Brandon Brock was not upset that he was asked to remove the flag on the back of his truck because of the message it represented.
“Trump 2020” is what he believes in — supporting the president’s re-election and his administration — but he did not put that flag on his truck to defy anyone or to shake things up.
What mattered more, the 24-year-old Pikeville resident said, is that being asked to pull the flag off his personal vehicle, which was parked in the Wayne County Public Schools Maintenance Department parking lot, violated his right to express himself — just like any other person who supports a cause, a candidate or a point of view.
Brock, who, after hours, is taking a welding class, made the flag mount for his truck — and was proud of it.
So because he already had a Trump flag, he decided to put it up.
He drove his truck to his full-time job with the school district Thursday, with the flag flying on the back.
When he arrived, he went to punch in. But before he did, he said he was confronted by a co-worker who he said “started screaming” at him.
Unsure what the fuss was about, Brock followed the advice of another co-worker, got into his truck, pulled it back into the employee parking lot and went about starting work.
That is when his supervisor, David Lassiter, asked to speak to him.
“My boss pulls me aside and tells me I have to take my flag down,” Brock said.
He challenged the order, advising Lassiter that he did not think it was fair that he was being asked to remove a flag that was on his personal vehicle.
“I wasn’t driving it to schools. It was just sitting in the parking lot,” he said. “I drive it to my workplace, and that is it.”
But because his boss asked him to take the flag down, he did.
And when he walked by his co-worker, he said, “Are you happy now?”
That is when, he said, the man said, “I am,” started clapping and confronted him, raising a single fist skyward.
“He walks toward me and comes to me in a confrontational manner. He was three inches from my nose,” Brock said. “I am not one to be offended much. The thing that got me was when he threw up his fist and got in my face. I just did not think there was a need for that. It is what really upset me.”
After the encounter with his co-worker, Brock went to Central Office, where he said he spoke with Interim Superintendent Dr. James Merrill and assistant superintendent Tim Harrell, who oversees maintenance and facilities.
Both, he said, were very honest, respectful and professional.
“They did not know if there was a policy saying you could or couldn’t (have a flag or other expression like it) on your personal vehicle,” Brock said. “They said they would look into it right away.”
Both men said they had not had a question like this before.
Brock said he decided to confirm that the incident took place not just because of what transpired, but because of the importance of the principle he feels he is fighting for.
“I believe it is my right as an individual to have anything I want on my personal vehicle that represents my personal beliefs,” he said.
Brock said he sees no difference between his flag and anyone else’s bumper or window sticker.
“That is just my way of expressing my beliefs or my point of view,” he said. “Other people have teams they support, a candidate or other thing they believe in. It is the same thing. I just support my president.”
Brock said his problem with being asked to remove the flag has nothing to do with the subject emblazoned on it. He said he understands that others might not agree with him about the candidate he chooses to support, and he is OK with that.
“If (my co-worker) had another view, if he wore a T-shirt supporting the other side, I wouldn’t say anything. That’s his right, and I respect that,” he said.
But the third-generation firefighter — Brock used to serve with the Little River Volunteer Fire Department — said he felt it was important to speak up. It is about the First Amendment and the right to free speech, he said.
“We need to talk about stuff like this,” he said. “Everybody should respect anyone’s right to say what they believe.”
The New Old North reached out to WCPS to determine whether or not a policy exists that justified Lassiter’s request for Brock to take down his flag. We did not receive a response.
Why was the employee who ‘got in his face’ and invaded his personal space not disciplined. This is WRONG. If I had done that to anyone I work with, I would be at the house, permanently. Sounds like rules only apply to a few. Hipocrisy runs deep!!!! If you cannot agree to disagree, you should not be allowed to work in public. Get a job working from your basement, or for Twitter.
Ha! Trump supporters have no business working anywhere near a school. White supremacy is in its death throes – wave your flags while you can.
And it’s spelled “hypocrisy.” Spell much?
We will raise our flags ,, and we will celebrate right in your face with my fist in the air ,, and if you don’t like it go riot !!!!!! All lives matter,,,?? Big talker,,guess your race by your comments.
Shut the fuck up!!!
That comment was for you publius……..shut your fucking mouth!!!!
Personally, I don’t see the problem with letting the guy fly his flag on his personal vehicle. At least with it up you know who the trash that supports this president is vs those who support America. Better to have them identified.
Are you saying this guy is trash because he supports our president? Why does anybody have to be trash to support a sitting president? I hope you are not disappointed in November.
I can’t think of another term that fits better. He clearly isn’t a real American. You can’t support the US and this President. He’s ruined our economy, rules by executive order, sold out our troops to Putin, and cozies up to all the tyrannical dictators around the world. You can’t support a man who has taken repeated actions to hurt the American people and be anything other that anti-American. I don’t know what November will bring, but I know that your choice this November is Trump or America. You can’t support both.
Thank you for the great example of what it looks like when hate overcomes logic.
The trash is you!!! Ignorant idiot ,,, u vote for dopey joe I piece of crap
Did you just call yourself a piece of crap? Lol
Burning down black owned businesses, beating up people in the streets, blocking interstates and buildings is not necessarily a winning strategy. This would be the left. Black Lives Matters and Antifa is not the best that America has to offer. Americans need to stop supporting this nonsense.
Speakup, nothing you stated is true. The president allowed states to dictate masks mandates and lockdowns. None of this came from the president. Pre Pandemic, employment in America for blacks, whites, Hispanics and women was the highest it has been in 50 years. The President did not close the states. The Governors did. I have determined that you cannot reason with a person who got to their position through emotions. Everything you stated about the president is patently false. Just relax. Donald Trump is disliked because he is a true American Patriot who is working for ordinary people. He actually did the things he campaigned on. This is the first time in my lifetime that a candidate did that. Notice that I did not refer to him as a politician.
In case you haven’t noticed Earnest, it isn’t pre-pandemic. 200,000 Americans have died because the President refused to take the virus seriously and openly encouraged Americans to disregard the advice of scientists and doctors to wear a mask and social distance. He continues this dangerous farce even today after he’s been caught on tape admitting how dangerous the virus is. His actions on the virus have led us to the worst economy since the Great Depression. He’s abandoned any attempt at leading a functioning government and decided he’s better off to use executive orders to flout the will of the people. Beyond his openly racist actions here at home, he has constantly praised the worst of the worst international leaders: Kim Jong-un, the murderous Saudis, Rodrigo Duerte, and Vladimir Putin. This guy isn’t an American and if you support him, you can’t be either. President Bush put it best after 9/11: You’re either with us or you’re against us.
Are you the same person that called him racist when he closed travel to/from China while Pelosi was telling everyone to “come down to Chinatown because it’s totally safe”?
Your narrative reads like a democratic bulletin board. Coronavirus and masks are a democrat political tool. This election is about more than coronavirus. Since January 2020, 57 black children under the age of 14, have been murdered in black on black crimes (democrats and BLM are silent). You get one vote. As a black man I have watched my whole life as democrats show up every four years and tell me that republicans are racist. Joe Biden has been in Washington for 47 years. I defy you to show me one thing he has done to advance the black cause. Show me one. The 1994 crime bill just locked up black men. You do know that Kim Jong-Un has not fired a missile in almost 4 years. I know racism when I see it. I have been black for 68 years. Racism is not what I see when I see Donald Trump. Racism is what I see when I see Joe Biden (you are not black if you do not vote for me)(black people have no diversity of thought). Those are his words.
As a black man you do not get to tell me what is racist and anti-American(I am a 12 year Army veteran). I guess you call those white kids who have been in the streets for months burning down and destroying black businesses, American? George Bush has not spoken out about this nonsense either. He is just like Joe Biden and the democrats (silent). Donald Trump has only been in Washington for 3 years and 9 months. He has done more good for the black community than any president in my lifetime. If there is racism, it is manifested in those who would stand by and let white kids burn down black neighborhood and not say a thing because they think it helps them politically (democrats). As a black man, we are no longer voting for that. Lets you and I agree to disagree.