Oh, I forgot to mention...in case YOU forgot, being that you are senile and an alcoholic, a Sigma Kappa was the first sorority casualty in Iraq. So you can bite me.

If you don't agree with Tom Earp, the terrorists will win!

That's about the gist of what Earp's post seemed to say.

Question: Since your flag pole was blown down and your flag presumably touched the ground; are you burning the flag yourself or having a local Boy Scout Troop do it? You're not putting that same flag back up right?

That's pretty respectful. As I said, is our flag equal to a condom?

A few other points.

Who is BA? Perhaps Ageism is in the eye of the beholder. Like a lot of other "isms". I'm offended by the term "Good old boys" which brings to my mind vision of a bunch of fat old men with cigars in a back room figuring out how to cheat. The term did not originate around a group of twenty year olds. I'm not fat, have never smoked cigars or cigarettes and am a pretty straight shooter when it comes to other people. I'm also not senile (yet, at least) and haven't been drunk in many years. Perhaps what some of you can't understand and/or deal with is a difference in perspective.

I won't try to tell you what you should believe is sexist or racist or whatever, and I don't expect you to tell me what is ageist. Now, you show me something that I've posted to support sexism, racism, homophobia or anything of the type, and I will appologize.

What I can do is form my own opinion about just about anyone or anything and not join a bunch of bandwagoning and/or piling on someone I don't like whenever or whatever he/she says. The other thing I can do is try to be civil in my posts whether they're popular or not.

I don't use vulgar language in posts either. That IS against the TOS. So are personal attacks, by the way. That goes to Tom and everyone else.

My best friend is a volunteer firefighter (a lieutenant) and I know they do a tremendous community service whether their uniform has a flag on it or not. It just so happens that our soldiers and Marines fighting today have flag patches on their uniforms. A lot of cops do, too.

If you all don't think that a member of my and older generations think they're honoring our country and armed forces by flying the flag, you don't know much about us. Particularly those of us who have served. My best guess is that I know or have known more service members than most on this board. Or have all of you been members of a military unit as well?

There are some "holier than thou" attitudes in this thread. Read it over again. Look at it from both sides.

The title of this thread is "My flagpole is down." That's a simple, declarative sentence. That doesn't necessarily mean that Tom had anything in mind except to say that the pole in his yard, holding a flag fell down for whatever reason. Maybe he's not the one considering it inuendo in this case. Or maybe he is. I'll go with the innocent until proven guilty.

Some tones of smuggness and moral superiority gets pretty old. Maybe some will grow out of that. I understand that some people are smarter and/or more intelligent than I am. That doesn't go for everyone on this thread -- although it may for some. I don't know all of you personally, nor do you know me.

Finally.

Whether you like Tom Earp or not, or whether he likes you, I would mention two other things to both:

Judge ye not, lest ye be judged, and something about Do Unto Others...

My initial comments, asked in the form of a question, weren't met with a lot of civility. That's a disappointment to me.

Good night.

It's called Freedom of Speech/Freedom of Expression. Granted GC isn't the government, but speech involving the flag is one of the ultimate examples of protected speech. And what's more- no one said it was an American Flag. It could've been a McDonalds flag for all we know!

That's because it was a humorous thread and then you came in and tried to scold and lecture people. Of course people aren't going to like that. People don't like to be lectured, nor was there any need to deliver a lecture here. You're not anyone on this board's father, clergy or teacher.

I'll respect your opinion, but I would ask that you respect some of the other opinions expressed as well...

Your comments, as "civil" as you claim that they were, still came off as scolding. My response is, I'd rather not be scolded by someone on a message board especially when I don't see anything terribly wrong with my own comments.

Also, please do not pull the "I know more service members than you" card. I could go through the list: my father, grandfathers, friends from high school and college, work friends, and many others who have served, from WWII, to Vietnam, through the Gulf War and those who are overseas now. To presume that the those realities haven't affected us, or that they've affected us less than you, is taking quite a leap.

I realize you were ROTC, and I respect that; but please respect that the rest of us may not be ignorant to the thoughts and feelings of those who have served. No, I did not serve, for reasons that are really none of your business or anyone else's business on this board (besides maybe KSigRC, and that's only because he's a friend and pledge brother).

Finally, my comments were not motivated by hate/dislike/whatever for Tom or anyone. I have no reason for me to "like" or not "like" him or anyone else on this board. I have met three members of the board in real life (one who no longer posts), and had extended conversations with a handful of others, all of whom I liked very much. As to everyone else, I wouldn't presume to know enough about them to form an opinion.

I've sent you a PM for further talk on this, since this thread is a mess anyway.

Jeeze guys, settle down a little bit. I can hear you all bickering from over here in Australia. :p :rolleyes:

I have 2 friends over in the Middle East, another in Afghanistan and another who is in East Timor atm. All 4 of them are in Royal Australian Army infantry positions and all of them in harms way. I'll admit that while our flag is pretty important to them, its not the be all and end all that you guys are worrying about. If anything, they view humour and the ability to occasionally laugh and unwind more important than any petty politics, due to the simple truth that bullets don't care what beliefs you have.

So if you all want to do honour to your troops or service people of any kind and give them some real support, quit the petty bullshit thats been present in this thread and give them something that will bring a genuine smile to their faces. Believe me, it'ld help the service people that are here in these forums a lot more than the majority of the posts made in this thread by certain members (Mods included) so far.

Definitely - at the end of the day there are some great programs to support the troops beyond flying the flag.

No matter what others may be saying in the thread, I don't think (on either side) this comes down to a lack of support for the troops who are currently fighting, or those who have served in previous situations.

Absolutely. This thread had nothing to do with that at all. The OP tried to throw that attack in our faces and successfully deflected the attention from his own missteps and then all these posters started a pissing contest about who is related to the most military men and women.

Which, admittedly, while I was one who entered into the contest, doesn't really matter. We really don't know each person's experiences, so no one on EITHER side should be making judgments on the other side.

I personally think that if they read this thread they'd laugh their asses off like I did. Here's to you military personnel...at this point anything goes for a laugh over there, so this thread is dedicated to you and other people who like wiping their asses on the american flag!

Several of you have commented that this is a humerous thread.

Look back at its origin.

I don't think it was meant to be.

I don't believe that the originator of the thread was making a joke.

I think that some were trying to make a joke at Tom's expense.

That's my real problem here.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Thank you DeltAlum.

It was posted as I was very upset about My Flag Pole with My and Our Flag flying on it representing Our Country and the Men and Women who are in Harms Way for us to give You the right to make posts such as some have.

Is the Flag that touched the ground going to be destroyed, yes it is as perscribed by Tradition. I have always had My Flags destroyed in the proper manner as a member of My Country. Do any of you or do you even feel it is proper to fly the outward symbol of Your Country!

I get belittled, berated, and make fun of as like it was a sexual conotation. But it seems to be in many of the minds of some of the posters.

So, why should I get upset with some of the pettiness of some who post that flying My Flag showing my support for our troops?

You people are out of line and while I do not wear a bracelet on my wrist, I send things to My fellow Brothers who are over there fighting for me and you to give you the right to say things like this.

DeltAlum, You have a great Thanksgiving also!

In case you haven't noticed, no one is trying to take away our freedom to say what we want (other than the government). The soldiers are not fighting so we can sit here and say these things. They're fighting because Bush told them to. This whole 'fighting for America's freedom' thing is old and redundant. Stop saying it.

Oh, come on, counselor. There's no attempt to censor anyone here, and as you point out there's no First Amendment issue anyway. I didn't ask for the post to be removed or changed in any way.

I gave an opinion that the comment is disrespectful, and I still think it is.