Discussion: Former Marine Fired From Time Warner Cable For Lowering Flag On Memorial Day

Technically, he was in error, as the flag is at half-mast from dawn to noon, and full-mast from noon to sunset on Memorial Day. He half-staffed it unilaterally at 2:30 pm, then publicly dissed Time Warner on Facebook when it was put back to full staff. But if that was the offense he was fired for, it is pretty lame.

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I’m thinking there must be more to the story, like some pattern of behavior to merit termination, because this one incident doesn’t hold water.

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Whaaaaaa? Is that what’s known as going by the book in the corporate world? Shame on Time/Warner. A little compassion and understanding goes a long way with your employees, unless you were just looking for an excuse to get rid of the man…I can’t see how this is a fireable offense.

That decision was a wee bit above his pay grade, in the United States, the President can issue an executive order for the flag of the United States to be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States government and others, as a mark of respect to their memory.

ta wiki

disturbed by what was termed his "passion for the flag

Time-Warner is absolute garbage, a joke of a cable company that can’t even manage customer billing.

Yeah, this doesn’t sound like the whole story. Being that it’s a personnel matter, we probably won’t get it from anyone else’s perspective.

As for when the flag is to be at half-staff on Memorial Day, I doubt you’d find 1 person in 200 million who knows that. We just happen to have one here!

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He lived in a “Right To Be Fired” state. Dismissed at any time for any reason. Enjoy your freedom bub.

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I’ll bet “loud mouth asshole” was the main precipitating factor.

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That was my thought as well. The article states that “Thornwell said Time Warner told them they were disturbed by what was termed his passion for the flag and (his) political affiliation.”

The flag thing was dumb, but kind of minor. I’d venture to guess he was that one insufferable asshole that almost every office has that has to interject his politics into everything, to the point of it creating a toxic environment.

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Right-to- work for less is also at the employer’s whim, whether that whim holds water or not.

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Sorry, but I’m v-e-r-y skeptical of this account. Don’t get me wrong, Time-Warner is awful. But how likely is it that they would have given “a passion for the flag” as one reason for firing this guy? Were they also upset that he liked apple pie, and was close to his mother?

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I’m wondering what was going on too, but the whole “passion of the flag” and “political affiliation” thing sounds to me exactly what a corporate PR person would say on short notice after someone had been fired for a completely different reason. (He might have been a jerk and difficult to work with, and this was his boss’s excuse. Or his boss might have been a jerk and difficult to work with, and decided to use this as an excuse.)

Technically, he was in error

Yeah, I watched the video, he doesn’t know how to fold a flag either. You fold it twice before folding it into triangles. He made a big show of folding it in half.

Dude do not act like you are the Marine Honor Guard, since you obviously know nothing about displaying the flag.

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Folks have to realize, employer’s are turning into the 21st century slave owners. They have increased their ownership through the use of social media! Simply because Congress has not caught up with the 21st century problems that we all face today!

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Ridiculous piece, TPM, because you don’t identify who the flag belonged to or where it was flying.

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A company is disturbed by a former Marine’s passion for our flag?. What… is he supposed to raise the ISIS black flag instead? DoesTime Warner have a company flag everyone is supposed to genuflect to?

I see this as a none story… if i understand what happened here. He had no business taking it upon himself to think he had a right to lower a company flag with no one’s authorization. The act itself speaks volumes about the guy who imo would be a problematic employee in the future. I would have fired him too. The idea that he even thought it was ok to do this, on his own… speaks volumes about his personality and mentality of his ‘rights’ to do whatever the fk he wants to do cuz marshmallows…

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It is half-mast on a ship, half-mast on land.

There is no such thing as an Ex-Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine.