Time to put down the flag
Dear Editor,
After hurricane Irma the site with the flagpole was set up. A lot has been said about the flagpole. Mostly about the costs of USD 150.000.
Despite all the negative, I find it was good idea. From many areas in Simpson Bay you can see the flag. The spot is perfect and it gives me a proud feeling when I pass it. Uhhhh, that means, if the flag isn’t ripped and strangled around the pole.
The flagsite as it is now is a disgrace, instead of being a symbol for our country, every time when approaching the flagpole I wonder how the flag is doing today. Then, I shake my head and feel that our country is being wronged!
There is also a statue on the site. There is no sign or poster explaining who this man is sitting in the chair. One thing is for sure, he couldn’t see how the flag has been treated, too, and turned his back to the flag!
From hear and say I understood the flagpole came from the airport and is not a real flagpole. This explains why the flag is strangled around the pole over and over again. A real flagpole has certain specifications, like to avoid a flag being strangled around the pole. Visit here for more information: https://www.naamm.org/content/uploads/products/fp_1001-07.pdf.
Many times the flag got ripped. The simple solution was to fold the end and sow it. But, also this is a disgrace to the flag and our nation. Our national flag has a ratio of 2 by 3. By folding the end, the ratio is gone. Maybe a minor detail, but if you have any pride to a flag, honor it fully, so also its ratio.
Because the flag got strangled, I heard somebody passes every 2 hours to check it à USD 3.000 per month. Besides the USD 150.000, there will be an annual cost of USD 36.000 (gross or netto) to hold this out of ratio flag in the air, because the design was not done properly. Where do we get that money from!?
Today, Sunday, 28 January 2018, I passed and saw 3 buses on the parking, full with tourists. What did they saw? A ripped flag, strangled around the pole with a little piece still waving in the air.
Isn’t it time to admit that the idea was nice, but the execution was not?
Isn’t it time to put down the flag and save us the shame and money; buying new flags and to hold it up no matter what?
Can’t we put the idea in the drawer and when it fits within a balanced budget, we can hire a specialist, like Vlaggen Unie in Drachten, Holland, who knows about flagpoles and flags?
It shows courage when government recognizes that a project did not work out as they had hoped and to pull the plug.
Thank you for sharing my thoughts with you.
Armin Brewers
