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True Story: A Neighbor Saw My New “Make America Great Again” Flag–And Cried
This little story definitely falls under the heading of “you can’t make this stuff up!”
I am very proud of my flagpole in my front yard and have proudly flown “Old Glory” for many years. I try hard to keep it replaced when our frequent South Louisiana storms “have their way with” them and I try hard to observe all the rules with regard to the proper care of the American flag.
I was very happy recently to see an ad for a beautiful red flag with large white lettering reading “Make America Great Again” and immediately ordered it to fly with my brand new American flag, without ever giving a thought to the fact that someone might be so offended by the mere sight of the flag that they would voice loud complaints about it. Therefore, I was delighted when the flag came in and I immediately ran it up the flagpole to take its place of honor right below my spanking new American flag.
Shortly thereafter, I got a call from a neighbor and long-time friend, who explained that he was simply doing his duty as grievance Chair of the Homeowners’ Association in conveying to me a complaint he had received from a neighbor, who told him that as they were from Mexico the mere sight of the flag so upset them that they cried for quite some time after seeing it. My friend made it clear that he was doing his duty, but not necessarily in an enthusiastic way, and in the course of the conversation, he said words to the effect “I must tell you, I really like that flag!”
He asked for my response and I asked whether he wanted the dignified response or the one I would really like to give, and he said as he had known me for many years he could probably guess what the “undignified” response would be! So, I responded that it would take a final order of a Court of competent jurisdiction ordering me to take down the flag before it would move one inch; I have had no further complaints. As a matter of fact, another neighbor called me asking for information as to where he could get one for his own flagpole.
If someone tries to tell me there is no such thing as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” I have a true story ready for them. It is real and it is really quite chilling to actually know someone to whom the mere sight of his campaign slogan on a piece of cloth causes them physical upset.
Although if I were truly fair about it, I would have to admit that when I saw a pink knit cap recently at a soccer match, commonly identified by a feline reference and which has become something of an icon for women in The Resistance, if that’s what it’s called this week, I did feel some kind of emotion, mostly sadness for the rather pathetic specimen who was wearing it.
But I did not cry. And if I had, I would never, ever, ever admit it to one living soul!
Published in General
While it lasts….
That is the American way.
Homeowner associations seem to really get their panties in a knot over flags. Sheldon Cooper could not have fun with flags if he lived in a HOA community. They are created to force parameters of equality, including politics. You don’t have freedom of speech anymore than you have the right to build whatever type of house you would like.
We are a rambunctious people, or should be. We should work hard, play hard, have loud debates over whatever strikes our fancy, and always remember there is more we have in common than different. We grieve our losses so we can move on. She is crying because she is an American, and knows she has the power of an individual. If this were truly a despotic nation, she wouldn’t let her feelings be known.
I’d leave the flag up. If she is a Christian, she should have approached you first before going to the board.
Thank you for using such a broad brush on me.
I don’t need your preaching, but burning a US flag while you are taking advantage of their hospitality is a far different animal than burning a Mexican flag in the US.
That’s why there are HOA’s – one good reason among several. And ask anyone that has served, it’s a thankless and often miserable job.
No body teaches that in church. That should be part of a new believers class.
Well the Cubs W is Blue. But the DC Nationals logo is a Red W, and must have caused major cognitive dissonance in the minds of the Progs in DC……
It really was thankless. As President, my mom lost good friends by enforcing the contract everyone signed. That’s the thing that non-HOA folks don’t understand. The HOA doesn’t go around making up laws, they enforce the contract. That contract cannot be changed without 2/3 majority vote of all residents, and those votes were some hell-raising events, too.
They kept a lawyer on retainer to make sure the contract – and the enforcement of it – was legal, at all times. To the guy earlier who said his parents were forced to paint in a certain color, well, if that was in the contract, and they signed it, then yeah. That’s the deal. If it wasn’t in the contract, then they can say “no”.
When my mom died, all her kids agreed that, even though it was in a less-than-wonderful part of Houston, we got about $20K more than she paid for it when we sold it, because of the HOA keeping the place beautiful and in perfect shape.
For the people that enjoy the restrictions that come with an HOA, good for you. But I’d rather live next to someone who has painted their house to look like the Soviet flag than someone who wants to tell me what I can do with my own property.
That is some quality salt mining.
Another approach would be to take the MAGA flag down out of consideration for your new neighbors’ feelings and intentionally befriend them. This would accomplish several things. For one, it would show that people of the right do not behave like leftists who are incapable of tolerating those who don’t see the world exactly like they do. An act of magnanimity on your part would demonstrate that those who voted for Trump don’t have horns and a tail and make good friends and neighbors given the opportunity. It would create an atmosphere of friendliness and good will in your neighborhood as others follow your excellent example. Another benefit is that you and your new neighbors may learn things about each other that will enrich the lives of everyone involved. You would be doing your small part to heal the rift in the country and everyone would win.
That’s my .02.
16 years of being polite gave us all Hitler mustaches.
I’d rather display what I like regardless and continue to nod and smile welcomingly and treat others with kindness than capitulate to unreasonable people.
My kid wore an Adorable Deplorable shirt to the Dr yesterday. They are all hispanics and we have been there for almost 8 years.
They know me and mine and I have always been kind. Showing off my politics probably did more for the R image than me hiding his shirt in a jacket.
Oh those crazy Catholics. They sure do like their pyromaniacs.
So you might have, then.
Not exactly what I meant. There is plenty wrong with the United States, too. But it’s our country and we do the best we can – we’re advantaged because the US was built on an ideal that has proven true, and which has lead to great success. We should celebrate that and grow it.
Painting you with a broad brush? I’m not sure what you mean. I was responding to Mike’s suggestion that the author of the OP start burning Mexican flags for no apparent reason but that a person of Mexican heritage disliked his MAGA flag. I don’t believe he said that the neighbor was burning an American flag… or even that the neighbor was not an American.
That ideal was limited, decentralized governing authority. I would hardly say that it has been borne out to fruition in 2017 and I would hasten to call what the US is today with what it was, in terms of the governing system, in 1800 a “great success.” I am not going to celebrate the obliteration of the state government’s role in our general government, the POTUS as “chief legislator,” and the ability to deploy US military at the snap of a finger from the White House. I am certainly not going to celebrate a judiciary which now issues rulings based on the fact that they did not vote for the POTUS issuing Ex Ords. I am not going to celebrate an administrative state that will work harder to derail the electoral process than they do ensuring good stewardship of the People’s money. In short, when it comes to the United States as a governing ideal, I find very little to celebrate.
I would guess that you’ve never had a truly terrible neighbor, then, like a hoarder, or someone who has a dozen cats or dogs who prefer your yard to their own for a bathroom, or… or someone who painted their house like the Soviet flag… and doesn’t care how you feel about it. I’ll also bet that the only thing you know about HOAs is the flag stories you hear on Fox News.
You see, the people who call Sean Hannity know that the HOA is not allowed to talk to the media about legal issues and tell the actual truth. The HOA can’t show the contract that says “no flags of any kind” – right next to the owner’s signature. So viewers get to call them “Nazis” and what-have-you while only knowing half the story. My mother and father served in the Army proudly, and the idea that people called my mother “Nazi” or “Commie” for enforcing the HOA contract hurt my mother’s feelings very much. She loved America more than most of the people calling her names.
You see, if you let “that one guy” break the contract, the entire contract can no longer be enforced… at all. Every piece of crap who is living for the moment they can break the rules, will do so.
I have had homeowner associations about half the time. The biggest problem typically is that a small number of really progressive types will decide they want to control their neighbors and get a voting majority on the homeowner’s board. (Usually surprisingly easy to do, since most people do not want the hassle of serving on a board, and the associations are begging for those willing to run for spots, frequently unopposed.) Then once they have the votes, they make changes to the Ts&Cs that let them indulge their desires to play dictator.
For example, specifying that one could have a single piece of statuary in the owner controlled planter area, but it could only be a maximum of 18″ tall, and it could only have a color scheme with grays, beiges , or tans. Lots of similar petty restrictions. That becomes annoying, and then one spends two to three years running individuals that are less progressive, and who do not want to control their neighbors, regains voting control, and vote out the last groups bad ideas.
Ugly, but once done, they usually don’t make those restrictions again. (But they will think of new ones, control and pettiness never reach limits.)
They shouldn’t have been allowed to make changes without a 2/3 vote. I would have immediately had that added to the contract at the next HOA meeting. The control of Power can be done both ways.
We used to live in a development with a dormant HOA. There was a group trying to activate it. Their pitch was centered around building community tennis courts. I opposed the idea that a small number of (affluent, as it turns out) people needed to have me (among others, of course) pay for the facilities, maintenance, and operating expenses of pursuing their passtime.
I reacted the same way to proposals for municipal golf courses.
You’re taking this quite personally. I’m not calling your mother any names and I agree that people ought to live up to their contractual obligations. I’m saying I plan to stay away from HOA’s if I buy a home because I don’t want to live under the restrictions, not that I wish to join a HOA then violate the rules. It’s the difference between someone saying “I won’t ever marry” and “I’ll get married but I’m not going to be faithful.” I offered no insult to those who want to be in a HOA, I’m simply saying I don’t.
And you’d be placing a losing bet if you think I watch or listen to Sean Hannity.
I don’t disagree. But in response to Mike’s comment that “there’s plenty wrong with Mexico,” of course there is. As you observe, there’s plenty wrong with the US as well. As conservatives, we celebrate (or preach, or whatever) the ideal of our system. As I say about immigration in other contexts, the problem is not foreign countries, the problem is liberalism. If we can convert Americans to conservatism, or attract conservatives from Mexico (or anywhere else), I don’t care which, we’re doing well.
Sure, but I think his point had more to do with not wanting to live in such a neighborhood. I do not want someone saying “no flags of any kind,” either. Personally, I wouldn’t sign on to it. If I did, I’d have less room to complain… and I’m all for freedom of association/contract/etc… but it does become a bit less of a freedom when you own property and the HOA can change without your consent.
If they are benign, why is it so important to fly it? And why would it be important to protect the right to fly it?
You are correct, and I apologize. I lumped in all the comments, not yours, into my response. When I hear someone saying something terrible about HOAs, I still take it personally even though mom died a decade ago, and you were just saying you don’t want one, which I fully understand. I’ve never had one, either, although I have never been faced with the choice. I think I would ask to see the HOA contract if I ever looked at a property under an HOA.
Your last comment truly shocked me. I didn’t know anyone on this site didn’t watch Fox News. What do you watch, Rachel Maddow? Kidding! :-)
Ha, I do record and watch three shows from Fox and Fox Business, but they’re the more light-hearted shows: Kennedy, Red Eye, and Greg Gutfeld. I am sorry to hear that your mom was so hassled by people who signed a contract without reading it.
Unfortunately there is reality and when presented with the proposition that immigrants feed their families, or pursue their Dolche-Gabbana lifestyle, base on conservative ideals or real money doled out by the Left and their general government minions, which do you think is going to generate a response? The reality of the situation is that so long as conservatives refuse to frame the fight in terms of how our system should function, the Left will always be able to beat them because at the end of the day, in our present circumstance, the only way to reach our ideal is to have that states reassert their proper place at the table of power within our general government. Otherwise you conservatives are merely relieving yourselves in the headwinds of reality. Unfortunately, some of your spray is starting to get on those of us who are trying to actually win this fight.
It is important to protect our cultural tradition of free speech and tolerance of speech with which one disagrees. The First Amendment underpins that cultural tradition, but dies not strictly apply here. It is especially important to educate folks living here but who came here from other countries. Assimilation.