Why did the sheriff get upset at Rambo for wearing a jacket with US flag

People had very little respect for vietnam vets....Or the hippies that mocked the service by wearing army jackets.
Teasle was from an older generation where they had respect for the service and their country. This was at a time the country was still very divided on that war (and its participants). My initial reaction was that Teasle thought he was a hippy-esque drifter mocking the country that he (presumably) fought for in one of the more 'respectable' wars.

But, I'm sure you will now tell me I'm wrong and your Beaver Cleaver theory makes more sense.

As with Rambo's long hair, it doesn't really translate well when moved to the early 1980's.

Very well put hollywodjeffc. In times past the military had come to allow the press relatively unfettered access to the battlefront. By the time of the American Vietnam War, already an unpopular action with many Americans who saw their sons going off to risk their lives for an administration serving conflict that America had inserted itself into as distasteful at best, people had come to question the value of waging aggressive war in another country.
When reporters started bringing home pictures of actual saturation bombing and when word of atrocities like My Lai became known at home, the 'war' and most people concerned with it became quite unpopular. That's why you hear in Rambos breakdown speech, he talks about "...all those people at the airport spitting, calling me baby killer..."
The War Department (now called the Department of Defense, even when it conducts an offensive action) never made that mistake again. In Desert Storm reporters were tightly controlled and all news missives released showed the military in the desired light: our boys are heros.

"The reason why Teasle said this to Rambo is because at the time in the U.S., there were many people who were against the Vietnam War and the soldiers who were in it."


yeah man, i agree. i never once got the feeling that teasle thought rambo was some drifting hippie like a lot of people on these boards insinuate lol. i think it was clear teasle knew he was a vet and really did give him a friendly warning about "asking for trouble around here." just my opinion....and it's been as such since i first saw the film as a child.

"He must've thought it was white boy day. It ain't white boy day, is it?"

"You know, wearing that flag on that jacket, looking the way you do, you're asking for trouble around here, friend."

The reason why Teasle said this to Rambo is because at the time in the U.S., there were many people who were against the Vietnam War and the soldiers who were in it.

In modern day U.S., there is alot of support for military personel, and alot of "Support our Troops" type of stuff. But this was not the case back in the 70's.

Wearing the broken Army jacket with the flag on it was a clear indication that Rambo had been in Vietnam, and it was reasonable that anti war people could incite trouble with him. So Teasle was correct in what he said, even though he was using it to try to convince the drifting Rambo from entering his town.

He picked the wrong man to push.

Here is an interesting real life fact from the Easy Rider trivia section:

Peter Fonda wore the Captain America jacket and rode his chopper a week around Los Angeles before shooting began to give them a broken-in look and to get used to riding the radically designed bike. The American flag on the back of the jacket and on the gas tank of the bike caused him to be pulled over several times by the police.

I don't think so. The film was about the sheriff's personal hatred for John Rambo (and everyone like him). Not every government employee in the movie was a dick. The state police guy (forgot his name) called Teasel's deputies *beep* when he found out that Galt and the others had "been a little hard on the guy". No, I don't think it's a critique of government so much. It's more personal.

In the 70s, when the book was published, and when development of the film began, I believe conservative authority figures would think that someone with long hair who was displaying the flag was mocking it. I remember an episode of Barney Miller where Wojo arrested a guy who had the flag on the seat of his jeans. By the time the movie came out, 1982, it did seem a little odd the way Teasle reacted to Rambo, especially the part about the long hair. In David Morrell's commentary on First Blood, he brought up the fact that by the early 80s long hair was pretty common on young men, and more socially acceptable.




"My girlfriend sucked 37 d*cks!"
"In a row?"

Great first post! Welcome.

There's also a lot of other dynamics going on: ....White/Italian

LOL, from where I sit, they both looked lily white to me!!