Flying the flag

Boy, Fark sure is a goldmine, innit?

Here we have the story of an elderly gentleman who is living in a retirement community. Seems he has been hanging the flag of the United States off of his balcony every day since September 11, 2001. However, the community has a "policy against residents having exterior hangings such as windsocks, wind chimes, planters and flags."

An interesting irony is that the man, Donald Lamp, is the father-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

While I question the need for this policy (I'm assuming there's a reason for it but I can't think of one right off-hand), nevertheless it applies to everyone equally and doesn't make any exceptions. Therefore, reluctantly, I must agree with the apartment manager that he should take down the flag until and unless an exception is granted, or the policy otherwise revised to allow it. It is private property and, unless there are laws granting apartment residents the right to hang flags and other things off their balconies, the community has the right to regulate what goes on there.

I recommend that the community's board of directors re-examine this policy as soon as possible.