Why was a US flag hung upside-down in Yosemite National Park? Bold display in viral pic explored

The Free Speech Centre describes the striking demonstration of hoisting an upside-down flag, stating that it has been “argued that the practice of flying a flag upside down was used by ships that were in distress, and only much later became a symbol of political protest. The U.S. flag code, which is not legally enforceable, specifically says that the flag is not to be inverted ‘except as a signal of dire distress in instance of extreme danger to life or property.”

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Yosemite National Park’s employees’ move then stepped in as an act of protest against the Trump administration’s recent federal job cuts. These layoffs and targetted reductions resulted in the termination of 11 full-time staff members at Yosemite, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

Upside-down US flag in Yosemite National Park: Protesters release statement

“The purpose of this exercise of free speech is to disrupt without violence and draw attention to the fact that public lands in the United States are under attack,” the protesters highlighted in a statement released shortly after the stunt.

“The Department of the Interior issued a series of secretarial orders that position drilling and mining interests as the favored uses of America’s public lands and threaten to scrap existing land protections and conservation measures. Firing 1,000s of staff regardless of position or performance across the nation is the first step in destabilizing the protections in place for these great places.”

The statement added, “These losses, while deeply personal and impactful, may also be invisible to visitors and members of the public—we are shining a spotlight on them by putting a distress flag on El Capitan in view of Firefall. Think of it as your public lands on strike”. Yosemite employees usually live in housing conditions offered to them with the job in the park itself. As a result, job termination also brings the fears of residence stability for many.

DOGE pushes for layoffs; Dems sign a letter against job cuts

Around 2,000 recent hires at the US Forest Service and an additional 1,000 employees were let go at the National Park Service in what some are calling the “Valentine’s Day massacre.” With lawmakers and advocacy groups criticising the widespread layoffs in and labelling them as a threat to public safety and parks, the Donald Trump admin has since done a U-turn.

Moves are being made to restore the jobs of dozens of National Park Service employees fired amid government-wide reductions, per AP.

“These roles are critical to protecting America’s treasured natural assets, maintaining public safety and promoting exceptional standards,” Virginia’s 2 Democratic senators and 6 Democratic House members wrote in a signed letter, addressing it to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “If these directives are not reversed, we fear it will significantly undermine the Park Service’s ability to protect both visitors and park resources, particularly as we approach peak visitation season.”

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A national park ranger weighs in on Trump job cuts

Alex Wild, who has been a park ranger for 15 years, and with the National Park Service for 6 of them, was recently laid off in the cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s DOGE. While voicing concerns for his own future, he also noted how without staffers, parks may face growing concerns. “I’m legitimately concerned about people just ripping their Jeep around the meadow because they feel like there’s no one to do anything about it,” he told The Independent. “And maybe there won’t be.”

The 35-year-old added, “We do so much work protecting the place, and that’s the sort of stuff that is just going to get dropped. As a ranger, that’s the part that gets me fired up. That’s my passion and it breaks my heart to think about what’s going to happen to the parks.”

Before being laid off on February 14, Wild was the only emergency medical technician at Devils Postpile. He noted, “Sometimes it’s dramatic like saving someone’s life, and other times it’s preventing something from becoming an emergency, like I’ll find a missing hiker or someone with a sprained ankle. But without any sort of rescue response like that, things can escalate and become a potentially life-threatening emergency.”