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Me#1You#10
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 Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:34 pm Post subject: Veterans to get help handing out U.S. flags |
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Vets 1, Silly Tonedeaf Bureaucrats 0?
| Quote: | Veterans to get help handing out U.S. flags
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 3:26 AM EDT
By Michael French
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA - The leader of the Marietta Veteran of Foreign Wars said Monday his members still intend to defy the city of Marietta's "non-distribution" policy and hand out flags during Wednesday's Fourth of July parade, and that they will have support.
Post Commander Leon Dean said Monday the veterans will hand out their miniature flags during the parade and that "there will be 10 to 15 people from Marietta's First Baptist Church" assisting the veterans. He added there have been offers from other VFW posts to help hand out the flags, but they have politely declined, saying it would be too much of a crowd.
"Frankly, we just can't handle that," he said.
The VFW's second-in-command, James Ellis, said the VFW has been passing out flags at the parade the same way for decades and never have been subjected to the "non-distribution" policy until this year.
"Why should we change now?" he said. "We've never had an accident."
Ellis said there would be a contingent of around 50 members of the post with six to eight walking alongside the float at the curb passing out flags. He said the flags are never thrown into the crowd and everything is done safely.
"There's going to be a fistful of us," he said, adding that members of First Baptist Church will join with the veterans.
When told of the VFW's plans, Marietta Mayor Bill Dunaway said, "No one will be arrested."
<snip>
Asked about the so-called truce by Chief Dan Flynn, Dunaway admitted that was not a concession by the city, but a reminder to the VFW that the city does not restrict flags from being distributed on the sidewalk during the parade.
In addition, Dunaway said the entry form requires they parade participants cannot carry handheld signs to avoid "clutter" on the floats.
Marietta Daily Journal
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Me#1You#10
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Joined: 06 May 2004
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| Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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Well, the great "Marietta Flag Flap" appears to be culminating with the waving of a white flag by tonedeaf city bureaucrats as this editorial seems to indicate...and one, final boot-in-their-collective-butts is well applied...
| Quote: | Flag flap unfortunate, unnecessary, silly and sad
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 1:08 AM EDT
Marietta's Fourth of July Parade is always synonymous with huge crowds, multitudes of marchers and lots of flags. This year, though, it's the flags that have gotten a disproportionate share of the attention, thanks to the decision by bureaucratic types at City Hall to prevent local veterans from handing out miniature flags to the crowd during the parade.
The city has made clear it plans to make the Marietta Veterans of Foreign Wars post adhere to its "non-distribution" policy that states that parade participants may not pass out "candy or other materials" during the march. City officials have described that decision as based "purely on safety" considerations: They're apparently afraid someone might get hurt if the crowd were to start tussling to get one of the flags (which are handed to bystanders, not thrown at them), or if someone in the parade were to toss candy into the crowd.
But those are bogus arguments. First of all, the chances of anyone getting hurt from such a scenario are practically nil. And second, City Hall's decision to equate passing out miniature flags with tossing candy trivializes the flag and the sacrifices that so many have made on its behalf, a point well made on Sunday by MDJ columnist Laura Armstrong and by others.
The city's memo quickly raised the hackles of the members of the Marietta VFW, who in the past have marched alongside their float passing out the little flags to bystanders during the parade.
"We've passed (flags) out in the past - for years and years - and I don't know why they're picking on us this year," said post Commander Leon Dean, a Korean War veteran.
A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT was "negotiated" late last week with City Police Chief Daniel Flynn, providing in part that the VFW could pass out flags on the sidewalk. Gee, thanks. In other words, the city is magnanimously giving the VFW the same right that it and every other group - from the VFW to Taliban sympathizers - is already allowed in this country under the First Amendment. Sorry, but the right to pass out such "paraphernalia" is a gift from our founding fathers, not Chief Flynn.
Moreover, that agreement meant that parade-goers would have to decide whether to watch the parade or turn around and walk over to where the VFWer was handing out flags.
That agreement also allowed for a few VFW members to walk at the head of the parade and pass out the flags alongside members of the Marietta Lions Club (and other Cobb Lions Clubs). But that agreement fell apart as the story escalated.
And that brings us to another point, one that finds Mayor Bill Dunaway and City Hall guilty of playing word games. You see, it turns out that the Lions are not officially a part of the parade, even though they've been taking part for years in a restored 1952-vintage ambulance they donated to the city fire department, even though they have been distributing the flags, even though they march the same route as everyone else and even though they are listed first on the lineup card of parade units provided by the city recreation department.
It came as a shock to Lions Club members that they are not part of the parade. But according to the cockamamie definition ultimately offered by Mayor Dunaway after lengthy questioning by the MDJ, they are only "part of the celebration," not part of the parade. They are passing out the flags "before" the parade, he contends, not "during" it. The color guard is the first unit of the parade, he said, not the Lions and their ambulance rolling just ahead.
How's that for splitting hairs?
Yet, when asked by the MDJ if he considers the Lions part of the parade, club President Ralph Slaughter answered unequivocally, "Yes. Yes."
So why is the city trying to make the distinction? Apparently, it's an effort to control who can pass out items, and what can be passed out. Yet you can't have one policy for one group and another policy for everyone else.
And believe it or not, the city's own press release last week regarding the parade policy made no mention of the Lions, or their flag distributions. So it's no wonder that the initial stories and editorials on the flag flap made no mention of the group. But then, the city's definition of who's in the parade and who's not is so ludicrous that we almost don't blame them for not mentioning the Lions.
It looks like City Hall has gotten too cute for its own good. Its too-clever-by-half attempt to control who can hand out miniature flags has now blown up in its face - and the city's. It has given us a dose of national publicity (on such outlets as the Sean Hannity show) that we didn't need.
BOTH THE LIONS AND THE VFW rightfully take great pride in their contributions to the parade. So does Mayor Dunaway, whose support for the parade long predates his election as mayor. And there's no question the city is acting as it is based on misguided fears about public safety, not because of any dislike of any veterans or the flag.
Yet, it's a shame that the mayor and council can't find it in themselves to tell the bureaucrats to go jump in a lake, and tell the VFW, Lions and other participants to hand out all the flags they want before, during and after the parade. But nobody at City Hall wants to admit they've made a mistake or that they're guilty of bureaucratic overkill.
Too bad.
Marietta's Fourth of July Parade is an annual highlight of life in our town and is one of the very finest July Fourth parades in the state. The flag flap of recent days is unfortunate and completely unnecessary, and would seem silly if it were not so sad.
Marietta Daily Journal |
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