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Originally Posted by Logseman
The matter itself is simple, and a beaten horse in this thread, even, but I feel it's good to repeat it: if the flag is his, and the space where he is to display it is his, he can put a US flag, a Union Jack, a rainbow LGBT flag or a Hakenkreuz if that's his liking.
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The problem is that this is an apartment complex. The veteran in this case pays rent, instead of being an owner with a lien against the property (a.k.a mortgage). The rules are quite different in that the space is not actually his. With a mortgage, the lien holder isn't actually given status of legal owner unless the owner defaults on the mortgage.
He pays rent, and so receives some protections from the state to prevent abusive landlords, but because he doesn't have his name on the deed, he isn't the one who can say what can and can't be done with the property, or even inside the apartment itself in some cases. So unfortunately, the legal situation is even more clear cut short of changes to current law: the company and owner of the property can ask him to take it down from being displayed in public, in the window. I'd agree it is a boneheaded move, but it is a boneheaded move that company is free to make, and lose this guy's business in the future.
I'm not sure I'd advocate for intervening in this sort of situation with more legal regulation, for various reasons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logseman
HOWEVER, isn't it thought-provoking that national flags are usually hijacked by bloodthirsty jingoists who prostitute their use until any decent citizen refuses to let it have a space in his/her life? And isn't it thought-provoking that it happens everywhere, in the US, the UK, in Spain in my case, in Germany from what I've seen in the year I've spent there, and so on?
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Symbols will always get "hijacked" by some cause, and the term hijacked used more if we don't agree with the stance of that cause. The stars and stripes were originally the sign of rebellion and defiance. We look back at that romantically because it birthed a nation free of the British system which prevented colonies of Britain from participating in British government while being taxed at the same time. The Confederate flag is a bit more controversial because it has been used to symbolize both the evils of slavery, and the positive ideal to be free of someone else's standards and demands.
A symbol is just that, a symbol. Because it gets used by villainous groups doesn't make it hijacked, per se... just that they symbol they chose wound up being associated with bad deeds. And people tend to remember the warnings and bad omens more than the positives.