Comments on: Educating the educators about flag protocol

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:03:25 +0000

Help for my tangled flag!
Great blog and information on proper flag protocol however, I need some help! I can’t keep my flag from tangling. I have bought everything I can find on the market, but everyday I’m outside unwrapping my flag to get it straight. I’m getting too old and tired getting out my ladder everyday to untangle it. Does anyone know of a solution to my problem. There is nothing worse than seeing an American Flag all tangled up on a flagpole.

By: Deborah Hendrick

Deborah Hendrick — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:10:18 +0000

You are bang on the mark, Dave.
And I think I will start designing a brochure. Won’t Larry be surprised!

By: Dave J.

Dave J. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:33:27 +0000

I was thinking a brochure, too.

The problem is, and Larry and I have discussed before about other issues, is finding who is truly responsible. The secretary may buy flags, the janitor puts it up the flag, and the admin office calls for every half-staff change. But no one is really responsible for the whole process, I am guessing.

By: Deborah Hendrick

Deborah Hendrick — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:50:27 +0000

Pauline, thank you for writing. I appreciate your thoughtful and encouraging words. Maybe I need to create a little brochure that I could give to people. Deborah

By: Pauline

Pauline — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:08:06 +0000

I would expect most people to be open to polite correction in this area. People generally fly the flag because they want to show respect for it as a symbol of their country. I would certainly want to know if I was doing it wrong, and I would think other people would also.

It sounds like the situation you describe is one where there is a lot of history behind it, and the person you talked to is probably tired of the ongoing problem and very sensitive about it.

People will tend to be defensive when they’re told they’ve been doing something wrong, especially something that is by design open to public view. But the contact person for a school or business, usually a receptionist, is used to taking information to pass along to the person with the responsibility and authority to do something, and I think most would take it in the spirit it is given.

An individual flying a flag in front of a private house is another matter. I still think that most would want to learn to fly the flag correctly, but there are all sorts of people and some will not take criticism of any kind well.