A call to fly the flag in distress?

[Kmcinnes]

I received this email this morning with a video link asking for everyone to fly the flag upside down in distress on Jan 20th and 21st during the inauguration, Not sure how I feel about it. I'm not sure we are to the point of flying the flag in distress personally however it might not be to far off. What are your thoughts on this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jemst9_2u60

 

[jblomenberg16]

I am considering it, and will if there is an executive order on the 2A.

 

[Que]

I support any type of protest a person feels is beneficial to the cause. It's better than doing nothing.

 

[NetPIMP]

I think the perception will be that we (gun owners and rights advocates) are over-reacting - other than Obama getting re-elected, nothing has actually happened yet except a whole lot of posturing and saber rattling - from both sides.

Now, if/when we get to a point where bills start hitting the House & Senate floors, and Executive Orders start getting bandied about... THEN, perhaps, as a symbol of this being a constitutional crisis, yes...

For his inauguration, I think it's misplaced and will certainly not have the intended effect.

He won the majority vote, he won the electoral vote. That's our Constitution in action, even if we don't like it - even if we REALLY don't like it.

We can't expect to be taken seriously about demanding our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights if we're questioning other parts of the Constitution because we don't like the man they're being applied to - otherwise, that makes us just as hypocritical as them, and that's a position I personally, won't take as it weakens my position.

I support any type of protest a person feels is beneficial to the cause. It's better than doing nothing.

My comments above having been said - I'd add that you're certainly free to do so - I'm just concerned that it may prove counterproductive.

 

[Kmcinnes]

I guess I can see it making a direct statement since Fienstein will most likley bring her bill with het to the floor on the 22nd. I just dont see making a statement just because I am unhappy with who got elected.

 

[Signal23]

I would consider it. I don't think it would be way out of place.
I am wondering what the trigger would be for me to fly my flag in protest.
I do hold the flag (just cloth as they say) in high regard, so I am not 100% on what it would take to put her in distress.
This could be that time.
Stay tuned.

 

[Kedric]

I'm a little conflicted at the moment. I am strongly considering it, and will definitely do so if/when any move against the 2nd happens.

 

[Signal23]

I'm a little conflicted at the moment. I am strongly considering it, and will definitely do so if/when any move against the 2nd happens.

agree!

 

[Justin Case]

I am considering it, and will if there is an executive order on the 2A.

^^^^ This.

I would only take this action if we see an EO aimed at our 2nd Amendment rights.

 

[Que]

I think the perception will be that we (gun owners and rights advocates) are over-reacting - other than Obama getting re-elected, nothing has actually happened yet except a whole lot of posturing and saber rattling - from both sides.

Now, if/when we get to a point where bills start hitting the House & Senate floors, and Executive Orders start getting bandied about... THEN, perhaps, as a symbol of this being a constitutional crisis, yes...

For his inauguration, I think it's misplaced and will certainly not have the intended effect.

He won the majority vote, he won the electoral vote. That's our Constitution in action, even if we don't like it - even if we REALLY don't like it.

We can't expect to be taken seriously about demanding our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights if we're questioning other parts of the Constitution because we don't like the man they're being applied to - otherwise, that makes us just as hypocritical as them, and that's a position I personally, won't take as it weakens my position.



My comments above having been said - I'd add that you're certainly free to do so - I'm just concerned that it may prove counterproductive.

I have a great deal of friends who voted for Obama for various reasons. And no, not one of them is interested in free anything! However, some of them are gun owners and this is the straw that broke the camel's back with them. Yeah, go ahead and sit back and worry about what people think. It will be the same lulling to sleep that occurred with the Republican Party over the last nine years.

I'm not saying anyone HAS to do anything, but I certainly will not dissuade someone from taking some kind of action, whether it's writing letters or flying our flag upside down.

Being quiet and waiting for the hammer to fall is not necessarily productive. Silence could be seen as acceptance.

 

[KellyinAvon]

US Code Chapter 36, para 176(a) states: The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
That's chapter on verse as far as official guidance. I'm beginning to see how it could be interpreted as appropriate.

USFlag.org: A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America - United States Code

 

[VN Vet]

People, right now all the government is doing is talk and posturing. They are trying to provoke us into reacting badly. They did it to Mr. James Yeager, please don't let them do it to you or anyone else.

The flying of Our Flag in Distress is a serious event. Please do not do it unless our Country is truely in trouble. I say, if the 2A is attacked, if illegal EOs are given, then yes, Fly Our Flag High and in Distress. But not now.

My thoughts.

 

[Sylvain]

My US flag will be displayed the proper way as always.
We are getting more gun rights in that country, not less.The fear of a gun ban or the election of a president is not enough to justify the improper display of the flag in my opinion.
The United States of America is a strong country, it will take much more than the current politicial events for it to be in distress.
Politicians tried to pass anti-gun laws since the foundation of this country.We're not more in distress now than we were 10, 20 or 50 years ago.
The flag was not displayed upside down during WW2 even though the future was really uncertain back then.
I cant imagine what a WW2 veteran would think if he saw the flag upside down right now just because people are affraid of some anti-gun laws that might come in the future.
Those guys went to hell and back and fought nazis all around the globe, and even then they didn't think for a second that the country was in distress.
No big deal, just figting one of the most advanced army in the world.

60 years later, terrorists striking the heart of America with planes ... still no big deal, the country is not in distress.
It would take more than that to take this country down.

Now Obama in office and we see that???

Are we really getting scared that easily and turning our flags upside down anytime someone is trying to take away our guns?

Of course you're free to do whatever you want with your flag.Mine will stay the way it is.

 

[digitalphoenix]

I would highly consider flying the Gadsden flag more than anything right now.

 

[jblomenberg16]

My US flag will be displayed the proper way as always.
We are getting more gun rights in that country, not less.The fear of a gun ban or the election of a president is not enough to justify the improper display of the flag in my opinion.
The United States of America is a strong country, it will take much more than the current politicial events for it to be in distress.
Politicians tried to pass anti-gun laws since the foundation of this country.We're not more in distress now than we were 10, 20 or 50 years ago.
The flag was not displayed upside down during WW2 even though the future was really uncertain back then.
I cant imagine what a WW2 veteran would think if he saw the flag upside down right now just because people are affraid of some anti-gun laws that might come in the future.
Those guys went to hell and back and fought nazis all around the globe, and even then they didn't think for a second that the country was in distress.
No big deal, just figting one of the most advanced army in the world.

60 years later, terrorists striking the heart of America with planes ... still no big deal, the country is not in distress.
It would take more than that to take this country down.

Now Obama in office and we see that???

Are we really getting scared that easily and turning our flags upside down anytime someone is trying to take away our guns?

Of course you're free to do whatever you want with your flag.Mine will stay the way it is.

Very well written post. In my assessment, if Obama issues an Exec Order that is in violation of the US Constitution, that does consitute dire distress, as the Constituation that protects (notice I didn't say grants) all of our other freedoms are then under attack as well.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Are we really getting scared that easily and turning our flags upside down anytime someone is trying to take away our guns?

Of course you're free to do whatever you want with your flag.Mine will stay the way it is.

Nicely done, and same here.

Sometimes I read this forum and I think I've wandered into Syrian Gun Owners forum. Do people really believe that things are that bad here? We've got over 2 centuries of peaceful power transfers in this nation, only one civil war and that far in a our past, a standard of living that's the envy of the majority of the world, a fully functional checks and balances system yet...this?

No, my flag will fly exactly how it has been for years. Proudly, as a beacon of freedom and hope that's still revered around the world, no matter what the media says. I've traveled abroad extensively and I've seen the desperation, the things people will do for the hint of a US visa. Then I see this from people who live here, enjoy the safety, freedom, and opportunity this country offers yet do nothing but complain and wallow in cynicism and paranoia.

I'm completely against any new AWB, but did the world end in 1994? What did you guys do then? Affix bayonets? Or go through the legal and plentiful avenues of protest that ended with the bill sunsetting in 2004?

*on a side note, writing on the flag is just as disrespectful as burning it. I guess hippies and the far right now have something in common, flag desecration.

 

[Que]

Yep, AFTER an executive order is signed would be a perfect time to start making noise.... I don't think so. Even if you don't agree with the flag "protest," please do something, especially writing your legislative representatives.

 

[Sylvain]

*on a side note, writing on the flag is just as disrespectful as burning it. I guess hippies and the far right now have something in common, flag desecration.

 

[kawtech87]

Honestly that is the reason I changed my avatar.

Although Its not a flag in dirstress, It is a flag in the negative. Stare at the bottom right corner of the star field for 30 seconds then look at the blank space on the page. Youll see the colors as they should be for about 30 seconds.

I ment for it to represent the fading shadow this country is becoming of its former self.

 

[Captain Bligh]

Not me. Old Glory the proper way...always. We live in a republic where majority rules. Every election cycle there will be winners and losers. The foundation of the Republic is accepting the will of the majority. Like it or not, deal with it and move on.