UN flag must go, protesters shoutAbout 80 demonstrate on campus Sunday
A man dressed in black with a black face mask and a blue helmet painted with the hammer and sickle of the former Soviet Union stood silently Sunday, holding a UN flag and a flag with the skull and crossbones. The man, who refused to identify himself, listened while people spoke against flying the United Nations flag on campus. About 80 people gathered at the Four Flags Monument in front of the Wright Administration Building to hear speeches, pray and sing "Amazing Grace" and the national anthem. One of the speakers, Larry Young, a member of the U.S. Sovereignty Coalition and organizer of the protest, began his protest speech by saying, "Friends, countrymen, Americans, I'm going to be a little politically incorrect today." He said he was "tired of the liberal jargon that makes me ashamed to be American" and he was "sick of the legions of illegal aliens crossing our borders and bleeding our social programs dry." Young, as well as members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans, spoke to the crowd, united in their efforts to demand that USI President H. Ray Hoops remove the UN flag from campus. All of the speakers restated the idea that the flag should not be flying on campus because it does not represent the United States and the UN does not welcome the international students on campus -- Evansville does. The protesters recommended the UN flag be replaced by an Evansville city flag or a POW/MIA flag. "It's not the UN that welcomes the 52 international students -- it's Evansville. "Put an Evansville flag up," Young said. "The UN coalition of mostly dysfunctional countries are atheistic, socialistic parasites whose goal is domination," said Young. "This malignancy is flying in our parks, our schools," Young said. "Bowen, in 1979 put up the UN flag and the people of Indianapolis made him take it down. We should do the same." At the end of his speech, Young directed his comments directly to Hoops. "They will not crucify us on a cross of complacency, Mr. Hoops. "TAKE DOWN THIS FLAG." Sean Selby, president of the USI College Republicans, pointed to the UN flag and said the events in Somalia took place because of the UN. "It is time for us to ask for this flag to come down. It does not represent our foreign students," Selby said. Selby told the crowd he could not understand why the College Republicans' interests were not being listened to, since they have more people in their group then there are international students. Selby said it was "time to take down the flag and I will continue to ask him (Hoops) to take it down." Benny Benjamin, a veteran, said the reason for the protest was simple: to remove the UN flag. "It does not represent this country," he said. Benjamin said removing the UN flag has never been about the VFW -- it's an American issue he said. "Today it's our college, tomorrow it's the high school, then the elementary school," he said. Mike Burkhart, commander of the Indiana Purple Heart Association, said he "never dreamed of carrying the UN flag, never did, never will, only one flag represents the country." Sunday's protest was "just the first raindrop in one of the most horrendous storms," Burkhart said. "It's not a political issue anymore. That flag is a slap in the face to every veteran here." |
