Do you get angry/annoyed when people disrespect your country's flag?

[Gasaraki]

Not at all, as far as I'm concerned a country is just a piece of land and a flag is just a piece of cloth.

 

[Mandalore_15]

If you get upset about a few rips in a meaningless bit of cloth, it's about time you reassessed your priorities in life.

 

[twistedmic]

The daft hypothetical aside (no-one has to justify saving the girl!), but in the same breath you properly state using the material to save a life, but then in situations of zero importance (windy days! really?) you attach all this silly superfluous importance to it again.

Flags can fly in mere windy days, but they should be taken down during gale force winds. Gale force winds (sustained wind speeds of 39-54mph/63-87kph) are significantly more than just 'windy' and can blow trees and tear shingles of off roofs so can heavily damage a flag.
If there is nothing going on that will prevent you from properly caring for and displaying the flag and you you let it get damaged, then that's just an example of sheer laziness and disrespect.

 

[DarkRyter]

It's just a piece of cloth.

 

[Julianking93]

No, because I don't show any respect for it myself.

 

[orangeban]

Well, it's rare to see a flag flying in Britain, we just don't care that much about our flag I think. I mean, if we need to get all patriotic about something, we've got the Queen, we don't need fabric.

 

[theevilgenius60]

That's my reason for never desecrating Old Glory, it would be kind of like burning the Constitution to me.

Ironically, the right to burn the Constitution is given in the Constitution.

Indeed it does. Excellent document, our constitution. A document guaranteeing the right to burn itself... Just makes it hold more water, in my view

 

[superstringz]

So... you'll get angry when a soldier disrespects the symbol of the spirit of the American people, but when it actually comes to the American people themselves you yourself don't respect them? That seems a bit contradictory.

You misunderstand me: The Military is and should be a patriotic organization with no place in it for those who do not care about our nation. This applies to all nations armed forces: We need to care. Civilians should not be expected to show that kind of dedication, as political beliefs should be made by the individual, so theres no point in getting angry at them. While flag burning is rude, so is forcing politics on someone. I am a patriot. Im also a libertarian.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

No because I'm not a patriotic and xenophobic git who will snap at anyone who doesn't fit into my "normal people" shoe box.

Well, hold on, that's a bit harsh.

A) Being patriotic is not a bad thing as long as it stays far away from the realm of zealous nationalism.
B) Not everyone who is patriotic is xenophobic, though the...less than stellar individuals that get media attention might convey different.

C) Being upset at seeing a flag harmed does not exactly make you what you list above. You know why I don't like seeing the American flag burnt? Because I think my country is great. Not perfect by any means. We are corrupt, lazy, and so on, but we still have a much better way of life than many other places in the world. So when I see people burn the flag or spit on it, I find those people usually don't realize how great they have it. They don't realize what a great country they live in. Sure, the country has it's short comings and its frustrating elements, but I doubt any country is perfect. And usually, when they burn a flag, they are angry at some politician. Not the country as a whole.

As for foreign countries that burn flags, I believe they just are so caught up with their anger with the military and politicians of the US that they forget that there might be some nice, decent people here. When angry, some people's minds go right to the stereotypes that they have always been taught. So if something bad happens to them, they blame the fat, lazy Americans, even though it might be some politician's fault. And you know what? Some Americans do that to other countries. Particularly Muslims. We are both flawed.

So, yes, it bothers me when any flag is burned. Not because of what Mr. K says, but because I believe people don't realize the message they are sending with such an act. They don't realize that they are fueling hate, both their own and the country whose flag they burn. And hate needs to be stopped.

+gagillion points for you sir.

Honestly though, I feel more sad than angry whenever I see a flag being burned out of malice.

 

[Totenkopf]

A flag represents the idea of a country. If you intentionally harm the flag, you imply a hostile action / attitude towards the country. In my humble opinion, that is something for any reasonable human being (with or without a sense of national identity), to be rightfully upset about, to reject, to act against, and to avoid to do, simply because of common decency.

I especially like the people in this thread who consider themselves so "smart and disillusioned" to reject the "foolish idea of a piece of cloth" or the other "foolish idea" of valuing the cultural heritage of a country as a whole. People who have such a "liberated" scope of mind that they don't even realize on which high ideals they are actually looking down at. Pathetic, and from my point of view definitely worthy of a facepalm of third grade intensity.
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Patriotism is stupid, it's fanaticism directed towards a land mass!

Exactly. Aspects like a shared national identity and cultural heritage are just meaningless rumors spread by some right-wing rednecks.
Who needs the preservation of history, heritage and values when you can be a cool and edgy by rejecting those things!

Your country is where your parents 'did' each other, then birthed & raised you....nothing more.

Yeah! Nothing happened here before! Fuck the knowledge of how all of this came into existence and why it is like it is, life's just about carelessly living today! Hooray!

To the OP and like-minded; grow up! before your arteries harden from pointless stress.

Of course, you should totally ignore when someone displays a hostile attitude towards your home country, would be damn unreasonable and even politically incorrect to do so.

Seriously now, your point could use some improvement...

 

[Smooth Operator]

They don't realize that they are fueling hate, both their own and the country whose flag they burn. And hate needs to be stopped.

See that is the problem I was outlining, they can only fuel hate because you already have hate for others.
If people would be willing to admit geographical location does not make them better then others it would be a huge step in the right direction.

 

[TheMagicLemur]

Patriotism is stupid, it's fanaticism directed towards a land mass!

Exactly. Aspects like a shared national identity and cultural heritage are just meaningless rumors spread by some right-wing rednecks.
Who needs the preservation of history, heritage and values when you can be a cool and edgy by rejecting those things!

The problem is that patriotism veers far to often into jingoism and flat-out fascism. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage, but very frequently, it just ends up encouraging childish dick-waving between countries.

Your country is where your parents 'did' each other, then birthed & raised you....nothing more.

Yeah! Nothing happened here before! Fuck the knowledge of how all of this came into existence and why it is like it is, life's just about carelessly living today! Hooray!

The point, I think, was that you are not obligated to feel a deep, protective love of the land of your birth just because you were born there. Many patriotic folks seem to think that you should be a fervent supporter of wherever-the-hell-you're-from, and I think he was making a pretty clear counter-point to that mindset.

To the OP and like-minded; grow up! before your arteries harden from pointless stress.

Of course, you should totally ignore when someone displays a hostile attitude towards your home country, would be damn unreasonable and even politically incorrect to do so.

Seriously now, your point could use some improvement...

No, no. You're right, let's start hooting and screaming back, rather than ignoring it. We might as well just act like the screaming, clannish, shit-flinging apes we're descended from, right?

You know what? Any given nation has likely done stuff to warrant hostile attitudes from some other nations. That's just a fact of life. Getting irritated and belligerent back really doesn't make you look any better; in fact, it often goads people into behaving even worse, thus fueling the hatred even more.

 

[Mordwyl]

The flag itself is just an image. What it represents depends on the countrymen... Hell some nations have symbols for their towns and cities, like Malta having coat of arms for over half a millennium. But not to veer off-topic, that flag represents what my ancestors' resilience and sacrifices throughout the ages. Disrespecting the flag is disrespecting me.

 

[molesgallus]

No. It's some colours on some fabric. We're all the same animal, for almost all intents and purposes, clones. Countries are meaningless.

Or, thats what I would say if I were a dirty liberl. Hell yeah, I get annoyed when my great empires flag is shown anything but the respect it deserves.

 

[hawkeye52]

Couldn't give a crap about my national flag whether that be Englands (of where I am a citizen and where my family grew up) or Cyprus's (which is where I was born.

The only time I assume an English national identity is when I want to take the piss out of England by using stupid things such as our supposed ability to queue or keep a stiff upper lip

 

[l3o2828]

No, because i disrespect mine...