Canadian Flag Etiquette

All in all a pretty decent day yesterday, good friends, a couple cold beers and a football game, the score matters but it doesn't make a good day bad. I had the pleasure of sitting with three Canadian combat vets one a regular and two first timers at IWS. During the pre-game when the announcer stated that of the group on the field, (Hamilton Light Infantry)
some had served in Bosnia and some Afghanistan, they stood and applauded like we had just won the grey cup,it was great, it brought a little extra national pride to our little stretch of bench and felt good.
Something I didn't notice (should have) until two of them were on their feet yelling at the field to pick the flag up was that at one end of the flag the carriers had decided to take a break and lay it down on the field. A flag that large can be heavy I'm sure, and during the unfurling it's sure to drag a bit here and there, but to intentioanally lay it down and stand around with their hands on their hips shows huge dis-respect for both the flag and the men and women that have fought for it.
It may seem like a small point to some of us but to the three men I sat with yesterday it didn't, and fair to say they've more than earned their right to say so.
Maybe a quick briefing for the carriers explaining that we have a lot of service men and women in our stands and even more families of personel serving overseas right now, and that the flag deserves better than to be laid on the ground.

Cheers, next week we get our first regular season win over the Bombers, hopefully the first of many.

I certainly hope the people responsible for the flag had a stern talk with this lazy S.O.B. And he/she is not invited back to carry the flag ever again.

I have to agree, for some reason I was holding back as it was kids holding the flag. Though as a public school teacher I remind my students every chance I get about respecting the flag and what it represents. I hope the Ticats staff orients the volunteers in future about the importance of keeping our colours in their hands and not letting it fall to the ground.

Agreed that for the most part it was kids and they deserve a break, but of the 8 (or so) that layed it down three were adults, and to further the kids defence it was the adults that let it go first, the kids just followed the lead.

Maybe a comment here is not enough. Someone (lots of people, including the local Legions) should be calling the TiCat office to voice their displeasure

Ok that’s just sad. If it were the kids I would say maybe their parents were a little lax in teaching them about respecting the flag (my girls know exactly what the flag and the anthem mean and have a healthy respect for it), but adults should know better.

I didn’t notice because my little one was so excited about all the stuff going on, but hopefully it was a one-time lapse in judgement and won’t happen again.

wow this thread is just sad.
It was almost all kids and a ton of little girls holding the flag, they weren't trying to be rude or disrespectful and I didn't even notice this. I really think some people just like to complain.

Bear in mind that this isn't exactly a standard flag.........it's as heavy as a full grown elephant pretty much and if some kids can't hold it up that long and need to lay it down for a bit, I don't see the wrong in it. The health of the kids is more important in a case like this.

So, sorry, I don't share the same concern because of the uniqueness of the situation with this particular flag..........but with a normal flag ?....I would agree

Besides, has anyone ever thought about how this huge monstrosity stored?........certainly not hanging on a flag pole. :wink:

It was a hot day , and the flag is extremely heavy. Give the volunteers (mostly kids) credit for participating.

Flags?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYeFcSq7Mxg

"Quit waving that flag and go volunteer or donate to charity or at least f**in vote. We have enough flag waving idiots. Patriotism is a measure of citizenship not of flag yardage."

Although I personally would never allow the flag to touch the ground I do not find what those kids did to be offensive. It probably was not done with any disrespect and it’s certainly not your average sized flag. Not a big deal in my opinion, however, it’s nice that some people do realize the significace of our flag.

One final angle on this.

The out of necessity, flag is stored on the ground in a big, "anaconda type" coil........the kids know this as they each pull their section off the ground and walk ahead.

So, it would never cross most of their minds that this particular gazillion pound flag is never supposed to touch the ground when it basically is on the ground 99% of the time.

While on the subject, personally, I cherish the right we have in North America to burn our flag in protest. I've never felt the urge to myself but respect other's right to do so if they felt it was necessary.

Actually, it's not common knowledge, but the only proper way to dispose of a flag is to burn it........

Not totally sure how letting a heavy peice of material, that includes a symbol of our nationality, rest on the ground in 30C weather is a disrespect to anyone.

Don't burn it, don't hang it upside down. Other than that, just be proud of it. (But not too proud. That turns people into sheep.) Understand what it means and represents -- the good, bad and ugly.

It's a symbol. Nothing to get to upset about.

:thup: :thup: :thup: Much better put then my post. It's a symbol nothing more, nothing less. To us it means one thing while to someone else it could mean something else. When we become too consumed with symbolism we have a tendency to loose track of what is really important: the actual place thing or group being represented by the symbol. Flag burning, which deerhunter brought up, is a prime example. If the amount of time spent debating flag burning in States was put to a better use they would be colonizing Mars by now.

Those Martians don’t know how lucky they are!!

Yeah you guys are right, I should have said something about it not being that big of a deal to most of us,
("It may seem like a small point to some of us")

or at least mentioned the kids obviously deserve a break because it was three very able body males that laid it down first and they simply followed their lead,

("Agreed that for the most part it was kids and they deserve a break")

It's not about flag humping or whether or not it's too heavy, despite the other 92 out of 100 or so having no problem with it and even jumping and down while holding the "gazillion pound flag", it's about teaching and reminding kids what Canadians have done, are doing and no doubt will do again in the future. It's about respecting that at one time a lot of men and women felt that flag represented freedom and felt strongly enough about freedom to die for it. What's a poppy if not a symbol? or a veterans cemetery? Nothing more than symbolism and not worthy of respect?
I thought I had posted this as a minor observation and not a huge deal but for people to come back with flag burning and basically referring to the Canadian flag like it's bumwipe speaks volumes, next thing you know we'll have people yelling "go Cats" and the like in the middle of the anthem or dimwits that have no clue about removing hats during the singing of it.
(both are common occurrences at IWS)

Big Po, I'm not sure how pride in a flag went to questioning someones community involvement or commitment but the people I surround myself with at games are some of the most charitable and community minded I've ever met. They dig very deep into their pockets numerous times a year for almost any cause that comes their way and their involved in everything from cancer fundraising to building camps for kids whose parents are overseas,(and plenty in between) they give of themselves every chance they get and should you ever cross their path your inner city poverty group (sincerely sorry if that's the wrong name) would benefit immediately without a second thought. Flag waving and pride in a country in no way equals a lack of pride in community.
All I was ever asked to do was remember and respect, unfortunately even that small request has become too great of a demand on many.
It's not about whether some kids laid it down, of course they did their kids for gawds sake, it's about the adults that taught them it's ok and laid it down first....not becuase it was too heavy, the kids the entire length of it had no problem, it was laid down due to laziness and not giving a S**t.

Who said this? Did I miss something? Not sure where you’re coming from. Anyone I’ve ever talked to has the utmost respect for the sacrifices made for our freedoms. But they aren’t going to lose their faculties if a poppy gets trampled.

Or, it was laid down because they don’t see things the exact same way that you do. Respecting our flag and our country means respecting other people’s perceptions and beliefs, too. Sometimes it means cutting someone some slack for an innocent oversight that has little to do with their upbringing or patriotism.

Apparently you did.
“It’s a symbol nothing more, nothing less”

Or, it was laid down because they don’t see things the exact same way that you do. Respecting our flag and our country means respecting other people’s perceptions and beliefs, too. Sometimes it means cutting someone some slack for an innocent oversight that has little to do with their upbringing or patriotism.
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Plenty of respect here for everyones beliefs and/or perceptions, the fact that it was laid down isn’t anywhere near as offensive as the fact that nobody knows or cares that a flag on the ground during war represents a dead soldier and a flag on the ground during a presentation represents a lack of respect for the people that have died for it.
We’re supposed to respect the beliefs/perceptions of all but crap on the beliefs /perceptions of vets by not even knowing something they’d like us to.

Well, hopefully this ‘disrespect’ was trumped by the fact that a flag the size of a football field was displayed. Where does that measure on the respect and patriotism scale? You know, given that the entire proceedings are out of respect for our fallen soldiers.

I’d focus on the positives in this case. They outweigh the negatives about 1000 to 1.