Flag Day: There they go again...

(9/27/09) The Select Board added that day for the 250th Parade

UPDATE: 11:20 AM The flags are now up in town center (yeah, behold the power and all that). And they will stay up until Bunker Hill Day, June 17. Although now that the state is thinking about nixing that hack holiday, maybe the Select Board will nix it as well for the flying of the flags. Until then the casual observer passing through town center will mistake Amherst for a quaint, patriotic, Rockwell kind of New England town. Mistake indeed.
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Original Post 10:00 AM

So for the second time in six years town center is barren of the 29 commemorative American flags on Flag Day. And no, I do not think it's a conspiracy hatched by flag haters or any sort of political statement, they just, quite simply, forgot.

Now you know why I tried to trade Flag Day for 9/11 a few years ago as one of the six official days the commemorative flags could fly with the rulers of the public way, our venerable Select Board.

Back in 2004, the last time this happened, I biked through town center and Selectman Gerry Weiss held the only extra flag out that day, in the upside down position (sign of distress), to protest the war in Iraq.

And at the time I said that scene perfectly illustrates what our flag represents: the precious right of individuals to protest government policies.

Just a little respect

And let's remember Army Maj. Steven Hutchison as well



-----Original Message-----
From: amherstac@aol.com
To: marx@amherst.edu; sh.events@state.ma.us
Sent: Fri, 15 May 2009 3:09 pm
Subject: Your majestic American flag on Chapel Hill

Hey Tony,

So Wednesday was one of those state-wide local edicts issued by our Governor to fly the flag at half-staff, commemorating the ultimate sacrifice of Massachusetts resident Explosive Ordinance Disposalman John Trahan, age 22--and with that "job description" you can imagine how he died (at least it was quick .)

But today is Peace Officers' Day--and the President of the United States has ordered all flags to half-staff to commemorate those men and women in blue who have also given up their "last measure of devotion" to keep us safe.

Your flag on Chapel Hill is the most prominent in Amherst. Could you maybe please (since the College tends to bring it down to half-staff for employees) subscribe to the Mass state listserve for those rare occasions when the Governor orders it down, and also observe the Federal ones as well (also rare) for flag protocol? Memorial Day is coming up.

Top be perfectly honest, it's kind of embarrassing.

Larry Kelley


Previous Amherst College observances