14 DAY TRIAL // One McDonald’s joint in Brooke County, West Virginia, has managed to grab national headlines for flying the American flag upside down and at half-staff shortly after Elections day, which saw Barack Obama get his second run as President of the United States.
The Examiner notes that flying the flag at half-staff is usually a signal of distress and not a sign of disrespect, as many Americans thought when they saw it outside McDonald’s.
As for why the flag was turned upside down, the manager of the restaurant says it was an honest mistake, one that they did not even realize until someone alerted them of it.
That may be so, but news of the strange occurrence has spread like wild fire online, with many saying that it was either a sign of protest against Obama’s electoral win, or simply a crass sign of disrespect towards the national flag.
Neither is the case, the manager explains.
“I just want to say: I am a manager at that McDonald's. 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,” he says, as cited by the aforementioned publication.
Had it not been for someone who told them that the flag was upside down, it would have remained up there for the rest of the day.
“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,” the manager goes on to say.
“We are working on fixing the flag right now. It's important to note that this was an accident, not intentional,” he assures all those outraged Americans who read about the occurrence and are convinced it was all done on purpose.