Mike Rowe sent a tough message to colleges like Hampshire College that have decided not to fly the American flag because it represents “fear and discomfort” for some.
The 54-year-old host of “Dirty Jobs” said he was inspired to write his lengthy post on his Facebook after watching the news and seeing a group of students setting fire to the flag because they were “angry” and “disgusted by what it represents.”
“At Hampshire College, The President, Jonathan Lash, has actually removed the flag from his campus, in response to students who expressed ‘fear and discomfort’ when confronted by the sight of Old Glory,” Rowe wrote. “He offered this explanation: ‘Removing the flag from our campus will better enable us to focus our efforts on addressing racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and behaviors.’”
“As I dropped one of those giant round ice cubes into a tumbler of Whistle Pig, I couldn’t help but wonder if President Lash was unaware that billions of people around the world are routinely subjected to horrific levels of racism, misogyny, and bigotry that far exceed any injustice in modern-day America,” he added. “Furthermore, I was curious to know if President Lash really believed that removing our flag is a better way to assuage the fears of his frightened students, than simply educating them about the undeniable fact that no country on the planet affords its citizens more liberty than this one? Finally, I found myself wondering as to why the President of Hampshire College would allow his students to pay for their tuition with federal dollars–federal dollars provided by the same government whose flag was no longer suitable to fly at his school.”
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