Delmar resident’s flag turned upside down by vandal
DELMAR – A second flagpole incident in a week was reported to Bethlehem police when on June 2 a Delmar resident found his American flag hanging upside down on his home’s flagpole. On Memorial Day, a Trump 2024 flag was found flying from the Delmar U.S. Postal Office’s flagpole and later removed.
Tim Beebe, who lives on a corner lot on a busy Delmar street, is an army veteran and served as a Bethlehem police officer for 30 years and 12 of those years as Deputy Chief.
Since September 11, 2001, according to flag protocol, when he is home Beebe hoists his 4’ x 6’ American flag to his 24 foot flagpole by a pulley in the morning and then takes it down before sunset. “After 9/11, it was a major event that needed the country to unify. I put the flag up and flew it night and day,” Beebe said. “I feel the flag should be a unifying force everyone can get behind.”
Beebe’s flagpole sits about 50-60 feet from the road. His lawn showcases a Pride sign, signs for Democratic candidates for office, and a sign for the Bethlehem Garden Tour. “I’m at a prominent corner. This is part of my public service,” he quipped.
Until now, Beebe has experienced no issues with his American flag.
On June 2, he hoisted his flag at about 10:15 a.m. He later left his home at about noon and returned at about 4:15 p.m. That was when he noticed that his flag was now flying upside down. He believes the flag was switched while he was away that Sunday afternoon. “I thought, what in the world is going on there?” He said, “Initially, I was embarrassed and outraged that people going by would think I was making that statement. The ALT right has adopted that as a symbol that I didn’t want to convey.”
Beebe said he immediately took the flag down, turned it around and hoisted it back up. “I hope not too many people noticed it,” he said.
Beebe said he does not know who switched the flag or why. But he emphasized he hopes that this “does not become something that is further divisive because the political climate is already overcharged. People need to take a breath and calm down.”
Flying the U.S. flag upside down has a long history. Initially, it was used as a sign of distress by sailors. That use was recognized by the U.S. Flag Code, which was enacted into law in the 1940s, but serves as guidance only and not binding. According to the code, an American flag flown upside down “is a sign of distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property used by sailors as a sign of distress.”
In more recent times, it became a sign of protest to U.S. government policies. In 1974, the United States Supreme Court upheld the right of a student to display an American flag upside down from his dorm room with a peace sign affixed to it..
Most recently, flying a flag upside down has been adopted by the “Stop the Steal” movement as a protest against the election of President Biden. An upside down flown flag was also the subject of a recent controversy when it was reported flying at Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito’s Virginia home in January 2021, shortly after the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Beebe said he reported the incident to the Bethlehem police to notify them that this had occurred in case “this was becoming a thing.” If the perpetrator is found, Beebe said he would press charges. “I have a sense of violation, if nothing else, that someone had the nerve to come on my property and take control of my flagpole, which to me is sacred territory. I reserve the right to determine what message I convey with my flagpole,” he said.
Beebe said he may add the Pride flag to his pole this week “to let other people know they are not alone.”
Beebe will continue to fly his flag, but with undisclosed security enhancements. “I’m not going to be intimidated or cower in fear,” he said. “If I were not to fly the flag then they win, so it still goes up.”
