Flag at half staff for Whitney Houston

[lucky123]

It just shows the weak state of people in power when they cannot distinguish valor from fame.

Sad, very sad.

Pete

This!

 

[cottagechick]

It is terrible. When Steve Jobs died Portland flew half masts to. While being successful, talented and charitable is very admirable it is not enough to warrant flags at half mast.

 

[rwbwfarm]

Just my opinion as our son is in the Air Force....

 

[newchickgal]

There are other ways to honor her, not by flying the flag at half mast. It's a slap in the face to those who have served our country in one form or another, or who should be honored in this form. They could've given her a plaque but not this. IMHO

 

[GableBabble]

I'm sorry but this continues the problem with how we view the world today.

Our entertainers are paid millions of dollars, yet we have retired military bagging our groceries. Our police are paid less then just about anyone..... Now we have an entertainer honored with a lowered flag? She may have helped people, by giving money, but did she make the same offer as our military people do daily? No. I see this as a slap in the face to people like my Daddy who died a war vet and hero.

 

[chickened]

There is an old saying about charity: "do not let the right hand see what the left hand is doing"

This is a tragedy a for a young talented singer to take her own life at this age especially. When someone tells you drugs/alcohol are harmless think of this.

Giving your life and taking your life could not be two things any further apart let alone deserving a flag at half mast. She has already received her reward for her charity when she announced it publicly.

Whitney Houston has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities through the years mainly for children with aids and cancer. She donated $110,000 to a pediatric hospital in Newark, proceeds from the National Anthem in 1991 went to the Gulf War soldiers and their families, again in 2001 after 9/11 she re-released with the proceeds donated to the fire fighters of New York , she donated to the Mother Hale House in Harlem, donated 2 Lion cubs to the Bronx Zoo. All proceeds from the Premiere of the Body Guard went to a childrens aids charity. When she married Bobby Brown, she requested that all gifts be waived and to donate to a charity for children.

She could have kept every penny for herself.

I'm sure I could come up with more that she has done not only for her own communtiy but across the country. Hats off to the Governor for allowing her a moment. Celebrities have the means, power, and money to do far more than we ever could. Thanks to them for being generous with their money.

Sean Penn went to Haiti 2 years ago to volunteer for 2 weeks after the earthquake. He is still there, living in a rented house shared by many (his bedroom is 5 ft by 10 ft) he sleeps on a cot. He manages a tent village there and has helped 50,000 homeless people transition to new homes. He has 20,000 more to get in permanent homes. What a grand thing to be able to do ... to have the time and the money to be able to afford to leave a life here and go help these people.

 

[KristyHall]

Nothing at all...maybe with a bit in the newspaper or naming the wing of a pediatric ward to which she donated funds. But to place a national or state flag at half mast for her just takes away the honor or significance of the thing when it is normally reserved for those who have actually served their country or state in some self-sacrificing way.

What it says to me is that her financial donations puts her on equal footing as someone who may have sacrificed their life for many and it cheapens that sacrifice.

But...hey, who cares? She was famous, rich and had a God given talent that she wasted with drugs, domestic violence and court appearances. Why not have her honored as a roll model for the youth of the day? Good idea!

I don't necessarily agree. If this is how the state chooses to mourn her, let them. A person doesn't have to die, or do something physical to be a hero. Many soldiers and police officers and other people have done great things have also done terrible things. Police, fire fighters, military, do not have a monopoly on doing good things and touching people's lives. Many people who have never lifted a weapon has done much for others. One doesn't have to jump on a grenade and die in some sort of physically grand way to be a hero, to have sacrificed themselves. Look at Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and other great orators, humanitarians, and pacifists.


I am also concerned with the tone of your post about the domestic violence common. It almost sounds like you are saying someone who has been a victim of domestic violence is somehow a waste or lesser? I may be misreading.

That being said, I am not one who follows stars, and watches much in the way of TV or movies, so her death has had little impact on me. It doesn't mean it hasn't had an impact on others.

 

[33yardbirds]

Being from NJ I will fly my flag at full staff. The only time it flys at half is on memorial day until 12:00 PM, then back to full. There is a website on flag ettiquet.

 

[Royd]

Being from NJ I will fly my flag at full staff. The only time it flys at half is on memorial day until 12:00 PM, then back to full. There is a website on flag ettiquet.

I'm sure Governor Christie isn't going to send out the NJ National Guard on you.

 

[33yardbirds]

I'm sure Governor Christie isn't going to send out the NJ National Guard on you.

I think the guard would side with me (Back in America).