Wow, let’s see… I certainly feel where Lord Ashtar, Otto, rocksolid, Hogwash and El Cid Viscoso are coming from. In the early days of the war, I was (still) working, in a regular (read: lossa women environment) job. What was initially talked about is exactly the atmosphere.
How to describe it? Well, it was this mixture that clarified things in the simplest, most direct and effective way possible. Like one of those magnetized ribbon stickers or, say, a flag lapel pin. It said, among other things, that we posed a united front (certainly not bad by any means), we [collectively speaking] believed in the foundation that made this country great ( ! ), like obviously, patriotism and God. By making that stance, it separated the wheat from the chaff.
How do I know? Well, doing nothing more than wearing my own ‘counter’ ribbon got the above basic speech. Now how on earth that a piece of rainbow cloth could threaten someone, I’ll never know. But apparently that was the case with at least one (admitted) co-worker. I heard there were others, but that was the only one that ever materialized in front of my face. The outcome? According to management, the only person who’d better back down was me. C’est la vie.
Anyway, I see what they’re saying as the whole ‘lapel pin’ business as a flash point for something deeper. When I read opinions of others who aren’t Americans, usually (but not always) the responses don’t really seem to meet them equally. Therefore, I can definitely understand why they’d opt for a much more communal level. Surely everyone knows, yanks or not, that fashion isn’t the issue here. If you weren’t a bandwagon jumper (like life-long NY fans), than the OP wasn’t talking about you or yours. However, for those deeming it necessary to Make A Statement All The Time, you folks might be the ones targeted. And even then, I’d suppose it would depend on sincerity.
If y’all mean what you say and you didn’t decide to take up the mantle of Truth, Justice, and the American Way, than dismiss this as pure aggravated ranting (I guess). However, if anyone out there reading along at home realizes this is why you do what you do, perhaps reconsideration is in order. As a native of the USA, I’m just offering one more opinion here, humble at that.
Finally, if all this could be boiled down so easily as someone having taken issue with our accessories = terrorists, than how come what’s perceived as only an increase took place post 9/11? Aren’t many of you contending that these items have been around forever, even back to the late 60s or early 70s? If so, I’d say there is then validity for both points to be taken seriously. As usual though, your mileage (and flags) may vary.
Are you saying that wearing a flag pin means you support the war in Iraq? It sure doesn’t to me. It means I like and support the country I live in–no party, individual, nor conflict owns the American flag.