I’m out of the loop. What’s prompted this? I assume it’s something to do with Supreme Court Justice Alito?
Apparently this flag has been used recently by Drumpf’s supporters, specifically those that think the election was stolen, and it was seen flying outside Alito’s summer home.
Reposting a comment I made a few days ago, since it’s still relevant:
I was curious about the flag, so did a little reading. Apparently the “Appeal to heaven” is referring to John Locke’s writings regarding the right to revolution:
And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment. And therefore, though the people cannot be judge, so as to have, by the constitution of that society, any superior power, to determine and give effective sentence in the case; yet they have, by a law antecedent and paramount to all positive laws of men, reserved that ultimate determination to themselves which belongs to all mankind, where there lies no appeal on earth, viz. to judge, whether they have just cause to make their appeal to heaven.
(Second Treatise of Civil Government. John Locke)
Locke’s contention was that no man had inherent power to regulate or restrict divine arbitration in civil affairs. Even in dire circumstances, he alleged, natural rights transcended the political process.
Too bad it’s been repurposed as a symbol for Christian Nationalism
Well it was explicitly anti-secular to begin with, so never something a SCOTUS judge should be flying regardless of the christofascists adopting it.
Locke’s contention was that no man had inherent power to regulate or restrict divine arbitration in civil affairs. Even in dire circumstances, he alleged, natural rights transcended the political process.
So, in the context of today, he’s basically arguing for SCOTUS to be replaced with a religious tribunal and any secular constitution with “natural” (read: religious dogma) law. THAT doesn’t sound like something a SCOTUS judge should be advocating either…
Yes.
Yes, what?
What’s extra funny is that Locke invested in the slave trade. Slaves, the men who are deprived of their rights.
It makes sense when you realize that they didn’t think black people were people.
Aye. Liberalism, inconsistent since its inception, huh?
Cunts
Almost all the GOP, including Alito, wouldn’t be allowed into Heaven if you go by anything Jesus said
I’m thinking of writing a song. What do you think of recording over this sick beat?
Just to clarify, that base needs to be a lot more flared for it to be safe. Otherwise it definitely looks like Alito’s style.
The pine tree flag has a pine tree and the words “an appeal to heaven” on it.
The phrase refers to John lockes writing where he asserted that when arbitration through laws and courts failed, the wronged parties have the right to “an appeal to heaven”, a veiled reference to violence in revolution.
The ideas was that if it gets bad enough, pull out the tool and let god figure out who’s right.
The pine tree gets a lot of attribution but the one that seems the least like bullshit is the pine tree riot, where in order to preserve British naval might the crown sent surveyors out to mark the best pine trees with a broad arrow so they could be used as masts in British ships and made it illegal to cut marked trees otherwise.
Some people cut the trees and they were found at a sawmill. The mill owners were charged and ordered to pay, and the crown bought off their lawyer so they wouldn’t be able to mount a defense.
The mill owners got a group of people together and attacked the sheriff who represented the crown while he was sleeping, beat him up, mutilated his horses and ran him out of town on them.
They were charged less than a pound each plus court costs for this. It’s famous because even though that was a decent amount of money for the time, it was just money and it meant that discontent among the colonists could be harnessed by moneyed people at no bodily cost to them.
People don’t like the pine tree riot now. It’s a pretty weird and uninspiring event unless you cast yourself in the role of a beloved local business owner.
For anyone who doesn’t understand what this flag represented for the last 250 years. Go find out. I’d say if any of us should fly this flag it should be a Supreme Court Justice. If you don’t like him based on his rulings then fine, say so, but don’t besmirch this flag and its meaning based on some small group who recently co-opted it. This post reeks of small brain syndrome or someone intentionally trying to tear down our institutions to weaken us as a nation. Which seems to be the warfare of the social media age. Slow like a millstone. Constantly grinding from the edges at our foundation.
I care about what this flag represents now, which is Christian Nationalist Totalitarianism.
What’s grinding at the edges of our society’s foundation is the right wing’s aspirations for control from the minority.
Fuck Alito. He’s the last person that should fly this flag.
the co-option is a great reason to be suspicious of anyone flying that, just like the recently coopted symbol the “swastika”
fuck alito. fuck Christian nationalists. fuck the constitution. fuck the supreme Court.
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I said what I meant
Dude. Even if you DO ignore that it’s become part of a fascist movement (which you shouldn’t), it’s still called the “appeal to heaven” flag.
SCOTUS is a secular court that’s tasked with interpreting a constitution that specifically forbids an establishment religion. Asserting in public view that there’s a heaven to appeal to is therefore inherently a big no-no.
