Do You Display An American Flag On Your Home?

[arwalden]

Poll question: Do You Display An American Flag On Your Home?

If you answer "NO", is it because you don't own a flag... or because you choose not to put your flag out?

If you answer "YES", do you fly it ALL THE TIME 24-7-365? Or just on holidays and other special days?

Where else do you display an American flag? Car? Boat? Lapel? Desktop?

-- Allen

[arwalden]

1. Have Repukes "Hijacked" The American Flag?

I ought to be ashamed. Why do I get the feeling that the American flag has been freeped?

Every time I see it displayed on a car or on a house, I think to myself "there's another freeper" or "there's a repuke".

It's only a CONSCIOUS AFTERTHOUGHT where I consider that perhaps they are just patriotic Americans who might also be Democrats.

-- Allen

[Aristus]

2. No. I've got one, but you're right. The reich-wingers have freeped

the flag. I don't want to goosestep to that particular marching tune. I gave mine to my step-son and he displays it on the wall of his room.

[nono]

16. Same here

I don not want anyone to think I support bush.

[leftynyc]

51. I have it up in my bedroom window

I've had it there since 9/12/01. I don't care what the neighbors think. Anyone who knows me well knows I have nothing but disdain for the freeper types.

[Gman]

3. Don't want the neighbors to think there's a freeper living in my house

so hell no.

[Guaranteed]

9. See that's the problem.

That's what people mean when they say Republicans have hijacked the flag. We gotta lay our claim to it, let em know we're just as patriotic, in fact more patriotic, than those assholes. You just gotta find a way to show people that you display the flag but you disagree with the Repukes at the same time.

Edited for typo.

[arwalden]

22. How?

[Guaranteed]

27. Just put up the flag

and tell everybody how ya feel about those asshole Republicans!
If all the Dems start doing it, the idea that only Republicans display the flag will go away.

[rasputin1952]

49. That's basically what I do...

Everyone in the neighborhood knows I am a Progressive, I make no bones about my dislike for bushco.

But I fly my flag whenever I feel like it. I take it in during inclement weather, (something the RWnuts around here do NOT do), and I make sure everyone knows of my disdain for false patriotism,
(fake-riots).

One person, at a town meeting, questioned my patriotism when I said I disagreed with the bushites. The next meeting, I took my old uniform with me, draped it over a chair, and put my DD-214 on it. NOBODY questioned my patriotism after that.

The RWnuts think they have a corner on flags and any other symbol of the US, they are wrong. The vast majority of people I served with are Progressives. Those that hang around the VFW talking crap, were all REMF's, (at least the majority of them), and rarely, if ever saw combat.

I do not hold that against them, they served, and should be proud of their service. The people that aggravate me, are the ones that have never servred this country in any capacity, and yet insist on going out and railing for war. I offer them rides to the recruiter of their choice; but I have NEVER had one take me up on it. Chickenhawks disgust me to no end.

:kick: for the flag and all of us!

edited for: spelling

[LSdemocrat]

4. Only on patriotic holidays

Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Flag day.

[WoodrowFan]

5. On Holidays (nt)

[Guaranteed]

6. No, I've got TWO on my car though

right next to my "United For Peace" sticker.

[Love Bug]

7. Yes, on patriotic holidays

[arwalden]

14. Your Way Makes Sense...

... it's being patriotic on a patriotic day. It's not an IN-YOUR-FACE kind of display. It's not like an "AMERICA-LOVE-IT-OR-LEAVE-IT" grotesque oversized magnetic flag on the side of your SUV.

-- Allen

[Love Bug]

50. OT -- I love Norma Shearer!

What a great picture! Did you see "The Women" on TCM Monday night?

[arwalden]

54. I Watch It At Least 3 or 4 Times A Year...

I've got 2 VHS copies and the DVD. (Along with several fan-books and autobiographies of Norma Shearer not to mention a half dozen other Norma Shearer movies.)

I'm always amazed at how "forgotten" she really is and how many people have NO IDEA who she is and who her husband was. But then again... until the other day I had no idea who Beyonce was either. It's an old-geezer thing, I suppose.

-- Allen

[nini]

32. same here...

not all the time - but on 4th of July, Memorial day etc..

[ewagner]

8. American flag = brand name:Republican

A bunch of my neighbors are retired hard-core repubs and put out the American Flag on just about every occassion they can. I was talking in the yard with one of the neighbors who had just put her flag up and she asked if I was going to put up the flag and then interrupted herself and said "...oh that's right, you're a Democrat".

Even if I was thinking of putting one up, that alone would have stopped me.

[bif]

10. Not since the Iraq Invasion.

And I won't until these traitors are out of office.

[stopbush]

52. Ditto

and I flew mine religiously every day for years. I won't fly the flag until bush is gone.

BTW - just for the sake of annoyance, I occasionally wear a lapel pin - - of the French flag!!

[blm]

11. The original American flag....the Gadsden flag

Don't Tread on Me

[Richardo]

12. I fly the flag on national holidays and September 11.

Screw the freeps - it's not theirs and I'm tired of their co-opting it.

Believe me, in Texas it's enough to differentiate me from the freeps - they're the ones who fly the flag every day, unlit at night, and in all weather. In other words, as disrespectfully as possible.

Interesting side note...I just bought a used car that had a flag sticker (in good condition) on the back window. The first thing I did was remove it without really thinking about it. Why?

I guess I'm confident enough of my patriotism that I don't have to reinforce it with ostentatious display.

[arwalden]

18. Removing Stickers... I Did The SAME THING.

... only it was on our new house. The glass in the storm doors had 3x5" American flag stickers.

I removed them on move-in day. Funny thing though... Only AFTER I had removed them did I realize that the sticker on the front door actually BLOCKED the view from the peep-hole. (Now what kind of IDIOT freeper would put a flag sticker in front of his security peep-hole?)

-- Allen

[Richardo]

21. Probably the kind that knew when the doorbell rang it was the pizza guy

...because, you know, who else would visit? :scared:

[T Wolf]

13. No

I have to admit that immediately after September 11, 2001, we did put up a flag quilt. For a brief time, we were all Americans.

But, it came down as soon as it became clear that the flag had been hijacked by a cabal of facist thugs.

Now, whenever I see one, my first thought is that whoever is showing it is a right-wing asshole and I do not want to be mistaken for one.

They have been successful in stealing that symbol.

[Gringo]

15. FLEW ONE UPSIDE-DOWN FOR MONTHS

From the start of the war. Took it down recently as I didn't want to "overdo it"

Can't fly one normally for the time being - it doesn't feel right. I even stopped buying the US Flag postage stamps in favor of the "love" ones.

[arwalden]

20. Remember That Postal Customer Who Was DETAINED By Authorities...

because he/she specifically requested NOT to be sold American flag stamps? (Must be a terrorist, eh?)

I don't buy flag stamps either. I'm working on a roll with antique cars and steam engine trains.

-- Allen

[MaineDem]

17. Not any more

I used to until we invaded Iraq.

I was called unpatriotic for protesting pre-war. All we were asking was to wait for the UN. We were told we had no right to show the American flag with these attitudes (one person with us on the bridge was holding a US flag.)

I want my flag back but right now, to me, it seems like dispaying it without a disclaimer is supporting the Whistle Ass and his policies. It bothers me.

[trof]

19. Told this story before

but not recently, so humor a geezer.

Watched TV and didn't leave the house all day 9/11.
On 9/12, this old bed-wetting commie lefty did NOT go to Wal-Mart and buy a flag. I went to the cedar chest where we store flags (among other things) and got it out and put it on the pole that fits in the holder on the oak tree out front.

Then I went on my usual 3 mile walk through my conservative (mostly) neighborhood. Not another single flag in sight.

A week or so later, when I realized the direction the (mis)administration was taking on the situation, the political windfall they were making out of it, I went out and brought my flag in. Maybe I'll put it back up after the next election.
Maybe.
:-(

[Kolesar]

26. It's a good story

Now, (in my best Mike Wallace/60 minutes voice) would you care to disclose what else you have stored in that cedar chest?

[trof]

33. OK, the inventory:

One Greek flag.
One British flag.
One French flag.
One Netherlands flag.
We have friends from these places and fly their flag when they visit.
One State of Alabama flag(my avatar).
One Condederate flag of state and one battle flag.
(oh hush)
One Japanese battle flag, red sun with rays. It came from a friend who grew up in a Japanese POW camp in what is now Indonesia. It's a long story. The Japanese quit flying it after the war.
Some blankets and sweaters.
Three old family Christmas ornaments that I though we lost in the move.
Half a bag of cat food that looks like it belonged to the cat before last.
A couple of champagne corks that I think Miz t. saved to commemorate some long forgotten ocassion.
A long-dead roach skeleton.
;-)

[Kolesar]

36. Gee, I better clean out my old storage chest soon

There might be some "roaches" in there that I don't remember.

[trof]

43. If you got 'em,

smoke 'em.
;-)

[DianeK]

23. i display 2

my husband is a ham radio operator and has a very tall tower on the side lawn where he flys a flag, we fly one over our doorway, my husband also displays a flag decal on his truck (we are offended by seeing miniature, tattered flags flying from cars)...i also have a dean lawn sign and a patriots for peace sign in my window..they have been able to take most of my rights away, they can not take my flag away

[atreides1]

24. Yes I Have A Flag

And no I do not display it, mainly because it means more to me then it does to the right wing idiots that have made it nothing more then a commercial.

I will not dishonor my flag, or the memory of those that have sacrificed everything for freedom. Something that most Republicans will never understand.

[Blue-Jay]

25. My flag goes back on display

when Bush is out of the White House. Not before.

As much pride as I have in our national symbol, I just can't do it. I don't want anyone to think that I support our administration. We've been boxed into a corner by rabid nationalism, and I want out. I want my flag back.

[ronnykmarshall]

44. Same here.

I used to fly the California flag, but that one won't come out until that asshole Arnold is gone.

So it's back to the rainbow flag for now.

[DianeK]

28. in addition to the 2 flags

i mentioned earlier, i have an american revolution flag flying along with the american flag from the tower...the don't tread on me flag

[el_gato]

29. no, I don't believe in nationalism

it makes no sense to me

[Brucey]

38. Agreed. In addition,

I grew up during the Vietnam war and learned a great distaste for the American flag. When I see it I think of My Lai and similar incidents. I prefer to think of myself as a citizen of the earth and the universe and not be pigeon-holed into support for any one region or group of people.

[Padraig18]

30. On holidays only n/t

[Rowdyboy]

31. Have one but only display occasionally

It came down when the illegal war began.

[cmd]

34. We have flown the flag for years

All the time. It's my flag. I won't take it down. I also will not put up those yellow ribbons that adorn my street.

[Throckmorton]

35. Actually we play Washington's Cruisers Flag,

Better known as the Pine Tree flag. Mrs. Throckmorton made it herself, a regular Betsy Ross she is.

"An Appeal to heaven"

[Kamika]

37. i got the flag as a sticker on my car

And we have the flag up on our boat when we sail

[commander bunnypants]

39. Yes and Proudly

I am a die hard liberal and I still love the flag. And for all those Who think the flag has been freeped, I could not disagree more. I still believe in it and always will!!


DDQM

BTW- Ilive In Freeperville and if anybody asks I will tell them the truth

[AliceWonderland]

40. No

I dislike flags and the things they're used for.

[tom_paine]

41. I REFUSE to surrender my flag to Busheviks.

THEY should design a New Flag for their Bushevik Empire, that is more consistent with Bushevik Values.

I see a flag with lots of Red, White and BLACK.

Yes, I fly my flag all the time (at half-staff) in honor of the Old American Republic and my ferverent wish that it should rise from the dead.

I WILL NOT give up the flag to Diottoheads, Freepers, and Brownshirts (but I repeat myself)!

[bushisanidiot]

42. I don't have one on my house, but I Do Have An American Flag

bumper sticker on my car right next to my Dr. Dean bumpersticker. :)

[5thGenDemocrat]

45. Yes

On holidays and whenever else I feel like it, but not 24/7/365. Without the flag being properly lighted (and mine isn't), it is improper to fly it at night, while displaying it on my car, boat, lapel or desktop seems a bit "rah-rah" to me.
I believe that the only reason the reich-wingers have hijacked the flag is because we've let them do it. I am old enough to remember that dirty, nasty, unkempt little dink -- let's call him "Ho Chi Moron" -- running through Grant Park in Chicago in 1968 proudly flying his personal VietCong flag. That single image (and the accompanying circus around it) did as much to set back the left as anything I can think of.
Parenthetically, I served in the US Army from 1974-76 but, since I'm a liberal, my service doesn't count to a lot of Merkins because I am, in their analysis, still just an America-hating commie. I get this blather from Andy the Right Wing Republican a lot even though I served and he didn't.
Any flag -- ours, theirs -- is a powerful image. That's why I stand squarely for flag-burning as protected speech and why I fly Old Glory whenever I can. I also fly the Canadian flag on relevant occasions (Canada Day, Gordie Howe's birthday, the Saginaw Spirit making the OHL playoffs -- should that ever happen). It keeps the neighbors wondering what's up and, symbolically, gets me out of the US for a little while and allows me to identify with a bit of sanity while living in one crazy-ass country.
Plus, since my grandfather, 3rdGenDem, served in the Canadian Army (Princess Patricia's Light Infantry) from 1940-42, I guess my family's earned the right to fly that flag, too.
John
G2grandpa (1stGenDem) served in the Confederate Army (I don't fly that one though -- like I said, any flag is a powerful symbol).

[NoPasaran]

46. I used to

I flew it on patriotic holidays. Then after 9/11 it was up full time. I took it down after Memorial Day because it was getting ratty. Since then I haven't found the motivation to replace it. These days I think a Jolly Roger would better symbolize the direction the junta is taking us.

[5thGenDemocrat]

47. NP

I like your screen name. Welcome to DU.
John
I remember the original quote was from a woman on the anti-Franco side of the Spanish Civil War but, alas, her name escapes me. Time to get back down to MSchreader's in Detroit for further indoctrination.

[returnable]

48. Yes

When Mrs. Returnable and I bought our house this summer, the previous residents left their flag behind.

I contemplated taking it down, fearing the obvious Freeper/Republican connections it could project to outside observers.

But then I thought, fuck that. It's our flag, too.

[Braden]

53. I only fly it on National Holidays and on the odd day when I want

I saw a guy at Castle Island in South Boston yesterday. Flag Bandana, Flag shirt, sitting on a bench. I could see his flag boxers.

Is covering your balls with the flag a way of honoring glory?

[rasputin1952]

55. I posted on a return above, so I'll spare you all...

But I was thinking, while reading down the other posts; many of the the RWnuts have NO idea about how to display the flag, or show it proper respect.

I see here, many have said they do not fly it during inclement weather, or at night if not illuminated. Good for you!

That set me to thinking about how often the flag is abused by those who pretend an adoration for that venerable symbol of Freedom.

I see:

Warm potato salad on flag emblazoned paper plates.

People who use napkins, made to look like flags, wiping thier mouths, and other parts of their bodies.

People who sit on flag emblazoned chairs, never rising when the Color Guard goes by.

Cheap plastic flags in tatters on cars.

Small flags from cars, blown off and laying in the street, (I pick these up).

I have even seen a flag motif for a toilet seat cover!

There are more examples, as we all know. But what gets me, is that I would rather NOT put a flag out, than do it dishonorably. I have been to far too many funerals where that flag was draped over the coffin of a fellow servicemember, for me to allow it to be desecrated by some RW maniac that could not care less about what that piece of cloth stands for.

I am truly surprised that the flags around bush don't burst into flames whenever he is near one! He and his ilk are nothing more than traitors to this country and the Constitution.

Oh crap...I'm ranting again; sorry. Guess I love my country too much to see it be taken away by these bastards.

:kick: :bounce:

[rbnyc]

56. I don't, but my downstars neightbors do.

There are enough fags in my neighborhood, and most of them are in terrible condition. I don't want to be one of those jerks who hangs a flag out their window and leaves it, night and day, all kinds of weather, until it gets tattered and grey. And I still have Christmas lights up from 5 years ago, so I know my chances of taking proper care of the flag.

[Blue-Jay]

58. Funny typo!

:)

[geniph]

57. Yes, on flag display days

and we take it down properly at sunset! Flying a flag year-round in all weathers and in the dark with no light on it is a violation of proper flag etiquette. I don't see anything respectful in flying the flag until it turns into a dirty rag.