From the archives of sickening.....

[Muenkel 0]

My niece is 11 years old and attends 6th grade in the local elementary school. This term she has been assigned 'flag duty', meaning she and another classmate hang the flag every morning and take it down at the end of the day. When she received this assignment she remembered that she noticed many flags at half staff around town. She was not sure of the exact reason, but 3 came to mind. She believed it was either for the victims of Katrina, in honor of Chief Justice Rehnquist or the anniversary of 9/11. So on her first day, she hung the flag at half staff. Immediately she was chastised by her teacher for doing this. She explained to the best of her ability the reasons for placing the flag at half staff. She was punished for this and taken off flag duty for the entire year! Not surprising that this happened in Massachusetts. My niece held back her tears until she got home. Needless to say, the Principal and Superintendant will be hearing from her parents.

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Chris

[NtheSeaOrSky 0]

WOW

I am speechless.

Didn't our president call for them to be flown half-staff for a certain time?

Life is not fair and there are no guarantees...

[Guest 1010]

Here ya go ...


Half-Staff Notification for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

The extension rings a gentleman named Frank, I assume he or someone will be there during business hours ...

"The decision to fly flags at half-staff ultimately rests with the Governor, but is normally made and carried out by the Superintendent. The Bureau notifies other state-managed facilities in Massachusetts of this decision. This notification is distributed by way of e-mail. If you would like to be added to this list, please e-mail Half-Staff Notification (FDicker@bsb.state.ma.us) or call (617) 727-1100 x35521."


Its unfortunate because you'd like your kids to be able to look up the Principal and Superintendant of a school district ... maybe the lesson here is that not everyone is the same (like Disneys Its a Small World would have us believe) but that there are real and dramatic differences between people. Is that a good concept for an 11yo? I don't know. What do the parents wish to accomplish by calling the powers that be? Are they (the powers) also weak enough to knuckle under to parents' calls, or just uninformed that all the rest of the flags in the country are at half-staff?

(Late Show announcer voice: "And this has been the 1010 Speakers' Corner Post of the Day.")

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[kelel01 1]

Yes, he did, although I, too, am unsure of the reason.

They should be fired for being too stupid to function in society.

Edit: or whatever 1010 said. But regardless, it's shitty of them to remove her from flag duty.

[NtheSeaOrSky 0]

kelel, I was pretty sure it was ordered for the hurricane victims, the other two follwed quite closely afterwards though.

Life is not fair and there are no guarantees...

[Muenkel 0]

The issue is more how they treated their 11 YEAR OLD daughter. It's not like she brought a bible to school.

_________________________________________
Chris

[Guest 1010]

gotcha

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[Frenchy68 0]

It's "only" a flag. To me, it means as much as the person who raises/lowers/flies it wants it to mean. Which can mean a lot, or very little. Regardless of what was decided or not by the powers that be, she's only 11 years old for crying out loud.
Symbolisms are important, but the intention behind them are much more crucial. IMO.

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[Rebecca 0]

Exactly - she was being conscientious, trying to do it RIGHT by honoring those for whom it was lowered. Seems they're treating her like she was pulling a prank...

I think flag history and protocol should be mandatory civics lessons.

Hey Muenkel, if it makes any difference, tell her she's cool in my book.

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[rehmwa 2]

What Rebecca said. Good thing not all teachers are like that. Just the ones that make the news.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[JohnRich 4]

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So on her first day, she hung the flag at half staff. Immediately she was chastised by her teacher for doing this.

I think the teacher should be strung upside-down at half-mast.

And when half-masting a flag, you run it all the way to the top quickly, then reverse direction and lower it to half-mast slowly.

(One of my duties for a month of guard duty on a USMC base was to raise and lower the flag each day. It was the only time I got to order officers around; when I hollered "Standby for colors!", they all had to come to a stop, or else. )

[HydroGuy 0]

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My niece is 11 years old and attends 6th grade in the local elementary school. This term she has been assigned 'flag duty', meaning she and another classmate hang the flag every morning and take it down at the end of the day. When she received this assignment she remembered that she noticed many flags at half staff around town. She was not sure of the exact reason, but 3 came to mind. She believed it was either for the victims of Katrina, in honor of Chief Justice Rehnquist or the anniversary of 9/11. So on her first day, she hung the flag at half staff. Immediately she was chastised by her teacher for doing this. She explained to the best of her ability the reasons for placing the flag at half staff. She was punished for this and taken off flag duty for the entire year! Not surprising that this happened in Massachusetts. My niece held back her tears until she got home. Needless to say, the Principal and Superintendant will be hearing from her parents.

Just post the principals and/or superintendants phone number on here...

1 families complaint might be shrugged off, but a couple hundred random phone calls might get their attention.

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[skydivermom 0]

Yet another reason that I am REJOICING that my husband and I decided to HOMESCHOOL!

Mrs. WaltAppel

All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

[Muenkel 0]

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Hey Muenkel, if it makes any difference, tell her she's cool in my book

Thanks Rebecca, I will tell her. She'll be especially excited that it came from a skydiver. She thinks skydivers are extremely cool.

To everyone who read my post: In regard to her parents getting involved, it's the principal of the matter. They are very active parents and not afraid to do battle when they believe one of their kids has been wronged.

To John Rich: When I asked her about the incident, she told me that she did raise the flag to the top and then bring it down to half staff. I asked her how she knew that was the proper way. Her answer was that that's the way she has seen it done. Smart and observant kid!

_________________________________________
Chris

[ACMESkydiver 0]

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Hey Muenkel, if it makes any difference, tell her she's cool in my book

Thanks Rebecca, I will tell her. She'll be especially excited that it came from a skydiver. She thinks skydivers are extremely cool.

To everyone who read my post: In regard to her parents getting involved, it's the principal of the matter. They are very active parents and not afraid to do battle when they believe one of their kids has been wronged.

To John Rich: When I asked her about the incident, she told me that she did raise the flag to the top and then bring it down to half staff. I asked her how she knew that was the proper way. Her answer was that that's the way she has seen it done. Smart and observant kid!

VERY observant kid.

Chris tell her that her actions honored all those that have served under that flag. You have 2 right here.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Rookie120 0]

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One of my duties for a month of guard duty on a USMC base was to raise and lower the flag each day. It was the only time I got to order officers around; when I hollered "Standby for colors!", they all had to come to a stop, or else

I had the privilege of flag duty for a week when I was in the Army also. Every morning I got goose bumps when revile would sound and that flag made it's way up the pole. Retreat always gave me a good feeling also. Just one of the good memories when I was in.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[sfzombie13 324]

tell her form me, a veteran of two wars, that she has my gratitude for respecting the flag, and properly observing flag ettiquitte. i see a lot of people flying flags that need to be retired(faded, in several peices, etc), and flying at night unlighted(there are only three places that this is permitted). for an 11 yo girl to know how to properly treat the flag restores a little faith in the country.

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[billvon 3,132]

I think one of the problems with the 'flag at half mast' thing is that the world has gotten so much smaller. We know what's going on everywhere; that leads to knowing more about the disasters that take place regularly throughout the world.

Surely it makes sense to lower them to half mast for Katrina; would seem to make sense for disasters like the tsunami as well, for they affect us directly nowadays. But then again, it also makes sense to fly the flag at half mast when a handful of US Marines are killed in the line of duty, and that happens with depressing regularity lately.

With so many disasters happening throughout the world, we're left with a flag that is almost perpetually at half mast. Does that tend to diffuse the meaning of flying at half mast, if it's always there? It would be sad if that happened; to have a generation of americans who grow up thinking we are a nation of perpetual mourning - at least, if you go by the flag.

[Michele 1]

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With so many disasters happening throughout the world, we're left with a flag that is almost perpetually at half mast. Does that tend to diffuse the meaning of flying at half mast, if it's always there? It would be sad if that happened; to have a generation of americans who grow up thinking we are a nation of perpetual mourning - at least, if you go by the flag.

That's not exactly the point of the thread, though. Maybe start a new thread and keep those subjects bifurcated?

The issue is that an 11 year old girl was observing what her President asked: and that is that the flag be flown at half mast for a period of time. When she did that, she was castigated by those "in charge" and removed from the honor of raising/lowering the flag. And that, frankly, is a shame and a half.

Chris, tell her that yet another skydiver thinks she did it right, and is proud of her for not only being observant, but showing big respect to the flag and those for which it waves. Let her know I appreciate it, all right?

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Muenkel 0]

Very good point Bill. This isolated incident states your case perfectly. At that point in time, we were dealing with a natural catastrophe, the death of our Chief Justice and the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on our soil.

Just read Michele's post and I agree that it is not the point of this thread. However, Bill's statement is the basis for a valid discussion.

Michele, I will forward your thoughts to her. She finds out tomorrow if she is going to be put back on flag duty.

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Chris