Friday, October 16, 2009



Oregon apartment residents told to take down U.S. flags

We read:
"At the Oaks Apartments in Albany, the management can fly their own flag advertising one and two bedroom apartments - but residents have been told they can't fly any flags at all.



Jim Clausen flies the American flag from the back of his motorcycle. He has a son in the military heading back to Iraq, and the flag - he said - is his way of showing support. "This flag stands for all those people," said Clausen, an Oaks Apartment resident. "It stands for the people that can no longer stand - who died in wars. That's why I fly this flag."

But to Oaks Apartment management, Clausen said, the American flag symbolizes problems. He was told to remove the red, white and blue from both of his rides, or face eviction. "It floored me," he said. "I can't believe she was saying what she was saying."

Even long-time residents like Sharron White, who has flown a flag on her car for eight years, has been told to take it down. White said management told her that "someone might get offended." "I just said to her 'They'll just have to get over it,'" White said.

Residents we talked to who had been approached to take down their flags all told us the same thing: that management told them the flags could be offensive because they live in a diverse community.

Attempts to find out for ourselves why management would ban flags were unsuccessful. KATU wanted to talk to management at Oaks Apartments, but no one has returned our calls. The woman we were told had made the decision said she was "not going to answer any questions."

Source

After media coverage, the ban was lifted.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Translation: It was the apartment manager who was offended.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how the 'owners' of the property feel. We can only hope that the apt manager joins the unemployed line in the near future.


~darko

Anonymous said...

Many people are aware of the fact that far too many of these condo boards rule like Nazi's. This is especially true in many parts of Flori-DUH. Generally, these are elderly people, mostly irrelevant, who use their positions to dominate even older and sometimes helpless people. They are the modern concentration camps. And, oddly enough, in many cases, the laws are on their side! Go figure.

Use the Name, Luke said...

"management told them the flags could be offensive because they live in a diverse community."

A diverse community made up of many different Americans? Or maybe some people (one in particular) who hates America but lives here anyway?

Anonymous said...

I'm offended that they are offended!

Which 'Offended" trumps?

You guessed it - the anti-American one

the wandering B said...

Only the anti-american one offended wins.
Plus they invent the BS crap all the time.

J. Birch said...

Diversity. That's one of the words that will be used to write America's epitaph, along with two others. Political and correctness.

Bobby said...

"Many people are aware of the fact that far too many of these condo boards rule like Nazi's. This is especially true in many parts of Flori-DUH. "

---You're right about that, it sucks specially when you can't have a repairman or move furniture to your condo on a saturday or sunday, not to mention those laws against having a BBQ in your balcony.

But there are advantages as well. You can have a pool, sauna, gym, steam room and party room. Our HOA's pay for maintenance, a front desk person is there to receive packages, hurricane insurance is cheaper, the electric bill is cheaper, cable is cheaper, we don't have to cut the grass and pretty much everything is taken care of without us lifting a finger.

It only sucks when they raise your HOA's to levels equivalent to a rent, then you start wondering if you wouldn't be better off renting?

J. Birch said...

That's a pretty good deal Bobby. They give you all that, (actually you're paying for every bit of it) and all you have to give up is your freedom, rights, and liberty.

A. Levy said...

This is the result of having too many jews in one place.

Bobby said...

"That's a pretty good deal Bobby. They give you all that, (actually you're paying for every bit of it) and all you have to give up is your freedom, rights, and liberty."

--True, but do you think everyone can afford the maintenance/repairs costs of a house? I know a man who had to spend $20,000 on his roof after a hurricane destroyed it. The benefits we gain from living in a condo outweigh whatever freedoms we lose. Not to mention the peace of mind of not having to worry about the code enforcers fining you for not cutting your grass, putting out the garbage on the curb or whatever rule they come up with. I think the only really free people are those who have country estates or cabins in the woods, away from prying eyes.


"This is the result of having too many jews in one place."

---You do realize that "Levy" is a jewish name.

Use the Name, Luke said...

A. Levy's comment is apparently the result of not having enough brain cells together in one place.

Mr. Clean said...

Use the Insults, Luke

Use the Name, Luke said...

Mr. Clean, do you actually enjoy defending racism? Or are you just trolling?

Anonymous said...

"Not to mention the peace of mind of not having to worry about the code enforcers fining you for not cutting your grass, putting out the garbage on the curb or whatever rule they come up with."

Which is bad in itself... You're defending one form of oppression by stating it's not as bad as another, not a valid argument.

Of course if you've got a HOA you have a vote in their decisions.
If you decide to not go to meetings and actively participate you silently agree with whatever those who do attend decide will happen.
But I don't think that's relevant in this particular case. Here we have a rental company (or its representatives) deciding that their renters can't fly their own country's flag from their vehicles because it's supposedly offensive/insulting to show that flag.
Personally I couldn't care less about foreigners who're offended by my country's flag. If my fellow countrymen are, I can somewhat understand depending on their reasons, as the country isn't perfect. But most of them who do feel offended by it should just suck it up because their reasoning is fundamentally flawed (things like "the white in the flag stands for white supremacy", "the red for the blood spilled in colonial wars").

Bobby said...

"Which is bad in itself... You're defending one form of oppression by stating it's not as bad as another, not a valid argument."

---Then what's your solution? The whole point of condo-living is that it's not a free for all. In fact, did you know there are some communities just for nudists? Or that in some "aviation communities" you can land your plane and then take it to a hanger next to your home? As long as the rules don't get too crazy then I'm ok with it.


"Of course if you've got a HOA you have a vote in their decisions."

---Not exactly, I can choose my representatives but once they're elected they don't really take votes. For example, they allowed a TV station to shoot twice at our pool and once at the lobby. I asked "great, when are we gonna get paid for the privilege and they told me we wouldn't get paid, the money will just go to the general condo fund and that's that. In a way it's like our government, we can vote them in or out of office, we can write them letters, but in the end they do what they want. And let's not even get started on presidential pardons in which our "leader" acts like a King and grants freedom to whoever he wants.


"But I don't think that's relevant in this particular case. Here we have a rental company (or its representatives) deciding that their renters can't fly their own country's flag from their vehicles because it's supposedly offensive/insulting to show that flag."

---It is a tragic case and I support the renters, although in my personal experience when you rent you are subject to the rules of the owner. They can tell you not to smoke in his apartment, not to have animals, and I'm not sure if the flag stuff was legal.


"Personally I couldn't care less about foreigners who're offended by my country's flag. If my fellow countrymen are, I can somewhat understand depending on their reasons, as the country isn't perfect. But most of them who do feel offended by it should just suck it up because their reasoning is fundamentally flawed (things like "the white in the flag stands for white supremacy", "the red for the blood spilled in colonial wars")."

---I agree 100% there. Americans living in Mexico don't go around complaining about the Mexican flag offending them. I doubt Mexicans in America do, the people who complain are a small number of loud PC activists. Having work in marketing I can tell you that sometimes just 1 complaint against an ad can get a campaign pulled of the air.