Virginia HOA backs down on flagpole issue.

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Calibri][URL="http://news.aol.com/article/world-war-ii-veteran-van-t-barfoot-can/799470"][COLOR="Blue"]Article[/COLOR][/URL]. (AOL version. Heard this on CNN, but could only find it on FOX and AOL News, and I know how much everyone loves FOX around here. =P)

Retired Col. Van Barfoot had received a notice from the Sussex Square Homeowners Association on the first of this month informing him that the flagpole in his front lawn violated "neighborhood's aesthetic guidelines," (FOX article), and that legal action would be taken against him if he did not remove it. Apparently ret. Col. Barfoot had also been requested to remove the pole previously in June of this year and had refused.

Col. Barfoot honors the raising and lowering of the US flag daily, according to local sources, and believes that not being able to do so would be sacrilege.

Virginia Senators Mark Warner (D.) and Jim Webb (D.) both took positions of support for the ninety-year-old army veteran, and the HOA has since backed down on their threats of legal action.

Personally, I say thank God for servicemen who refuse to budge on patriotism.[/FONT]

[Kastom]

While I don't agree with extreme forms of patriotism (at least I don't think I do; patriotism is one of the things I am currently sorting out in my head, lol), I say that "aesthetic guidelines" are beyond idiocy, especially when it comes to something as simple as a flag.

Sounds like some people need to take a flagpole out of a certain orifice.

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]His neighbours were irked a 90 year old veteran would raise and lower a flag ? /facepalm

Seriously there's something terribly wrong when people won't respect those who've put their own lives in danger to defend their country. They're just lucky he didn't open up a case of Badass Grandpa on them.

[/SIZE]

[Skye]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE=1]His neighbours were irked a 90 year old veteran would raise and lower a flag ? /facepalm

Seriously there's something terribly wrong when people won't respect those who've put their own lives in danger to defend their country. They're just lucky he didn't open up a case of Badass Grandpa on them.

[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[size=1]What he said.[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I often believe that extreme patriotism is the kissing cousin of full blown fanaticism, but in this case, a retired Colonel has every right to his flag. After all he fought and most likely bled defending it.

Such chicken[crap] defenses such as aesthetics have no place. It's not like he's hanging a pair of underwear from the pole.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Nerdsy]

[color=deeppink]Its bizarre that this was ever an issue.[/color]

[Rachmaninoff]

[FONT="Trebuchet MS"]I agree with Nerdsy, why it was ever an issue is beyond me. [/FONT]

[Justin]

I'm not exactly gung-ho, really, but I am a service member. And I can say that the raising and lowering of the [i]ensign[/i] has a special place in the heart of almost any of us, to one degree or another.

I agree that extreme patriotism [i]is[/i] the cousin to fanaticism, and has certainly killed as many, but I wouldn't take colors from a 90-year-old veteran who has the salt to wake up and execute every morning. Even if he is a soldier boy.

-Justin

[Boo]

[font=Lucida Fax]I'd complain about aesthetics as well if someone put an American flag out every morning within a 2km radius of my house. [/font]

[Horendithas]

[FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"]People are silly. They enjoy all of the benefits of being a citizen but have a cow if a visual reminder of it messes with their 'personal view' of aesthetics of all things. Considering the circumstances, the people who complained are morons. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[chibi-master]

...It's a flag. In his own yard. Not hurting anyone or anything. At all. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!

My parents are always telling me to look at the adult issues of the world. This is kind of stuff I find. Do I HAVE to become a full-fledged adult?:confused:

I just don't understand some of the things that people get riled up over.:animesigh

[Horendithas]

[FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='chibi-master']Do I HAVE to become a full-fledged adult?:confused:[/quote]Yes.

Do you have to get anal over things that don't require a fuss?

No. =P[/COLOR][/FONT]

[chibi-master]

[quote name='Indi'][FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"]Yes.

Do you have to get anal over things that don't require a fuss?

No. =P[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Meh. Okay then. :animesigh

[Allamorph]

[quote name='chibi-master']My parents are always telling me to look at the adult issues of the world. This is kind of stuff I find. Do I HAVE to become a full-fledged adult?:confused:[/quote]
[FONT=Calibri]The people here are the ones who didn't.

Also, for clarification, they wanted him to remove the [U]pole[/U] because it was an 'eyesore' (which is what 'violating neighborhood aesthetics' means). They were very careful to step all over themselves and say that they didn't want to impede his patriotism, just remove the pole, which if you looked at the article's photos, was a bona fide flagpole.

Although personally I'd like to show them the Extreme Home Makeover show where they put something like a fifty foot pole in a marine's yard in honor of his service, and how emotional he got (and his fellow marines got) just at seeing it in the yard. (They actually didn't move the pole unless the marines were touching it, which was awesome.)[/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm not sure if there's some sort of covenant for the suburb that this Veteran lived in (and even if there is, I don't know whether it should cover just the house design or the entire yard).

In any case, I can understand the reasons for having a housing covenant for a particular area, but I also agree that this is [i]just[/i] a flag on a flagpole. Unless the flag was somehow so monsterous that it was going into someone's yard or something, then I really don't see the issue.

Some housing associations are extremely strict and it really depends on the area. I usually find that they are much stricter in new suburbs (especially gated communities) where there are extremely strict rules on housing and yard design.

Unfortunately some associations just love to pick a fight over almost anything.[/font]

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]What I don't understand is how the Sussex Square Homeowners Association actually thought a 21 foot flag pole violated anything. o_O

Most cities already have strict codes in terms of height and requirements for property, including flag poles. For example, around here most residential poles can't be higher than say 25 feet.

One of my neighbor's up the street has one on their property, can't say I ever thought it was an eyesore. It certainly doesn't bother me in any way. lol[/COLOR][/FONT]