs instead of American flags.
If they were so worried about sacred Indian burial grounds, why where they walking on it? Did no one have the back bone to take those flags from them, re plant them and stand guard? Where was the college discipline officer and when will they be suspended?
Why can’t we bring back F Troop and teach these kids something about real Indians!
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