Pulse to patriotism: The American flag is draped in symbolism

American Flag Nail Art Using Only A Toothpick! || KELLI MARISSA

Two clean T-shirts. Chris Hansen was dressing to meet a guy hed talked to online, and wrestling with which to wear.

One had the words Free Hugs and an image from the B-movie Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

On the other was a large graphic print of the American flag. This was Hansens favorite shirt. By the end of the night, it would, in the eyes of many, define him. The image on his chest would pop across the world, resonating with strangers h**l never meet in ways he never dreamed. He would become the American Flag Guy. This shirt would change his life.

But at this point, all he knew was it looked better with his new denim shorts.

He spritzed up with Bleu de Chanel: neck, wrists, ankles, thighs. He played Britney Spears: Mr. Photographer, I think Im ready for my closeup! Make sure you catch me from my good side!

He pulled the American flag across his chest and left his Orlando apartment, off to a nightclub called Pulse.

Look around you. In this election year, this Olympic year, and especially on the Fourth of July, you will find no symbol more omnipresent than the American flag. We plant it in the earth, wave it at rivals, torch it in protest, watch it oscillate from full to half staff, reflecting our national mood.

And we wear it. Oh, do we Americans love wearing our flag. Theres hardly a boutique, kiosk or truck stop in the land that doesnt sell American flag T-shirts, snapbacks, bikinis or belt buckles. Designers from Givenchy to Polo to Joe Boxer have incorporated the flag. Stars and stripes are like Nike Swooshes, so prevalent we often forget that theyre there.

As a spokeswoman for Marc Jacobs once told the Los Angeles Times: Its an art piece, not a national symbol.

As with all art, the flags meaning is open to interpretation. Some wear it out of deep respect for G*d and country. Some wear it to catch the eye and sell a brand. Some wear it because the colors look rad on a suntan. Some wear it because its the only clean shirt they have left.

Whatever your reason for wearing the flag, know this: 240 years after they first flew above America, the stars and stripes have lost none of their symbolic power.

Weave it into the lining of your leather jacket, like U2s Bono in the aftermath of 9/11, and your image might bring tears to the eyes of millions.

Wear it as a hijab, like Republican Muslim Coalition founder Saba Ahmed during a 2015 appearance on Fox News, and hatemongering trolls will bare their teeth. Dont wear it at all like Barack Obama, who eschewed flag lapel pins during his first run for president and that, too, will stir powerful emotions.

Look around you. The American flag is everywhere, its meaning changing by the minute. The message we send when we wear it says more about us, and our country, than we realize.

Hansen, 32, grew up in a military family. His father, Bill, an Air Force missile technician, drove him to school on bases in Missouri and Wyoming, past formations of jogging troops, to classrooms where hed stand each morning and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Last August, Bills Uncle Frank, a Navy veteran and volunteer firefighter, died. When Chris went to Connecticut for the funeral, he forgot to pack clean shirts. So he went to Walmart, where he found a discount bin of graphic tees for $3 apiece.

There was the Free Hugs T-shirt. Gizmo from Gremlins. This Guy Needs a Beer. The American flag. Hansen bought them all.

Hansen reads his horoscope daily. He believes in fate, in kismet, in the stars aligning for a higher purpose. He knows flags are powerful symbols at 18, he was inspired to come out after seeing Cyndi Lauper wear a rainbow flag in concert and on that weekend, surrounded by his military family, a flag draped across Uncle Franks casket, the stars and stripes spoke to him.

In April, the shirt moved with Hansen from Ohio to Orlando, where he would live with friends for a few months, maybe find a job in hospitality, perhaps at his favorite place on earth, Disney World. Someday he wants to settle down and open a bed and breakfast. But hed settle for waiting tables.

After two months in Florida, that job hadnt come. His savings were dwindling. He hadnt met many new friends.

But he had his favorite shirt. And on the night of June 11, he decided to wear it out dancing.

Were we ever actually meant to wear the American flag?

Title 4, Chapter 1 of the United States Code the section commonly known as the Flag Code does not stutter: The flag should never be used as wearing apparel ... The flag should never be used for advertising purposes ... No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume.

It was under these auspices that Abbie Hoffman, the activist and protester, was arrested in 1968 and charged with desecration after wearing a shirt crafted from the flag. He was found guilty I regret that I have but one shirt to give to my country, he quipped at sentencing but his conviction was overturned on appeal.

Nearly 50 years later, the Flag Code is a toothless doctrine, largely unenforceable after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that what once constituted desecration is now protected speech. Advertising? Walk into any sporting goods store and you will see phrases like Just Do It and Life Is Good rendered in stars and stripes. Costumes? Go to any major music festival and you will see countless young revelers in American flag bodysuits, tutus, f***y packs and fairy wings.

Ray Michael doesnt get it. Hes a Purple Heart recipient, chairman of the Citrus County Veterans Coalition and Flag Code hard-liner. He owns a couple of American flag ties, but doesnt like wearing them. It annoys him to see flags rippling on used car lots, or athletes dripping with stars and stripes at the Olympics.

People will do what they want, he said. But the code is still the code.

Before I went into the military, I knew all this basic stuff, said Michael, 80. But where was I taught it? At home? Or in school? We just dont do that stuff anymore.

The American flag is still a powerful symbol, one worn in more forms today than ever before. But its also just a pattern, a grid of bold colors that go with almost anything. Its cloth.

Then one day the winds of culture shift, and the cloth ripples with it.

Things didnt work out with the guy Hansen came to Pulse to meet, so instead he was mingling near the VIP section, sipping Jack and ginger, feeling just shy of tipsy, when the first shots cracked through the club. He saw bodies jerk and jolt and hit the floor. He dropped in a panic and crawled to a patio, where escapees were pushing down a fence.

He zigged and zagged away, recalling advice his father passed down from his Air Force training: Duck, bob and weave. They cant hit a moving target.

He saw a man lugging a victim; Hansen plugged the wound with a bandana and helped him to safety. They passed a woman who had been shot in the back and was struggling to breathe, and they carried her away as Hansen peppered her with questions to keep her calm.

Where are you from?

Ohio.

Whats your sign?

Taurus.

Whats your favorite animal?

Lion.

Hakuna matata, he told her, quoting The Lion King. When you come out of this alive, get that tattoo: Hakuna matata. Because youre a survivor. It means no worries. No matter what happens to you, you can brush it off.

The woman lived.

Police pushed everyone down the street toward Orlando Regional Medical Center. Hansen encountered a mother texting her son, who was still hiding inside the clubs bathroom. He had thought of hiding in the same bathroom. They hugged.

Hansen was alone. His wallet and car were still back at Pulse. His phone was dying. The guy hed come to meet had left hours earlier. All around him, people were panicking, and no one knew what was going on.

Hansen walked toward a gathering scrum of media.

What if that was my brother? he thought. What if that was my sister? What if that was my family or friend in there?

During those first chaotic hours, Hansens eyewitness accounts beamed around the world and lit up social media. Relatives across the country watched on TV, grateful he was safe. He stayed until daylight, until he couldnt take the questions anymore, though he would return the next day.

It was hours before anyone noticed his T-shirt.

Youre a hero, his brother Duane told him. Youre an American man in an American flag T-shirt. You were helping people. You were showing people that America is going to stick together and stay strong, and theyre not going to defeat us.

Watching from his home in Lonoke, Ark., Bill Hansen marveled at his sons presence of mind.

How many people would be able to say that they did everything they possibly could until they couldnt do it anymore? he said. That was him.

The next time you see someone wearing the American flag, ask them why.

You might meet Chris Wauben, 43, a musician from Holiday who calls himself the American Flag Running Man. He jogs up and down Clearwater Beach in red, white and blue apparel, waving a flag, promoting various charities.

I know it sounds cheesy, but its amazing to see how much happiness it brings, he said. So many people say they really need more of this.

You might meet Doug Hughes, the 62-year-old Ruskin postman sentenced to prison for landing a gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol. He reported to the federal detention center in Miami wearing an American flag T-shirt.

Im as much a patriot as millions of other Americans, he said. To me, its not a protest statement to wear the flag and say that what Im after is the restoration of the kind of government that we were promised when we went to school.

You might meet Peter Chianchiano, 68, a veteran from Spring Hill who fears the flag, like America itself, is in grave danger.

Look on TV. You can see them burning the flag, and theyre holding up a foreign flag, a Mexican flag, Chianchiano said outside a Donald Trump rally, flag pins on both lapels of his camouflage fatigues. Ive seen it hang upside down in Los Angeles. Ive seen them spit on it. Ive seen them throw it on the ground and stomp on it. And, of course, we see it burn, and then we see foreign flags raised.

You might meet Anish Diwikar, a 28-year-old immigrant who wore a stars-and-stripes tank top to Tampas Sunset Music Festival in May.

Its not about being Indian or being American, said Diwikar, a programmer living in Florida on a work visa. Its all about celebration. When I go back to my country, I can show the pictures of enjoying the fest, and being dressed in the flag of the United States.

You might meet Katrina Dobrov, who has walked the halls of Plant High School in her most patriotic ensemble white stars on red above stripes of blue and white, the word DREAM in red sequins on her back as classmates called her Captain America.

Its important to understand that what you wear doesnt necessarily define you, said Katrina, 16. But it can define your beliefs.

Back at his apartment, Hansen scrubbed the blood beneath his nails, exhausted but unable to sleep. He wanted to know more about the shooting, but the news was unbearable. He could barely stand to check Facebook.

All he knew to do was keep talking. His photo would appear on the front pages of countless newspapers, including this one. He would speak to Matt Lauer and Nancy Grace and wrestler Mick Foley. Gov. Rick Scott would give him a medal. Hillary Clinton would mention him in a speech. Mourners at vigils would surround and embrace him.

The bold T-shirt that made Hansen so recognizable also would make him a target. Conspiracy theorists would pick at his story in videos. They would call him a plant, an actor in a false-flag hoax perpetrated by the FBI or CIA in service of some LGBT agenda.

Part of him never wanted to see his T-shirt again. It was rank with blood and sweat, spilled drinks and souring cologne, traces of a long, trying night h**l never shake. He thought about trashing it.

But Hansen kept thinking about his father and Uncle Frank and other relatives who lived to fight for flag and country. He was now caught in a fight of his own, one for the equality and safety of the LGBT community.

Tossing his shirt might help erase the nightmare of that night. But it would also dispose of the love he carried and witnessed while wearing it.

You dont throw away love, he thought.

He soaked his American flag T-shirt in detergent, vinegar, scent beads and OxiClean. Into the wash it went. A few faint stains wouldnt budge. But it came out feeling like new.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Contact Jay Cridlin at cridlin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8336. Follow @JayCridlin.

Source: http://www.tbo.com/holidays/pulse-to-patriotism-the-american-flag-is-draped-in-symbolism-20160704/