‘Gold Rush’ Fans Blast Fred For Wearing An American Flag

Fred Lewis on Gold Rush | Episode Screencap

One of the biggest jokes, when Gold Rush fans are discussing the episodes on social media, is about how many times Fred Lewis mentions his military duty. However, while he is a veteran, many fans were unhappy with a recent image that appeared in a Gold Rush promo.

In that image, it appeared that Fred was wearing an American Flag around his neck like a scarf.

Fans bash Fred for wearing American Flag on Gold Rush

An image showed up of Fred Lewis wearing what looked like an American Flag like a scarf in a promo for episode 3 of Season 13. This episode is entitled “Golden Acres.” Fans on Reddit were not happy about it. While several fans made jokes about Fred always bringing his past military duty into conversations, others showed offense at using the flag as an article of clothing.

Fred Lewis on Gold Rush | Episode Screencap

The OP poster just joked, “does anyone know why Fred is wearing the American flag?” This plays on a long-running joke on Reddit where fans act like they are surprised that Fred served in the military. All of this despite him mentioning it multiple times on every single episode of Gold Rush. It played off when the OP wrote, “was he in the Army or something?”

Several commenters played off the joke. One asked, “is he a military veteran? I’m sure they would have mentioned that if he was.” When some didn’t get or were unfamiliar with the joke and tried to let people know he did serve, others just kept it up by saying, “I can’t recall them ever mentioning it.”

However, after this, many other fans questioned the ethics of wearing the flag.

One fan wrote that “wearing the flag as clothing violated the flag code.” Another didn’t seem to care about the legality but did write, “every time I see something like this I cringe. You are essentially wrapping yourself in the cloth many have died to defend. The symbiology seems off.”

Does anyone know why Fred is wearing this American flag?
by u/Pickalodeon in goldrush

Is wearing an American Flag against the military code?

This brought up a question for Gold Rush fans. Is Fred Lewis wearing the American Flag as an article of clothing against the military code? One fan wrote, “wearing the flag like that is counter to the US Flag Codes suggestions. However it also falls under free speech as well. The suggestions of the US Flag Code are military regulations and civilians are suggested to follow them as well, but are not required to.”

When it comes to the American Flag Code, there are several things that everyone should keep in mind, including military veterans. These codes involve not mutilating the flag or using it for advertising purposes. However, the code also says that “civilians or civilian groups or organizations” do not have to “conform with regulations” of the government concerning the flag.

The code specifically says, “The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.” However, this is not a law, but just a code of respect for the flag.

Was Fred Lewis wearing the American Flag like a scarf offend you? What are your thoughts on him constantly capitalizing on his military duty? Let us know in the comments below.

Shawn Lealos
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One Comment

  1. Those who are upset that an American wears a US flag can stop watching or, better yet, leave the country so they won’t have to look at Americans or US flags. It’s freedom of speech and expression and those who have issues with this statement need to realize that the US allows everyone to express their views, EVEN VIEWS WITH WHICH SOME PEOPLE DISAGREE. One-sided, censired, woke tv shows are NOT what the majirity want to see.

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