So, I’m going to blame the Boy Scouts for this, then. It’s probably why a lot of people who don’t deal with it for a living know what the proper way to deal with a flag is.
You trying to make a point? The Boy Scouts taught me a great deal about the out doors and being a good citizen to boot. Is this going to be another one of those “flag-fetish” deals ? Don’t make me come over there and lash your ass to a tree with a taut-line hitch. You’ll be squirrel chow before anyone even knows your missing. 
No, what the OP said was that Americans have a flag-fetish. Later, she tried to bolster her argument that “a very large proportion” of houses have flags by saying that her experience was in the South (prolly all those gun and religion clinging people, ya know). Well, if the South has a “very large propotion”, than the Midwest, where I live, must have a “very very large proportion”, according to YOUR cite.
Problem is, that’s simply not true. Somebody in this thread is full of shite, but it ain’t me.
No, it’s you, Carol. It’s pretty much always you.
Hey, isn’t “shite” the UK version? Is someone a stealth “arse”?
No, Omegaman. I’m saying that in America, in my experience, the Boy Scouts were all about the great outdoors and camping, and flag protocol was a big thing in most of the Scouting groups I know of. Raise, lower, fold, do not let touch the ground, burn appropriately, and so on. That would explain part of how flag protocol is widespread. So would WWII, mind you. I’m suspecting the flowering of American culture post-WWII passed the importance of flags around in a bunch of ways, as part of the anti-Red Scare sort of thing, and the Boy Scouts are an important part of how that was passed on.
Come on man, don’t be so dead pan. Isn’t it apparent I’m just using a little humor to lighten up something that I take very seriously? Yes I have pride in my country, not so much lately despite Mr. Bushs actions on our supposed behalf. The respect I have for my country can not be diminished by the actions of one fool, however grave they may be.
No, she said the flag fetish makes her uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean all Americans have a flag fetish, though upwards of 6/10 say they display a flag in public.
Yeah, apparently there are a lot of flags in the Midwest. You haven’t offered a counter-cite to mine to contradict that. If the OP’s only real experience in the US is in the south, then that’s what she’s going to mention. What’s the big deal? A lot of Americans like to fly the flag. Foreigners think it’s weird. Why must you continue to deny it like it’s not true or there’s something wrong with pointing it out?
Prove that it’s not true. Otherwise, you’re the one who’s full of shit. (I’m an American, I don’t say “shite.”)
I’m sure you already realize this, Rubystreak, but you’re wasting your breath on trying to get Carol Stream to admit her(?) mistake. It’s funny - when contradicting the OP, CS feels that her personal observations are sufficient to do so, yet when CS posts some bullshit that she made up, that both myself and yojimbo have demonstrably refuted based on OUR observations, she remains silent and refuses to acknowledge her rudely posited falsehoods.
Carol Stream , you’re an uncouth, hypocritical weasel.
And those are probably your good points…
CS why don’t you put a disclamer in your location field about you sex. If your going to be dodging bullets no need to confuse the shooter. Just some helpful advice from your neighborhood asshole.
This is so fucking stupid.
There are a handful of ways to reliably turn some large proportion of otherwise reasonable people into drooling idiots. Pricking at their national pride is one of them. Seriously, if you claimed that their mothers were Tijuana whores you’d be more likely to get a level-headed refutation than if you, say, pointed out that the flag thing is a little weird. (And it is.)
Can you imagine what would happen if you criticized flying the Tijuana flag* at a whorehouse? :eek:
*yeah, I know it’s the Mexican flag–that doesn’t make for as good a joke.
Omegaman, you are hereby ordered to return to Scouting and start over with Tenderfoot.
You do NOT use a taut-line hitch to lash someone to a tree. You start with the clove hitch, then do your wraps (no fraps necessary for this one), then finish with another clove hitch!
[/hijack]
As for the OP - if you make snarky remarks at the bar, the bar flies will congregate. It is worthy of a mini-rant at best.
In fairness that’s all it would have been if certain fucking idiots hadn’t had made a big deal of it.
Assuming you are an American, that is the most anti-American statement I have ever read on this board.
:rolleyes:
And in my experience, living in the U.S. for all of my 41 years, in various towns/cities/countys/states, including extensive business and leisure travel, I have never seen a “very large proportion” of houses flying flags.
Her rather obvious anti-American slant, while she’s a guest in our country, well, that’s the big deal. It’s unbelievably rude. Your mileage obviously varies.
When somebody asks you your honest opinion, you offer it. I don’t think she had an “anti-American” slant. She had some legitimate observations about where she was living but, we don’t know from the OP what her overall opinion was. When I lived abroad for 5 1/2 years, locals would ask me my opinions of their host country (Hungary) and I would reply honestly to the points that I didn’t like, and the points I did like. Obviously, the good outweighed the bad, because I loved living there. I don’t have to pretend I love everything about my host country, and, frankly, my hosts were smart enough to realize that I’d be lying out my ass if I said everything was sunshine and roses.
Did you make statements that your host country had a “fetish” of one kind or another?
That exact word? No. But I’ve certainly said things more direct and more pointed than anything as mild as a “flag fetish.” Things can get very interesting when you start talking about opinions/attitudes towards the Roma (gypsies), Trianon, internal politics (especially Fidesz vs. the Socialists), etc. I’ve told Hungrians that, as an American, I am amazed at how openly racist otherwise rational and intelligent people can be towards the Roma. The general response to me was either agreement, or a shrug and a simple “you don’t understand.” Now, I think that sort of talk is a little more pointed than accusations of a “flag fetish,” but at least I’m able to have these sorts of discussions without people accusing me of being an unbelievably rude dick. I have a right to an opinion and, if asked, I will proffer it.
And, frankly, when asked about my opinions of the US, I’d be just as critical.