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Weird News Central: The Middle Finger's Pointed History
Friday, March 5, 2010 17:02 GMT
NEW YORK (Wireless Flash - FlashNews) – Hold up your middle finger and salute – it’s your Constitutional right.Federal law – and even one Supreme Court decision – have upheld freedom of expression, even if it’s offensive.
This week, AOL Senior Correspondent Buck Wolf has details on the middle finger’s long, pointed legal history.
People’s Constitutional right to flip the bird is now at the heart of a lawsuit in Clackamas, Oregon, where a man is claiming he was harassed for flipping off police officers after being pulled over at a speed trap.
The bird-flipping culprit, Robert Ekas, is now representing himself in court against cops and has the backing of several Constitutional experts.
Wolf explains, “Some consider shooting the middle finger the ultimate insult, but to a few civil rights advocates, it’s one more way for Americans to say, ‘We’re No. 1.’”
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