I don’t want to get into a big political debate, so please don’t attack or defend me or the President here. I’m just curious and confused about what I’ve seen lately. FYI, we are pretty liberal people, live and let live, but don’t like to see our flag disrespected.
A neighbor, whom I don’t know, has made his tea party beliefs known via bumper stickers, Gadsden flag (don’t tread on me), etc. This same neighbor flies his US flag at half staff every day and night. We left a note on flag etiquette in his mailbox after seeing it left like that, never lit up and never taken down, all winter. He took it down for a few weeks. Now it’s back, and has been at half staff for 3 weeks.
Last week I saw a flag hanging from a tree branch in a rural front yard. I know nothing about the people in that house, but it’s a pretty conservative Christian area.
SO… are these people likely making some kind of political protest? Why would one fly a flag at half staff or especially from a tree limb unless it’s a statement against the current administration? Please help me understand.
There’s no sense to it. The US flag is not supposed to be incorporated into articles of clothing, yet we have Rex Kwon Do and that ‘Get a brain morans’ guy. That’s the lvel of thought that these people are operating on.
I can see the lack of lighting and tree branch display as someone who wants to display it but can’t afford a “proper” display. I don’t necessarily read a lot of meaning in to that aspect. Some are ignorant and some after correction just really, really want to fly it but won’t spend the money to do it right or put in the effort to take it down nightly. Flying it at half mast on a daily basis seems like a choice that is designed to convey a meaning. Hell if I know what that meaning is though.
Usually if someone wants to make a political protest about the country being in distress about something, they fly the flag upside down. (It’s not “correct” under the flag code, though.) I’ve seen both “liberals” and “conservatives” do this.
Half staff? Damned if I know why he’d have it at half-staff for a long period of time. I’ve seen flags at half-staff for several days after the deaths of some politicians (such as former Mayor Tom Menino) and firefighters/police. They remain at half staff until the funeral. Doesn’t sound like the OP’s neighbour is doing this, though.
The unlighted flag should be lowered at night. To not do so is to proclaim oneself as slovenly (wrt one’s patriotism, if nothing else).
From a tree branch? If you’ve got a tree that you have the authority to hang something on, that suggests that you have a house. If you have enough money to buy a flag, you’ve got enough money to buy a flagstaff, a proper bracket, and perhaps a slightly smaller flag. This puts me in mind of a desire to lynch somebody.
(semi-hijack) Personally, I abhor ostentatious displays of commercial “patriotism,” but for some reason, I refuse to abide a business displaying a flag in poor condition. If I’m driving past a place where the American flag being flown is ragged, I will make a point of stopping, going into the place of business, and asking the person in charge to do something about it. If this is not practical, I’ll make a mental note of the name and address of the business, and make a phone call to ask them to correct the issue.
I tend to agree with you about this. I don’t fly a flag, and don’t care if a company decides to do so or not…but if you DO, do it right.
Generally I don’t care about displays of patriotism, the flag and the anthem do nothing to me, but I do have a wonderful visceral response to the upside-down flag that is part of the logo for “House of Cards.”
A neighbor, fairly liberal Democrat, always flies his flag at half-staff “because every day someone dies in service to this country, famous or not. Some soldier, policeman, fireman, politician or voter”. Hard to argue with that.
I really dislike the flag-waving (or flag-hoisting) displays of ostentatious “patriotism” that seem so common in the US. I would never hang the US flag in front of my house. Even those stupid flag pins that politicians wear annoy me. But I think this guy has the right to display his flag however he chooses. Leaving him a note explaining proper flag etiquette strikes me as officious and not terribly neighborly.
In my mind, that makes sense. Every life matters. In fact, that was one line of reasoning I had considered. However, that is not the established protocol, nor is it something a random passerby would recognize and appreciate.
Total tangent here, but one of my pet peeves is whenever someone hangs the US flag vertically and does it backwards (with the blue field on the right).
I get why they do it. It’s an honest mistake to think you merely rotate the flag 90 degrees for a vertical display. It just bugs me, especially since about 80% of the time folks seem to get defensive when I point out the mistake.
Meh. My dad flies a flag on a pole that he tethered to a fence post in his front yard. He doesn’t raise it or lower it or light it, but he does change it every couple years when it gets tattered. He folds the old ones neatly and puts them in his trunk with the intention of giving them to the VFW but he never remembers (he’s an unapologetic alcoholic so he’s got beer blinders on whenever he visits the local post.)
The reason he’s patriotic at all is that he’s a Vietnam vet. A boots-on-the-mud vet. I’ll give you his address if you’d like to come by and tell him that he is displaying his flag wrong and is a slovenly patriot.
I’ve seen this sort of thing as well. I think these people think they’re “patriots” because they display the U.S. flag 24/7. Apparently they aren’t aware of (or couldn’t care less about) the rules of etiquette concerning the flying of “Old Glory.” I’m pretty liberal, myself (although I prefer the term “Progressive” in this context) and I fly my U.S. flag all the time (partly because my wife wants it to be known that one doesn’t have to be a Conservative to be able to proudly fly a U.S. flag [BTW - I also served in the U.S. Navy, 1989- 93]) but only within the rules of etiquette given.