Camping World continues to stand strong about flying the Stars and Stripes.
The CEO of Camping World, Marcus Lemonis, who is a Lebanese immigrant, has formerly said that he takes pride in flying huge American flags off of flag poles that tower in the sky (and above his Camping World dealerships). When a California location was under fire to bring down its flag and flagpole, Lemonis responded by… letting Old Glory wave in the wind. He defended his actions by saying:
“I happen to be an immigrant. I was given the blessing of being able to enter this country and become a citizen, and I’m grateful for it. It’s been part of my life since I was a little child down in Miami, Florida, where we had the largest flagpole in Miami at our car dealership.”
Now, a similar situation is playing out in Greenville, North Carolina. It’s there that an ongoing dispute between Camping World and city officials has reached a fever pitch, as personnel has persistently cited that the flag flying should be taken down because the flag exceeds the size that the city allows and the flying of the large Old Glory – and the 120-foot flagpoles they fly from – could cause safety issues.
Lemonis says that the issue has caused thousands of dollars in fines from the city of Greenville, and because he refuses to take down the flag (he says he wouldn’t even take them down if it meant he went to jail), the CEO unfortunately had to shutter the location.
He told employees at the Forest River RV location that they were closing because of the city council’s actions, and told WITN:
“We think the ordinance is wrong. I think it’s also wrong council members have been working very actively to disparage my business, and on Friday I had to consolidate modification of two dealerships in town … our business which has been unfortunately impacted uniquely in Greenville, NC.”
Isn’t this America?
And I think we’ve all probably driven by a Camping World location and noticed how proudly they fly their ginormous Stars and Stripes. You can tell they are proud to fly the flag, and it’s next to impossible not to feel a little patriotic when you drive by an American symbol of that size. It’s wild that flying Old Glory proudly and high up in the air has created such a big issue in so many different states across the country.
Despite the latest controversy in North Carolina, and Camping World having to consolidate because of the excessive fines they’ve been hit with, CEO Marcus Lemonis insists that the flags aren’t going anywhere anytime soon:
“Not when they sue, not when I lose, not if they take me to jail, the flag is not coming down… Allow the flag to fly. Allow people to enjoy it. Allow kids in this country to understand what an amazing place they live in.”
Certainly seems like the only people that aren’t enjoying it are the communities that are enforcing their limits on flag sizes and flagpole heights… what a joke.
Stay strong, Marcus!
