Iranian protesters respect American flag...but not US college students

In Iran, students at one university literally went out of their way not to step on the American flag while protesting the Iranian regime.

Meanwhile, in America, desecrating and even burning the flag is commonplace.

Viral new video shows protesters in Iran, furious at the authoritarian regime for lying about whether it shot down a Ukrainian airliner, refusing to step on a painting of an American flag.  

The video, reportedly taken at Beheshti University in Tehran, shows Iranian students marching in the street, where both an American flag and an Israeli flag are painted on the pavement. The Iranian regime considers both the U.S. and Israel to be two of its sworn enemies. Despite how the regime might feel about the U.S. and Israel, though, Iranian students seem to have a great deal of respect for the two countries, as they go out of their way to not step on the images of the flags, but rather to walk around them. 

WATCH:



The Iranian students’ sentiment stands in stark contrast to that of many American college students, as Campus Reform has reported multiple times on the American flag being desecrated on American university campuses. 

Here are just a few examples of U.S. college students desecrating Old Glory. 

[RELATED: OU student gov scraps Pledge of Allegiance, says it’s ‘incompatible’ with US Constitution]

1. University of North Texas

The student government president at UNT was photographed in June 2019 covering the American flag with a “Black Lives Matter” flag while forming a fist with her hand as she posed. The student government leader took to Twitter to acknowledge her action: “what if i just replace the american flag with the blm flag in the sga office...” she tweeted, later adding, “before vs. after” photos of the wall where the flag hung. 

 

2. University of Kansas

The University of Kansas flew an American flag covered in black paint in 2018 as part of an art project. Similar versions of the desecrated flag also were on display at Cornell University, Texas State University, Rutgers University, and the University of South Florida. The black paint splattered on Old Glory showed up in two halves, intended to represent “a deeply polarized country.”

[RELATED: WATCH: Student gov axes Pledge of Allegiance]

3. Broward College

A professor at Florida’s Broward College, in 2018, painted an American flag white, cut it in half, and used it as a doormat as part of an art exhibit. One student, who is also a disabled veteran, told Campus Reform at the time that the professor “was the one with a camera laughing as people were stepping on it,” as many who did were not aware that it was a desecrated flag. 

4. University of Nevada-Reno

At the University of Nevada-Reno, in 2017, one student created an art display that was featured in the student center. The display consisted of several axes on the wall with the ax on the far right side hooking one end of an American flag while the other end of the flag draped on the floor. A description next to the display, written by the artist, claimed to want to “provoke a conversation.” 

[RELATED: Former prof SUES after being heckled while reciting Pledge of Allegiance]

5. American University

Just hours after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, students at American University gathered to burn the American flag. The incident was captured in multiple videos that later circulated on social media. The university later issued a statement saying that while it recognizes flag burning as a form of free speech, it does not condone the practice. 

Follow the author of this article on Facebook: @JonStreetDC and Twitter: @JonStreet