IBGerm

Ok, here is my rant for the day. It has been simmering since the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.  I’ve got no issue with Polo Ralph Lauren providing the hats, jackets, uniforms etc. In fact, I love it. We’re simply the best, the best dressed, the best in the sports etc.. USA USA USA. Ok, my beef is this. Did anyone else catch the team hats they hadon. I think they were kind simply silly, beacons of days gone by, like skiing in the Sierra Nevada’s in the 80’s, everyone with those silly knit hats with whimsical designs, oh I digress. My issue is with the US Flag Patch. I don’t know if it was a patch, or part of the hat itself, woven into it? The flag was so incorrect. In my opinion, this makes us look like chumps, we cant even get our flag right? This was the highest watched event in a long time, and here we’re wearing our flag wrong. Take a look at the picture, the flag has how many star? Ok people, let’s get out our American history books, how many starts are on the blue background, if you said 14, then you work in for Ralph Lauren, if you said 50 then you’re correct.

 

This just isn’t right, let’s break it down.

Part one, If this was just part of the hat and part of the design, well it just broke the Flag code put forth by this country…

The laws relating to the flag of the United States of America are found in detail in the United States Code. Title 4, Chapter 1 pertains to the flag; Title 18, Chapter 33, Section 700 regards criminal penalties for flag desecration; Title 36, Chapter 3 pertains to patriotic customs and observances. These laws were supplemented by Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.

More specially, According to the Flag Code, a flag is anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag."

The words "flag, standard, colors, or ensign", as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.

Source: Flag Code, Section 3

Therefore, a flag includes any representation of it of any substance, with stars and stripes of any number. This would include T-shirts and ties.

The Flag Code states that the flag should never be worn. (Section 8d): "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel."

So, if I’ve read this correctly, a flag really shouldn’t be used in part of a design in clothing at all.

 

Part two, if this was a flag patch, well then that is just really wrong. Source: Flag Code, Section 1

The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars [Note that sec. 2 which follows provides for additional stars. Today the flag has fifty stars representing the fifty states — Webmaster], white in a blue field

If you want to read the whole flag code, I recommend, http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagcode.htm (special thank you, great site with a wealth of knowledge)