Burning the Flag

EvilGentleman: 28th Mar 2006 - 17:46 GMT

jack, if there is any subject that people need educating on, this is it. Keep up the good work. And thank you for your service to America. While I am not personally an American, My family tree goes back thousands of years in New York state, back to a time when the English language did not yet exist, when the only immigrants were geese and the occasional Phoenecian merchantman blown off course by a hurricane. Although I may have differing views on America's legitimacy (and Canada's too, for that matter), it does not take away from the fact that America and Canada are two of the greatest countries in the world. My people (the Mohawk) have a proud history of going off to fight wars to protect democracy. Our military history has been intertwined with Europe's since the 1500's and continues to be so to this day. My grandfather fought in the Pacific Theater during his time with the US Army in World War II, and stayed in until 1946, when he started his family with my grandmother in Brooklyn. (My grandmother had moved there during the war to work in the factories as soon as she had turned 18) My father served as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and so I grew up always moving from military base to military base, with my grandmother's home on the reserve in Kahnawake being the "true" home that I would see every summer. As a result, no matter how radical my native politics may be, I have always had an appreciation of the sacrifice of our veterans. While the American and Canadian flags are often considered "foreign" in Kahnawake, there are flags flying at the local Legion Hall and at the Veteran's Memorial that nobody would ever mess with. We recognize that many of our men and women have fought bravely under those flags, and that we must respect the sacrifices made by our veterans. Wear your medals and ribbons with pride, jack. America needs to remember what you did to earn them, and what it means to defend freedom. And they only give one or two days a year to rememeber the fallen? Every day should be Veteran's Day.

EvilGentleman: 28th Mar 2006 - 17:50 GMT

Oops, I hit "post" before finishing the last sentence. Every day should be Memorial Day, too.

EvilGentleman: 28th Mar 2006 - 17:52 GMT

And nice graf art in the first shot. Good urban form. So rare to see ball-point work on stucco.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 28th Mar 2006 - 18:09 GMT

Are you in these photos Jack? Or are you the man behind the camera?
I'm so glad to see you post. We're getting to know you in a whole new way. You are are one cool guy.

jack: 28th Mar 2006 - 18:20 GMT

i did take the photos. i was in the middle of tearing up the flags when i thought that this would be good for a post. so i drove home and in 5 minutes i was back taking pic's. i took the first pic and put it in paint and scrawled on it to make jest about my graf.

jack: 28th Mar 2006 - 18:21 GMT

thanks evil. i love your grandma for staying in brooklyn during the war. we are brooklynites.

Peter: 28th Mar 2006 - 18:35 GMT

eg: you said "I may have differing views on America's legitimacy (and Canada's too, for that matter)"

that really caught my attention. id truly be fascinated to hear more about this... as someone whose heritage predates modern societies on this continent, i think youre one of the few of us here that has every right to feel qualified to make that statement, and if youve really put so much thought into it, it might be worthwhile to share it if the mood/moment ever strikes...

just saying. thoughts like that can spark a certain sort of discourse that is rare, important, and perfectly fitting for this sort of venue.

and where you said "America needs to remember what you did to earn them, and what it means to defend freedom", i couldnt agree more. america desperately does need to remember. to remember when such passions for freedom were stirred for the right reasons, reasons that seemed to go so far beyond the economy, political agenda, and global politics...

jack: thanks for this post. truly great. i cant wait to see more from you, now that youve got your camera handy and have figured out how to post! :)

jack: 28th Mar 2006 - 19:41 GMT

peter i posted the meatball caper and 130 cedar street. i've really got the hang of this now.

kc: 28th Mar 2006 - 21:52 GMT

and p.s., these tailored google ads are out of control. U.S. Stick Flags on sale! (Lighters extra!)

EvilGentleman: 29th Mar 2006 - 00:34 GMT

Peter, I shall see what I can do. But for now, I shall let things be, as I do not wish to monopolize any more space in jack's thread than what I already have.

jack, my mistake. Not stucco, cinder blocks. Still quite the unique form.