US citizens: Is this LEGO-altered representation of the US Flag in any way inappropriate or offensive?

[Frank Brickowski]

Hi folks,

is this altered flag that is meant to represent/symbolize the actual US flag "appropriate", meaning that it does not offend or disrespect anyone aka being "politically correct"? The only other option would be to change red to the top und blue to the bottom - would this be the better alternative?

[marcandre]

Looks fine to me. Nowadays your going to offend someone no matter what you do though. I wouldn't worry about it. 

[Frank Brickowski]

What I found out additonally: the above depiction also represents the national flag of Haiti, whereas the switched version (red on top, blue on bottom) is the flag of a region in Switzerland. Does anyone know what LEGO-fied versions of the US flag exist? The flag in the architecture version ot the White House for instance is just a 1-stud white piece. NASA Saturn V meanwhile shows the correct flag. Are there any other (different) examples?

 

Update: Here's an article on the topic: https://brickset.com/article/24412/united-states-flags-in-lego-sets

Moreover the Modular Fire Brigade has a US flag and 75912 (Speed Champions) contains flags of several countries. So national flags in general are "OK" in Lego sets. Remains the question if such altered versions like the one in my OP are OK, too.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Frank Brickowski

[MarleyMoose]

What did I miss? Why the change of the flag? And for what? I'm confused.

 

[AirborneAFOL]

I'm an 11-year vet of the US Army. I have US flag representations in LEGO bricks throughout my city display.

I don't find them offensive in the least, as long as it's represented with dignity & respect. As long as you're not depicting it on the ground, being burned, tattered, etc., it'd be pretty ridiculous for anyone to take issue.

[Frank Brickowski]

10 hours ago, MarleyMoose said:

What did I miss? Why the change of the flag? And for what? I'm confused.

 

There are piece-/style-related limitations involved, that is why it's not possible to use a proper LEGO-made US flag or include the colour white.

[Frank Brickowski]

6 hours ago, AirborneAFOL said:

I'm an 11-year vet of the US Army. I have US flag representations in LEGO bricks throughout my city display.

I don't find them offensive in the least, as long as it's represented with dignity & respect. As long as you're not depicting it on the ground, being burned, tattered, etc., it'd be pretty ridiculous for anyone to take issue.

Let's say you had a LEGO minifigure Army soldier who I guess has a flag on his uniform. Would it be disrespectful/offensive if the flag on the figure would be "stylized" by using the two-colored flag version above? My question is (also) about using an altered version of the flag in a place where there's normally a proper flag present (like on a uniform or a buidling).

[AirborneAFOL]

Let's say you had a LEGO minifigure Army soldier who I guess has a flag on his uniform. Would it be disrespectful/offensive if the flag on the figure would be "stylized" by using the two-colored flag version above? My question is (also) about using an altered version of the flag in a place where there's normally a proper flag present (like on a uniform or a buidling).

Nope, there's no offense. I'd just think it was a Haitian soldier.

[Frank Brickowski]

1 hour ago, AirborneAFOL said:

Nope, there's no offense. I'd just think it was a Haitian soldier.

On a related note I got another question that might get a proper answer here - unfortunately I didn't find any useful info on Google and also I don't know what to search for really: There is a (U.S.) military-critical song containing the line "... I'm not gonna suggest you shouldn't register for the draft - that wouldn't be legal.". Is this true? Is it forbidden to tell people not to serve in the military? If that's the case, could anyone please point me to a corresponding keyword or US law, so I can read more about the topic? Thanks in advance for your help!

[AirborneAFOL]

On a related note I got another question that might get a proper answer here - unfortunately I didn't find any useful info on Google and also I don't know what to search for really: There is a (U.S.) military-critical song containing the line "... I'm not gonna suggest you shouldn't register for the draft - that wouldn't be legal.". Is this true? Is it forbidden to tell people not to serve in the military? If that's the case, could anyone please point me to a corresponding keyword or US law, so I can read more about the topic? Thanks in advance for your help!

There is no such law.

 

There's probably a few exceptions, like a military recruiter telling you not to serve could be a dereliction of duty, or helping someone burn their draft card could be an accomplice to a crime. But there's no law to the effect of what you're asking about. And to my knowledge, there never has been.

 

1st Amendment is pretty generous when it comes to "free speech". It's perfectly legal to burn flags, slander the military, et al. Even modest attempts to curtail those types of "speech" over the years have been unequivocally shot down by the courts.

 

I suspect the context of the song lyric is it wouldn't be legal for YOU to not register for the draft (not that its illegal to merely tell you not to). Selective service requires all 18-yr old males to register. The draft hasn't been used since Vietnam, but registration is still required.

[Frank Brickowski]

3 minutes ago, AirborneAFOL said:

There is no such law.

There's probably a few exceptions, like a military recruiter telling you not to serve could be a dereliction of duty, or helping someone burn their draft card could be an accomplice to a crime. But there's no law to the effect of what you're asking about. And to my knowledge, there never has been.

1st Amendment is pretty generous when it comes to "free speech". It's perfectly legal to burn flags, slander the military, et al. Even modest attempts to curtail those types of "speech" over the years have been unequivocally shot down by the courts.

Thanks! Here's a link to the mentioned song. The quoted line can be heard at 1:42 or a bit more in context starting at 1:20 (I just hope I didn't mishear anything):

 

[kris_1973]

There is no such law.
 
There's probably a few exceptions, like a military recruiter telling you not to serve could be a dereliction of duty, or helping someone burn their draft card could be an accomplice to a crime. But there's no law to the effect of what you're asking about. And to my knowledge, there never has been.
 
1st Amendment is pretty generous when it comes to "free speech". It's perfectly legal to burn flags, slander the military, et al. Even modest attempts to curtail those types of "speech" over the years have been unequivocally shot down by the courts.
 
I suspect the context of the song lyric is it wouldn't be legal for YOU to not register for the draft (not that its illegal to merely tell you not to). Selective service requires all 18-yr old males to register. The draft hasn't been used since Vietnam, but registration is still required.

Agreed. The 1st Amendment protects, not targets people (civilians)... however, if the person is military (as noted by@AirborneAFOL), the rules are different, as people are governed by the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), which 'alters' a person's rights and don't have full 1st Amendment rights (i.e. Can't speak against the President / Commander-In-Chief).

[Frank Brickowski]

37 minutes ago, kris_1973 said:

...it wouldn't be legal for YOU to not register for the draft ...

That is it, I think. I misinterpreted the line due to a lack of "cultural background". It would be illegal to NOT REGISTER. But it is NOT illegal to just TELL people so. You can understand the lyrics both ways if you don't know about the draft context. But if you do know, it's clear what the lyrics tell (and what the laws say - or respectively do NOT say). Thanks to both of you!

Edited June 29, 2017 by Frank Brickowski

[Ed Mack]

I don't think it offends most people, but maybe a small sticker would be effective.