About Mr. Shaw’s Flag and His Right to Fly It

From my kitchen, I could look up Mesa Grande and see Mr. David Shaw’s flagpole and was filled with pride and joy at seeing the flag waving in the breeze. It stood as a sentinel over the entire neighborhood. I look up there now and see only the pole and am filled with shame at what is going on. The fact that Mr. Shaw may be fined and jailed for flying the symbol of our country (Times, April 7) is ludicrous. Mayor (Katy) Geissert says, “The law is the law,” but the City Council passes exemptions to ordinances all the time. Surely this is one instance when an exemption is called for.

That the pole is blocking someone’s view is hard to believe unless someone has four-inch-wide windows. The flag itself flies above any of the homes in the area so it can’t be blocking any views. The noise of the flag waving in the breeze cannot be controlled by mortals, but perhaps there are some ways to cut down on the noise made by the truck and clips hitting the pole. One suggestion is to use plastic materials or wrapping the metal parts in tape to silence the clanging. Perhaps it’s time to suggest a compromise: Fly the flag every other day between 0900 (9 a.m.) and dusk or at times agreed to by Mr. Shaw and whoever the flag is disturbing.

I, for one, would like to thank Mr. Shaw publicly for his courage in flying his flag in the recent months when we all needed to see it and be reminded of the many other places it was being flown in much harsher situations. Perhaps Mayor Geissert and the members of the City Council need to come here and be reminded, as they look at the flag waving over us, of all the freedoms for which it stands, including Mr. Shaw’s right to fly it without fear of persecution.

CAROL GRIEST

Redondo Beach