“The veteran organization the American Legion weighed in on the upside-down American flag controversy Thursday, noting that flags should only be flown this way if there is ‘extreme danger to life or property,'” NBC News reported on June 13, 2024 (story here).
But that’s not the whole story. The key word is should. American Legion is referring to flag protocol, not flag law. This is what you do to respect the flag. But you’re not required to respect the flag.
Flag desecration is illegal in many countries, but not in the U.S., where such activities enjoy free speech protection (see details here). Thus, it’s legal for Trump supporters and Justice Alito’s wife to fly the flag upside down (photo below) as a mock distress signal.
It’s just something you don’t do if you’re a patriotic veteran or other citizen who respects the freedoms our flag stands for, and the sacrifices of those who defended them. But Mrs. Alito isn’t a veteran, so it’s something she does; I am, and I wouldn’t.
As for her husband, he has little more than token military service. He avoided the Vietnam draft by joining ROTC in college, enjoyed a service deferment while in law school, then spent only a few months on active duty (details here).
As for me, I enlisted in the Army, served a Vietnam tour, attended law school on the G.I. Bill, and the fly doesn’t fly upside down at my house.
