In the above interview we talk about the unbelievable position that PayPal forced our family in by grabbing over $100,000 and holding for almost 11 months while my family struggled to keep our business open and at times feed our family!

Former VC “flag guy” demonetized on Facebook, bounces back bigly

When tech lords such as Facebook, Twitter and Google decide to make you disappear, there’s not much you can do. Except, maybe finagle an appearance on Newsmax.

Former VC resident James Staake, known to many as the “flag guy,” discovered that if you want to be in business on Facebook you’d better not do anything perceived as being pro-Trump.

Staake’s main business, Your American Flag Store,  has for four years made patriotic wooden signs that depict things such as the American flag, or variations of the flag. When he moved to Tennessee recently he reestablished his business and it has been booming online.

On January 7, the day after the pro-Trump hooligans who refused to accept the results of the November election (as opposed to just normal peaceful Trump supporters)  stormed the capitol, Staake’s business was demonetized because he was advertising a sign with Trump superimposed on the flag.

“It wasn’t necessarily anything that I did,” he told The Roadrunner. “I sold a flag with President Trump on it. That was what got their attention. Then they started pulling off our Second Amendment flag and our multicultural flag, which is half an American flag and half another flag.” The same thing happened on Shopify. 

That multicultural flag is very popular with his customers. The first one he made was half U.S. flag and half British Union Jack, for those who wanted to celebrate both heritages. Friends saw that and soon he was making flags that were half U.S. and half Mexican, or even Bulgarian. “What ticked them off was when someone asked for a half Confederate and half U.S. flag,” he said. That made Facebook delete all their multicultural flags.

Suddenly Facebook wasn’t allowing him to advertise his products. When he frantically tried to contact the company he got an automated reply saying his products “went against their standards.”

Sales plummeted 90%. Then he appeared on Newsmax. Overnight his phone rang off the hook and he started getting invitations to appear on the shows of some of the heaviest hitters in conservative media, and if you think you know who I’m talking about—you’re right! 

He appeared on Newsmax TV Monday night in a Skype interview.

Staake figured he was dealing with an algorithm, rather than a human. After January 6, when Trump was de-platformed, “we saw a bunch of our flags were taken off,” he said. “We could still advertise it but without a picture. When Shopify took THAT multicultural flag down they took all of them down.”

Staake insists he makes flags for any political belief. “We have done Gay Pride flags and, yes, the Rebel Flag,” he said.  “It has nothing to do with our feelings, but with the patriot who buys it. I understand ‘offensive’ means different things to different people. A Rebel Flag is not something I would put in my yard or put in my house. The Gay Pride rainbow flag offends some too. We’re not being judgmental, we aren’t picking sides. We’re making flags for patriotic people who want to express their patriotism in their home. They took down images of thirty different flags, which completely blew my mind!”

They didn’t take his business off Facebook, but as Staake observes, “It’s ineffective if you can’t market it. Yes, we made a Trump Flag. If someone asked me for a Joe Biden flag, I’d make it. I don’t like Joe. His vision of America I don’t agree with it, but he’s still my president and if someone asked me I’d be honored to make it.”

Eventually Facebook didn’t let him advertise at all. He received this message: “Your advertising access is restricted. You’re not allowed to run ads.” There was no one to call. He appealed the decision and received another message: The company was sticking to its decision.

“For three days I panicked,” said Staake. He went on Linked In and looked up every conservative media person he could think of and emailed them. He included Fox and all the other conservative sites. 

He even reached out to his five time-Emmy Award winning aunt, Sue Ann Staake-Wayne, only to be told she didn’t want to associate with him because of his politics.

Once he got through to Newsmax, things changed quickly. “Newsmax vetted the crap out of me!” he said. They even asked him to send a screenshot of the message he got shutting down his advertising (reproduced for this article.)

The appearance on Newsmax was like rain after a protracted drought. “The response we’ve had has been unbelievable!” he said. “Absolutely unbelievable! We’ve sold hundreds of flags since last night.”

 Although he is known for his woodworking and carpentry skills, Staake considers himself a writer. “I’ve done five screenplays,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get them produced for twenty years, but my politics aren’t right.” He knows this because he previously asked his aunt for help, only to be shut down repeatedly.

His wife, Ginger, has always been very anti-political. “She hates politics, hates talking about it. It wasn’t until this happened to us that, because of politics, we were looking at losing our livelihood that she said, ‘The gloves are off.’ ”

A friend told him recently, “You have never known when to quit and it’s always gotten you into trouble and this is the first time that not being willing to quit has worked out for you.”

They have two other businesses, one is a website of political cartoons and the other is a site that carries their children’s books, called Mydreamwarrior.com.

You can find James Staake and his flag-making company at: www.youramericanflagstore.com