Obama meeting hangs ally's flag upside down; No big deal though, it's only the Philippines

Yes, yes, the Philippines is a close American ally. A practicing democracy in Asia with nearly 100 million people. And a whole bunch more living -- and voting -- abroad in places like the United States.

And, yes, the island nation's president, Benigno Aquino III, was sitting at President Obama's left elbow at their ASEAN meeting in New York City last week. And directly behind Aquino the American staff placed the Philippines' flag, well, kind of upside down. (That's it second from the right in the photo above, the one with all the blue at the bottom, which should be at the top.)

In the Philippines displaying the flag like that means the nation is at war. Which, of course, it isn't. Not yet anyway. And the country's laws provide for a fine and up to one year in prison for disrespecting the flag.

President Aquino kindly didn't make a big deal out of such modern-day diplomatic ignorance by its World War II liberator.

When you think about such an international gaffe by American hosts, it's really pretty much the Filipinos' fault for choosing a national flag with no clear top or bottom to American eyes.

Look at the savvier Canadian allies next door, for Pierre's sake. They were smart enough to pick a lone leaf that has an obvious stem so even Americans would know which side goes down.

A couple of days after the embarrassment, a U.S. spokeswoman followed the Obama administration's Geithner Apology Protocol, admitting it was "unfortunate" but quickly adding that it was something called "an honest mistake." As opposed to a dishonest mistake like, say, not paying taxes.

With so many larger guns, a nuclear arsenal and a Harvard-educated president who knows they speak Austrian in Austria, the U.S. really shouldn't need to apologize anyway. Such a superpower can't be expected to keep track of the globe's gazillion funny-looking flags that don't have a big blue box of stars to show top vs. bottom.

Obama's meeting with the ASEAN nations was designed to bolster both economic and cultural ties with the region's increasingly powerful nations. Maybe starting with a staff class on flag recognition.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos: Tim Sloan / AFP / Getty Images; EPA.

Comments

[Kulas]

"No big deal it's only the Philippines," Not looking for any apologies because it's obviously an honest mistake, but this columnist is making it sound like the Philippines is something insignificant. This columnist needs to be taught how to write proper news articles

[eugene tijing]

I cannot believed that we are not taking this seriously and i assumed that our representative would noticed the flag that our people who fought for the flag would take this as an insult...it is bad enough that filipino are not treated equal in the USA, at least give Filipino people a respect that they deserved...shame on those people who represent the Philippines... please dont let this happen again...

[André Ignoul]

what stupid excuse of the writer of this article, saying that it is the fault of the Philippines not indicating what is top or bottom of their flag.
A host has to know exactly all items of foreign countries, even about their flags, US citizen or not. This here shows lack of respect to the country of the PHilippines but as usual the US thinks they can allow themselves everything without being blamed, because they think the are superior to every one in the world.
If the person who has put the flag this way, had doubts about what is top and bottom, he was able to get information in internet or history books or whatever to do his job correctly. So not the Philippines are to blame, but the person him/herself who made this mistake.
andré in belgium

[Paul Roberson]

okay... moving right along!!

[Eliza Raymundo]

When you think about such an international gaffe by American hosts, it's really pretty much the Filipinos' fault for choosing a national flag with no clear top or bottom to American eyes - I certainly hope this is a joke! Every single figure in our flag is a venerable symbol that helps to characterize our country. Be careful what you write, Mr. Author! To my eyes and ears this was offensive.

[Adel]

When I read the first line of this article, it was polite. Until I read the whole thing. A sincere apology is enough, however they want to call it such as an honest mistake, or simple , " I can't tell up from down." There is no need to insult the Filipinos with words like, " The Canadian are smart enough..." If the President of the Philippines didn't raise a fist about this issue, then he should be admired for being understanding that not all people such as those hired to place the flag are educated, or even sensitive enough to know that a country's flag is a representation of it's people. It shouldn't be treated like a piece of clothing on a pole. It is a shame that the writer of this article is a Filipino hater. I am a Filipino, my national hero is Jose Rizal, who said that, " The pen is mightier than the sword". Other than hanging the flag upside down, giving this racist writer a pen( or a typewriter) is a scary thing. We live in a civilised world, we can't just tell our neighbors that they are ignorant, or stupid , or not smart enough. Columnists are supposed to put a light in the news, not give their personnal opinion. Most of the time a simple, " A sincere apology" is enough. Then we learn, then we don't make the same mistake, then we become sensitive to other people's feelings, then we become, " smarter".
By the way, do not insult the Americans by saying that the only reason the Canadian flag was hanged the right way was they picked a single leaf so Americans will know which way is up. American's are smarter than you potray they are, 90 % can tell if your shirt is inside out.

[rupert magna]

racist

[triodethom]

Ge it not like they have specialist in the field of this type of thing say maybe the maid . Or it could have been the maid who was making a political statement . This flag and its proper display is important to them and we should show we also care about them and their respect they have for themselves. After all they like us ! Not just want to do business with us.

[MP]

The Philippine flag that was flown upside down was showing more about the truth of what was going on in our world under Obama.
Obama has done nothing but to cause trouble in our world.
The truth always comes out!

[MP]

The Philippine Flag that was flown upside down was showing more truth of what is going on in our world today under Obama.
We have problems in our world that will not be solved by Obama.
Let's face it the truth always comes out!

[criolle johnny]

Most flags have a "tackline" on the lower end. This is a length of rope about four feet long that extends from the BOTTOM of the flag. The purpose of the tackline is to prevent just this sort of mistake.

[Robert]

This is in reference to Mr. Andrew Malcom's commentary on the Philippine flag.
- firstly, if you are joining an international convention isn't it your delegates' responsibility to know something about the other participating nations' background ? Secondly, aside from the "gazillions of funny looking flags", don't you think it is a complete ignorance on the part of the host not to know about the other countries background, flag representation on this case. You talk as if you're the only country who is supposed to be righteous all the time. Look around you. Well, obviously, you're as ignorant as what you think the other countries are.

[Robert]

and yes... the U.S. needs to apologize just like what a real educated and civilized country should do no matter how big you are. That is just the right thing to do. Wouldn't you like someone to apologize to you when they did something to you by mistake?

[Carlos Manalo]

Are you being sarcastic or adding insult to injury ?

[Paul]

God, while there are many, many things that make the USA great, Americans like you are most certainly not one of them. It's always everyone's fault but your own, yet a lot of things wrong in the world can be traced to your skewed, egocentric ways from your half baked foreign policies that allowed terrorist groups to flourish in mishandled former Soviet states, to your wildly imaginative international law theories that "justified" the invasion of sovereign states in the Middle East.

Here's a little history lesson so you can get your facts straight next time. While the Philippines regards the United States as an ally, it has very little to do with them thinking of you as their saviors. The Philippines was already in full revolt from Spanish rule when a new superpower without any colonies, the United States, suddenly got involved in a war with, coincidentally, the weakest superpower of the time, Spain, justified by the mysterious sinking of a US ship off the coast of Cuba ultimately leading to the Treaty of Paris that conveniently allowed the US to get a couple of colonies.

Fastforward a hundred years, the US justified its invasion of the sovereign state of Iraq as an "internationally accepted preemptive strike" and have yet to find weapons of mass destruction after subjugating it for the last 6 years. What was found was a whole bunch of government reports that stated they most likely committed a mistake.

Back on point, President Obama's office was courteous enough to offer an apology which the Philippine president accepted. That was the right thing to do for both parties which sould be commended. They don't need a bigot like you steering them into another diplomatic blunder.

[jukin]

SMART Powerr!!!!11!!!eleventy

[Ron Orallo]

During the Presidential elections, everyone said that Obama didn't have the experience dealing with foreign affairs. Hillary Clinton said it, McCain said it. Looks like they were right.

Who is this author, Andrew Malcom anyways (Yes I misspelled his name Malcolm) but why does he have hard such a hard and difficult name like Malcolum? Must be his fault for being born with parents that gave him the name.

Anyways my point is that being the President and establishing relationships with international countries, you should respect and know about the people you are dealing with. The author is obviously misguided.

[Test]

Might want to re-think that Canadian flag analogy... baseball fans may still remember October 18, 1992, when a Marine Corps color guard displayed the Canadian flag upside down.

[Andre]

Perhaps Obama's staff missed that flag class when they were busy organizing his tour in all 57 states during the campaign?

[Some Canadian]

To be fair, in '92 an American Marine Band got our flag upside down at the World Series.

I'm not a fan of Obama (not hardly), but goof-ups like this happen.

[Phil]

Can you be any more ignorant? I know it's a blog, but at least have some class when writing something up.

[smfic]

so andrew when did you realize you were a racist?
how dare you question the competency of our harvard-educated president or his staff?
guess you missed the memo where we were told he was the savior, a modern day superhero.

[Given Up Hope]

Good thing we got rid of the stupid president and now have 0bama.

[jim guintivano]

It is more embarassing to the part of the Philippine President not noticing how his flag being flown. He should be the first one to see it, he should be the first one to jump up his chair and scream to hang his flag right.
When a Philippine singer revised the tune of the "Lupang Hinirang", every Filipino jump and screamed of disrespecting the National Anthem, Could hanging the flag upside down disrespectful too? It's easy for P-Noy to accept it because he knows he's part of the blame too. Mr. Philippine president you should be watching your country as your flag is the only symbol of it. Where is your apology to your countrymen?

[gneek]

No one in the comments seems to be mentioning the other upside-down flag in the picture. That of Burma. Just thought I'd point that out.

This is such a classic case of a "had Bush done that". Had Bush done that, this gaffe would become a meme in a matter of days as all major newspapers and TV channels across the United States buzzed on and on and on about how silly the mistake was.

[Aaron Worthing]

Once you understand what it means for it to go one way or the other, it makes sense.

blue = peace

red = well, they say patriotism, etc. but i think they really mean "blood."

So just guess which way is the right way, during peace, and way is right, during war? yep, its that simple.

[Fred Ogingo]

Obama called me up and said he did it on purposes because he is a socialist.

[Holdfast]

Chill people - the author of this blog is clearly being sarcastic as hell - he (or she) is not making fun of the Philippines, but lambasting the Obama Admin - the Geithner reference should be the giveaway, if nothing else.

[andy]

My God, can you people not see the author was speaking in a joking tone? Of course he thinks this is serious and no laughing matter. He was relaying the message we will get from the stooges in the Obama admin. Get a sense of humor.

[Landy]

Stupid whatever-you-are

[Tony]

Andrew Malcolm:"No Big deal though, its only the Philippines." "it is really pretty much the Filipino's fault..." You racist pompous pig. This disappoints me so much that i am at a lack of words to convey my feelings. It was enough that the mistake was made but another one to say the words you have. L.A. Times and Mr. Malcolm needs to apologize to the Filipino people for this sorry excuse for a blog/article

[Smith]

Dear most commentators:
Don't you get it? The writer was using satire to point out how dumb and offensive this gaffe was. The staff that prepared this quite clearly were incompetent. By assigning a tongue-in-cheek kind of blame to everyone but Obama's staff, he made it more obvious where the blame truly lies.
This kind of political commentary has been around for a long time... try reading Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" from 1729. Swift appears to suggest in his essay that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. He wasn't serious... he was mocking the British officials responsible for Ireland's poverty.
In a similar but less inflammatory fashion this author mocks the stupidity of the White House staffers who missed this obvious and offensive blunder.

[DONAL]

The author was writing ironically or satirically; he obviously was being snide when he made the comments about the Filipinos and Canadian flag, so take it in that spirit, folks.

It, however, is NOT the language that should be used for an acknowledgement or apologia! The Filipino people here in the USA are good, hard working people. ALL Filipinos deserve better. I apologize for our ignorant boy-president; we are not all that mindless and self-absorbed!

[juan dela cruz]

okay settle down... its not his fault that he is an ignorant, obnoxious moron.

[sonny]

"A couple of days after the embarrassment, a U.S. spokeswoman followed the Obama administration's Geithner Apology Protocol, admitting it was "unfortunate" but quickly adding that it was something called "an honest mistake." As opposed to a dishonest mistake like, say, not paying taxes.

With so many larger guns, a nuclear arsenal and a Harvard-educated president who knows they speak Austrian in Austria, the U.S. really shouldn't need to apologize anyway. Such a superpower can't be expected to keep track of the globe's gazillion funny-looking flags that don't have a big blue box of stars to show top vs. bottom."

-------> THI IS A CRAZY WRITER.... I THINK THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS NEWSPAPER SHOULD FIRE THIS KIND OF WRITERS..., WRITING VERY STUPID REALIZATIONS..... STUPID PERSON; ANDREW MALCOLM...

[katkat]

Well, Mr. second grade writer. It's NOT our fault if Americans like you don't know which is the top or the bottom of our flag but I guess WHAT YOU MUST HAVE TO KNOW is that our flag represents the wholeness of our nation, therefore IT MUST BE GIVEN RESPECT IT DESERVES. It's a simple thing and yet you,coming from a "superpower" country, doesn't even know how to do it.

[george]

Hey, Americans...How long did you stayed in the Philippines.

[Chico A]

afghans shouldn't be sorry for driving an airplane into your cities
god shouldn't be sorry he sent katrina to kill your kind
mcdonalds shouldn't be sorry for making a chunk of your population obese

see where i'm going? white trash, what you don't realize is that we're all equal; we can die from the same gun, die from the same diseases and yet you talk as if you are god's gift from heaven.

oh and i just realized. your president is black bro.

[Egay Metro]

Fellow Pinoys, please don't embarrass yourselves by getting worked up over nothing! The author is clearly being sarcastic - in fact he's actually taking up the cudgels on behalf of all Filipinos who feel offended by this gaffe. Hindi siya naninira, ibang estilo lang ng pang-aasar, o sarcasm, ang ginagamit niya para dito sa article niya. Ano ba yan... chill!

[Heidi Rogers]

OK people, have you ever heard of sarcasm??!!!

[Three stars and a Sun]

Yeah, a very "honest mistake". This only shows that Americans are one of the reasons why the whole country is upside down.

[Kuya Jordan]

I also believe your columnist is making the Philippines out to be some kind of pet of the States.This is not just something Filipinos know the importance in ones people should not be talked down on so loosely.

[Torrent Download]

Al i can say is this...... "Ooooh MmmyyyGoooddd!" :D