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.
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.
It’s not perceived as sad because it’s just something most people have no desire to do. Flags just aren’t a super common decoration you see outside of store advertisements and official government buildings. “I should install a flag pole on my property” is already a rare thought in most places and a lot of people then rather put a flag about something that is special to them on there. In line with that thought, being German in Germany obviously isn’t that special, so it’s usually not your choice of “displaying something that is special to me” unless you have a right-wing mindset. You’ll more often see football teams, maybe music bands and the more rare political issue here and there, like “stop nuclear power plants”.
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
Pretty funny that coming from a Norwegian because they still have the flag out many places in my opinion :)
It’s actually one of the things that stuck out the most after I had moved there.
Especially at “hytter” (vacation cabins) I think the majority has a flag out.
Same for national day, you’ll see a bunch of flags.Compare that to Belgium, where I’m from. Even on national day it’s a rare sight to see a flag.
And it’s only very fanatic people that will actually wave it around on the street.The moment you’ll see most flags out is probably during the world cup.
Not really. Vacation cabins are for vacation with Norwegians not acting like Norwegians, i.e. socializing with neighbors and having the flag up indicating their precense. More often than not, the flag is used as a celebration of either a national holiday or the birthday of someone in the household. Cabin, hiking and boat culture are weird albeit common outliers of Norwegian culture.
Southeast Brazil: Unless it’s the world cup you’re assumed to be a shithead
can confirm
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.
Here in Netherlands, it is tradition fly the flag with a backpack hanged on it when you graduate.
It was uncommon in The Netherlands. Except on certain holidays. And when kids get a high school diploma: a flag plus school bag.
But since last year, angry farmers ‘decorated’ the country with flags hung upside down to protest against environmental measures. All kinds of angry right wing people followed.
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.
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
Very common in Mexico during September. Otherwise not that common but also not frowned upon. There’s no signficance behind it.
Why September?
September 16 1810, Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain.
In Brazil it’s more common now mainly because of the far right who appropriated it for themselves. Most will identify a person flying our flag as a Bolsonaro supporter, me personally like to stay clear of them.
It’s very uncommon in France (except if a big event is going on). And if I see someone fly the flag, my first thought would be that they are a far right nationalist.
UK here. A UK flag is only flown from govt buildings unless it’s some royal event or football but then it’s usually the individual national flag such as England, Scotland, Wales, etc
The union flag & the St George cross (Englands flag) were co-opted by the far right in the 70s so flying one outside of the occasions named above had other people mark you as a bit of a nationalist & to be weary of you.
You should visit Freiburg Im Breisgau for a nice confusing experience.
It’s weirdly common in Denmark. People fly the national flag for birthdays, and some people even decorate the Christmas tree with flag guirlandes. It’s seen as an act of celebration rather than patriotism.
