A controversial act of protest is gaining notoriety in Arizona, Illinois, California, New York, Iowa, Colorado, Texas, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and now in the FLOW area of Bergen County, New Jersey. Citizens who feel powerless in their ability to be heard on a variety of national topics have resorted to flying the American flag upside down. Section 8a of the U.S. Flag Rules, which is not law, but etiquette, states: ” The flag should never be displayed with the union down (blue field with stars), except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.” But the increasing number of instances continues to raise the question as to when it is appropriate it.
The topic is especially troubling to veterans, and that emotional conflict is evident in a situation last month in California that almost led to violence. A Vietnam era veteran was calling for complete troop withdrawal from Iraq when accosted by an Iraqi War veteran during a public demonstration. A short tussle ended peacefully as the two veterans decided to share their personal experiences and come to a mutual understanding. The Vietnam vet, sensitive to the distress his protest caused the young Iraqi War vet, agreed not to display the flag upside down and the two veterans folded the flag together.
In Illinois, protesters have been displaying an upside down flag to raise awareness of gun violence in an effort to get stricter gun control laws in place. In Iowa, a mother has been flying an American flag upside down after her son returned from Iraq and committed suicide shortly thereafter. In Rhode Island, a couple flew an upside down flag to express the distress they felt with respect to an impending foreclosure. Other protesters though are flying the flag upside down in general protest to the state of the nation. This is the case with Larry “Doc” Kinney, a Vietnam veteran, who has been flying his flag upside down to protest the state of the union in general and an overall erosion of freedoms. The same is true for Dean Rutherford in Texas who basically believes the country is ‘going to hell in a hand basket’.
Locally, there have been reports of residents in the Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff area flying the flag upside down. One resident ended the protest when informed by neighbors that this recognized signal of distress was in fact creating distress for them. In a different situation, a resident is aware that passersbys may be uncomfortable with his display, but that has not dissuaded him from returning his flag to a normal position.
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