ANGRY AND DISGUSTED!!!

[gtalum]

Why don't you come over and tell some of my AF friends that its just a piece of cloth.. I would be interested in seeing that

Can I bring some of my Marine friends who agree with me?

[chadtm80]

You sure can

[alicia-w]

but at least we should revoke gtalum's boy scout merit badge for world citizenship.....

[Lindaloo]

but at least we should revoke gtalum's boy scout merit badge for world citizenship.....

Amen girl!!

[alicia-w]

Why don't you come over and tell some of my AF friends that its just a piece of cloth.. I would be interested in seeing that

Can I bring some of my Marine friends who agree with me?

I'll tell you one thing, any Marine that would throw a US flag in the garbage can, belongs right there with it.

I'm gonna take a digital photo and send it to this guy's commander.

[mf_dolphin]

I retire my flag at the house every year and take the old flag to the local VFW post. They dispose of flags with the proper ceremony. I'm all in favor of throwing people in jail who disrespect our flag!

[David]

Wow, I never thought I'd see someone refer to the American flag as a "piece of cloth." That really really irks me.

I see you live in Sarasota, FL. You live in a place that is represented by that flag. It's called the United State of America. You have alot more rights here then you will have any other place. Countless people have gone overseas to fight terrorst and others who do not want us to live like that. They fought for you, as for all of us. They LIVE by what that flag means. My dad is in the Army, and he just got back. I'm really lucky he didn't get killed. All because of 2 planes in about 25 minutes, took my dad from me for a year, and it could of been more if he would of been killed.

I can not believe you called the flag a "piece of cloth." I guess you don't have the respect for this country, the flag, or the people who put their lives on the line 24/7 so you can say what you just said.

Pitiful...

[gtalum]

You have alot more rights here then you will have any other place.

I disagree.

That said, I have nothing but the utmost respect for my nation (despite her imperfections) and for the men and women who protect her. The flag itself is still a piece of cloth.

[David]

You have alot more rights here then you will have any other place.

I disagree.

That said, I have nothing but the utmost respect for my nation (despite her imperfections) and for the men and women who protect her. The flag itself is still a piece of cloth.

Where else?

If it's just a piece of cloth, 9/11 would of NEVER happened... It represents what we stand for.

[gtalum]

Where else?

Before the (un)Patriot(ic) Act was passed, I'd have agreed with you 100%. I just don't see a place where any of us can be declared enemy combatants and imprisoned without representation as truly free. The US though is by far the best place to live, on balance.

If it's just a piece of cloth, 9/11 would of NEVER happened... It represents what we stand for.

I truly fail to see how the flag had anything to do with 9/11. From what I saw it was mostly Saudis, with whom the President sees the need to try to be friends for some inexplicable reason, who wish to impose their evill Wahhabbist form of Islam on all of the world.

[GalvestonDuck]

Do you deny that this "piece of cloth" is also a symbol of all it represents, woven together by strong threads and the blood of those who died defending it?

[David]

Where else?

Before the (un)Patriot(ic) Act was passed, I'd have agreed with you 100%. I just don't see a place where any of us can be declared enemy combatants and imprisoned without representation as truly free. The US though is by far the best place to live, on balance.

If it's just a piece of cloth, 9/11 would of NEVER happened... It represents what we stand for.

I truly fail to see how the flag had anything to do with 9/11. From what I saw it was mostly Saudis, with whom the President sees the need to try to be friends for some inexplicable reason, who wish to impose their evill Wahhabbist form of Islam on all of the world.

The question at hand was, where do people have more rights then us?

The flag resembles freedom. Everyone comes here to get away from all the "bad" people who treat them like crap. We have jobs, places to live, etc etc. Whenever a Saudi sees our flag, they think "America shall DIE!" and burn the flag. Now, the 13 stripes and 50 stars mean alot more, then just a piece of cloth.

[gtalum]

It's a symbol of our nation and it's relative liberty, courage, and valor, no doubt. But destroying a flag or disposing of one improperly does not destroy, or even damage, that which it symbolizes.

[sunny]

It is a sign of disrespect. Pure and simple. Can't cut it any other way.

[gtalum]

The question at hand was, where do people have more rights then us?

Actually the question was "where else are people as free as we are?".

The answer is most of the Western World. In some ways we have more freedom (speech, generally) and in some ways other nations have more freedoms (no war on drugs, no invasive airport screenings, no Patriot Act).

The flag resembles freedom. Everyone comes here to get away from all the "bad" people who treat them like crap. We have jobs, places to live, etc etc. Whenever a Saudi sees our flag, they think "America shall DIE!" and burn the flag. Now, the 13 stripes and 50 stars mean alot more, then just a piece of cloth.

Sure they are symbolic of more than the piece of cloth that they are. But they're still pieces of cloth. My guess is we will never come to an agreement on this, and I am bowing out of this discussion from here on out so I don't get suspended again.

[mf_dolphin]

Why don't you come over and tell some of my AF friends that its just a piece of cloth.. I would be interested in seeing that

Can I bring some of my Marine friends who agree with me?

For every Marine who agrees with you I bet I can find 100 that would kick their tails!

[Pebbles]

No, but a flag is more then a piece of cloth... it is a symbol of respect we have for each other. To say that disrespecting a flag is no big deal... is saying you don't respect your country, it's people, or those who have served/protect it.

If it's only a piece of cloth then:

Why do athletes cry when their flag is raised at the Olympics?

Why do armies fight to place their flag in battle?

Why do we fly it at half staff in mourning?

Why did hundreds of thousands of people stand in a Chicago plaza waving that flag at the moment of silence the Friday after Sept 11th?

Why was it placed on my father in law's coffin who we just buried? He had served in WWII, and a beautiful 15 minute ceremony performed by the military when that flag was given to his family, and is now a treasured possession?

Because of RESPECT...
but you think it's just a piece of cloth right?

[alicia-w]

no invasive airport screening??

i travel all over the world and i cannot think of one airport that doesnt have screenings just like ours. i dont know what's so invasive about putting your carry on bags through an x-ray machine, emptying your pockets, and maybe taking off your shoes. what's so invasive about that?

besides, airport security is much more strict in every european airport i've ever been to (and that's a lot) as well as the middle east and the far east.

make sure you really know what you're talking about before you leave it hanging out there...

[gtalum]

i travel all over the world and i cannot think of one airport that doesnt have screenings just like ours. i dont know what's so invasive about putting your carry on bags through an x-ray machine, emptying your pockets, and maybe taking off your shoes. what's so invasive about that?

I travel all over the world as well, and have never had as irritating or invasive of searches as I sometimes get in the USA.

In Europe I generally put my bags on the x-ray belt and stroll through the metal detector, then go to the airline club to have a drink or two. Relaxed.

Here I have to take off my shoes and my belt, empty my pockets, take my laptop out of the case, get rid of any lighters or pointy objects, and walk through the metal detector praying it doesn't go off. If it does I get the joy of being felt up by some big hairy dude in a TSA suit. Sometimes I get that just for the luck of having the dreaded "SSSS" on my boarding pass on the rare occasions that I fail to notice it and get a new one without it.

[gtalum]

Oh! Except for the flights back to the US, on which our government has imposed the same stupid rules.