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

[DanielDeFig]

No.

How do you "disrespect" a flag?
It's an inanimate object, that happens to have a chosen (Usually not by anyone alive, further questioning its validity and usefulness) symbol of a country.

(Yeah I read the OP, and I understand why ppl respect their country's flags, but I don't understand where the logic is behind it. More importantly, as with religion, I see ppl leading perfectly normal and healthy lives without having that kind of unnecessary stress in their lives. Not to mention the Brain-washing upon children to make it a phenomenon that is noticeable)

 

[MattRooney06]

I wouldn't say i get angry...maybe annoyed if it's tattered or dirty

However what does annoy me is this:

Long story short, My Dad is an Ex Royal Marine and for his birthday he wanted a flagpole and a Union flag (it's only called a Union Jack when it's on a ship), every morning he proudly hoists the flag up the flagpole....it's kind of his eccentric little thing

Recently a new family moved in to our road from another country, they saw the flagpole and asked one of their neighbors if we were racist, complaining that they thought it was unfair for us to fly the country's flag in such view of their house, we received a letter from the local council asking us to remove the flag...of course my Dad refused.

Now say what you want but i don't see the problem with flying the flag of Great Britain, when you are in Great Britain.....Now that annoys me!

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

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.

Well, when you look at your exact wording:

I don't care if a civilian disrespects the flag. They can do what ever the hell they want, and I expect no better from them.

It sounds a lot like you're saying that you expect civilians to be disrespectful, implying that being in the military somehow gives you a higher moral authority. Implying that you don't really respect civilians enough to care whether they're disrespectful or not.

Maybe I read too much into it though.

 

[Totenkopf]

Excuse me?
The lack of patriotism is most of the time a clear indicator for disrespect towards important aspects like the aforementioned cultural heritage, selflessness / dedication towards a higher cause and the benefits of a common identity.
It's unlikely that you can defend that on a reasonable basis without bias and misconceptions.

So if I disagree with you, I'm "biased". Bonus points for internet arguing skill!

I didn't mean to convey that, it's just my observation that a lack of patriotism is mostly defended by people who can be described as pretty biased. They don't really listen to your argument, they know that you are attacking their view on the world and that's why you're evil.

[Those missunderstandings probably emerge from my lack of rhetoric]

I am a pretty selfless person, and I'm willing to die for a cause I believe in, but I'm not a patriot. I don't really have that much pride in my heritage, but that doesn't mean I'm ashamed of it. I just choose not to define myself by my ancestry.

Again, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything, I've just noticed that many / most people who reject patriotism are individualists who are the centre of their own cosmos and unable to think on a grander scale than the one of their own life.

"Hey, look, they are burning the symbol that stands for our homeland and it's people."
"Just let them, they don't mean anything bad by it. Besides, it would make you seem like a primitive person if you act against this."

It's true that most to all of the nations on this planet don't have a clean record.
That's not a reason to generally suffer some low-life traitors people attacking them from within, since this merely has contra-productive effects.
Real critique has the ability to improve the situation, but letting shameless aggression like flag-burning out of spite simply go without punishment is simply unreasonable. I see no use in tolerating it, especially since you would be responding to an open attack.

Yes, people expressing dissatisfaction with their government by destroying something that symbolizes it definitely equals traitor. That's not in any way fascist.

I don't think that a person who burns the flag of their nation out of spite can be considered a loyal / honest citizen of that nation.
It's in my eyes simply more than a display of dissatisfaction, but something far more deep than that. And that's why I think that the word traitor is justified here.

Someone burning your flag is not an "open attack" on you or your country, it is them saying "we are pissed at you." You can respond aggressively, which will give them more reason to be pissed, or you can stay calm and not react, or react by saying "I'm sorry you feel that way", or any number of other ways that makes them look like crazy, overreacting fools, instead of making yourself look that way.

And here I want to point out the discrepancies in our perceptions.
Burning the flag of a nation is for me: "Death to you and your country, gaaaaaah!!" not just "We're pissed at you!", this interpretation simply arises from my view on the symbolism of the action.
And while I can see the point and merits of your approach, it hardly seems reasonable to me to respond with staying calm and turning to the other cheek in case it is meant as an attack, because a behaviour like this is likely to invite further attacks, that is rather unfavourable.

 

[omega 616]

I don't know about the rest of you lot but it seems the only country that is portrayed as caring about there flag is the Americans (and the constitution, man you guys seem to love those two things way too much).

Never cared for my flag or it's meaning, most countries have gone to crap now 'cos of corrupt governments and the flag is just a bit of fabric with a pretty pattern on it.

Apparently, a lot of the people in the UK hang our flag upside down, shows how much they care about it.

To put it bluntly....

 

[Deadyawn]

No but then again I think our flag is pretty shit anyway. Stupid union jack messing up our southern cross! I suppose if they were to get rid of that I would be a little more enamoured with our flag but I still don't think it would make me care enough to get annoyed about people disrespecting it.

 

[Smagmuck_]

I'm willing to die for a cause I believe in.

That's the basic definition of Patriotism.

 

[Shock and Awe]

While I respect the US flag and try to follow flag code and such, a lot of people get to worked up over it. I get annoyed when I see a tattered one flying but thats as far as it really goes.

 

[DefinitelyPsychotic]

...No, it's a big piece of fabric. You could print out a picture of a flag and tear it in half and it would be the same.

People fight and die for their country's flag. At least show a little respect.

 

[kickyourass]

Unless you're talking about a specific flag which was used for something important (Like the flag raised on Iwo Jima or something like that) the only real importance I see in flags is for purposes of identification.

 

[TonyVonTonyus]

No, its just a flag, I get angry/annoyed when people insult my country. The flag is just a piece of cloth with a leaf on it.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

No, because as a person of logic, I can fully acknowledge that it's a piece of fabric. So, burn the American flag, kick it, tear it up, do whatever you want. I really, really don't care. I have more important things to worry about.

...No, it's a big piece of fabric. You could print out a picture of a flag and tear it in half and it would be the same.

People fight and die for their country's flag. At least show a little respect.

I will respect the soldiers that protect my country and I show them respect. The flag is a flag, not a solider. The flag has no feelings. The American flag was probably mass produced in China anyway. Some flag...

 

[joshuaayt]

No- the flag as a symbol means nothing to me, and the flag as an object means even less.

Too many have died in the name of patriotism for me to respect the ideals a flag can represent.

 

[Totenkopf]

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!

I'm not a traditionalist by any means, just because somethings old doesn't make it right but I never said anything about the rejection of history. If anything it's there to learn from, so as not to make the same mistakes all over again. By preservation of history, heritage & values do you mean we should cling to the 'old ways'? This is the core failing of Republicanism.

I don't know what you exactly mean by "old ways", and I'm not entirely sure of what you mean by Republicanism, but I think you could say that my mentality has "anachronistic" elements. I like reading about history (mainly literature about World War 2), and I saw that many things that are nowadays considered "outdated and inhumane" were ultimately better for mankind on a grand scale. For example, I'm deeply fascinated by (prussian) militarism, and I think it's values have the potential to improve our society greatly.

And as for "shared national identity and cultural heritage", they're just buzz words, what do they really mean? Google will bring up more about Americas identity crisis than it will a resolute picture. What do those phrases mean to you in REAL terms?, without resorting to more buzz words.

I'd say in a world better than this one (a global community perhaps?) they would mean everything, in the world we're in however they're just morale boosters for the insular.

Hmm, that's going to be difficult for me to describe, but I'll try nevertheless. The problem here is, that the words are already self-explanatory for me, but I'll try to explain and paraphrase. First things first.

Shared national identity
The concept that the people of a nation / country have a common identity, could be regarded as an extension of patriotism that is meant to provide unity, stability and a proper progress in cultural matters and arts.

Cultural heritage
Could be regarded as part of the term above.
The "grandlore" that the relevant parts of the country's history have spawned, or maybe the legacy and appreciation of that lore.

I'm sorry if those explanations sound confused, it's late and I'm not particularly good at wording things.

 

[Phlakes]

...No, it's a big piece of fabric. You could print out a picture of a flag and tear it in half and it would be the same.

People fight and die for their country's flag. At least show a little respect.

...What?

They fight for a country, not for a piece of cloth. If anyone actually dies for an easily replaceable thing like a flag...

 

[DefinitelyPsychotic]

...No, it's a big piece of fabric. You could print out a picture of a flag and tear it in half and it would be the same.

People fight and die for their country's flag. At least show a little respect.

...What?

They fight for a country, not for a piece of cloth. If anyone actually dies for an easily replaceable thing like a flag...

But what does that flag represent? Try thinking outside the box.

 

[Phlakes]

...No, it's a big piece of fabric. You could print out a picture of a flag and tear it in half and it would be the same.

People fight and die for their country's flag. At least show a little respect.

...What?

They fight for a country, not for a piece of cloth. If anyone actually dies for an easily replaceable thing like a flag...

But what does that flag represent? Try thinking outside the box.

It represents a country like the little swoosh represents Nike. Marking out one of those on your shoe is nothing to get worked up about, no matter how big a fan you are of Nike.

 

[DefinitelyPsychotic]

...No, it's a big piece of fabric. You could print out a picture of a flag and tear it in half and it would be the same.

People fight and die for their country's flag. At least show a little respect.

...What?

They fight for a country, not for a piece of cloth. If anyone actually dies for an easily replaceable thing like a flag...

But what does that flag represent? Try thinking outside the box.

It represents a country like the little swoosh represents Nike. Marking out one of those on your shoe is nothing to get worked up about, no matter how big a fan you are of Nike.

I should have realized that arguing with a person such as you wasn't worth my time. My point is that a flag isn't a useless piece of cloth. It represents a nation and its people. To compare to it the Nike emblem is absolutely absurd. As I said, I truly don't feel like arguing over this. Good night!