US flag is sacred, White House says, amid flap involving Supreme Court's Alito

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

May 17, 2024 5:17 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago


May 17 (Reuters) - A report about a U.S. flag flying upside-down in January 2021 outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home caused a furor in Washington, with the White House saying on Friday President Joe Biden believes the flag is sacred and a senior senator calling for Alito to step aside from two key cases.

Alito told the New York Times that the flag had been placed by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, on a pole outside their house in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia after a dispute with a neighbor over a sign on the neighbor's lawn critical of Republican then-President Donald Trump.

The inverted U.S. flag became a symbol of protest by Trump supporters, including those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden with false claims of widespread voting fraud and a "stolen" election.

Democrat Dick Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on Alito to recuse from two cases currently pending before the Supreme Court that involve the 2020 election and Capitol attack. Other Democrats, including Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives Hank Johnson and Adam Schiff, issued similar calls.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/upside-down-flag-us-supreme-court-justice-alitos-home-prompts-recusal-calls-2024-05-17/

[BoRaGard]

1. Inverted morals cause Repubes to dishonor the US flag

So sick

[msongs]

2. no, it is not sacred. nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Biden is wrong. NT

[Aussie105]

4. It shows disrespect for the flag.

And what message you are trying to say by doing so, isn't very clear.

Not sacred so much, just deserving of respect.

[NBachers]

6. Rec

[hlthe2b]

5. I don't know that the flag, itself is "sacred," but the act is certainly emblematic of a lack of respect for

our country, its constitution, symbols, and traditions. Thus, that Alito proudly displayed (or ignored the display at his own home) signals his attitudes and ideology.

Ironically, his hypocrisy would probably extend to opposition (and possibly legal opposition) to protest "burning' of the flag, while he commits (essentially) a similar act. So, which is it, Alito? A free expression (however unseemly) of "protest" or as the RW has long maintained an "atrocity" to the 'sacred' symbols of our country?

[LeftInTX]

16. Upside down flag should not be used by the people we hold in power.

Ordinary citizens, yeah it's OK. The people we elect or hold an power should be not be displaying signs of "mutiny".
Also the people we hold in power need to be careful with flags, banners, yard signs etc.

Judges should know not to engage in "sign wars". They're judges. What's next??? Approaching neighbors?? Getting in fights??
(I really don't believe that's why Alito put the sign up. He knows better. Judges know to avoid getting in spats with neighbors over signs)

Every right winger is now gonna have an upside down flag in their yard.

[Novara]

7. The bottom line is, motherfucker Alito TOOK A SIDE

And that side is the insurrectionist side.

No one believes your wife did that, you idiot. Way to throw her under the bus, coward.

Durbin is right - both Alito and Thomas have absolutely NO BUSINESS deciding on ANY case connected with Jan. 6.

[CrispyQ]

11. From yesterday, in case you missed it.

[Novara]

12. Yeah, that was making the rounds yesterday - impossible to miss.

[Voltaire2]

8. It's a piece of cloth

[Oopsie Daisy]

9. 🇺🇲 The flag is not "sacred" but *

* I understand why someone might consider the American flag sacred. It represents many important ideals that we value, like freedom, liberty, and justice. However, I personally don't see the flag itself as sacred. It's a powerful symbol, but it's still just a piece of cloth. For me, the true "sacredness" lies in the ideals it represents and the sacrifices made to uphold them.

[republianmushroom]

13. Well said.

[truthisfreedom]

14. We used the inverted flag to indicate distress

when the election was stolen from Gore by busing in repuke operatives to disrupt the vote counting in Florida. It was a perfect example of the use of that symbol. Alito’s wife used it to express distress with her neighbors being liberal. Alito’s not in a position to allow his home to be used as a public display of any political affiliation. He’s required to be a politically neutral figure as a Supreme Court Justice. Instead, he’s aligned himself with his wife’s politics by allowing his home to be used as a political tool. That’s regretful, and more importantly, it shows a lack of sensible judgement on his part.

RECUSE, Alito. RECUSE YOURSELF.

[LeftInTX]

17. Yep. I don't believe the story about his wife. Even if true, he doesn't have "civilian protest privilege"

His wife doesn't have it either.

My dad was in the AF. I got caught shoplifting. They said if it happened again, they would come after my dad.

The AF court-martialled parents of crime breakers back then.

[intheflow]

15. Sacred is a word describing something religious, and unchangeable.

The flag is neither. It's a fucking piece of cloth with symbolic meaning. Alito disrespected the secular flag, which is not the same as saying he disrespected a sacred relic. This was a really bad take from the White House.