That would be the lawyer for Scott Compton, the Chapin, SC teacher who stomped on a US flag as part of an English class.
The action was an effort to convey symbolism by showing America “is greater than the material objects that represent it,” said Darryl Smalls, attorney for suspended teacher Scott Compton.
Compton sought to generate discussion “using a powerful symbol with which all his students would be familiar,” Smalls said. “He made only positive comments about America throughout the lesson.”
I imagine it went something like this:
*Compton walks over, takes down flag from wall* Let me illustrate with the flag, the one we say the Pledge of Allegiance to every morning. Now, as a symbol of the United States, we should treat it with a degree of respect, which of course will vary according to the individual's intelligence and level of indoctrination by the State, the State in this case meaning the entire country, and not just South Carolina. But if you take the symbolism away from it, it's just a rectangular, colored piece of cloth. No different than a handkerchief you blow you nose in, or a diaper a baby poops in.
So if I were to drop this cloth on the floor (drops flag onto floor) it wouldn't be disrespectful, right? It's just an object, a thing. And if I then proceeded to stomp on this thing, like so: *STOMP STOMP* I'm not making a statement, right? I mean, it's just a thing, *STOMP STOMP* Not the flag of the country I love. Right? Now if I stomped on it as a symbol of the country I love, it would be disrespectful. But remember, it's just a thing. *STOMP STOMP*And by the way, this is good exercise, too! Really gets the ol' heart pumping! *STOMP STOMP*(puts flag back on bracket) Now, our next class will continue with our discussion of symbols, in which I'll immerse a cross-shaped object in a symbolic jar of urine...
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