Flag Abuse
Sep. 12th, 2007 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cormacYesterday evening, I rescued an American flag.
The flag had been flying nonstop at a restaurant in Azusa since at least seven months ago, when the owner took posession of the restaurant; I suspect it's been flying there for years. The owner's reason? "I'm a busy man, and don't always have time to take it down and put it back up."
The first four stripes are nearly completely gone, the other stripes have been reduced to a skeleton frame of seams, and the union (the blue section with the stars) is a faded lavender. I'll have photos later this evening.
You see these abused flags all the time, particularly in industrial areas, but anywhere, really. It's a shame that the owners of these companies can't take the time to retire these flags, or at least replace them. No, they would rather leave it up there, torn and tattered, looking more like a prop from a post-apocalyptic film than a symbol of our nation's pride, than take the 2 minutes a day it takes to raise and lower the flag.
To combat this negligence, a couple hours ago I registered a new domain name: http://flagabuse.com . Though I haven't had time to build it up yet, I hope to provide photos, addresses and phone numbers of companies who are neglecting the American flag, so that concerned citizens can compel them to treat our national symbol with due dignity.
The flag had been flying nonstop at a restaurant in Azusa since at least seven months ago, when the owner took posession of the restaurant; I suspect it's been flying there for years. The owner's reason? "I'm a busy man, and don't always have time to take it down and put it back up."
The first four stripes are nearly completely gone, the other stripes have been reduced to a skeleton frame of seams, and the union (the blue section with the stars) is a faded lavender. I'll have photos later this evening.
You see these abused flags all the time, particularly in industrial areas, but anywhere, really. It's a shame that the owners of these companies can't take the time to retire these flags, or at least replace them. No, they would rather leave it up there, torn and tattered, looking more like a prop from a post-apocalyptic film than a symbol of our nation's pride, than take the 2 minutes a day it takes to raise and lower the flag.
To combat this negligence, a couple hours ago I registered a new domain name: http://flagabuse.com . Though I haven't had time to build it up yet, I hope to provide photos, addresses and phone numbers of companies who are neglecting the American flag, so that concerned citizens can compel them to treat our national symbol with due dignity.
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 08:51 pm (UTC)Just be careful in some cases. In late 2002 I stopped on San Juan Capistrano to recover a large flag that had been displayed on the overpass near Ave Calafia since September of 2001. It was beyond tattered, literally the zip ties around the seams was the only thing keeping parts of this flag on the bridge, much less intact.
And while taking it down (and folding it *properly*), I was flipped off and yelled at by people in the cars below, and had three very large Marine-types come over to ask "what the fucking hell was I doing". (When I explained that this flag was in need of retirement and asked for their help in folding it, they backed off. They didn't help me fold it though.)
Once a year I take all the flags I collect to the VFW, for them to retire in an appropriate manner.