flag with a missing star

[neutrino23]

I saw a flag flying today in front of someone's home. It was an old, faded flag and I noticed that one star had been cut out of it. Does anyone one know what this means?

My first guess is that this could mean that that family had lost someone in a war. However, regardless of the sentiment I don't see anyone approving of desecrating the flag.

I tried googling this topic and didn't come up with anything.

[Powerdoc]

Originally posted by neutrino23
I saw a flag flying today in front of someone's home. It was an old, faded flag and I noticed that one star had been cut out of it. Does anyone one know what this means?

My first guess is that this could mean that that family had lost someone in a war. However, regardless of the sentiment I don't see anyone approving of desecrating the flag.

I tried googling this topic and didn't come up with anything.

Perhaps one kid cut the star out of the flag for making an expose ? :D

[rok]

who the heck knows. some people can be the most patriotic in the world, yet not know how to treat the very flag they wave so proudly in their front yard, thinking it's their personal arena for statement. they let them fly until they're tattered, never take them in at night, etc. i don't think people should be thrown in jail or fined or anything, free speech and all (i.e. you're free to be as stupid as you want...), it's just in wicked poor taste.

it goes towards a belief i have held recently with the massive display of car stickers and window flags, etc. the u.s. flag is not a friggin' LOGO. it is not a SPORTS TEAM. it is WHO YOU ARE. treat it with respect if you are going to do anything at all, but do not just wave it because you think it's cool or you don't want to feel out of place around your neighbors who have flags up.

[superkarate monkeydeathcar]

but if someone is flying the flag improperly, or incorrectly, it speaks volumes about who they are.

[groverat]

I fly my flag the way any good American should, on fire.

[Harald]

Originally posted by groverat
I fly my flag the way any good American should, on fire.

:D

Vintage groverat. Sublime.

:)

[neutrino23]

Originally posted by rok
who the heck knows. some people can be the most patriotic in the world, yet not know how to treat the very flag they wave so proudly in their front yard, thinking it's their personal arena for statement. they let them fly until they're tattered, never take them in at night, etc. i don't think people should be thrown in jail or fined or anything, free speech and all (i.e. you're free to be as stupid as you want...), it's just in wicked poor taste.

it goes towards a belief i have held recently with the massive display of car stickers and window flags, etc. the u.s. flag is not a friggin' LOGO. it is not a SPORTS TEAM. it is WHO YOU ARE. treat it with respect if you are going to do anything at all, but do not just wave it because you think it's cool or you don't want to feel out of place around your neighbors who have flags up.

Off topic but an interesting point. I've always thought that if the right wingers did pass a flag amendment it would come back to haunt them. Most of the so called patriotic events seem to desecrate the flag in one way or another though it is not the intent of the creators. If you paint a flag on a firecracker and light it off is that not flag desecration? How about flag motif swimsuits? How about soft drink cups with flags on them that get tossed in the trash? And on and on.

[Alex London]

What Harald said, thanks groverat.

[tonton]

Ets thos fukin creampuff gay mariages they'se a havin in mass'chusets, cant be callin that thar a stet, dont belong on th fukin flag. s'agenst natiur nall.

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by neutrino23
My first guess is that this could mean that that family had lost someone in a war. However, regardless of the sentiment I don't see anyone approving of desecrating the flag.

The american flag is not "sacred," and therefore I don't think there's a lot of desecration going on. I have plenty of respect for the American mission, but given the way things have spiraled away from our idealistic roots, I really don't see what's so wrong with such a mild form of protest, other than the fact that it far too vague in this case to do any good.

What might be better would be to make a custom flag with fifty stars masked into the shape of a hammer and sickle. No, I don't think we live in a socialist country, but if you're going to protest, you have to be loud.

Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar
but if someone is flying the flag improperly, or incorrectly, it speaks volumes about who they are.
If you want to call me an idealist, an activist, or even a bit crazy, that's fine. But it was the crazy, idealist folks who got America from an imperial colony to a nation that changed the rest of the world.

[superkarate monkeydeathcar]

i think i was speaking more towards people who hold the flag sacred, but in doing so render everything it stands for meaningless.

[talksense101]

Making an underwear with the stars and stripes is ok?

There is a reason why it is against the law in some countries for civilians to fly the national flag except in schools and on Independence day, etc. It is also against the law to use the pattern of the flag on clothes.

Two extremes. I personally prefer the US approach.

[johnrp]

I don't understand the whole "sacred flag" thing there is in the states. It seems that people should fly/wear/display the flag as a sign of pride and respect for their country NOT as a sign of nationalism and supremacy over others. (which is where the whole "disrespect MY flag disrespect MY nation" thing comes from)

Here in the UK the Union flag being has in the past been Hijacked by hard line nationalists and used as a banner to rally anti foreign feeling. Thus it has created a kind of stigmatism around it with people not wanting to proudly display it because of the fear that they may be seen as extreme nationalists also.

There is a VERY BIG difference between national pride and nationalism

You are far more likely to see the George Cross than the Union Flag flying (in england)

One other thing I have noticed is that the American flag when not an actual flag is treated as a kind of brand or trademark and used in selling everything from beach towels to those crappy collectors coins you see advertised in the sunday papers.

"Put the flag on it someone will buy it to show how much they love America"

or am I just being cynical ?

j.

[pfflam]

Originally posted by johnrp
I don't understand the whole "sacred flag" thing there is in the states. It seems that people should fly/wear/display the flag as a sign of pride and respect for their country NOT as a sign of nationalism and supremacy over others. (which is where the whole "disrespect MY flag disrespect MY nation" thing comes from)

Here in the UK the Union flag being has in the past been Hijacked by hard line nationalists and used as a banner to rally anti foreign feeling. Thus it has created a kind of stigmatism around it with people not wanting to proudly display it because of the fear that they may be seen as extreme nationalists also.

There is a VERY BIG difference between national pride and nationalism

You are far more likely to see the George Cross than the Union Flag flying (in england)

One other thing I have noticed is that the American flag when not an actual flag is treated as a kind of brand or trademark and used in selling everything from beach towels to those crappy collectors coins you see advertised in the sunday papers.

"Put the flag on it someone will buy it to show how much they love America"

or am I just being cynical ?

j. http://home.t-online.de/home/manics_de/Ist_es/assets/images/who3.jpg
But they don't discriminate too much:
http://home.t-online.de/home/manics_de/Ist_es/assets/images/who2.jpg
And this is David Bowie's Union-Jack Coat:
http://www2.uol.com.br/modabrasil/london_link/museu/fundo_musical/img/img01.jpg
And then, of course, there is infamous London Bobby and his Picadilly Express"
http://www.londonbobby.ca/images/picadil.jpg

[rok]

Originally posted by groverat
I fly my flag the way any good American should, on fire.

:lol:

but seriously, i think my post may have been misinterpreted as making the symbol too sacred. there's a balance between understanding what you're doing and respecting it, and holding it to a holy standard above all else.

is there a way to codify that? not likely. but when i see someone with window flags and car decals, and have an american flag painted the full area of their garage door, i know they are missing the "point" of it all, whether they realize it themselves or not.

[pfflam]

I think that one guy who really understands the flag as a symbol is Larry Flynt:

http://www.hustlerpanties.com/prodimages/H2002.jpg


Hmmm . . . let's see . . . first the body is desacrated, then the flag?

I'm sure some of us would like to see a few stars missing . . .


http://www.bikiniscience.com/locations/MP95-96_SS/MPA230_S/MPA230_J/MPA230-34_P6224666.JPG

[Nordstrodamus]

"It will be a cold day in hell before I recognize Missouri!" - Grampa Simpson :)

I really despise flagism. In this country NO symbol outweighs an individual's rights and flags can mean a buttzillion things to different people.

Actually, I find the 49 star flag an interesting thought experiment for those ignorant enough support a flag dessicration amendment. If the flag only has 49 stars then can I legally burn it? If it started out with 50 and I took one off I suppose that might be considered dessicration by some, but what if I made the flag from scratch and only put 49 stars on it?

[Ichiban_jay]

Someone here in Arizona was forced to remove a flagpole he had installed in his yard... stupid Home Association because it was near a golfcourse (No clue why it mattered). They guy was a vet and he wanted to fly a flag on a 20 foot pole. I don't see why they had to tell him to take it down, and even went to court for it, this happened a couple of years ago.

[rok]

Originally posted by Ichiban_jay
Someone here in Arizona was forced to remove a flagpole he had installed in his yard... stupid Home Association because it was near a golfcourse (No clue why it mattered). They guy was a vet and he wanted to fly a flag on a 20 foot pole. I don't see why they had to tell him to take it down, and even went to court for it, this happened a couple of years ago.

was this one of those "covenant" housing areas? my borther-in-law lives in one of those. all your yard work is done for you, and you are held to particular standards for your real estate outdoors. it's to keep people from populating their yards with fiberglass flaminoes, etc., but they end up being things like "no trees planted which shalll exceed 15 feet in height..." blah, blah, blah.

can't say i could ever live someplace like that.