Yellow ribbons, traditional symbols of yearning for the safe return of a soldier fighting overseas, have been banned from public places in a New England town after they were denounced as “political” by anti-war activists.

The controversy has bitterly divided South Portland, which was peppered with ribbons on signs and telegraph poles in honour of two young men when they were killed in Iraq within two weeks of each other in March.

....
“A yellow ribbon means to me respect, it’s honour and ‘Please come home, we’re waiting for you’, just good things. I don’t see how anybody can misconstrue it and turn it into something that’s pro-Bush or pro-war, I just don’t know.”

But Calvin Muse, 46, a local artist and writer who has “never supported the war from day one”, takes an opposite view.

“When you have them hung up around your town it becomes a blanket statement of support [for the war],” he said.

“If you’re going to allow them on public property you’re also going to have to allow me, or anyone that might want to, to put their anti-war statements up as well.”

The ribbon, he argued, is laden with extra meaning “because now the caveat is that supporting the troops should also mean you want them to fulfil their mission” in Iraq.

“There is a fear of talking about this, a fear of being labelled as unpatriotic for not supporting the troops. But supporting the troops may mean ending the war and bringing the troops home. What purer form of support could there be?”

The yellow ribbon tradition is at least a century old and was first recorded in a 1917 song about a girl missing her army sweetheart that included the words: “Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon…And if you ask me why the heck she wore it, She wore it for her soldier who was far, far away.”

Yellow ribbons were banned from public property by the South Portland council in 2003. But this was relaxed for 30 days after Sgt Swiger was killed along with three other soldiers when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up as they were handing out sweets to children in near the town of Baquba.
New England town divided over yellow ribbons - Telegraph

As long as people blindly associate "war dissent" with "not supporting the troops", it lends validity to the complaints against the yellow ribbons.
If people on both sides of the issue would separate the issue of "supporting the troops" and "opinion of the war", it would remove the validity of the complaint.

Here's the song I think of when I associate tieing yellow ribbons about town...

I love this quote from Frowny McSpoiledsport...

Hey dumbass...What if people think what they want and come to the conclusion that the government DOESN'T need to be challenged on this issue?...What about them?...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

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Right now America spends $700 billion every year on foreign oil. That's our money going overseas when it could be staying here. We have to stop this.
That's why I support the Pickens Plan. Check out the website at www.pickensplan.com. If you like what you see, please join me as a Pickens Plan supporter.

If a certain course of action makes the mouth-breathers furious, then that’s a good policy. – The Practical Environmentalist

Frowny McSpoiledsport:

“I just want there to be a freedom for people in this town to think how they want and challenge their government.”

You obviously ALREADY HAD that freedom...
You STILL HAVE that freedom...

Talk about a case of false complaint...
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Edit: And something I should have said earlier.
I think it's stupid to complain about yellow ribbons regarding "pro-war".
The solution to the problem is to fight any stupidity that pretends "yellow ribbons" => "pro-war".
It's about the soldiers, and anybody claiming otherwise on either side of the aisle needs to get their head screwed on straight.

Ali, that is the song that I associate it with too. I still remember in 1979 when that song played endlessly and millions of yellow ribbons were hung to symbolize support for the hostages in Iraq.

But I also remember hearing this song as a child.

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Right now America spends $700 billion every year on foreign oil. That's our money going overseas when it could be staying here. We have to stop this.
That's why I support the Pickens Plan. Check out the website at www.pickensplan.com. If you like what you see, please join me as a Pickens Plan supporter.

If a certain course of action makes the mouth-breathers furious, then that’s a good policy. – The Practical Environmentalist

It's goes WAYYYY farther than that...

ANYTHING can me contrused as a symbol of SOMETHING if you're dumb enough to go that route...

Will GI Joe dolls mean "pro-war"?...Will Barbie Dolls mean acceptance of capitalism...Will matchbox cars mean inherant roadrage?...

Don't think someone with an agenda won't be crying when an telephone gets an "X" on it with spray paint to show where a drill would be, and they made the "X" a little off and now it looks like a cross, which mean the guy was OBVIOUSLY pushing his religious convictions on the public...

There are people out ther like that...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

“A yellow ribbon means to me respect, it’s honour and ‘Please come home, we’re waiting for you’, just good things. I don’t see how anybody can misconstrue it and turn it into something that’s pro-Bush or pro-war, I just don’t know.”

I agree...

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins

exactly spot on target!!!

I think the whole fuss is stupid - and I don't mind the ribbons. But your observance is - unquestionably - valid.

I don't think it's valid at all...

In fact, this reminds me of Tipper Gore and the PMRC telling people what certain lyrics mean instead of letting people decide for themselves...

Frowny McSpoiledsport is doing the same thing the PMRC did...

"I'm here to protect you from that which I find bad...I am your thought police"...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd