Editorial: Running hate up the flagpole

When - and why- did Quincy become a city with pockets of intolerant xenophobes? When did cultural expression become the focus of attacks?

When did free speech become limited to only the kind of expression the majority wants to hear?

We are concerned that the act Quincy police have labeled as vandalism at the Chinese United Association in Wollaston should more rightfully be investigated as a hate crime rather than some drunken or teenaged prank.

The red flag from the People's Republic of China, a symbol of repressive regimes to many who fought against communism, had flown next to the American flag above the Hancock Street headquarters of the association sporadically since last fall, drawing protests from a number of veterans' and civic groups.

Last week, officials at the association discovered the 10-foot flagpole that held the Chinese flag had been hacked off while the Stars and Stripes remained waving in the wind.

That, as Kao Li, a member of the state's Asian American Commission, said, is indicative of something deeper than vandalism.

"There has been a lot of controversy around this flag, but this is the first time a law has been broken," Li said. "If we don't nip this in the bud, it's going to get uglier and uglier."

While the flag brought images of Mao Zedong and the anti-democracy crackdowns of Tiananmen Square, officials at the association said it was a reflection of their cultural heritage. It last flew at the beginning of the month to mark the Oct. 1 founding of the People's Republic.

This is America, and in the city where one of the framers of the Massachusetts and federal constitutions lived, we embrace the right of those who protested the Chinese flag. But that same right is extended for those who flew the Chinese standard and their image of their flag should be respected and their right to hoist the pennant protected.

Quincy has become home to thousands of Asians over the last couple decades to the point that they near 20 percent of the population. They work, they live, they own homes and businesses, they raise families in all the city's neighborhoods.

We urge both candidates for mayor to denounce this act and call on Quincy police to investigate it with the sense of urgency that a hate crime demands. We owe it to those who came to Quincy looking to share in the promise of our nation to say as a city we will not tolerate attacks against those who have done nothing more than take advantage of the First Amendment.