THE PEACENIKS' NEW LOW

It's one thing to conscientiously oppose war. Thought I believe the anti-war movement to be misguided and in the end destructive, I do support people's right of dissent. But that tolerance has a limit, and some La Hambra, California peaceniks have crossed it:

Antiwar protesters burned and ripped up flags, flowers and patriotic signs at a Sept. 11 memorial that residents erected on a fence along Whittier Boulevard days after the terrorist attacks in 2001 and have maintained ever since.

How'd the cops respond?

However, although officers witnessed the vandalism Saturday afternoon, police did not arrest three people seen damaging the display because they were "exercising the same freedom of speech that the people who put up the flags were,' La Habra Police Capt. John Rees said Monday.

"For this to be vandalism, there had to be an ill-will intent,' he said.

Rees said in order for police to take any action, the owner of the fence would have to file a complaint.

So...you personally see people destroying private propert, yet do nothing about it. The gun rights lobbies just got a boost. Arm yourselves, folks, because the cops in California won't do squat to save you. By the way, the owner isn't amused, and is pressing charges:

Jeff Collison, owner of The RV Center in La Habra, who has allowed residents to add patriotic symbols to the fence on his property, said he just might do that.

"Their free speech stops at destruction of private property. If they are allowed to come on my property and burn flags, does that mean I can go to City Hall or the police station and light their flags on fire because that is freedom of speech? To me, this is vandalism,' Collison said.

This was a memorial to the dead of 9-11, and said nothing about the looming war in Iraq. Not good enough for the peaceniks. It had American flags, and deserved defacing:

Tracey Chandler, a Whittier mother of four who has maintained the spontaneous memorial since it was created by other area residents soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said she was shocked by the destruction.

"They trashed 87 flags, ripped 11 memorial tiles made by myself and my children out of the ground and glued the Bob Dylan song to a sign that said, 'America, land of the brave, home of the free,' ' she said.

The Bob Dylan song she referred to is "With God on Our Side,' an antiwar anthem of the 1960s.

"It's unbelievable, because there were absolutely no political messages on this fence. It was all about supporting our troops, which could mean bringing them home, and about remembering 9-11.'

She's rebuilding the memorial bigger and brighter than ever. And like all things beautiful, the peaceniks will probably destroy it again. That's what they do--destroy, desecrate, deny--never build, repair, heal or admit. In this war on terrorism we're fighting more than just a tactic of war chosen by a few fanatics and their masters. We're fighting against a true heart of darkness, and these peaceniks wear it on their sleeves.

(thanks to Dave)