Woman Told to Remove American Flag Offensive to African Immigrant Says No

The story according to Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522659,00.html) is as follows:

Debbie McLucas, whose husband and both of her sons served in the U.S. military and whose daughter is currently deployed in Iraq, was told that the American flag she had hung in her office in advance of Memorial Day was offensive. McLucas arrived at the Texas hospital where she works to find that the flag had been removed, wrapped around its pole, and put in a corner.

McLucas’s colleague, with whom she shares an office, had complained about the flag. The colleague immigrated to the United States from Africa 14 years ago.

"I was told that as long as my flag offended one person, it would be taken down," McLucas said. The employer suggested to McLucas that the flag flying outside the building was enough, but it wasn’t for McLucas, and she refused to back down.

"It is more than I can even fathom, that you would find the American flag offensive, in America," McLucas said.

The hospital subsequently changed its position and invited McLucas to put the flag back up. And it will go back up and stay up, McLucas said.

Eye on the Law Commentary:

One wonders how the situation might have been handled had McLucas (or anyone else) complained about an African flag in their office. Aside from assuming she would have been branded a racist or a xenophobe, would the employer have initially removed the “offensive” foreign flag?

American jurisprudence rightly protects unpopular speech, but this is often misinterpreted to mean that the majority does not enjoy the same right to free speech and other Constitutional safeguards as everyone else. Frequently, one offended person is wrongly allowed to trump the rights of many others.

This office salutes and supports Debbie McLucas and all like her who stand up for their rights and tall for this country.