# Employer flying tattered American flag - how annoyed should I be with this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873 "2019-12-14T23:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/101 "2019-12-22T09:26:01Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > Ask the Facilities Manager if you purchase a replacement flag yourself could this expedite its replacement? See post #59 This is not a long thread. IMHO, it is not an onerous task to actually read and understand it prior to posting. As always, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/102 "2019-12-23T11:25:49Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Just so long as you know you are. Thank you for your constructive feedback. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/103 "2019-12-23T11:36:01Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > But if the VFW does it, they’ll have a lot of leverage to get added to the company’s list of non-profits to whom they donate annually. I hadn’t considered that. The flag at my employer’s facility has been replaced by now. If the VFW chooses to fund replacements for private individuals or organization on their own initiative and for their own benefits then that’s their business. I’m not going to tell them they’re wrong. I would be deeply suspicious of any external pressure being applied to them on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/104 "2019-12-23T12:20:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Thank you for your constructive feedback. You are welcome. I doubt many are thankful, but they should be. Worship objects at your own peril. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/105 "2019-12-23T13:54:47Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Worship objects at your own peril. I wasn’t planning on worshipping objects. Pretty sure that I don’t worship the flag. I certainly don’t display one (unless you count a pair of stars-and-stripes cufflinks I have). I do, however, think that those who do hold the flag is such high regard ought to practice what they preach. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/106 "2019-12-23T14:23:13Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I wasn’t planning on worshipping objects. Pretty sure that I don’t worship the flag. I certainly don’t display one (unless you count a pair of stars-and-stripes cufflinks I have). > > I do, however, think that those who do hold the flag is such high regard ought to practice what they preach. Great. And, getting back to the OP, if having a tattered flag made your workplace look ramshackled, then I totally get it. Fix the flag. Get a new one. Or take it down. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/107 "2019-12-23T15:30:17Z")
This has been a weird conversation. I feel like you’ve been standing on top of a hill going “If this is the hill you want to die on, I’ll fight you!” and I’m like “Dude, I’m not even _on_ that hill. I’m at Starbucks two miles away. Relax.” ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/108 "2019-12-25T07:44:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I wonder if any other country cares as much about their flag as the USA. For some reason it seems to instill patriotic indulgence amongst Americans. > > I mean, I like Canada’s flag and all, but I don’t give a shit what people do with it. It would be like caring about a map of Canada, for example. Really? There are these things called “cultural differences.” We’re supposed to respect others’ native customs. I’m frankly sick of people sneering at us because we fly our flags all over the place. We like our flag. So what? P.S. I was in Victoria last summer. Canadian flags EVERYWHERE. They looked really jaunty in the breeze. Very nice display. So I guess some Canadians care. P.P.S. We don’t look down our noses at you because you love your national anthem so much. Oh, and put me on the side with the folks who say if you’re going to fly an American flag, do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873/109 "2019-12-25T09:20:06Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I recall traveling in Toronto, Windsor, and London some years ago when my son was small and it seemed that every few minutes he’d pipe up with “CANADA FLAG!” from the back seat. Maybe they’re less common today, I dunno, but I surely remember them being everywhere from my own observation as well. In addition to Canada, Switzerland also gives the US a run for its money in terms of numbers of flags displayed, in my recollection. That was not the case in Austria, Ireland, or the UK, in contrast, and was _certainly_ not the case in then-West Germany, where flags were just about nonexistent. > > There are also small “flags”–decals and sew-ons and the like. They’re common in the US of course, but again they seemed pretty frequent in Canada and Switzerland. For a time there in the eighties it seemed that every Canadian traveler had a Canadian flag sewn onto their backpack… > > Flags (and flag stickers, decals, sew-ons, etc.) of a few other nations are actually fairly common in my US city–Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico (I know it’s not an independent country…), Italy. Not sure if the flag-flyers are bringing flag-flying customs with them or adopting the flag-flying customs of the US. Germany has banned the symbols used by Third Reich, and any flag-waving can be seen as being overly nationalistic. Other European countries have followed this trend. Switzerland doesn’t have the same history and therefore is happy to use the flag everywhere, especially on August 1st, the national day. It’s different during the World Cup. Then everybody gets our their country flags. The flags are on their cars, hanging from the balconies, on their clothes, etc. And a few weeks later? Back to normal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employer-flying-tattered-american-flag-how-annoyed-should-i-be-with-this/844873.md?page=5)