Billionaire and owner of the social network X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk, who describes himself as an absolutist of freedom of speech, proposed a new law on X – if someone removes the flag of the United States of America and replaces it with the flag of another country, he should be deported from the United States to the country whose flag he flew.
“Proposed law: if someone tears down an American flag and puts up another, they should get a free (but mandatory) one-way trip to the country of that flag,” Musk suggested.
According to him, return to the US should be possible, but only after some time. “I’m not saying they can’t come back, but they have to get to know the country for a certain period of time before they come back,” he added.
Under his proposal, the businessman put a poll where people could vote whether they would agree with the proposed law or not. Almost one and a half million people answered, of which 79.9% voted “yes” and only 20.1% answered negatively.
survey
Are you happy that the aid package for Ukraine passed in the US?
voted: 22807 people
With his post, Musk was likely alluding to student protests at American universities across the country protesting Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza. Some students at these protests removed the American flag and replaced it with a Palestinian flag in a symbolic show of support for the people of Gaza.
Due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, protests arose on more than 80 American university campuses, the server informs The Guardian. Protests are gaining more and more strength and are increasingly being met with police interventions, which in many cases have resulted in the arrest of protestors.
The exact number of arrests remains unclear, but it is believed that more than 2,400 arrests have been made since the first riots broke out on April 17, according to AP agency.
The largest protests occurred on April 17 at Columbia University in New York, when students set up tents in the middle of campus and began rallying in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Police attempted to clear the camp a day later, arresting more than 100 people. Then, on Tuesday evening, hundreds of police officers entered the university campus at the request of the university rector after protesters occupied the academic building. Less than two hours later, all the protesters were removed from the premises.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said 282 arrests were made on Columbia University campuses.
At least 132 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested at the University of California. The school’s student newspaper reported that “hundreds” of people were arrested, including students and faculty members. During the confrontation with the police, 15 people were injured, one of them was hospitalized.
Protests took place at Emory’s private university in Atlanta, where police were forced to use tear gas and batons. The head of the philosophy department, Noëlle McAfee, was also handcuffed.
Other protests took place, for example, at the George Washington University, the University of New York, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas or the University of New Orleans.
The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, also commented on the protests. Biden said both sides are right that peaceful dissent is essential to democracy, but that violence will not be tolerated.
“There is a right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos,” Biden was quoted as saying by the agency Reuters from a speech at the White House regarding unrest on college campuses.
“Destruction of property is not a peaceful protest. It is against the law. Vandalism, trespassing on someone else’s property, breaking windows, closing campuses, forced cancellations of classes and graduations – none of this is peaceful protest,” he explained, explaining what forms of protest should not be tolerated.
Biden said that the United States is not an authoritarian country that silences critics, but that “order must come.” “Disagreement is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or deny the rights of others so that students cannot complete a semester and a college education,” Biden added.
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author: Alena Kratochvílova
Tags: Ranking students Musk proposed shocking law support replace flag ..
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