Posted by Tamar on July 8, 2005, at 20:48:18
In reply to stealing a flag-what does it mean?, posted by smokeymadison on July 8, 2005, at 12:52:46
> i am writing a news story about a woman who stole a flag during the Vietnam War in protest of the war and then recently returned the flag b/c of a guilty conscience. funny thing is, the man she sent the flag to recently had his flag stolen on the 4th of July. one can only wonder if it was a protest over the war in Iraq.
>
> i suppose stealing a flag isn't as strong a statement as burning one. but what exactly does it mean to steal a flag? is it the empty space that is left? or is it what you do w/ the flag once you steal it? the woman just hid it all these years. what does that mean?I've met people who have stolen flags (not in the USA). They did it to express their frustration with the status quo. Yes, the thing that is noticed is the empty space. So the act of stealing a flag is most effective if you steal it from a government building or something like that. Stealing a flag from a neighbour's front lawn is probably annoying to the neighbour, but doesn't make much of a statement.
I wonder more about what it means to return a stolen flag. Why the guilt? Have the woman's feelings changed? Does she now believe Vietnam was a necessary and just war? But these are probably questions for the political board, which I avoid for fear of being blocked for the rest of my life...
Tamar
poster:Tamar
thread:524948
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050708/msgs/525211.html