A video is going viral on social media platform X, having already racked up over 2 million views, after the general manager of M Special Brewing Company, located in the far-left state of California, demanded that a patriotic American man remove the U.S. flag and a flag supporting President Donald Trump be removed from his car.
The incident, which was filmed by the man, took place during the annual R&R Motorworks Car Meet hosted at the M Special Brewing Company branch in Goleta, California. The general manager said that it was company policy to keep any events they host “apolitical,” meaning politically neutral, in order to accommodate individuals of differing political views.
However, many users on X pointed out that displaying the American flag is a civil right that is protected under the Constitution and the Supreme Court of the United States. The video was recorded by Jorge Cortez and starts with him being greeted by the location’s general manager, who identified herself as Kennedy.
As their conversation started, Cortez informed Kennedy that he would be recording their discussion, which she apparently had no issue with. She quickly informed him of the company’s political neutral policy and made it clear that if he wished to participate in the event, he would need to remove the flags. She then told him that he wasn’t being targeted for his support of the president and stated the same policy would apply to someone who pulled into the event with flags supporting Democrats.
Jorge replied, “I believe in the President of the United States.” Kennedy then said, “It has nothing to do with this event. And it’s nothing against you. . . We don’t want to make you feel alienated. The whole point is that we keep it open for everybody, and apolitical. . . And make sure everyone is comfortable.”
Jorge then told Kennedy, “I feel pretty comfortable because I’m in America, that’s an American flag, and that’s an American President.. That’s all.” He then told the general manager that his vehicle, a 1969 Chevy Nova, is an American car. Kennedy doubled down on the company policy and asked for the flags to be removed due to their political nature.
However, Jorge would not be moved, saying, “It’s pretty neutral when I have the American flag. It doesn’t become any more neutral to have the American flag in America.” The comment section was largely in support of Jorge being allowed to fly the American flag with one person saying, “Would they allow a pride flag to be at their event?????? The American flag is not offensive on our soil!!!! If a person is offended by it, that’s their problem!!!!!”
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When Kennedy realized that the man would not budge on keeping the flags, she said she would have to talk with another manager concerning the situation. Jorge agreed and said, “Okay. Talk to your manager and let’s proceed this.” She then asked Jorge to leave the event, accusing him of being confrontational. Things escalated further when, according to Yahoo News, Jorge wanted the authorities to get involved in the situation.
“So if you’re kicking me out, that’s fine. Let’s have the authorities involved because I know this is private property,” he told Kennedy. However, Kennedy did not want to involve local authorities. Later, the general manager relented and called the police to come and address the situation. Someone later provided an update on the situation, saying that eventually, Jorge agreed to leave.
Users commenting on the post soon started calling for a boycott of the brewing company, citing various reports that Pride and transgender flags were displayed at the Santa Barbara location. “Boycott @mspecialbrewco. It’s simple as that,” one user commented. “Crazy, I can’t fly the USA Trump Flag there. I was making sure this was not a movie or a dream. I was going to buy food and coffee to talk with cool car guys,” another person said.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video