Burning Flags

Date: 4/14/2017

I was driving on a bendy, gravel road in the mountains when I saw smoke and fire. I looked more closely and realized it wasn't just a burn pile, someone's property was on fire. I stopped and got out and saw people outside through the brush. I asked if they needed help and they said help was on the way. Then I looked up and realized their flags were on fire. Waving in the breeze on top of a full sized flag pole in their yard, an American flag below and a confederate flag on top were both in flames. It looked so vivid and symbolic and just crazy that I got my phone out and started trying to take pictures, not really even caring what they thought about that. My camera wasn't working though, which was frustrating. I felt a strong need to document it. Next I was at a house with an office in the second floor. I looked out the window to see another rebel flag burning off in the distance. Then right in front of me across the street, a man got out of a car, reached or maybe climbed up and set fire to another set of flags, one American and one Confederate. I realized his goal was just to burn the Confederate ones. I hate rebel flags so it was weirdly thrilling, but I didn't want people who agreed with me to be seen as terrorists at the same time. I struggled to find my camera again, and it didn't work again. Before long there were flags burning all over the place, mostly rebel ones, and fires just burning randomly and spreading around the areas they were started. People were soaking their flags in water and flying them again to keep them up but sort of fire-proof. It was chaos. I was able to film out the office windows now, but several reporters were up there for the view and kept getting in my way. I got a bit of ok documentation but not great.