Please don't bash me on my closed-mindedness about certain things. It is what it is and you won't change my mind.

The Swastika thread started me thinking about symbols and how they adapt over time.
My own religious beliefs and my rebellious 16 year old son has made the topic of greater interest to me.

I do not allow pentacles /pentagrams into my home. Period. What someone else believes is fine with me. Everyone has freedom of choice and freedom of religion etc. But in MY HOME it's different.
My son likes to draw and I encourage his artistic side. But the pentagram keeps turning up in his work.

His Foster Mom accuses him of being a Satanist. He says he's not. He claims he only draws the symbol because he likes the design and that he's not using it in his work as a religious statement.
I tell him that in today's day and age, you can't change people's perceptions about certain things, and I used the Swastika thread as an example.

My nature is to "not rock the boat". If I KNOW something is offensive to someone else, I restrain from bringing it up. My son is the total opposite lol. He does certain things JUST to get a reaction out of people.

He says he shouldn't stop drawing something just because some people don't like it. And while I agree to a point, I think some things are better off left alone.
Namely: You don't wear a Swastika around victims of Natzi (sp) persecution and you don't draw pentagrams in Church or sport them around devoutly religiously people. It's a matter of respect.

He also jokes about having his penis tattooed with the American flag so every time he has sex, he's making a statement of "F" you to the government. *rolls eyes* He thinks it's the funniest idea in the world and that even the President would have to laugh.
Even though Jehovah's Witnesses are politically neutral, we respect the laws of the lands in which we live. I tell him that would be tremendously disrespectful and that the President almost suredly would NOT laugh and he would likely be killed by soldiers who have fought to defend their country. To defile the symbol of that nation would not be viewed as humorous.

What do y'all think?
What is the line you draw or are there any?
Are you more for protecting "freedom of speech and expression" or respecting the views and feelings of others?
Is there a middle ground? What would it be?

Do you feel the same way about certain figures of speech like "nigger/nigga" and "bitch/biotch"?
Are there any times when such phrases are acceptable or should they be banned from our language?