Pfleger's Flag Stolen
South Side priest flies Stars and Stripes upside down in protest
By BJ LUTZ
Updated 1:50 PM CST, Fri, May 8, 2009
To view this video you must to have Flash Player 8.0 or later installed. Click to download the most recent version of Flash.
The upside-down flag that flies outside St. Sabina's on Chicago's South Side is not the same one that drew the ire of many earlier this week.
It seems the Stars and Stripes hoisted on Tuesday was cut down and stolen Thursday afternoon. Pfleger quickly replaced it.
"I'm dealing with children being killed, and that's what I'm responding to, and I'm not going to give up until that issue gets dealt with," Pfleger told WGN radio. "Now if that means putting a flag up everyday, I'll put a flag up everyday, but I am not gonna begin to bow down that I am so angry that people can get more concerned about a flag being upside down, which is a legal thing to do, and not as outraged about children who are being shot down in city streets around this country."
The U.S. flag code states that the flag should never be displayed upside down unless it's a signal of dire stress or extreme danger to life.
And that's exactly what Pfleger and his supporters said the current climate in the community warrants, given the level of violence among and against children.
Pfleger said that if the government can respond to an issue like swine flu with such deftness, it can also better react to youth violence.
First Published: May 8, 2009 1:08 PM CST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
