There was a troubling incident last week during the regular standout held in Gill at the intersection of Route 2, Main Road, and the Turners Falls bridge. A large man appeared in front of the protesters yelling a profanity at a woman and telling her she “can’t disrespect the flag.”

The man yanked the flag out of the ground and rushed back to his car with it. Even though the owner of the flag repeatedly demanded he return her property, he threw it into his car
and sped away. He apparently did not like the fact that the flag was displayed upside down.

And we do know how this can stir up some deep emotion. But he stole the flag and endangered its owner. Stealing is a crime. Displaying a flag upside down is not a crime. In fact, it is a recognized symbol of distress and protest and protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Last Friday was the 77th gathering at the bridge, which includes several veterans as regular attendees, and is a lawful expression of citizens in a nation experiencing dire distress.

Inverting a nation’s flag is a practice dating back to the 17th century and is codified in the U.S. Flag Code. Historically, it was first used by the British Navy during the Anglo-Dutch wars during the 1600s and 1700s. In the 18th century it was also used on American Lifeboats. In 1854, abolitionists inverted the flag at a July 4 anti-slavery rally here in Massachusetts. Sojourner Truth was among them.

Inverting the flag as a symbol of “dire distress” was codified into the U. S. Flag
Code, which dates back to 1923. It has been used as a protest symbol since the 1960s and the act of doing so is protected by the Constitution.

Even right-wing extremists invert the flag. Political demonstrators protesting the reelection of President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, and the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters all inverted the flag.

Although last week’s flag incident was traumatic for both the flag owner and witnesses, fortunately no one was physically hurt. The incident has been reported to the Gill Police Department and the flag owner has been assured that her stolen property will be returned.

Still, there is the question of a crime having been committed and a citizen’s First Amendment rights being violated. And in the fraught climate we are now living in,
how do we acknowledge that others may care for the well-being of this country equally,
even if their political views differ? It is time that we try harder at affording others this
respect.

Edite Cunha lives in Turners Falls.