Expanded from a letter I wrote to a radical group:

Greetings,
      I am quite disgusted at the belligerent patriotism that this atrocity has triggered. The media is stirring the public into such a frenzy that even some of my (supposedly) radical friends are considering waving the American flag. 

   Living in New York, I am, of course, deeply affected by the attacks. Suffice it to say that people I know worked in World Trade Center tower one; people I have not yet heard from.

   All of the recent horror is still not enough to justify the actions being spoken of, and implied by the ruling class. Violence, injustice, and genocide cannot be justified by martyrs, no matter how close to home, or how great the number. If the U.S. was truly a “peace loving nation” as G.W. (puppet) Bush says it is, then the steps toward injustice already taken by those with power would not have happened at all. If the U.S. was truly a peace loving nation, these attacks would have prompted a call for peace talks, not war.

    I absolutely sympathize with any and all persons harmed by the attacks, I have even tried to donate blood (I keep trying,  but all the centers in my area are filled to capacity.) Still I utterly refuse to fly an American flag. I have, though, covered the upside-down flag usually displayed on the sleeve of my jacket for two reasons: first as a great show of respect for the persons who may have lost a loved one; second because of the threat of physical harm I face from the newly xenophobic public. 

   Witch hunts, racial profiling, discrimination, gross injustices, and genocide will result if things keep heading in this direction! Sit back and watch your rights slip through your fingers!

   I have come up with the notion that those of us who denounce the acts of violence and injustice, and mourn the loss of human beings and freedoms that has and inevitably will occur a hundred fold should wear a gray ribbon or armband; for this is a gray hour indeed… and darker yet to come.

Much respect, and keep your wits about you
Sandy The Goat

P.S. You have full permission to use this letter wherever it suits you, and if you feel the idea of wearing gray is useful, then please spread it.