Ban on flag rescinded
Posted on 03/26/2003 5:22:34 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Fire bureau officials in Oregon's largest city this morning rescinded a controversial order to remove American flags from fire engines.
The order was issued yesterday to avoid provoking dangerous confrontations with anti-war demonstrators. This morning, however, Fire Chief Ed Wilson issued a statement reversing the decision.
Ban on flag rescinded |
"Our intention was certainly not to stifle patriotism," Wilson said. "Rather, we made the choice to put firefighter safety first."
"It's entirely appropriate for firefighters to display the American flag," the chief stated. "The order to remove the flags was born of good intentions, but it was a mistake."
Yesterday, Portland Fire Bureau Deputy Chief Gary Warrington issued a memo to his three downtown companies stating that the policy to remove the flags "will continue until we no longer have sustained close contact interaction with protesters and demonstrators."
"Protesters have threatened our personnel and are burning flags in the street," yesterday's memo said. "We do not want extremists attacking our apparatus or our personnel."
Firefighters immediately complained, Portland's daily paper, the Oregonian, said.
"Taking the flag down hits a lot of nerves with a lot of people," said Tom Chamberlain, president of the Portland Firefighters Association. "It's part of our uniform. There's a lot of pride that goes with being a firefighter."
Union officials had sought a compromise that would permit the firefighters to display the flag under some circumstances, Chamberlain said.
Portland fire companies began flying the flag from rearview mirrors and other parts of their trucks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which killed hundreds of New York firefighters. Bureau officials debated the issue as some, including firefighters, thought certain presentations of the flag were irreverent. A policy resulted that explicitly allowed display of the flag on trucks.
Warrington decided, however, to issue a new policy yesterday after fire crews responded to a downtown protest last Thursday that included flag burnings.
The deputy chief said his decision prompted many phone calls, including one from a citizen who questioned his patriotism.
That hurt, he told the Oregonian.
"My position is not, 'We should bow to those people, we should be worried about them, we should let them win,' " Warrington said. "That is not it at all."
"I absolutely want to stand up and support the flag," he said. "All I was trying to do was keep our members from being put in harm's way."
The Portland paper said peace activists also objected. Will Seaman of the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition insisted that many who oppose the war "are classic patriots who revere the flag as a symbol of freedom and democracy."
Seaman said he wondered if the bureau actually intended to stir up tensions between the firefighters and protesters.
The Oregonian reported that by the end of the day, the firefighters anger had tempered somewhat.
Union chief Chamberlain said he respected the bureau's intent, noting that some crews at the protest last week worried that the situation "could have turned ugly."
In response, a commander at the demonstration ordered flags removed that night, he said.
"The fire bureau and the union should sit down and come up with a consistent policy that allows folks to fly the flags and come up with parameters for circumstances under which you don't fly them," Chamberlain said.
NEW YORK (AP) The Grand Hotel in Poughkeepsie has a strict policy: No refunds on deposits after you've booked your wedding reception even if your plans change.
But management is bending the rules for one young couple separated by the war in Iraq.
Bonnie Luft, 23, and Robert Kissmann, 24, had planned a May 24 reception at the hotel until Kissmann, a U.S. Marine Corps reservist, was called to active duty on Jan. 11.
Eager to get married before he was sent to Kuwait, the pair tied the knot in a last-minute ceremony at a friend's house just days after he learned he would be leaving.
Luft, now Bonnie Kissmann, then tried to get the couple's $5,000 deposit back, and was told it would not be refunded. The hotel said it would give the couple credit for a future party, but would not return the money.
After the Kissmanns' story attracted local media attention, the hotel relented.
''We're going to refund their money, with no conditions,'' Joseph Bonura Jr., a manager and the co-owner's son, said last week.
No I think -- "The order to remove the flags was born of an attack of wimpism, but it was a mistake."
same cr@p, different a-hole.
Fire Chief Ed Wilson, and those other town "officials" need to be made to watch the classic movie "High Noon". After which they should be tarred and feathered.
What a sad, sad state of affairs when it's dangerous to display Old Glory in the US of A. Our country is being taken over by the stupid.
Then bring the hammer down on the extremist element that is out there BREAKING THE LAW!
No, the order was born in cowardance. Good intentions my @ss,
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