A hotel employee was fired for wearing an American flag pin at work. A lot of people think this is wrong. I disagree.  Here’s why: He was given a choice to remove it or go home.

The company’s handbook, according to everything I have been able to find, says the employee handbook specifies that “no other buttons, badges, pins or insignia’s of any kind are permitted to be worn.” It’s very logical to assume that the employee was aware of this and most likely signed something when he was hired acknowledging receipt of the handbook.

A lot of people argue with the hotel’s opinion saying it’s unpatriotic.  I say the hotel is not being unpatriotic.  There just comes a point where we have to stop coddling everyone’s personal opinion. Today it’s this employee’s decision to wear a flag pin. Tomorrow it’s another employee’s decision to wear a pin in the shape of a cross. I mean, he’s only supporting his love of Jesus Christ, right? Well then we need to allow the next employee to wear a pin supporting her show of support for breast cancer research.

And so on… and so on.

You cannot pick and choose which rule to follow. The hotel was enforcing a rule. The people who are saying this hotel was unfair are probably the same people who say, “But I was only going five miles over the speed limit” when they get a ticket. Yes, but you were still speeding. As a person who is known to go a bit over the speed limit, I know that when (yes when) I get pulled over, I will have no choice but to pay the ticket.

Rules are rules. When you break them, you break them. Deal with the consequences and move on. Or don’t break them.