Dominican flag flown half for something that happened in Haiti "SCARY", Melanio Paredes belong to the other side of the island.

Mr. Melanio:

You getting scary.............

It is good to show solidarity but the flag is a national symbol and should not be used for this type of thing.

Buenoha:

This is a protocol violation since the flag can not be flown half for something that happened in a different country, Melanio Paredes is sending a subliminal message that many illiterate people don't understand.

it is only being done in schools only to teach children a little compassion ....this deserves no criticism

Are there any constitutional experts on line?
Your questions bring up important answers that must be given regarding the lowering of the Dominican flag for another country's grief.
The Haitian disaster was a tragedy and flag or no flag at half mast Dominicans feel empathy with the
suffering in that part of the island.
But, if protocol was violated then an investigation should be due and correction measures instituted.

I'm not 100% an expert on this issue but I believe that this measure is a violation, showing support for this cause I'm 100% compassionate but flying the flag half has nothing to do
with teaching the children a subliminal message.

A flag represents a country's nationality, the country's pride, and is a national symbol that is to
be venerated and respected by all.
Wars have been started by flag desecration. Flag burning is a crime in most countries.
This is not to be taken lightly GC, and it deeply offends most citizens with any pride in their country if anyone does use the flag inappropriately, so I disagree that the event should not be explained and correction measures taken.

Is this about flag protocol or more kick a Haitian today sentiment

in teaching a life lesson to children this was an opportunity that I cannot fault .....this was not the flag at military installations or the Palace.....if this was a protocol violation it is unfortunate that children must now have another explanation that will diminish the feelings they may have felt for their fellow students in another country

GC:

Wearing the black bow by the children was good enough for me and I have not problem on showing compassion but the flag action was too much (that crossed the line), I'm not being
sensitive just thinking with common sense.

if Paredes did this on his own without proper authority he has created an unnecessary controversy and yes he should be disciplined.....however possibly this originated in the palace with a special waver.....if not I hope they can turn it into a Civics lesson at the schools and still retain the compassion

GC - good show mate. The rest, there is no protocol in the constitution to deal with this issue. I don't know if there is any other edict out there. But this is not, and should not be, an issue. To show compassion for such a catastrophic event is praise-worthy and noble. I'm surprise that anyone with your criticism.

Tks Baldy

Baldoria23:

Will try to research right now, In the past only see that kind of act when something happens in the country related to the flag , I don't think is part of the protocol to follow this kind of actions.

Showing compassion is one thing and violating country protocol is another thing.

Rubi:
The nay sayers always are self righteous of their clumsy blunders when they are wrong.
The lowering of the flag was a no no and was a gesture that was improper and an incorrect
display of sympathy for another country's disgrace.
The proud Dominicans that object to this gross violation of protocol then are labeled "insensitive to the suffering". It has nothing to do with the simple fact that the flag at half mast should not be
used for condolences of tragic events of this nature in another country.

I say again and then will not post on this unfortunate subject.again.............."in teaching a life lesson to children this was an opportunity that I cannot fault .....this was not the flag at military installations or the Palace.....if this was a protocol violation it is unfortunate that children must now have another explanation that will diminish the feelings they may have felt for their fellow students in another country " if Paredes did this on his own without proper authority he has created an unnecessary controversy and yes he should be disciplined.....however possibly this originated in the palace with a special waver.....if not I hope they can turn it into a Civics lesson at the schools and still retain the compassion "

Euromax - you should be sent to an asylum! what idiocy, hate, a filth comes from you man. HUMAN BEINGS. HUMAN BEINGS!

Enough is enough. let's stop making a big issue out of this.
It is bad enough for the Haitians to have unexpected disasters strike them time and time again.
If Melanio made a mistake, then I am sure he didn't do it wanting to irritate either the nationalistic
Dominicans or the proud Haitians.
So let's just let it go, there are more important issues that need to be solved.
Like for example the poor parents of all the children that were killed by this disaster.

Generoso,I am so proud of you today.
You have injected compassion and decency in this debate.

Are you kidding me??? This show of solidarity and compassion created a debate....??? Wow!!! When I first read the article I felt a sense of pride that my countrymen would show support for their neighbors, but after reading some of the postings here I am shocked and appalled that people could pick at something like the flag being flown at half-mast at schools to say that it was done in violation of constitutional protocol??? And then we wonder why Dominican Republic is still considered a third-world country.

Y eso no es nada mija, wait till you have some months over here, that way you'll discover the lenghts that some people over here are willing to go in the pursuit of their base passions.

Baldoria, why do you say that Euromax should be sent to an insane asylum? where do you think he is posting from? and, GC is right on with every thing he says. one has to wonder if writers would have been incensed if the flag was flown half-mast to a similar tragedy in Spain!

Aria, I have seen in the past some nasty posts that would turn the estomach of any decent person (Lautoro can attest to that )
Why not giving a token of appreciation that a post that transpires a little bit of compassion such as the one displayed by Generoso .

I agree that Generoso was trying to put a stop to this non-sensical debate and I do appreciate that much. My reaction was more out of disbelief that this became an issue in the first place.

whoever says that it is a violation of protocol to fly a flag at half staff in sympathy and solidarity with another nation which has experienced a tragedy? there are numerous countries who flew flags half mast on September 12, 2001, empathising with the USA. i have no information about Dominican protocols regarding national symbols, but i know other nations fly flags half mast if the circumstances warrant. i am mesmerised that people in this thread are more disturbed by that issue, than with the loss of lives of children. there are some folks here who are in desperate need of psychiatric adjustment.

Message was very negative and set a very twisted precedent ,whoever doesn't agree is because is missing the common sense.

Check out the link below. This is all I could find on the etiquette of flying the flag at half staff in DR. If anyone else can shed some light on this "issue" it would be appreciated.

http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/dominican-republic-flag.htm

I'd like to interject an intelligent remark that will make us pause and think.
What is a flag ???
A flag is a piece of cloth having a distinctive size,color,and design ,used as a symbol,standard. signal.or amblem.This is the definition denotative of a flag.
But here we are discussing the definition connotative of a flag. What we think the flag ought to be

Refering to the definition denotative of a flag ( a signal)a country may use its flag to sigal its soldarity and sympathy to a ssiter coutry when faced with a tragedy.
Please let disagree without becoming disagreable and irritable.

Aria,When you look at person differently ,the person changes

Aria4810:

Thanks for the insight.

It says on "Terminology & etiquette in DR flag display ":

*Half staff or half mast the DR flag is hoisted to half of the potential height of the
flag pole to denote grief and mourning"

It is 50/50 clear in these terms but don't think according to my humble opinion that actions
followed by the Dominican schools was appropiate, wearing black bow on the arm was
good and decent enough for me but not the Dominican flag, this was an insulting act
of sovereign violation, will try to research little bit more.

Get a grip! CHANGE is here. I think that was awesome that DR did that for Haiti. The DR has a million of other things to worry about, just like HAITI and majority of the WI.
Put your efforts in trying to stop CHILD Molesters or HARSH drug laws.

"an insulting act of sovereign violation"?, Rubirosa? are you sober? where is the insult? and where is the violation of sovereignty? the flag was flown on executive order of the Dominican government. it was not the Haitians flying the Dominican flag. so , how on God's earth do you construe that to be a violation of sovereignty? Holy Moses! where do they find these people?

Let me repeat , and I quote Joe Biden is this a joke ? unquote, protocol my ass, it was a great show of support by another human being nothing wrong with that, so all the nay sayers that want to invent a tempest in a tea pot, it just prove your lapse of thought process and the inability to think clearly beyond negative polarity.

Dreadlocks:

I already research deeply and can't tell you, You won't get the message, you are not Dominican and you will never agree with me. I'm not getting crazy or lunatic believe me anyway maybe I do tell you let's see.

i just wonder when was the last time Haiti flew its flag half mast due to a Dominican tragedy such as AA flight 587. can somebody do some research on that.?

i agree with Rubirosa a black bow in the arm is good and decent.

Rubirosa, let me quote Joe Biden; "Is this a joke"? you think people have to be Dominican to understand you? if my recollection serves me right, you wrote your post in english. i also apeak spanish, just in case. Rubirosa, an intelligent idea is universal. then again, so is stupidity, come to think of it! so insults are insults, and sovereignty is sovereignty, in any language, and to any group of people. Jeez, man, get a grip! sorry, Antonioj, i could not resist borrowing your thunder.

can't we all just get ALONG?!

Written by: JRRubirosa, 11 Nov 2008 8:29 PM
From: United States
Dreadlocks:

I think Rubi should leave the crack pipe alone, he should go back to santo domingo as a patriot "a pasar el hambre" instead of sitting on his big fat ass comfortably in the US spewing "veneno" and fake outrages, action speak louder than word, fortunately he does not speak for all the Dominicans

Here is an enlightening site that talks about half flag USA rules that should be similar to DR's:

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html

Antonioj:

It's ok for Haitians but not for the Dominicans, and the quarrel with this issue is not over yet, If I do the the crack maybe you Mr. A eat dirt cookies so please stop instigating against DR and myself.

Dreadlocks: Your Haitian agenda along with your brothers is nonsense and mentally disabled.
I separate the facts already but Haitians keep teaching ignorance to the masses to gain an edge
against Dominican Republic.

My issue is already going in the right direction and don't care about the na sayers, won't tell you the results and you guys keep fighting for the hate against Dominican Republic and Dominicans at the end sooner or later We'll meet.

You both lucky enough to have the space to spew your hate and venom against DR not the other way around so be thankful.

yes, antonioj, are we not lucky that he just speaks for the lunatic fringe?

Dreadlocks:

Not the lunatic fringe but the Dominican constitution, Dominican Flag, Trinitarios , Duarte, Sanchez, Mella and our freedom.

I do have the facts already in my office and did my research, Melanio Paredes violate Dominican
constitution doing this dumb act, keep throwing your punches but I'm happy like a little kid with
my right backup in hands.

you are an idiot. a government official cannot violate the sovereignty of his own country. for someone as mentally challenged as yourself, you should be a little more discreet with your choice of words. attempting to insult others is not your strong suit, if you have one. you should reduce your intake of hallucinogenic drugs; a mind is a terrible thing to waste!

Dreadlocks:

Either you don't know or you are playing stupid and I won't tell you.I do have the facts in front on me and these is good enough, Haitians like you have an agenda and could care less since you are not Dominican.

With all due to respect to the families of the children, I think the minutes of silence, the wearing of the black bow, and publicly lamenting the tragedy are great signs of solidarity.
The flag however is something I agree with Rubi on. Like it or not it is a tragedy that happened in another country, another country that rejected aid from DR TWICE (yes, you read that right, the Haitian government rejected aid from DR for poor families TWICE, once after the hurricanes and now). In addition, just in the past few months there have been even worse tragedies in Haiti (like the 4 storms one right after the other), where many people died and there was no call to action like this.
I'd hate to be the one to shed some light on this, but an opinion in one of the Spanish papers claimed that Mr. Melanio Paredes is actually Haitian, born in Haiti to a Haitian father and a Senegalese mother. They eventually migrated to DR, and apparently now he's Mr. Melanio Paredes.

adieu, la verite

Dominicanchic:

BINGO.............................Subliminal message

Rubirosa, i do not believe you can read, so i do not think you understand what is in front of you. if you believe that a citizen of a country can violate its sovereignty, then, more power to you. continue to live in your universe of ignorance. as to DominicanChic, what does refusal of aid have to do with a subsequent compassionate response? nobody is asking the DR to fly the flag at half mast every time some people die in a flood, but i am sure you can make a distinction between that and the symbolism of almost 100 school children lost. ponder it carefully. this is not the first time a nation has flown a flag at half staff in sympathy for a tragedy in another. other countries flew flags half staff after September 11.

just as a point of information, to Rubirosa and DominicanChic, the US state department memoirs regarding September 11, states that flags of all nations in the hemisphere flew half staff on september 12. maybe you should find out from your archivists if the Dominican Republic abstained from that gesture; my money says they did not!

Dread,
No one is questioning the sympathy and compassionate response, yes losing 100 children in any part of the world hurts, especially to anyone that has children in their families. That is why I cannot stress enough that most of the acts of solidarity were great. The problem is with the flag. I'm Dominican, my family's Dominican on both sides going back many generations in the country, and I was raised among Dominicans. Lowering the flag is just not something that would have come naturally to any Dominicans I know. Sending aid - yes, minutes of silence - yes, we do that in US schools all the time, wearing a ribbon for symbolism - yes, but lowering the flag??? When I read that it just came as quite a bit of a shock to me. Regarding 9/11, the entire world participated so if DR did that it was not unique, and the DR still exists today because in addition to its wonderful people, trade and relations with the US keep it afloat.

d.locks:

Strong subliminal message with extreme background meaning, won't tell you but 9/11 and now are 2 unique scenarios. Guess you won't never,ever get the point plus you are an Haitian.

let me get this straight, DominicanChic; are you saying that flying the flag at half staff in sympathy with september 11 is warranted because of " trade and relations" with the USA? should i take this to mean that if the same disaster had befallen a country with which the DR, has minimal trade, such as Norway, the same gesture would not have been warranted? do you intend to imply that sympathy should be selective, and restricted to people upon whom you depend for survival, as you put it? we differ; i think it should be reflexive, oblivious to the identity of the victim. i do not think civilised people have the luxury of deciding who is worthy of empathy. that is a slippery slope. as to the cretin Rubirosa, i have suggested that he enrol himself in drug rehab, but he appears to enjoy a life in which he remains in a state of hallucination. sweet dreams , Rubi..sadly, i cannot communicate with you; i do not speak ape!

D.locks:

Was a different scenario and still you high on "Babancourt", dirt cookies or something else

"Leave or take it" you have your own agenda

are you trying to grunt something , Rubirosa? get a translator. i already told you i do not speak chimpanzee!

No Dread, it's not warranted for anything that happens outside the country, but if the government or any of its institutions did that, the populace would immediately understand why. Pain felt in the USA is pain also felt among many Dominicans because of these relations, and lets not forget the familial ties (the tragedy will emotionally be "closer to home"). The arrogant attitude the Haitian government maintains towards a DR government that attempted to help (as described in one of my previous postings), makes flying the flag at half staff for a tragedy that occured in Haiti all the more awkward (even if there were children involved).

but DominicanChic, we are not discussing an event between governments. even if the Haitian government occupies a posture vis a vis the DR which might prove irksome to a certain Dominican mind, what does that do to diminish the severity of the event? since when is empathy something which has differing shadings and nuance? we are discussing the unfortunate death of children here. i am not asserting that it was a necessary response; however, having been done, i do not see where it rises to the level of an international faux pas. actually, to those who saw the DR government fly the flag at half staff, i think this country elevates itself in their esteem.

DominicanChic:

I have read some of your posting, you appear to be a reasonable voice, understanding each other is a two way stream. Do you think people in DR that are going hungry or taking "yola" are really concern about a flag lowered half mass at schools to show solidarity with the Haitian children? I think NOT. With respect to your commentary calling Haitian arrogant, please take the time to read some of the posting, it will be clearer to you why, they would prefer to die then get any help from the Dominicans.

Rubi, you are a lost cause, I have difficulty following you, please try something else than google translation, for some reason I have a feeling that you are woman or a transvestite.

I think, the issue here is that Haiti wants to deal with this terrible tradgedy on their own.

I think the world just assumes that they can't deal with their own problems without outside help.

In the future maybecountries should ask first rather then showing up on the doorstep and Haiti should tell everyone , No thank you we can handle this one.

No need to turn this into an international incident...

Antononioj and D.locks:

Thanks for your pigeon compliments and don't need to use your armpits insults with me,
I don't need to downgrade myself with 2 people which country is falling apart for being
wild, non sense and arrogant.

Keep your pride for a different time and good luck with the hell of country that you have.

"Peace"

Rubi, how are things? how many shoes have you shined up to now? seems like you got an early start. then again, the early bird catches the worm. then , by 10am you can go to your real day job as a motoconcho; i admire you industry.

D..locks:

Funny post but I don't play in your league peti garson, I leave cutting sugar cane to people like you,
be careful with your armpits please and wear some kind of decent deodorant so you don't make people dizzy.

i can see where you would love to keep this up forever. it is more in keeping with your intellectual level. well, i am done with this folly. you belong on some schoolchildren's forum. i know you are trying hard to enter the major leagues of commentary, but, sadly, you do not possess the bona fides. so, go learn something and visit with us in , say, 10 years.

Guys, guys, guys, please.
You are both bright and have a lot to offer. Let's keep the discussion at a high level without the
name calling that diminishes both of your contributions.
Take a rest from the subject matter, you are both too passionate and are letting your emotions rule.

Guys, guys, guys, please.
You are both bright and have a lot to offer. Let's keep the discussion at a high level without the
name calling that diminishes both of your contributions.
Take a rest from the subject matter, you are both too passionate and are letting your emotions rule.

These people love dissing venom and non sense comments but once they get a right answer assume the victim role like their own people abusing their status in DR, stop your diatribe saying that you better because you think so and face reality with dignity.

End.

We are all idiodically arguing about something that the Ministry of Education said was ok. Its not like any one individual school or person made the decision to fly the flags at half mast. I'm sure they made sure to follow appropriate protocol in doing so. All that matters is the meaning of solidarity it shows and nothing more.

I respect everyone's opinions on this matter, but the personal attacks are really not necessary and especially the derogatory terms. This is what we are teaching our children. So rather than fighting over something that was allowed in schools as a sign of support, let's use our energy to fight for things that actually matter.

aria4810, i have no idea how long you have been a participant on this forum. if you are new, you will come to realise that there is a group of mental peasants who post only on topics which deal with Haiti. forget international affairs, the economy, technology, science, the weather, or history. the only subject that they write on is Haiti. and, in highly emotional and derogatory terms. they are basically unabashed racists, and immeasurably ignorant. they are a pestilence upon the forum, because they contribute nothing worthwhile. it is the same , repetitive group of usual suspects. i hold my breath every time they post, hoping that they will finally condescend to writing something intelligent. alas, my hoping has been in vain.

Can you believe that yet another school "Grace Divine" has collapsed in Port-Au-Prince!!! Thank God only 9 kids are reported to have been injured and no deaths. somebody over there ought to do a nationwide inspection of schools to prevent further loss of life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I m asking what s going on with DR it doesnt look like them. Is it a true act or is it bullshit. any way they look scared to me. But i hope the dominican kids get it the good way not the political way.