How Donald Trump made me proud to be Hispanic

[SillyAmerican]

The irony of it all is that Mexicans/hispanics are doing all of this yet, if they actually put this much energy into their OWN corrupt country maybe we wouldn't be having to build walls in the first place.  You cant claim to care so much (while of course burning American flags and waving yours) but you don't want to confront the real issue is........ freaking Mexico is a dump. 

It's clearly time for those who are busy waving the Mexican flag as they smash police cars and bloody Trump supporters, it's time for these folks to start shouting charges of racism and xenophobia towards those of us who find their activities abhorrent. Clearly, we're just being un American.

[SillyAmerican]

The irony of it all is that Mexicans/hispanics are doing all of this yet, if they actually put this much energy into their OWN corrupt country maybe we wouldn't be having to build walls in the first place.  You cant claim to care so much (while of course burning American flags and waving yours) but you don't want to confront the real issue is........ freaking Mexico is a dump. 

It's clearly time for those who are busy waving the Mexican flag as they smash police cars and bloody Trump supporters, it's time for these folks to start shouting charges of racism and xenophobia towards those of us who find their activities abhorrent. Clearly, we're just being un American.

It's clearly time to deport every immigrant, legal or illegal, who participates in such protests (i. e. burning the American flag and waving a foreign flag).

The only people that should be allowed to live in America as legal immigrants are folks who intend their only national loyalty to be to America.  These folks who burn American flags and wave Mexican flags are making anti-American statements.  That's fine and good, but the 1st Amendment does not give you the right to be here if you're not a citizen.  That decision is determined by the national interest.  This sort of protest reflects a hatred for America.  There is something to "My Country, right or wrong!".  If you hate America THAT MUCH, and you're an alien of any status, your continued presence in the United States is not in the best interest of the rest of America. 

Yes. Three key points to keep in mind:

(1) the 1st Amendment does not apply to you if you're not a citizen of the United States;
(2) the 1st Amendment does not give you the right to destroy public property (and for those who might be confused, police vehicles are public property);
(3) the 1st Amendment does not give you the right to assault those with whom you disagree;

If you are a citizen and feel the need to, then burn the flag and shout your messages, but don't be surprised if your fellow citizens begin to wave that same flag and shout their message back your way, because that's the beauty of these United States. God Bless America.

[SillyAmerican]

Yes. Three key points to keep in mind:

(1) the 1st Amendment does not apply to you if you're not a citizen of the United States;
(2) the 1st Amendment does not give you the right to destroy public property (and for those who might be confused, police vehicles are public property);
(3) the 1st Amendment does not give you the right to assault those with whom you disagree;

Actually, the Supreme Court has said that the 1st Amendment does not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens. While non-citizens certainly do not have all of the rights of US citizens, fundamental ones including the 1st Amendment still apply, as they should. What kind of country would this be if foreign journalists, students, academics, etc. were not granted the same freedom of thought and expression as anyone else?

A very good point. As a result, my first bullet point should be revised to read as follows:
(1) the 1st Amendment does not apply to you if you are in the United States illegally;

Because assuming you are referring to Bridges v. Wixon, 326 U.S. 135, 148, Justice Frank Murphy, in his concurring opinion, states that "once an alien lawfully enters and resides in this country he becomes invested with the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all people within our borders. Such rights include those protected by the First and the Fifth Amendments …"

The emboldening is mine. Clearly, the court distinguishes between those individuals who have entered the country lawfully, and those who are here unlawfully. The protections of the first and fifth amendments extend to those here legally, not everyone.

[SillyAmerican]

Burning a national flag is an insult to that country. Of course I can fully understand someone burning a Soviet flag as a protest of its lack of political freedom, let alone the swastika flag of Nazi Germany. But those flags indicated an ideology. Burning the flag of Ba'athist Iraq? Sure. It was a murderous regime. A Confederate flag?  The Confederate flags were associated with the defense of slavery, an abomination to any decent person. 

Burning a national flag that has only a connection to a nation is a puerile deed. Someone who burns the flag of the UK at a soccer match between his non-British team and a British team is offensive. But back to Old Glory: it means something. Forty-eight stars and thirteen stripes marched into Dachau and Mauthausen, signaling an end to the criminal management of those close simulations of Hell.

People do great harm to their cause by burning a US flag and no good.     

Agreed.

And yet we stand in defense of those who wish to burn the flag of these United States, as offensive as that is. And we do so not because we like to see our symbols desecrated, but because to do otherwise would go against every fiber of our being, and every fiber in the flag that stands for who we are. Yes, thank God for this country; God Bless America.