Wednesday, February 17, 1999
U.S. Constitution guards freedom of expression
COMMUNISM: Displaying Communist images unpopular, offensive but
protected by law
Ho Chi Minh is more than just a name in a history book; to many,
he is a symbol of tyranny, mass murder and oppression. Yet, Ho Chi
Minh’s image and a flag of the Communist political ideology he
advocated are protected forms of political expression. Unpopular
opinions, even when offensive to a community, are protected by the
First Amendment of the Constitution. Likewise, criticism of this
kind of expression is also protected. In order for one form of
expression to be protected, the other must be defended as well.
Truong Van Tran displayed a poster of Communist leader Ho Chi
Minh and a Communist flag at his Hi Tek TV and VCR store, in spite
of the history-based opposition from the Little Saigon residents in
the surrounding Westminster community. Tran says that although he
is not a Communist, the current government has improved life for
people in Vietnam. Tran said that he was exercising his freedom of
speech rights, but a restraining order originally forced him to
take down the display. Last Wednesday, however, Superior Court
Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann reversed the restraining order
decision.
Many of the political refugees from Vietnam came to the United
States 24 years ago to escape suffering the atrocities of war and
prison camps at the hands of brutal tyrant Ho Chi Minh, the leader
of the Communist regime. Because of what they experienced in
Vietnam, many refugees and those who followed remained staunchly
anti-Communist when they arrived in the United States. Many members
of the Vietnamese community feel that Tran has abused his freedom
of expression rights. They parallel his display of a Ho Chi Minh
poster in a mostly Vietnamese community with a display of an Adolf
Hitler poster in a mostly Jewish community.
It can be readily stipulated that Tran’s incendiary actions have
directly contributed to the present uproar. While Tran not only
wrote letters to anti-Communist groups informing them of his
display of the poster and flag (which no doubt encouraged
confrontation), he has also repeatedly ignored offers for police
escorts, despite two physical confrontations he has suffered at the
hands of demonstrators.
Tran is perfectly aware of the effects his actions will have,
and he is, as Judge Schumman stated, "far from blameless" for the
ramifications of his chosen form of "expression."
On Saturday, 320 demonstrators marched in front of the video
store, chanting "Down with Communism" and carrying defaced pictures
of Ho Chi Minh. On Monday, 500 people faced dozens of police
officers clad in riot gear. Tran’s store has been surrounded by
protesters on a daily basis; Vietnamese residents as well as many
Vietnam War veterans say they will continue their protests until
the poster and flag are taken down.
But while Tran’s actions are insensitive and offensive to the
community, they are protected by the First Amendment. As Judge
Schumann put it, political expression is the most protected form of
speech – though our forefathers might not have imagined how it
would be used, they granted the right nevertheless. The protection
afforded to Tran is likewise afforded to the protesters who
criticize his minority view. The First Amendment protects the
rights of all individuals to express their criticism, whether that
be a common belief or an unpopular one.
For a country founded on rebellion, freedom of expression is,
undeniably, an important birthright. Everyone is granted the right
to express their political views, no matter how offensive they
might be. And everyone is also granted the right to state how
offensive they find other views. Both rights are essential to a
democracy.
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