Flags at full-staff were a disgrace
Last week, I drove from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis on U.S. 90, and I was shocked to count more than 20 national flags that were not at half-staff.
On my return, I used Pass Road and other side streets and counted even more.
I realize, in a technical sense, the president’s order to fly flags at half-staff applies only to federal property, but the vast majority of state, county, city, and private flags have always followed suit.
Maybe this time around, they don’t like the president — he’s a Democrat and he’s black. But maybe they don’t approve of the people that died since they were mainly LGBT. Maybe they secretly approve of the killer, or maybe they secretly sympathize with ISIS. Or maybe they’re just too lazy to bother.
If you are a flag owner, in my opinion, and you can’t be bothered to follow the president’s directive to mourn your fellow citizens by flying your flag at half-staff, then you shouldn’t own a flag. And yes, that includes Beauvoir, the VFW on Veterans Avenue, St. Thomas on U.S. 90 and the city of Bay St. Louis, which had every flag on U.S. 90 at full-staff.
No, I don’t think you deserve to own a flag at all. There’s no excuse.
Gary Taylor
Biloxi
This story was originally published June 25, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Flags at full-staff were a disgrace."