I have never, in person, ever seen anyone wearing a lapel pin american flag.
Maybe some people on tv do once in a while… but they are people who actually agree to be on tv, so there is something kind of weird going on there. But in real life, never seen it. or at least never noticed it.
Bad dog! Bad, bad dog!
Now, don’t do it again 
One of my Philly coworkers was very gung-ho. We had a couple interesting moments, like that one when he said “we should carpet bomb any country that has terrorist activity” and I said “hey, having our own terrorists ain’t bad enough, now you want to send in the Marines too?” He thought, realized what a completely dumb thing he’d said, no harm done.
I once pointed out that he might want to change his screensaver, since the month-long meeting we were about to start included a lot of people from a dozen other nationalities and some of the messages were, ah, less than savory for anybody born outside the US.
I never had a problem with him having eagles and flags all over the place, just made a point of letting him know when he was stepping on my little toe and could he please move his foot? Thank you!
I’ve been known to use a sticker with the chains of Navarra to set it apart from every identical computer used by my coworkers. Nobody’s ever had a problem with it (I specifically avoid a version that’s got political connotations).
I don’t doubt it for a minute. Many of 'em anyway. Call me cynical.
Democrats used to be all over the partriotism bandwagon. Whatever happened to “Ask not what your country can do for you…”?
I’ll never get why some people have such an issue with patriotism. People wear flag pins and put flags up at their homes because they are patriotic. They like America. That’s it. That’s the whole mystery that you can’t seem to understand.
People also put yellow ribbons up and ribbon stickers on their cars because they support and appreciate the troops.
It’s genuinely baffling to me that some people just can’t seem to understand this and take issue with it. It’s as if the entire concept of being patriotic is so foreign that they can’t accept that it’s possibly the explination. They just assume it must be some sort of scam or charade.
I’m annoyed because you are incredibly stupid and assume that everyone else is as dumb as you. You seem to think that these people are wearing these pins because of 9/11 or because they are scared of being thought of as unpatriotic. If you would rub more than 2 brain cells together you would realize that there are many other reasons for wearing a lapel pin of an American flag.
Your example of Law and Order as being a show caught up in the fever of 9/11 is incredibly funny to me and shows how ignorant you are considering that when the show first aired in 1990 one of the main characters constantly wore an American flag lapel pin and subsequent characters have simply carried on that tradition.
My dad got his American flag lapel pin (actually, a series of them) from Kiwanis. Y’know, one of those service clubs where they stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance before sitting down to “enjoy” a rubber-chicken luncheon and a presentation on public service. I think he’s been wearing one since, oh, maybe the mid-70s?
I’d tell him how bothered you are by it, but I’m confident he wouldn’t give a shit.
I may be just a young ‘un but I don’t remember a lot of the flag waving or the strong reaction to it before the 1988 presidential election, when George HW Bush and his handlers decided to make an issue out of Dukakis’ vetoing a bill requiring the Pledge of Allegiance in MA schools because he thought it was unconstitutional. GHWB had himself photographed in every flag factory he could get into for what seemed like weeks. That plus the phony flag burning issue made the flag become a polarizing symbol. I don’t really care all that much whether someone flies a flag or wears a flag lapel pin or puts a stars ‘n’ stripes bumper sticker on their SUV or whatever. What galls me is the attitude that a good number of the people who display the flag in such fashion project an air that they are somehow superior to those who don’t. I don’t think some of them are wearing flag pins or what-not just because they “like America.” I think some of them are sending the message that they think they like America more than (the generic) you do.
Ah, but you have to care about it if you open up a Pit thread. It’s Rule #239a.
Hmm. Well, is it OK to wear a flag lapel pin if you can prove you were wearing one before 9/11? My dad has been wearing one (on his hat as he is a tee-shirt guy rather than a lapel-shirt guy) since the '80s at least… Maybe he should find a dated picture of himself wearing his flag pin prior to 9/11… Then he could carry the picture around with him to prove to people such as yourself that he’s no patriot-come-lately.
What about my front-porch flag? Can I still fly it? I can provide photographic proof that I’ve flown a flag on my front porch as long as I’ve had a front porch (since 1987 or so). Am I allowed to continue to fly it in that case?
Goodness knows I’d hate to offend anyone.
OK, so a US flag pin is out. How 'bout a “Purple Loosestrife Fighter” pin? Is that still acceptable?
If you think I’m offended by U.S. flag pins, then you didn’t read my OP carefully enough.
::shrugs:: Well, personally, I don’t usually use verbiage like “enough is fucking enough” unless I’m so irritated that the irritation rises very nearly to the level of offense.
Well if one were to look at it as merely a fashion trend (that is adorning ones suit jacket with a gold cloisonne American flag) it has been more popular in the last few years with those shown on TV than before, I think that’s pretty obvious. My only problem with it is that these men are punching holes into whats most of the time a hand made suit coat. You don’t pull the threads out of the pockets and you don’t punch a permanant hole into the lapel with a $.99 pin either. It’s gauche and it looks tacky. If one is of the persuaison to wear one, spend the money to get one in white gold that is tasteful and understated, and hopefully has a magnetic backing.
Pin in through the suit coat? Heaven forfend! As I know from having observed my father for years, the pin is worn in the buttonhole on the lapel.
A little heads up people…
Those lapel pins are probably on the top 10 list of reasons why the rest of the world hates America.
Just saying…
If this makes the top ten, America is doing a lot better than we thought. (“You wear those lapel pins. And sneakers, we’re not much for sneakers. Plus, a lot of you are fat.”) Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s true.
Annoyed? Maybe. Offended? Not even a little.
Gotcha. And I was being sarcastic in my first post, admittedly. That said, I am still curious – are you as annoyed by flags and flag pins which predate 9/11? Are you annoyed by the flags specifically or by your perception that they are an outdated response to 9/11? Or both?
I am equally annoyed by all flag pins. Always have been. I’ve just noticed them a lot more the last few years. What really set this rant off was seeing every NFL commentator last weekend wear the exact same pin. It just seemed so corporate and empty.
Oh, and to whoever asked how the hell I was able to see the pins: I recently managed to procure a 65" projection TV and was watching the game in hi-def. 