Firefighters Ordered to Remove American Flags From Their Trucks

reply to post by phantomjack


Thanks for posting the contact info phantomjack, this is a load of rubbish. If anything they should make soldiers remove them for we wouldn't want to offend anyone in Iraq or Afghanistan.

WOW I can't believe this thread. Some people are absolutely ridiculous! Flags on fire trucks are like fire trucks supposing to be red, not friggen political agenda. When my kids look at a fire truck and see old glory waving, they have never asked about the fireman unions political leanings! Dont get me wrong I hate my government, but I LOVE my country.

reply to post by phantomjack

Have a Fire? Call Castro. Maybe he can help!

What? Put out fires with the Cuban flag?

Putting out fires has little to do with being American. You want to fly a bit of colored cloth that proves your loyalty to an ideal? Fine.

I don't care about that any more than I care what kind of meat you barbecue or beer you drink. You have every right to do that in your yard.

My idea of America says that you have to respect my right to not worship a bit of colored cloth.

Who originally invented the idea of a flag anyway?

Originally posted by Maxatoria
Come to the UK and theres a 100 jobsworths who wont let you fly the flag for fear of causing tension but will allow everyone else to walk around with theirs merrily

Othery who are not in the job. While they have no right to fly a flag on a truck I dont see the big issue if they do.

reply to post by phantomjack


Thank you and I agree with you....someone is covering their posterior region and expecting us to fall for it. Glad I sent letters, which were respectful, just in case.

Originally posted by PulsusHilarisCaro

Originally posted by phantomjack

So that flag, which MILLIONS have died defending, is "Silly?"

I'd say more like tragically stupid. "Die for a flag", give me a break.

Well, I went to star your post but apparantly it is unstarable so I'll just do the next best thing.


STAR

I sure as hell hope no one ever actually DIED for a god damned flag.
If my sons ever joined the military and went overseas and DIED defending a F ing FLAG I would be pissed.
I have taught my boys better than that. We don't DIE for inanimate material objects in my house.
Nor do we die for symbols.

Now dying for freedom,democracy,liberty,country,god, etc....these are what I will die for.
You go and die for a god damned flag if it puts a smile on your face, not me.

Originally posted by phantomjack

Originally posted by pwndnewb
Wow. So much ado about a flag.

I was intrigued by this. Upon looking, I found out that there is US code regarding the flag. www.usflag.org...

Previous to Flag Day, June 14, 1923 there were no federal or state regulations governing display of the United States Flag. It was on this date that the National Flag Code was adopted by the National Flag Conference which was attended by representatives of the Army and Navy which had evolved their own procedures, and some 66 other national groups. This purpose of providing guidance based on the Army and Navy procedures relating to display and associated questions about the U. S. Flag was adopted by all organizations in attendance.

This code is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes. It does not impose penalties for misuse of the United States Flag. That is left to the states and to the federal government for the District of Columbia. Each state has its own flag law.

§175. Position and manner of display
(b) The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When the flag is displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.

§176. Respect for flag
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.

The OP's link doesn't state how the Fire Department was displaying the flag on the vehicle. Perhaps the flag was attatched to the back of the vehicle with no staff. If so, then it appears that it may have been inappropriately displayed.

Come on. Do you really believe this is about a CODE issue? Or do you think that the fire chief knows he screwed up and is using the CODE as cover?

I only wish it were that simple, but I think it goes far beyond CODE.

I don't know. I framed my response by looking into what is the appropriate way to display the stars and stripes. I found information and posted it. One of the statements in the OP's article was that the flags were taken down because there were complaints about "inappropriate display". As the OP's linked article had no information about the way the flag was being displayed. I didn't jump to any certain conclusion such as the fire chief was a liar and this was about the fire department being "anti-american". I felt that I brought to light a possibility based on what the article actually said. Nothing else. After the fact, a resident where this story has taken place stated that it was in fact a code violation (of the safety code and the flag code) and that they were working on a solution that afforded proper display.

Seems pretty simple to me.

LMAO this thread wow.

What exactly inthe article gave you the impression they decided on this because of anti americans?
It seemed to me it was americans that are to patriotic about the flag.

But hey lets jump on the bandwagon and use this headline as a tool to show how easy it is to manipulate ignorant people on ATS

I think this is more of a case of horrible bureaucracy

Originally posted by earthdude

Originally posted by phantomjack

Originally posted by earthdude
The flags, they clutter up everything. We really don't need them on everything. It has nothing to do with nationalism when you get rid of a few. I can see them on international vehicles, but putting them on all the vehicles is just silly.

So that flag, which MILLIONS have died defending, is "Silly?"

Oh my.

Misquoting is the tool of the weak minded. Put flags on your garbage cans for all I care. Just don't plaster them all over our vehicles. Yeah, they look good on international vehicles, but here they just look like redneck flag waiving. My plumber has them. The practice is silly, it degrades the flag.

I dont see that it does. I've served, My brother has served, my grandfather has served....

To me, ANY display of the american flag shows me that you have at least an understanding of freedom and why the flag represents it. Your definition may not be the same as mine, but to each his own in patriotism. No one can say what a person feels is or is not patriotism but that person themselves. So let it be, I say. If they wanted to make uniforms out of the flag itself, it wouldnt bother me one damn bit. If they used it as a loin cloth.. well, thats a diffrent story.

I think people get way too bent out of shape over BS nothings. People just want to feel self important and complain so they can feel that they did something to justify their stupid broken lives.

Pretty pathetic if you ask me. If you are a public service, like Army, Navy, Marines, Firefighter, Ambulance.. It's all the same to me. You're serving the country for the greater good. I dont care if you hang the flag from your pecker... You're still hanging it to display where others can see that this country is STILL loved from WITHIN.

Having a limo with another countries flag on it... Now.. that pisses me off. If you cant visit under my/our standard, you dont need to visit at all. All that says to me is.. "Im from another country, and I'm bringing my immunity with me so I can do whatever I want on your soil, even though you cannot".

So yeah... Those guys can piss off.

Everything else is just someone trying to be heard in their 15 minutes of fame. That's all.

reply to post by intrptr

My idea of America says that you have to respect my right to not worship a bit of colored cloth.

No one is shoving that in anyone's face. Being a flag barrer has nothing to do with the person next door. If John Doe painted his whole house red right and blue with stars all over the parking lot, flags from mailboxes and fluttering from the gullys along his rain drains, it shouldnt matter one iota to the person next to him. If his house is super bright purple, it shouldnt make a diffrence to anyone but the person doing it.

I mean... If Jimmy the Rev Alien was passing by and hit an asteroid because the flag was reflecting the sun and he couldnt see where he was going... Well, even that's an insurance claim, but I would at least have some sympathy for the lil guy.

The flag is a standard used since the beginning of time to, I'm guessing, help soldiers on either side understand who they're fighting, a way to keep order in regiments, pride and a badge of location, ownership if you will. Its always been. Cavemen probably had diffrent color markings on their faces or clothes to determin clan ownership. At some point, it became a flag. Today, gangs do the same thing with colors, hats and bandanas.

I really cant get over this animosity towards "everyone else". How does a people get by, get ahead, by restricting and complaining about everything another person does.... What ever happen to self awareness? Why are we always so focused on everything else? Is this so we dont notice our own stupidity and lack of morals?

Me thinks so.

Originally posted by phantomjack
I am not sure how much I can take.

A Seminole County Fire station has been ordered by city government to remove the American Flag from their trucks.

I'm not sure which I find more obnoxious, to be honest. The Marxist political correctness brigade, who insist on having the flags removed on the one hand; or the brainwashed, militant, patriarchic fascists who ascribe infinitely more importance to a piece of cloth (which generally speaking, isn't even manufactured domestically) than what it deserves.

The government needs to get over itself, but so do you.

Originally posted by drwizardphd
I live in Seminole County Florida, and I'm sorry to rain on this thread, but the article is mostly bunk.

Seminole County Fire Department - American Flags on Fire Engines

Posted on: 7/16/2012


Sanford, FL - Seminole County Fire Department has received multiple calls regarding the recent news story aired about the City of Seminole Fire Rescue in Pinellas County not allowing the American flag to be displayed on their fire engines.

Seminole County Fire Department does allow the flag to be displayed on our units.

For current information about their policy, please contact the City of Seminole Fire Rescue located in Pinellas County.

Source


Local coverage has been all over this, the issue was that the flags were in the vehicle's windows, which was against code:

SEMINOLE --

Horns were honking for red, white and blue Sunday, as protesters lined the road near the Seminole Fire Department after being told firefighters had to remove small American flags that were flying from fire engine windows.

The order to remove the flags came from Seminole Fire Chief George Bessler after the department received a complaint from a community member about flag placement.

City officials referred to U.S. Code Title 36 Chapter 10, section 175 that states hanging flags out windows is a violation. When the flag is displayed on a motorcar, the code states the staff has to be fixed to the chassis or the right fender.

Source



The firefighters are still allowed to put flags on their trucks, they just can't be in the windows where they could potentially obstruct the view and interfere with proper operation of the vehicle.

Seminole county did not give in to "anti-American interests" as the OP's article seems to imply. It was a simple matter of safety.


I expect better from ATS, but I'm not really sure why anymore.

Lol this was on page 2 and you guys are still ranting and raving over nothing 3 pages later! How utterly amusing!

reply to post by phantomjack

This just simply goes beyond reason. The inmates ARE running the asylum.

They've been running the Asylum for the last 100 years mate. Probably won't be long before we have blue helmets telling everyone what to do. U.N. practically owns U.S. sovereignty now. They'll be shelling out those mandatory RFID implants before long, bag 'em and tag 'em. That's going to be fun too because then you have no privacy and they will find you anywhere via GPS.

Originally posted by PulsusHilarisCaro

Originally posted by pwndnewb

And yes, I have friends and family that have served and defended this country of which that "cloth" as you so elegantly put it is a symbol thereof. I appreciate your right to disagree with other posters and voice an opinion (the right defended and made possible through the sacrifices by those you are seeming to call idiots). I don't appreciate your calling my family or friends idiots. It is downright rude. You can make your point without that.

Thanks but I'll make my points using the correct terminology as I please and if it ruffles useful idiot's feathers, then so what. Useful idiots "will always be among us" so sayeth Jesus H. Christ.

I see you are making friends fast.....

it really is disturbing how stories like this and many others are posted based on a sensationalized headline and then when it comes to light that the story is not what it seems people simply don't care and continue to rant and rave about the original misinformation given. this has happened countless times on here and it seems that it will never stop because people feel the need to blow off steam toward whatever the story is highlighting. i guess it shows just how far humans still have to go.

This makes no sense. People who live in America with anti-American sentiments, and we have to be sensitive to their anti-American feelings? Seriously?

reply to post by phantomjack


There is such a thing as what is called the flag code. It is a list of quite complex procedures on the proper way to display the flag.

It could easily be argued that it is disrespectful to the flag to be flown in certain ways. For instance, the flag is not mean to be used as an article of clothing. I don't believe even that the President follows the flag code, though, because all those tiny flags they put on the cars, those I believe are in violation of the code. Those tiny label pins are also in violation.

It's pretty interesting to look at the flag code guidelines. But then again, it just makes you aware of how people trash the standards meant to show respect. BUT, anyway, those were probably just United States (military) flags anyway, and not American flags (whatever those are).

reply to post by Yetichi


You basicly said exactly what the person 3 posts above you said... So, what you're saying is... You do exactly as the rest you've just called out...

Priceless!


My responce as well as the responces of many, even 5 pages later, still apply. It goes beyond "the proper display". Actually read the posts and responces as the responders have, and perhaps you too will see more than just the "proper display". I think for the most part, people arent even looking at that as the issue.


So.... when in rome?

If you're going to bitch about it, make sure you're not doing something akin to what you're complaining about yourself. That's not being a good boy. Play nice! Play fair.

Originally posted by phantomjack
So that flag, which MILLIONS have died defending, is "Silly?"

Oh my.

You must be willing to desecrate and even throw out your own flag to be comptent to actually defend what it stands for.

Namaste.

I want to scream.

W.T.F.

I don't want to be a part of this country anymore. I want the old one back. If someone offered a viable means to getting it all back I would join them. I would risk it all if it meant we could have our F-ing country back.

I hate our leadership.....yes I understand the full extent of the word.....I HATE THEM. I have no shame in saying that.

I am now anti American....the current America.....

I hate our entire government with only a handful of exceptions. I wish they would get a degenerative disease and die slowly and painfully as their flesh rots inside them until maggots pour out of their living mouths. I could go on but this is really starting to get unbearable.

Lets fly the UN banner and a EU flag underneath with the motto, WE ARE SOOOO SORRY.




EDIT:

Ah, feel better but not good. A rant will not cut it anymore.....this is getting bad. we are screwed people. BAD.