Biz incorrectly displays US flag, citizen fixes problem

A news crew goes to investigate reports of a local business flying the Mexican Flag above the US flag.
While they are taping, a local citizen takes matters into his own hands.

News 4 Reno

I hope the guy who took it down doesn't get charged. Somehow, I doubt it.

Personally, I think it was a dumb mistake on the part of the business owner and I doubt he will do it again.

All too often we Americans desecrate the flag without realizing it by letting flags fly until they are so dirty the colors are obscured or they are little more than ribbons.

It would be nice if we as Americans could be more knowledgeable of flag etiquette and show more respect for Old Glory.

Grady

His actions were spawned by an ICE raid that took place late last week.
11 local McDonalds were raided (all owned by the same guy). Somewhere between 40 and 50 were detained. a few were deported. Most were released.

A lot of people are upset at the local media, for portraying illegal immigrants as "victims" instead of the lawbreakers that they are.

This is one mans way of showing his frustration.

He is getting huge amounts of support for doing this. Though you would not know it by media reports.


I should have added:
The Ice Raids stemmed from a 5 month investigation into identity theft by
some of the McDonalds workers.

The whole thing is still playing itself out.

[edit on 2-10-2007 by spacedoubt]

Okay.

He was showing support for the illegals who were caught in the recent raid, so it was a deliberate slap in the face of American law and sovereignty.



[edit on 2007/10/2 by GradyPhilpott]

I'm glad the guy who took down the flag did so.

I agree, this person was most likely trying to make some statement against the U.S. because of the immigration raids. It would be illegal for him to fly the American flag above the Mexican flag too, if you fly another flag alongside the American flag, they must be on separate poles at equal heights with the American flag preferably to the rightmost position as determined by heraldic guidelines, unless the U.S. is at a state of war with the other country (which in that case I don't know why you'd want to fly their flag at all ).

edit to add, of course if you're talking about a foreign country flying the US flag alongside its own, the host country's flag should be to the right of the American flag.

[edit on 10/2/2007 by djohnsto77]

Over the years, I have frequently been surprised at how little people know about Flag Etiquette - Standards of Respect

When flown with flags of states, communities, or societies on separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight line, the flag of the United States is always placed in the position of honor - to its own right.
..The other flags may be smaller but none may be larger.
..No other flag ever should be placed above it.
..The flag of the United States is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered. SOURCE

As a young boy, attending school in Detroit, we were taught about the Stars and Stripes, what it stood for and how to show our respect for this great symbol the United States of America.

This thread might be an excellent opportunity for people to familiarize themselves about flag etiquette. That said, I can sympathize with the owner of the business for flying the Mexican Flag above the U.S. flag. The irony of using the U.S. flag as a vehicle for free expression of his concern over illegal immigrant is most poignant.

Yeah, today in school we are hardly thought anything about our history or the flag, Constitution, etc. What we get instead is a mix of myth/propaganda and a bit of America is evil blah blah blah.

Posted video on youtube here:



There have been other cases in the US where other flags were flown above the stars and stripes, one in Maywood (sp) CA, not sure what happened in that case, but its clear in this case what happened lol.

Kudos to the brave american vet Jim Broussard!

Also the interview just in here with Jim Broussard:



[edit on 10/3/2007 by greatlakes]

Ah you boys and girls are going to love this. It seems the ACLU considers flying th flag anyway you want falls under the first amendment and there is nothing according to them that anyone can do about it according to them.



Now the question is since when are laws advisery?????

Originally posted by shots
Ah you boys and girls are going to love this. It seems the ACLU considers flying th flag anyway you want falls under the first amendment and there is nothing according to them that anyone can do about it according to them.

Well, you have to admit that when it's legal to desecrate the flag having laws that make it illegal to fly the flag inappropriately are pretty meaningless.

I guess the ACLU and the Supreme Court have rendered Old Glory inconsequential.


[edit on 2007/10/3 by GradyPhilpott]

I applaud this man. Good for him for STANDING up to the disrespect that has fallen on this country. You don’t fly a Mexican flag over an American flag in the United States! How disrespectful is that.

Flag Code Violations in the News

Reno, Nevada, October 2, 2007, the flagpole at a local bar displayed the Mexican flag above the US flag on the same flagpole. Section 7g reads, "When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace."
Link

Being a Veteran myself, I can surely sympathize with the feelings this Veteran must have had on seeing the US flag being flown under the Mexican flag. I don't think Veterans are any more special than non-Veterans, we all were taught in school and possibly at home while growing up about the US flag and what it represents. A lot of kids in school and even adults later on do not seem to respect the US flag, or care what it represents. However many do.

To a Veteran though, the US flag has a special meaning. Among other things, the US flag represents the freedoms that we all in the US have, the Veterans who have fought for those freedoms, and the Veterans who have died while fighting for those freedoms. While in basic training, Veterans have learned even more about the US flag, more than they learned while growing up. As we marched along, every unit had a guide-on that carried the US flag. In battle, the US flag is carried. It not only represents our freedoms, it represents each American back home, being fought for, and what we in America believe in and stand for.

I could go on and on... Personally, whenever I see the US flag flying, I get a lump in my throat, and the old feelings of being proud to be an American rushes over me again. Takes me back to the days I was in the Marine Corps. That was like, a hundred years ago, in the days of "the old Corps", when the only females who joined the males overseas during war were nurses, etc. Being female in the military then, meant replacing the male soldiers who went off to war, in the computer room etc, on base. However, I knew many male soldiers who died during the Vietnam War. I still think of them when I see the US flag.

So I totally get where this Veteran was coming from in being angry and offended at the audacity of the biz who flew the Mexican flag higher than the US flag. That IS taking a major slap at America, and this Veteran wasn't going to stand by and watch that happen. We learned wayyyy back in boot camp that to do so is nothing short of treason. So I don't blame him one bit for what he did. I only wish I could have been there to see it happen, and either help or cheer him on!

Am not sure tho that I would have done exactly what this Veteran did. I did not like the way he wadded up the US flag after he cut it down, he could have folded it up carefully. Am thinking I would have cut down the Mexican flag instead. At any rate, I would not have thrown the Mexican flag onto the ground. Just because the owners of that biz had audacity and were being (in my opinion) disrespectful of the US flag by flying it lower in our own country -- that doesn't justify anyone being disrespectful of their flag in return. It's ok for them to fly the Mexican flag, maybe they just didn't know the correct way to fly the two flags together. (They really *should have* checked with someone in the know, in that case tho.) The way they were flying the flags together leads me to think they knew exactly what they were doing tho. I still would have tried handling the situation by pointing out to the owners of the biz the correct way to fly the two flags together, and if my suggestions went unheeded, (maybe the Veteran DID try to tell them first?), then I would have cut down the Mexican flag, and left ours flying high.

NOMW

[edit on 10/3/2007 by NotOnMyWatch]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott


I guess the ACLU and the Supreme Court have rendered Old Glory inconsequential.

Do you really think so? The ACLU for sure but I am not sure about SCOTUS. I honestly think the ACLU is trying to throw a spin on this that is not there. If it goes to court since there are in fact laws and a law is a law, there is no such thing as an advisory law I truly think they would loose.



[edit on 10/4/2007 by shots]

reply to post by shots



Well, there is such a thing as judicial law and precedence, speaking as a layman.

If the Supreme Court has ruled that you can burn a flag and it's free expression, what could be worse?

Flying the flag inappropriately?

Compared to burning something inappropriate display is nothing.

So, if the ACLU takes this case to the Supreme Court, what's the Supreme Court going to say?

Whoops! We made a mistake?

I don't think so.


[edit on 2007/10/4 by GradyPhilpott]

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


I understand where are coming from at that time there was never any law stating one could not burn a flag which is a big differance, because that is not the case here there are laws in place that state how it should be flown

What do you think any cop would tell you if you said the law was advisory? They would LTAO all th way to the hooscow with you in da paddy wagon.



[edit on 10/4/2007 by shots]

reply to post by shots


The SCOTUS decision regarding burning the flag was the result of challenges to local laws against desecrating the flag, as well as the Federal Flag Protection Act of 1989.

...[T]he Court addressed the highly emotional issue of flag burning. In Texas vs Johnson, it reversed Gregory Johnson's conviction for burning an American flag during the 1984 Republican National Convention. The Court concluded that the flag burning was "speech" and again determined that the flag desecration statute was aimed at the communicative impact of Johnson's message. The Court noted, however, that speech-neutral laws, such as those applicable to public burning generally, might be constitutionally applied against flag burners. The next term the Court again confronted the flag burning issue, this time to consider the constitutionality of the , passed by a Congress unhappy with the Court's decision in Johnson. The Court again ruled for the protester, a man who set fire to a flag on the steps of the U. S. Capitol, finding that the act was an attempt to suppress unpopular speech. The Court's decisions in the flag burning cases has led to numerous attempts to pass a constitutional amendment authorizing punishment of flag burning and mutilation, but so far the proposed amendment has fallen short of the two-thirds support necessary in the Senate.

www.law.umkc.edu...

[edit on 2007/10/4 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott


The SCOTUS decision regarding burning the flag was the result of challenges to local laws against desecrating the flag, as well as the Federal Flag Protection Act of 1989.

True again but right back at you that was regarding burning of the flag not the way it was flown It is a real fine line and you may well be right I am simply argueing the point that no law is advisory in nature.



[edit on 10/4/2007 by shots]