Mr. Patriotic, and the Lady with Too Much Paper

[PuckishOne]

As I said before, we do not call out anyone on this board...moderators or otherwise. If there is a question about an action, please use the report button or send a PM to the person in question.

We now return you (hopefully) to the originally scheduled thread. Apologies to the OP for the diversion.

[Pagan]

Technically your flag isn't really supposed to be out in a storm where it could get damaged is it? I'm not up on the flag stuff lately.

BUT, while this is right, it's flag etiquette, there's no law against having a torn up flag flying....as gauche a practice as it is. I don't think that Mr. I-Am-The-Law get this. Don Chalmers (car dealer) up on the hill has a garrison flag that gets to really needing replacing every now and then. It really is pretty when there's a enough wind to get it up!

That being said, I'm the one bitching at my apartment complex office on the days that the US flag is ordered to be flown at half-staff. Why do I bitch at them? Because they don't lower the state flag! They don't seem to grasp the concept that no flag can fly higher than the US flag. (I even printed out a copy of the flag etiquette and put in the drop box anonymously ) These are also the same people that leave it up all night....with no illumination. But, whatta ya gonna do?

And 50 mph winds? That's not a storm here....that's Spring! 3 damn days straight of it this week! *starts muttering to the voices in her head*

[blas]

To the OP, I send my deepest sympathies and regret that you had to meet Daddy DipShit. I figured he was still rotting at the local VFW ranting with his buddies about "That god damn Affirmative Action! Can you believe they let young little girls be in charge of machinery? Back in my day a woman knew her place and knew to never tell a man what to do!"

[Bright_Star]

There are more important things to be concerned about than stressing about a torn flag.

[alphaboi]

...Apparently they don't teach manners or respect in the military...

Was he a veteran or still in the service? It's it's the latter you should've politely asked him for his name (which should be on his uniform) and base. Then pick up the phone, call it, and file a complaint with his CO for harrassing local merchants.. Bonus points if you do all this while he's still there. He will not be in for a fun time.

[Namrepus221]

I would've made him sign a waiver making him wholly responsible should someone get injured or worse, die, because of his demand.

Or better yet. Give him teh ladder and say "Fine, YOU take it down"

[booger]

To respond to, well, a few of you, I think the guy was most likely retired military. He looked to be old enough to be my dad, and someone said he had a tattoo on his neck, and apparently tattoos visible while in uniform aren't allowed while serving? I don't know who ended up taking the flag down, I just know it was gone when I left to go home shortly thereafter. I guess we got what we deserved if the flag was damaged beforehand and no one did anything to take it down. (I didn't even notice there was a flag there, to be honest. It's in a really weird spot.) I know we should have taken it down, just not during the storm, and while I appreciate someone telling us about it so it can be taken care of, his attitude was not cool.

As for that lady, I don't know quite what her problem was. I kept trying to explain the policy to her and apologized to her more than once, but she just kept getting more uppity and cranky at me. I figure she probably found her original receipt and a half that she asked me for and calmed down a bit, because I don't think management got a complaint on me, at least they haven't said anything to me about it.

[Pagan]

I guess we got what we deserved if the flag was damaged beforehand and no one did anything to take it down. (I didn't even notice there was a flag there, to be honest. It's in a really weird spot.)

Got what you deserved? You guys hadn't done anything except not change the flag quick enough for Sgt. Asshat! You have nothing to apologize for.

As for the tats, it seems to hinge on what branch you're in. Army allows tats on the hands and the back of the neck.

[blas]

Lots of army guys around here have tattoos all over their body. I didn't know that was a problem...maybe they just have to do their best to keep them covered, like cops do?

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Technically your flag isn't really supposed to be out in a storm where it could get damaged is it? I'm not up on the flag stuff lately.

Under normal circumstances, you'd be correct. If you have advance notice of a storm it is a good idea to get the flag down and put away safely where it won't get damaged and raised again once the storm is over.

On the flip side:
How many times have people been surprised by a freak thunder storm coming out of nowhere? Or sure the weather report said today would be windy, but who knew it was going to be gusting up to 50-60 miles per hour?

The flag is to be there as a symbol of our country. We have the flag protocols to honor the flag, but those aren't there to override common sense and safety. While it is a great thing to lay down your life for your country, it's something else entirely to die trying to climb a ladder in an ice storm to get the flag down.

In fact it's rather embarrassing.

The proper thing to do is to wait until it is safe to get the flag and then if it is as ripped as the story tells us, retire the old flag and replace it with a new one.

We once got ripped by a veteran because we burned our flag. It was back when I was a cub scout. Our flag had been in the back of the truck that was taking it to the awards ceremony (we had a few kids crossing over into full scouts) when the truck got slammed by another truck. The flag was in shambles. Our den leader had us build a fire, play some patriotic music and we stood there at scout attention until it was gone.

Someone took MASSIVE offense to that.

M

[Becks]

Was the flag illuminated, by chance?

[LifeCarnie]

But this wasn't good enough for Mr. Patriotic.

Actually Mr. Overzealous sounds more accurate.

Oscar Wilde made the best statement ever regarding patriotism:

"Patriotism is the belief that your country is better than the rest, due to the simple fact that you were born there."

[LifeCarnie]

Someone took MASSIVE offense to that.

M

Someone needs to do their research than.

The proper way to dispose of a damaged flag is to burn it. Would the complaintee rather the flag be thrown in a dirty, disease infested dumpster?

Anytime a flag touches the ground in the military it's traditional to burn the flag, because a national flag should NEVER touch the ground.

[Andara Bledin]

You're also not allowed to wear a depiction of the flag on your clothing.

I think it's all a mite silly, myself. *shrug*

^-.-^

[sportsmom]

We once got ripped by a veteran because we burned our flag. It was back when I was a cub scout. Our flag had been in the back of the truck that was taking it to the awards ceremony (we had a few kids crossing over into full scouts) when the truck got slammed by another truck. The flag was in shambles. Our den leader had us build a fire, play some patriotic music and we stood there at scout attention until it was gone.

Someone took MASSIVE offense to that.

M

But, you're supposed to burn the flag to dispose of it. Surely a vet would know that? How weird.

Around here the VFW and Boy Scouts collect flags and dispose of them a couple of times a year. They allow businesses and private owners to drop them off at the VFW year-round to be taken care of. Usually they will put an announcement in the paper a couple of weeks beforehand, also, just to remind people.