Waving The Flag Or Wearing A Pin Does NOT A Patriot Make. So Sick Of All This Flag Crap.

[TheMastersNemesis]

As I drive around I see the most hateful, racist, bigoted and ignorance people flying the American flag from their car. I also see "don't tread on me" stickers on the same vehicles as well. I even have seen big butt trucks with 3x5 flags flying.

I will bet nary a one of these assholes has ever served in the military or would ever serve in a combat unit to save anything. That is one reason why I never fly the flag. It has become such a phony gesture.

What really pissed me off royally during the last Colorado recall was all the American flags the recallers had. One weekend there were scores of "Don"t tread on me" flags of many versions being flown at one signature site. They were all a bunch of haters, racists and bigots.

I ended up having to rescue a dog about to get hit by a car while two of the bastards just looked on like monkeys. What made matter worse they called the police at every opportunity for any perceived violation of the law. In one case they actually made the police give an 86 year old lady a ticket because she sat in a chair on the sidewalk with her anti recall protest sign.

I have no use for these assholes and really have not desire to help any of them in an emergency. I know some here think that is terrible, but they won't help anyone. Why should I.

[katmondoo]

1. I hate the Flag lapel pins

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Traveling around Europe, the ONLY place you see flags is on buildings

None of this jingoism and crap.

[sabrina 1]

47. They have a better understanding of the dangers of 'patriotic jingoism'.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. I'm pretty sure driving a pickup truck with

A huge ripped up from the wind flag and a bunch of in your face right wing bumper stickers does.

[dionysus]

41. when iraq was just getting going, i saw this dude who had cut the top off of a full sized flag

pole and welded it into his flatbed. the flag was 3 x 5 at least. And like you said, a flag isn't meant to be in the back of a car driving highway speeds, so that sucker was ripped to shreds... I laughed my ass off

[DirkGently]

4. Sadly, waving our flag has become a code

for regressive values. It's a way of claiming a vision of "America" that never really existed, and never should.

[Euphoria]

5. perfectly stated

Sad, isn't it?

[Vashta Nerada]

6. It's annoying.

I also hate the flag lapel pins.

[Owl]

7. No need to have been in the military to wave the flag. That said, waving the flag

does not in itself alone make oneself a patriot.

[TheMastersNemesis]

14. My Point Was The Most Fervent Flag Wavers Often Would Never Themselves Serve.

It is not that you have to be in the military to wave the flag. You serve the country and not the flag when you serve. The same fools so ardently waving the flag are the most enthusiastic about sending someone into battles they would not themselves fight.

[Laxman]

8. Patriotism Is The Last Refuge...

In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit it is the first. -Ambrose Bierce

[MADem]

9. At least those "Made In China" Yellow Ribbon Magnets have finally gone out of fashion! nt

[Fawke Em]

42. Not really.

They just finally faded so badly that they've blended in with the car paint.

[3catwoman3]

10. Some years ago,...

... I heard a caller to a talk radio show offer some interesting information about what is done with old flags in the British Navy. According to this caller, old flags were cut into rags that were then used to polish the brass on the ships. This was done to remind everyone that they were serving the country of which the flag was a symbol rather than serving the flag itself. The show host responded, appreciatively, "What an eloquent way to make a point.."

[KauaiK]

11. "When Fascism Comes to America...

it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross". Sinclair Lewis

[RKP5637]

30. Yep, exactly what we are seeing. They have taken religion and

the flag and turned it into a crusade against democracy and freedom.

[dembotoz]

12. i remember the movie the 10 commandments and the golden calf thing

don't see much dif

[Jenoch]

13. I am annoyed at all of the products out there

that use the American flag against flag code.

I don't think there should be clothing, paper plates, napkins, etc. made to look like the stars and stripes. Also, people have the flag flying 24/7 in all kinds of weather and without it being lit. It would show a lot more patriotism of they raised and lowered the flag daily, but they are too lazy for that.

As I understand it, the only way the American flag should be used with clothing is as a patch on the shoulder of a uniform.

[Mira]

15. I hate that in essence those people stole my flag n/t

[rustydog]

16. George Carlin said it best:

The flag is a symbol... He'll leave symbols to the "symbol-minded"

[CFLDem]

17. Lol

[hobbit709]

18. This is never outdated.

[Throd]

19. Republicans don't own the flag. Fuck that. I fly mine every day that isn't raining.

[NM_Birder]

20. Your post is at best dissapointing.

How dare you claim to have the insight to know what kind of "hateful, racist, bigoted" people fly the American flag from their cars, or who may or may not have served, and in what capacity ?

The reason YOU don't fly a flag are your own, what a horrible, narrow-mind ignorant thing to assume.

Just because YOU don't respect the flag, you don't fly a flag, and can't understand why other do, doesn't mean you understand a damn thing about other people.

You last line says everything I need to know about you feel toward your fellow man. The only THRUTH to your post is that you gave off an incredibly resentful, hateful, self satisfying bowl of bullshit.

[Jazzgirl]

21. Touch a nerve?

nt

[TheMastersNemesis]

22. Obviously A Super RW Flag Waver. I Served The Country In Vietnam Not The Flag.

It is only a symbol the GOP uses to bait people now.

[NM_Birder]

25. You should read my post as well, actually you NEED to read it.

You are too anxious, and have no comprehension of the flags purpose, relevancy and meaning to others.

But I'll bet your thread made you feel better.
BZ

[NoGOPZone]

23. .

[NM_Birder]

24. Sure, want to see how ? I'll give you an example.

Here is what projection looks like. This is just an example, so try not to freak out.

be like me saying..." I know what kind of person you are based on the way you responded, especially with that clever n/t inside the message box. Displaying this level of transparency in tying to imply that I am the type of person you obviously love to make yourself feel superior in comparison with, is at best pathetic. Agreeing with a childish, self centered display of ignorance for the sole purpose of obtaining a desperately needed pat on the back, simply to feel like your personal revelations, although largely ignored, have merit,..is sad, ....although not uncommon among the desperate." See how unfair that was for me to say ? Having no knowledge of who or what you really are, I just judged and juried you without any knowledge OF you. How progressive huh ?

See how much fun judging people is ? Add in some name calling and a few " I'm so fucking tired of THOSE people" and you might understand why I have a problem with this type of "honesty" from anybody......progressive or not.

maybe you won't, maybe you will just alert on me and put this in your "troll hunting archive". I hope you learned something.

[hobbit709]

32. 44 years ago I swore an oath to defend The Constitution and The United States.

I don't remember the flag being anywhere in there.

[NM_Birder]

34. Do you believe and honor that oath you took ?

If you do, then you know what role the flag has,..... if you don't ,..then ...well you know.
I seriously doubt you understand what role the flag symbolizes.

Don't waste your time with the description of all the experiences you've had, etc etc...... credibility is also something that has a role. I'm not going to read them nor respond.
BZ.............

[hobbit709]

44. The flag is not a mystical object.

You might want to look up what countries considered their flag a sacred object.

[NM_Birder]

46. lol,....that was weak,...............

Why don't you tell me which countries considered a flag a mystical object ? or have you lost your nerve to call me a Nazi ? I'm sure the irony of this passed right by you.

The flag of the United States, has symbolic value, ......and holds, represents and signifies more than the fibers that make it tangible. I believe in what the flag represents. It's past, present and future symbolic value,... to me is more than the item itself.

The way you casually almost playfully toss away any weight the flag's value has tells me all I need to know about your oath taking, the way you dance around what you mean to say tells me you lack the courage to voice your thoughts directly.

Someday, when you believe in something enough and have a conviction strong enough to last a lifetime, you'll understand what I mean. Without conviction, nothing has value.......it's all just BS rhetoric ...available ammo for a popularity contest in one form or another.

[hobbit709]

48. And your response tells me a lot too.

[NM_Birder]

50. and ?

Be courageous enough just once, show your conviction to the irrelevancy of the flag. Call me what you are implied. Say something that has the merit and weight of anything you actually believe.

believe in what you are saying, ..... enough to say it. Outside of family, there are no points awarded for "perceived understanding".

If you are not able to be open and honest about what you believe on an internet message board, how do you do it with real people ?

[DetlefK]

26. Waving a Bible and praying aloud in public makes you a Christian.

It's not about knowing or doing what Jesus Christ said, it's the thought that counts.

[Whiskeytide]

27. A lot of people fly or display the flag...

... for a lot of different reasons. I have never had a problem with it. Some, I suppose, are as you describe, but so what? If they want to fly it, ,more power to them. Maybe if more people took more pride in and showed more respect for the flag and other symbols of this country, less would be done to sully her image in the world. As usual, we got bigger problems. JMO.

[Orsino]

36. I would only bust on those who hide hate behind their flags, I hope.

Without much love for the symbol, though, I too find it tempting to see its display as mere jingoism, and that is clearly wrong. The flag also displayed by good-hearted folks who want it to stand for better things than our history usually suggests--not with empty-headed pride, but with hope.

[Whiskeytide]

38. Well said. n/t.

[Niceguy1]

28. I have never been one to prejudge

entire group of people

[oldhippie]

43. Isn't here a name for that?

[LanternWaste]

49. Demography.

"Isn't here (sic) a name for that?"

Demography may be accurate in some cases. Other words, I imagine, in other cases.

[RKP5637]

29. Sadly, when I see the flag today I think of bigots and assholes, basically

regressive hypocritical scum trashing the American flag and what it once stood for. They stand for what this country fought against. And, quite often when I see the flag today it's displayed with really obnoxious backward creeps.

[catbyte]

31. I remember back in 2008 when protobaggers attempted to paint Obama as unpatriotic,

un-American, and just downright "not one of us" because he refused to wear a flag pin. I'm sorry he capitulated to them because NOTHING he could ever do will satisfy those POS bigots.

[madamesilverspurs]

33. It's such a shame

that the flag has been so politically misused. The asinine dustups over lapel pins (made in China, no less) provided ample disgusting examples. The flag has been reduced to an advertising device meant to suggest legitimacy of words and concepts that have no correspondence with genuine national values.

There are moments when I entertain the idea of a bumpersticker that reads: My multiple flags make me Americanier than you!

That said, I also get the squicks with the array of starched flags that have become the routine backdrop for any politico's speech. Overkill. And ick.

[Inkfreak]

35. I display a flag my mother gave me.

It was her twin brothers. He died while in the service. It means a lot to me. I don't get worked up about others displays of the flag. I get your point. It seems like a "my patriotism is stronger" game with some. But it doesn't bother me.

[Iggo]

37. Ach! Flag worshippers.

[sammythecat]

39. If I had to sit next to someone on a 2 day bus trip

I'd try real hard to avoid someone making a point of displaying the flag (lapel, suitcase, whatever).

Unless it was upside down. Then we might have something in common.

[Glassunion]

40. So... Why don't you fly the flag?

That way, when someone sees it, they will say that they are "so pleased with all of this flag flying." As they drive around they will see the most loving, tolerant, moderate and smart people flying the American flag. They will also see "Coexist" stickers on the same vehicles.

They will bet nary a one of you has no problems with those who serve or have served, or maybe even served themselves in combat. They may see it as a sincere gesture.

What may really impress them, is that they will not see it being used as a political gesture to imply a purity test for patriotism. It may be seen as something proudly displayed by by loving, tolerant, and welcoming people.

They will see your gestures of community and know that there is a person of integrity to be called upon in a time of need. To be an inspiration to serve and help your fellow community.

There is a little old man across the street from me. I think he is retired, as he never really goes anywhere. We do have a similar schedule, where I head out to work at the same time every single morning, and he is out in his yard putting his flag up. We wave to each other and go on about our day. I can tell if I am running late as the flag will already be up when I head out. Every evening, he takes it down. If there was a hateful, or racist bone in his body, I doubt he would wave to me.

You can associate whatever you want to the American flag. That said, the American flag does not equal racism, hate or bigotry. Those are your projections.

[WatermelonRat]

45. That idiots use the flag doesn't make flying one inherently bad.

I personally would rather not cede the nation's flag to such people. In doing that, you're allowing them to attach their ideology to the flag unchallenged.

[Swede Atlanta]

51. It probably isn't fair to paint the flag enamored crowd with the same paintbrush.....

Different people view and use the flag for many different reasons.

For my father, a WWII vet, flying the flag was not so much a way of honoring this country but a way for him to remember and honor friends he lost in that terrible war and to remember and honor all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country or those who come home broken men and women.

But there is definitely a segment of the population that believes flying the flag or wearing it or whatever makes them patriotic and better than others.

I have two neighbors who share that view. After 9-11 they would have had flags flying from every corner of their home if it had been allowed by the HOA. They had more flag pins on their clothing and flags flying every which way on their car including the yellow ribbon decal We Support Our Troops.

But when you later asked them if Iraq was a mistake they said no. When confronted with the fact we went to war based on very faulty intelligence at best they just mumbled how great America was for whooping them XXXXXXXs asses!

When asked if we shouldn't have paid for our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq by increasing taxes they said no they paid enough in taxes. Mind you one of these couples is retired. He was on SSDI already at age 57. They constantly rail against "welfare" and hate the ACA even though they are on socialized Medicare.

They claim that only the GOP have the "right" to wear the flag because anyone who isn't a puke is obviously a traitor to the country.

Not to mention all of their Bible thumping.

I'm sure these are the ones the OP is describing. I am as well incensed by these individuals because of their blatant hypocrisy and narcissism. They claim to love this country but demonstrate little actions to warrant that claim.

I for one learned at an early age to be very skeptical of "the flag". It is a man-made expression of a nation, nothing more. I respect the men and women who bravely fight to protect this nation. I respect those who fly and display the flag out of genuine love for this country. I chose to do none of those things because I do not believe in idols. As a Lutheran we eschew idolatry and it was one of Luther's greatest criticisms of the Catholic Church. I think it was that upbringing that led me to conclude that for me the flag had the prospect of becoming an idol rather than just a symbol of my country.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

52. "Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's brains

"Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead." Arundhati Roy