“I’m sure people see it as silly or hollow, but a lot of people died on Tuesday, and [showing the flag] is a symbolic remembrance of that,” Rohatgi said in an interview.

Roman Altshuler ’01—an alum who has not yet been removed from the e-mail list—immediately responded with a plea to Quincy-dwellers not to display the flag.

“A sudden upsurge of patriotism accompanied by national hysteria is being built up by the government and the media for a single purpose: to prepare the public to accept and condone war,” Altshuler wrote in his Friday retort.

An avalanche of e-mails ensued from both old and new House members, arguing that flags stand for “support and solidarity” or a dangerous “us versus them polarization.”

The debate became a forum on the accuracy of media coverage, people’s hopes and fears about military reprisal in the coming days, and patriotism in general.

Eliah Z. Seton ’04 wrote, “Today, and every day until we win this war, our liberty is threatened. Your freedom to write your blasphemous, and frankly, obnoxious e-mails is threatened.”