Posted on 07/12/2012 8:33:50 AM PDT by raccoonradio
WRENTHAM — Just a week after the nation celebrated its birthday, residents of the Garden Lane public housing complex are being told they can no longer display their patriotism by hanging U.S. flags outside their homes.
Tenants of the complex, operated near the center of town by the Wrentham Housing Authority, were notified of the new policy through a letter taped to their doors sometime Wednesday afternoon.
The letter, which is unsigned but is on housing authority letterhead, says the move was made after a tenant repeatedly complained to the state Department of Housing and Community Development over the July 4th holiday.
“(The) Wrentham Housing Authority has been informed that the public display of the American flag in common areas is not permitted,” it said.
The letter goes on to say that flags can still be displayed inside tenants’ apartments, just not outside.
“Flags may be visible through the apartment windows, but may not be displayed on the exterior of the buildings or on the ground around the buildings,” it said.
There is no explanation given for the rule, other than the complaints of a tenant. Housing Authority Executive Director Nancy Siegel was not available Wednesday afternoon for comment.
A call to a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Housing and Community Development was not returned Wednesday.
Ironically, flag-holding hardware is affixed to doors throughout the complex.
The issue in Wrentham is similar to one that developed last year at Gardner Terrace, a privately owned, but government subsidized affordable housing complex in Attleboro.
There, tenants were forbidden from putting any decorations, including flags, on their doors after a resident posted an Irish slur.
Whatever the reasoning for the rule, it quickly rankled residents of the Wrentham housing, including Barbara Marshall, the only tenant to have a flag hung up outside her home Wednesday afternoon.
Marshall, 82, called the policy “unbelievable,” and said she’s proudly hung a flag outside her apartment for more than a dozen years.
“I’ve always had a flag,” she said. “I’m very upset.”
At times speaking through tears, Marshall said veterans have played an important role in her family’s history, from her brother landing in Normandy D-Day invasion during World War II, to her work in shelters, to her grandson clearing graves in Plainville.
“All my family is so indebted to the veterans, to that flag,” she said.
Upon reading the letter, Marshall, who is recovering from surgery, said she had to lie down because she was so upset.
She said she will not remove the flag herself and will document any other attempts to discard it.
“If somebody wants to come and take the flag down, I’ll take pictures,” she said.
Marshall said she intends to call U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a Wrentham resident, to see if his office can help change the policy.
“Somebody’s got to help,” she said.
For now, though, Marshall said she’ll continue to hang her flag proudly despite what the letter, which also contains regulations for gardening, says.
“I don’t care about the gardening, but don’t take my flag,” she said.
One person complained. Hey, if I complain to Congress about funding of NPR, will they obey me, even though it’s just one person? Why not?
Sen. Scott Brown lives in Wrentham...I’m sure he’ll say “c’mon gimme a break” when he hears this.
If burning a flag is free speech, isn’t flying a flag also free speech?
Note that this singles out American Flags on the 4th of July. Please feel free to fly the Daily Planet Flag during World Cup.
Let’s have a little experiment. They should all fly the gay rainbow flags instead and see if they get the same response. If not then sue their butts—pun intended.
good point
and to use the oft-quoted bit (I’ll use a slightly amended version from talk host Pat Whitley (added words in
parentheses):
It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag who allows the protester (the freedom he abuses) to burn the flag.
Howie Carr list ping. People’s Republic of Wrentham
Eh? I just enjoyed the idea of someone being so upset they have to lie down. Not even my grandma’s like that and she’s Irish.
The letter, which is unsigned but is on housing authority letterhead, says the move was made after a tenant repeatedly complained to the state Department of Housing and Community Development over the July 4th holiday.
Tyranny of the minority. Get used to it.
“Flags may be visible through the apartment windows, but may not be displayed on the exterior of the buildings or on the ground around the buildings,” it said.
Don’t expect that to last long, because surely the complainers eyes will still be offended.
WHO?
What if a tenant complains about the lack of a flag?
There was a recent study that suggested the sight of American Flags induces people to think conservatively, and act conservatively in the voting booth.
The Leftists know this.
Some very confused math at work here.
A single individual is upset so we are going to upset dozens so that this individual can be at peace.
Only an agent of government could calculate so poorly.
the move was made after a tenant repeatedly complained to the state Department of Housing and Community Development over the July 4th holiday.
So here we have a person living in public housing; housing that is at least subsidized by government funds.
So this tenant while living in his/her apartment by the grace of charity of the tax paying citizens of the united states can not bare to look upon the flag which represents the people upon whose charity he or she depends.
This ungrateful wretch should be asked to seek other accommodations.
Make everyone fly one and call it a “tax”.
Apparently someone came to their senses:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/19009901/state-housing-authority-flag-display-ban-a-mistake
I would hav ethought thare was some kind of lease, even for public housing, and adding a rule that was not part of the original agreement might have offered some legal recourse for the tenants. It appears a few thousand calls/emails were more efficient than any legal recourse.
I’d start flying the Stars and Bars.
“What if a tenant complains about the lack of a flag?”
What if ALL the tenants complained about the lack of a flag, and repeatedly called the Housing Authority.
Wouldn’t that trump the lone caller?
If that won’t work, then it’s time for a blanket party.
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