McDonald's Upside-Down Flag Upsets Veterans in W. Va.
A McDonald's restaurant is taking heat for how they choose to display their American flag.
The restaurant in Follansbee, Va., flew their flag upside-down on Wednesday in what might have been a sign of protest over Barack Obama's re-election.
The manager of the Follansbee McDonald's was questioned over the phone and responded the following, according to NEWS9:
"The flag was to be flown at half-staff as per McDonald's Corporation. As for it being flown upside down-it was a complete and total accident. No one at our store would purposely fly the flag upside down. Our flag pole is actually broken, and we are unable to move the flag."
The American flag is flown upside-down in times of distress and the timing of this incident sparked controversy as it appeared to be a political statement on the 2012 election.
An email was sent to The Huffington Post to clarify the situation by manager Karen Mezan, who wrote the following: "Unfortunately, a flag cable broke and during the process of trying the fix the flag, it was inadvertently turned upside down. It wasn't noticed that the flag was upside down until a customer inquired about it. We are working on fixing the flag right now. It's important to note that this was an accident, not intentional."
The manager explained that the flag was hoisted up by an employee at 4:40 a.m. and it was too dark to see if the flag was upside-down.
The flag's display upset veterans and other people passing by who called the local McDonald's restaurant to complain, causing the flag to be taken down before the afternoon. Still, some veterans didn't believe the restaurant's management.
"I think it's a stab at us," said veteran Lou Headman, as reported by Newsoxy. "I don't understand why anyone would want to do this. We know it was because of the election."
Local news returned to the scene later on to find the flag fixed.
