Flying the flag upside down is like calling 911. Do it when there is a physical emergency and you have no other comms.
My protest flag, aloft as I type, is the Gadsden. Old Glory has rested on a shelf, properly, triangularly folded since November 2008. I have requested in a codicil to my will (which will expire on January 20, 2017 unless renewed) that, as a veteran entitled to military honors, my burial flag be the Gadsden.
While I have Gadsden stickers on my car, Gadsden monogrammed golf shirts, and a Gadsden mousepad at work, my protest flag is the Bonny Blue ...
see my post 41
You have it right: flying the flag upside-down is just like a 911 call. A political snit does not equate to actual physical peril, and I am amazed at how many so-called conservatives do not seem to be able to grasp this concept.