I just had a woman come into my work and call me “disgusting” for displaying a flag that’s seen better days. I am totally appalled. I told her that’s all I had to show my pride in my country today, a day of rememberance and prayer. She said she didn’t care. I told her I felt her attitude was disgusting and asked her to leave.
She knows damn well that there are no flags to be had here. Everyone is sold out and I felt like it was more important to display it than leave it in the closet. Apparently I was wrong. I ended taking it down because my boss (the owner) said to. I run this store by myself and had to call him on the phone.
God, was I wrong? Should I really have kept it down? Everyone is so on edge lately maybe I should have. I feel horrible. Really horrible. And I know I’m going to spend the rest of the day today feeling like this.
Despite the fact that pretty much everyone in the country is on edge right now, her response to your genuine show of support is the only thing disgusting in this post.
I would rather see a flag in less than perfect condition on display out of genuine support than a perfectly starched new Old Glory that was picked on a bandwagon spur of the moment impulse.
I’m proud of you for owning a flag in advance of the attacks. How many of us do? Tell her to take her sanctimonious head and shove it up her lemming ass.
It’s where your heart was that matters!
Your boss did tell you to take it down when you asked, so don’t feel bad about a thing. Feel sorry, but don’t blame yourself.
Proof that you’re a nice person is that you’re still worrying about it
this whole flag nonsense is really pissing me off!
FLY WHAT YOU HAVE! its the spirit of the thing that count, not whether or not it is new or if it is flying at half or full. just get it out there.
i am one of those guys who flew the flag everyday. the wind finally stopped me from flying mine. the mount finally weakend and tore a hole in the side of my garage. (wind is pretty nasty on my little slice of paradise) i would regulary have to search for my tattered flag after the wind sent it 1/2 mile into the desert on a bad day. and, no, i didnt burn it or preform some mystical ceremony on it because it touched the ground. i believe it is just a piece of fabric (nylon, in my case) i rehung it and it flew proud again until the mount broke.
its the spirit of why it is displayed, not what or how it is displayed (to me, at least)
feel free to disagree with me on this- that is one of the things the flag represents- your freedom to say so!
have a good weekend everybody (except terrorists- may you dine on hardened ferret shit)
An appropriate response on your part would have been to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in New York by giving her a typical New York response:
I think the fact that your flag has seen better days indicates that you’d not just gone out and bought one in the spirit of the moment but were ALREADY so compelled by pride in your country that you’d been flying it WELL BEFORE she suddenly developed a sense of patriotism.
Ours too has been out every day this week and, like yours, was not a recent purchase.
Carry on friend and if the bitch comes back, make use of that spare pole you’ve now got lying around. Let’s see what she looks like fluttering in the breeze.
I couldn’t find anything that determines how you know if the flag indeed IS in such condition that you shouldn’t fly it. My best guess would be that if it was frayed or ripped, dirty, etc. then you wouldn’t want to display it.
But that’s in general, and I would say there is no reason not to display whatever flag you have right now. That woman sucks.
I am ashamed of myself to have to admit that I do not own a flag. I carry it with me in my heart, but I have never been much of a person for flying one. And there isn’t a flag to be had in my town right now. Rest assured that I will buy one as soon as one is available.
You were right, she was wrong, and your boss was wrong too.
A battered flag is a much loved flag. A much loved flag is one to be honored for the love that caused it to become battered.
Hold your head high, shannybonanny. You make me proud.
Its the thought that counts.I have a page on a Civil War unit and this is the description of the Flag they carried.It seems to me that the flag they had was a little worse for wear- and since this is the pit Fuck her
"…The Colors were carried through the siege of Port Hudson, in the summer of 1863, and it was there that a charge of grape tore the Union out of the National flag. They were borne in the following engagements: At Fort Bisland, on the 13th and 14th of April, 1863; in the assault on Port Hudson, on the 27th May, 1863, where the Regiment lost 2 officers and 33 men, killed and wounded, in the second assault, on the 14th June, where its loss was 2 officers and 60 men; and, at Springfield Landing, on the 2d July of the same year. In the Red River Campaign, of last Spring, the Colors were present at the fight of the Sabine Cross Roads, April 8th; at Pleasant Hill, April 9th, where Col. Benedict, commanding Brigade, was killed, and the Regiment lost 7 officers and 114 men, killed, wounded and missing; and, at Cane River Crossing, April 23d, where 2 officers and 35 men were killed or wounded.
Four times have these Colors been shot down in battle, two of their Bearers killed and two wounded. But, they have never been out of the Regiment’s possession, and are now returned to the original donor. …"
I have had a 12-foot American Flag for years, but no place to display it. I also have the flag that was presented to us after my father was buried at sea in 1998. (We could not attend the burial since it took place on an active Navy vessel during maneuvers, but we got a video tape. The flag is folded and stored in a triangular display case.) And I have larger-than-regulation-size flags with Velcro backing that I put on my CWU-45/P flight jackets. I usually wear a blue Nomex flight jacket, and no longer have access to a sewing machine so I haven’t put a flag on that one yet.
(I also have a Canadian flag, although I’m not Canadian.)
If a flag is obviously beaten up it should be destroyed meaning you should have replaced it and have a new one. Now in battles you can’t just get a new flag so the old one with the bullet holes will have to do till it can be replaced.
Flag ettiquite is a very serious issue to some people and I don’t know all of it but you might be showing disrespect for the flag in her eyes. She is justified to feel that way.
[aside]
NPR spoke to Fawaz “Tony” Ismail, the owner of Alamo Flags, “the largest, most varied, flag company in the world,” the other day. I was charmed to learn that, in the midst of all the tarring of all Palestinians with the same brush lately, that he is Palestinian.
[/aside]
I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get back to this thread until now. For some reason my computer at work wouldn’t process any of my posts after the OP. Oh, the joys of a 14.4 modem.
Thanks everyone so much for taking the time to reply to this. I checked this thread around 2 p.m. not knowing what to expect. Remember how I said I’d feel horrible the rest of the day? I was wrong. All of you saw to that. Thank you!
I’m the first to admit I don’t remember much of what I learned in Girl Scouts about flag etiquette. All I could remember was that it can’t touch the ground and that you can’t leave it out at night unless there’s a spotlight shining on it. This flag is faded in some places and the end seam where the wind catches it is frayed about an inch, but it’s over 15 years old and I thought it looked good for its age. No holes, no dirt, not bad overall. To be honest, I did check WalMart and Kmart for a new one on my way in this morning, since I was wanting a little one for my car anyway, and found squat.
So, I chose to fly the old one and unintentionally offended someone. I (initially) apologized to her and explained why I didn’t have a new one, but apparently she was in full self-righteous mode and wasn’t interested in what I had to say. However justified she may have been in speaking her mind, I DO NOT think she had the right to call me “disgusting” and shake her finger in my face. I wasn’t out to ruin her day, but man, she sure did try to ruin mine.
I think I’ll chalk this one up to experience and count “Acceptable Flag Appearance” as the new thing I learned today. I’m buying a new flag as soon as supply permits…but I’m hanging on to (old) Old Glory anyway. We’ve bonded.
Here’s some pages from http://www.usflag.org about flag etiquette. The links are to a mirror site though, since the original site has taken more hits than it can handle in the last few days:
If it doesn’t look like an old grease rag, I say fly it.
I was watching the recovery effort on CNN and I noted the huge flag they were flying had about a 2 foot long tear in it right under the stars.
My old military mindset kicked it and I recall thinking,“how disgracefull”.
Then I remembered were these people were, in a warzone. They had more important things to tend to.
In reality, aren’t we all now in a war zone? If your sense of pride tells you to fly the Stars and Stripes, do it. Even if you have to take it home to display it in peace.
I’m sure your sense of judgement is good enough to determine whether your banner is in bad enough condition to be considered an insult to itself.
