My ex from Norway mentioned how unusual it was that so many places and people here fly our flag (USA), so I was curious to hear what it’s like for others here on the fediverse.
I’m from Spain, it’s not uncommon unfortunately, but that’s because the flag is appropriated by the right and far right and if you see someone with one you can be 90% sure of the type (homophobe, anti abortion, bullfighting supporter, climate change denier, etc etc)
It has become that way in the US.
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Flying your country’s flag soft implies that you like your country, liking your country soft implies that you support and enjoy the status quo of your country. Conservatives seek to preserve the status quo. Therefore, conservatives and supporters of the status quo will always have a greater connection to the flag than those who are marginalized in the same country.
Patriotism and nationalism have a strong association, independent of how people opposed to nationalism feel about it. Why would we want to adopt a symbol that is even loosely associated with nationalism or suggests contentness with the status quo if we want to significantly change the status quo?
I disagree progressives flying the flag enables the hate of the right. In fact, I feel the opposite; flying the flag normalizes nationalistic tendencies instead of making you look like an obsessed weirdo.
Wanted to add to this, a couple other reasons why progressive-minded people wouldn’t want to fly the flag:
There’s inherent colonial symbolism in the 13 stripes on the flag, and flying it also can be seen as a celebration of colonial conquest over native lands.
If liberals regularly fly the flag, leaving only left-wing people who dislike the US as the only people not flying the flag, not flying the flag will actively become a political statement, placing a target on their backs, and becoming a reason to antagonize people just living their lives.
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To change what it implies, to change what it’s associated with, to change what it symbolizes.
The phenomena I describe is much broader than the US and the current time period. It has existed across time and cultures, implying that there are broader factors at play than the opinions and behaviors of contemporary US culture. Flag waving nationalism is damn near universal. Americans only differ by how universally people feel the need to wave the flag.
My greater point is that you can’t change what the flag symbolizes by having different opinions and flying the flag. Symbols are just that: symbols. To change what the flag means you must either change what the US does or change the flag. Embracing national symbols only emboldens nationalism if your nation isn’t diametrically opposed to nationalism.
“That’s ours, we own it and it represents our values. See it flying everywhere? That’s because we own this nation, we’re the one’s in charge here, not you”
This is quite literally true and always has been. You don’t see flags representing the Lakota or Seneca nations anywhere, and the 13 stripes are a direct hat nod to the European colonization wiped them out. The state will not stop systematically repressing indigenous, black, or other marginalized peoples if progressives suddenly start identifying with the flag. It will just make progressives look supporters or useful idiots to that state oppression.
Why would I want to prevent right-wingers from taking sole ownership of something intended to represent a state with long history of right-wing violence, slavery, and military interventionism? They can have it. It’s as perfect of a symbol for right-wingers as any other. Should we fly the swastika to reclaim it too?
Also from Spain, I don’t think the right hasreally appropriated the flag since it’s always been a rightist flag. But yeah I know what you mean.
Could say the same about Germany
Everything except bullfighting goes for Croatia too, mostly.
The problem that the origin of our flag is dated in 1785 but because we were under the Dictatorship of Franco for 40 years, young people identifies the flag with that regimen (extreme right). But not everydody things that way 😏 🙄
I am from Germany and no one is raising a flag. Except he is a Nazi. Or it is soccer World Championship.
That’s kind of sad. It’s getting that way in Canada. Trudeau has called people every ism and ist when they are carrying a Canadian flag that people don’t fly it very much.
Very common in Mexico during September. Otherwise not that common but also not frowned upon. There’s no significance behind it.
Why September?
September 16 1810, Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain.
Lmao I should have been able to piece that together. Thanks!
In Scotland, it tends to indicate your political beliefs. People flying the Union Jack are normally unionists and supporters of the monarchy, whereas people flying the Saltire (Scottish) flag are normally nationalists (pro-independence). It’s therefore difficult to fly a flag ‘neutrally’ unless you were to fly both.
From the US, I see American flags everywhere.
Some small towns have a flag on every electrical pole on their main street. It used to just be around Memorial Day and the 4th of July, but a lot of towns seem to be leaving them up year round.
A huge proportion of houses in US suburbs and rural areas have flags flying. If you have wealth or a big chunk of land, it’s pretty certain you also have a flag flying or prominently displayed on your property. Less frequent on the porches of more modest homes.
Pickup trucks fly flags (sometimes multiple) attached to their beds. These trucks often also have punisher stickers, human skulls, or “thin blue line” flag stickers on them.
Most medium to large businesses have a flag pole on their campus.
I definitely see fewer flags in cities, but still see a lot of flag stickers on storefront windows, and flags in apartment bedroom windows.
A lot of people in our small (US) town seem to not like our flag. We happily fly it and a pride flag.
Australia: Very unusual. I’ll see someone doing it maybe once a month and always think “fucking weirdos”. It’s more common to see Aboriginal flags, but still uncommon
It’s more common to see bogans using it as part or their beach or BBQ attire (eg, maybe an Australian flag stubby cooler)
Canada: VERY common and considered standard practice, we like to make fun of the Americans for being obsessed with their flag but overall we’re just as bad. It’s also flown by Nazis as often as the American flag is.
I’m a New Zealander. I don’t see anyone flying a NZ flag in Dunedin, where I live. I may have seen one or two in private residences in my life. Flying flags is weird. Nationalism sucks.
kia ora bro nationalism teaches u to hate people youve never met
My country is a former colony of an imperial power so it’s flown all the time to reinforce our feeling of sovereignty
Are you in the US? 😁
no
What about now?
no
I am from India. It was illegal to fly the flag untill a decade ago. It took a supreme court verdict to get the right to fly the flag in private residences. So it is not common at all. You would see government buildings and some schools hoist the flag every day. In my school it was every Friday. I have walked around suburbs in US and almost every house had a flag in their porch. Very big ones too.
Australian here. Outside of official government uses, it’s generally a sign that someone is a racist fuckwit.
we should replace the union jack with the first nations flag
Kangaroo with lasers coming out of its eyes
Austria: not often and I like that. Not a fan of nationalism, so the less visible this is in my life the better. I see flags IRL mainly on government functions and when right wingers parade around, maybe also near football matches, that‘s about it.
I‘d like to think the history with Nazis made it less popular, but the actual amount of far-right voters makes me think I might just live in a happy little bubble and I’d be shocked if I looked into people‘s cellars.
When I went to Norway I counted the flags I saw. I forget the exact number but I saw maybe 6 in the week I was there. Come back to the US I saw at least 20 coming back from the airport.
German here. No, we don’t do that here. (Exceptions: Football World Cup and weird dudes on camp sites or allotment gardens. Usually a sign to avoid the area.) Interestingly, the fascists don’t show the German flag, but the one from the Germany before the current one…
Whats the matter with camping sites? Saw that too
I … have no idea. Really.
I’m in Canada and would say it’s not extremely common, but enough so that I wouldn’t think twice if I saw the flag on a house. Maybe one in fifty houses has one.
Sometimes it’s on clothing too, but nowhere close to the extent that I’ve seen the American flag on everything when I’ve visited. You guys seem to really really like your flag!
We also have provincial flags which people will put on their houses, but the one I see most is for Newfoundland and Labrador, which is a different province than mine. It’s arguably close to as common as the Canadian flag.
Yup. I’d say the Canadian flag isn’t super common but isn’t out of the ordinary. I also don’t see people waving the flag and think the person must be some extremist nut job. Those ones are waving around “F*ck Trudeau” flags.
You must not be from out west. People here have flags on their cars (trucks actually mostly) and those people are Convoy idiots exclusively. And there are a lot of them. I don’t go a day without seeing at least one
I see confederate loser flags on trucks and shitty vehicles a fair bit in Alberta. Lots of fuck Trudeau flags, because western alienation is stronger than ever.
