At the last Big Day Out, someone was moving through the crowd with an Australian flag and demanding that people kiss it, as some sort of misguided sign of respect in the post-Cronulla days.

When one man refused, on the grounds that he did not want to be intimidated into displaying forced loyalty, he was rewarded with two punches to the head.

The flag should be flying high in BDO or similar events, but it must be a symbol of togetherness, inclusion and genuine spirits, rather than the Cronulla style exclusionism and ostracism hijacking the flag for their own agenda. Let's hope it is going to be a good and welcoming experience for everyone when they put away their prejudice, and things will get better from there.

I support a free flag for every household...

Why on earth would anybody want to take a national flag to a rock concert - except to provoke some kind of confrontation?

I heard a guy interviewed on Radio National this evening who was bashed by thugs with Aussie flags at last year's BDO.

I reckon that national flags (of any description) should be left at home, together with the boofheaded aggro that seems to go with them.

The current Australian flag's a crock anyway. We need to change it.

I thought that Tripple J was smarter in Journalism and more cool for youth culture. They are as flacid as a clutch of Liberace's.

Isn't this supposed to be the cutting edge of youth culture that questions everything? They pretend to be 0h-so-radical. There is nothing remotely radical about the Australia flag. Soon you will hear no rock-n-roll over the hearing aides. No room around the bear bellies. No view over the blue rinses, pearls, and plastic flags. This is so lame. Dame Edna would love this. Tripple J must surely be run by Sir Les Patterson by now.

They should have made it far more clear that taking flags to the BDO is legal, but it is really uncool, daggy, dorky, stupid, and just un-rock'n'roll.

Take the bloody flags there.

BTW It is against flag etiquette to drape the flag over your body, and it must never touch the ground, or be used in a ridiculous way. That rules out getting drunk and making a total dick out of yourself. You take the flag?

Do it properly and don't embarrass our country.

saintfletcher got it right - its a rock festival for gods sake. Historically, patriotism and (good) rock and roll don't go together at all. What happened to good old fashioned rebellion? Now its all:

"hooray for my country!" *tear falls down face*

Our youth have gone out of control and all patriotic and weird, we need to encourage them safely back to thinking for themselves, questioning authority, experimenting with mind altering substances, promiscuity and generally doing what kids are supposed to. They're supposed to be keeping the candle burning while the rest of us sink into the dumb acceptance of mediocrity and homogenised banality that is 'being grown up'. Its a scary age.

HOORAY..... at last we are seeing the evidence of flawed government policy, and the inevitability of JINGOISTIC KNEE JERK REACTIONS....

By this, I mean the thuggish lot who were trying to force people to kiss the flag. That..is the VERY thing I am working against. But its like 'anti semitism'.. it cannot exist apart from a prior 'semitism'... i.e. a perception that 'Jewish' interests are being advanced over other segments of the communities. Whether real or imagined, DIVERSITY creates this suspicion.

So, lack of Government initiative in demonstrating that we are a NATION, and in promoting unity and homogeneity absolutely results in the fringe/fanatical elements of the segment feeling alienated and losing identity coming up with outrageous ideas like "kiss the flag or we will punch the stuffing out of you".

I still remember morning Assemblies, were we sang the National Anthem. Every empire has had public and communal exercises of "identity". Good grief.. in Turkey its a crime to insult 'Turkishness'... Not a bad idea if it was based on a sound foundation. But unfortunately in Turkey it is based on denial of anything bad having ever occurred in Turkish history, in particular their genocide of the Armenian Christians.

So, the Flag kissing thugs should be quickly counselled and ejected or in reverse order, and the happy, peaceful, joyful celebrants of Australia's national symbol should be encouraged and applauded.