As we all know, September 11, 2001 has become a remembrance for those that have lost their lives on that tragic day. As such the people of the United States place small flags in their homes and people post messages on social media saying that they will “Never forget.”
At the same time, colleges across the United States have placed small flags on their campuses to create a sort of memorial. It’s a touching sentiment and it deserves the utmost respect. Apparently not everyone got the memo.
At Occidental College, members of their Republican club discovered early Sunday morning that nearly 3,000 flags that were planted were trashed and crushed. Along with the damage done to the memorial, there was a flier that read, “R.I.P. The 2,996 Americans who died in 9/11. R.I.P. the 1,455,590 innocent Iraqis who died during the U.S. invasion for something they didn’t do.”
Are you kidding me? That is a complete disgrace to those men and women that lost their lives that fateful day. There are families that lost loved ones that did what they could to save as many lives as possible. Firefighters and police worked as hard as they could to search for survivors. And instead of remembering those who fought hard for that, this group spit in their face.
The Occidental College Republican Club released a statement on Facebook that addressed the situation. “This is beyond politics, this is about those lives that were so tragically taken.” And instead of trying to remember those lives, some unknown people decided to vandalize the property.
Students had placed the small 2,997 flags in the campus’ quad late on Saturday night so that it would be there for the memorial the next day. This was the 15th anniversary of those terrorist attacks. The club had sponsored the memorial.
Basically they wanted to do something nice and grand that would remember those that lost their lives. It’s a way to ensure that everyone wouldn’t forget the devastation that happened that day. Not only that but it stands as a symbol of pride for people in the United States.
Instead of people remembering the memorial for what it was, a group of “cowards” thought that they could get away with disgracing the thousands of innocent Americans that lost their lives that day.
Around 1:00 in the morning on Sunday morning, 15 students had found flags that were broken and others that were tossed in the garbage. However these students were diligent and replaced those that were destroyed. After that happened a campus security guard was there to watch over the memorial.
The club says that they had four students walk up to them and actually break the flags right in front of their faces while they were going to check on the memorial. I mean right there it shows that these people are incredibly disrespectful. They have absolutely no pride in the nation and they have no trouble slamming the flag and everything that it stands for.
“When we confronted them, those cowards got away as fast as they possibly could. We had thought the storm had passed, however, we were very wrong.” As disgusting as that sounds, the damage was worse.
Hundreds of flags were kicked; others were smashed and put in the garbage this time.
“Of course, we put them back in the ground. We ask that all students respect the memorial for the remainder of its time in the quad. If you try to destroy it, we will rebuild it.”
If you think about it, this is the spirit of the United States at work. A group of cowards are doing what they can to destroy this monument, and instead of getting down about it, the Republican club is standing strong and replacing them. They’re not going to get under the skin to force the group to take down this memorial.
After this event happened, there was a statement sent to the students and staff, saying that they were investigating the vandalism. They also urged anyone who had information to forward it to conduct@oxy.edu
The acting dean of students, Erica O’Neal, said this in the statement. “Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment. The right and freedom to debate complex, contentious issues and disagree with each other fundamental to what we do at Oxy. At the same time, we may not express ourselves in ways that prevent others from engaging in protected speech.”
Think about this. The memorial is a nice gesture to make sure that the students never forget. They can pay their respects to those that lost their lives. And then a group of students think that they are so high and mighty that they are going to vandalize the memorial.
Well not only is that a crime, because technically this is vandalism, they also just disrespected the country. While September 11 might not be a federal holiday, it is almost treated like one. People have the utmost respect for this and they are going to continue to have respect for it.
O’Neal also said that once the people who did this are found, there will be serious consequences. “Vandalism or other acts that substantially interfere with the rights of others to engage in protected speech violate the College’s Student Code of Conduct and the spirit of this institution.”
This is the type of political correctness that is ruining this country. Well now it is time to take a stand. Show these cowards that decided to disrespect the 9/11 memorial that it will not be taken lightly.
Share this article to show that a group of students thought it would be a good idea to disrespect a memorial for 9/11. This took place at Occidental College. They haven’t been found, but if enough people can share this, then maybe they can find them and have consequences imposed.
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