It would be nice to know when the picture of the bags in the CBS were taken. Could this be a picture before the convention started?
I take it you are referring to the pic where the flags are neatly rolled and in large clean black plastic bags? Perhaps there were some that were never used. But there were clearly many discarded by the large crowd. The vets claim about 12,000 were there. And how do you not take an American flag given to you at such an event home with you, at least as a memento.
I agree. To me the photo of the "neat" flags from the garbage bags was a picture taken before the event, before the flags were handed out. The reason I think this way is because they are bundled too uniformly and neatly, like they just came from a factory run. The other pictures, showing them in bags along with other trash, are the after event pictures.