Haddam, Conn. Selectwoman Melissa Schlag seems confused — and not only because she placed her hand over her heart and faced the American flag while simultaneously kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance at a town council meeting. She also seems confused because she believes the Stars and Stripes are the embodiment of a single man who happens to be president.
According to NBC Connecticut:
Schlag said she was motivated to protest after President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that she’s kneeling for many things, including gender and racial injustice.
This was the second time Schlag took a knee during the during a recitation of the pledge, but this time her actions were met with strong reactions, both from council members and the community at large.
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One of the men present, identified in the following tweet as a veteran, spoke at length.
She’s at it again! Council woman Melissa Schlag knelt during the pledge of allegiance again! Several people gave her hell for it! Here’s what a Veteran had to say! #IStandForTheFlag pic.twitter.com/uLKpQmzqO3
— GITMO KAG2020 🇺🇸 (@President1Trump) August 1, 2018
The wasn’t the only veteran to speak out. A second man, who can be seen in this screen capture from a video accompanying the NBC article, wears a hat indicating he is a veteran of the war in Vietnam.
He too spoke as well, but his message was somewhat different:
You people make me mad. I fought to defend your rights. You want to take them from her?
Schlag herself is quoted in a piece in the Washington Examiner:
I don’t have to stop my free speech when I walk into a selectmen’s meeting. I don’t hate my country. I love my country.
She has an odd way of showing it.
