Waving flags is a way of expressing loyalty that goes back into the mists of time. And there is no legal ban on waving ANY flag in the USA. You can see the Mexican flag being waved anytime there is one of the many demonstrations by Leftists in favour of illegal immigration. And during the Vietnam war, the same types waved the flag of Communist North Vietnam plenty of times.
So on what authority are soccer fans in Salt Lake City not allowed to wave the flags of Tibet and Taiwan? It happened recently at a match between a team from the People's Republic of China and Real Salt Lake.
It is something of a tradition in soccer for fans to try to spook the opposing team in various ways and my guess is that most of the flag wavers were just supporting their team rather than being very political but the Chinese said they would walk off the field if the flags were not taken down.
So what did RSL management do? Did they say: "Sorry. We have free speech in America. There's nothing we can do about it". No way. They sent goons among the fans to stop the flag waving, confiscated flags and booted one fan off the ground.
I understand that there are now legal moves against RSL management over their illegal trampling on the rights of their fans but with courts that believe in a "living" constitution, I would not be surprised if the First Amendment took another hit over this one. Details here and here.
Update:
A real-life example below (from Australia) of the SORT of firm but courteous reply that RSL officials COULD have given to the Chinese officials.
"Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has called on China to respect Australia's democratic system following warnings from Beijing over the Dalai Lama's visit. The exiled Tibetan monk has been warmly welcomed during his 11-day tour of Australia, meeting Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd yesterday and Prime Minister John Howard later this week.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang yesterday said the Dalai Lama's Australian visit could harm bilateral ties.
Mr Downer said today that Australia was not ignoring China's warning but said it had already explained its position. "We've taken note of what they've had to say," he said on Sky News. "But I've explained to the Chinese on a number of occasions in relation to this issue that in this country, the Dalai Lama is regarded as a religious figure, a significant religious figure. "And it's just not a proposition for us to refuse to give someone like the Dalai Lama a visa to visit Australia.
"China has a very different political system from Australia but I've asked the Chinese to respect the way our culture and our political system works."
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