The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 7 of 18)

R. L. Lundquist br> Lancaster, Pennsylvania /p>

I think what may be more useful is a law such as was in existence in Germany during the two tours I spent there (1977-1981 and 1986-1989). It was called the "Law of Undue Provocation" which basically said you had the right of freedom of speech and freedom of expression if you kept things in perspective. If you exceeded things specifically to anger a given group or section of society, and as a result got beaten to a pulp, you had no recourse in court, either criminal or tort law. (In other words, you provoked them, you transcended society's expectations of civility, you got what you deserved.)

The example given was of a woman beaten so badly by a police officer she spent a number of weeks in the hospital. The circumstances were that she was a "Green" protesting very vocally over the enlargement of Rhein-Main airport outside of Frankfurt. She called the officer opposite every name she could think of, even spit on him, and he did not react. But then she got right in his face, called him a name, and he began to whack her with his baton until she collapsed.

The judge noted that the term she used was "Du Scheisskopf!" which was second person familiar, and thus a personal insult. Had she said "Sie Scheisskopf!" which was second person generic the officer would have been wrong.

p>The lefties stuck in the 1960s need to understand that many veterans like myself take flag burning as a "Du" and not a "Sie." If we had such a law (of course the ACLU would have to try and make the case that 9-11 was such an act by Al-Qaeda, thus defeating its intended purpose) it could obviate the need for an amendment. br> -- Cookie Sewell br> Aberdeen, Maryland /p> p> BUY DETROIT HEALTH CARE br> Re: Lawrence Henry's A Long Time Coming

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