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 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.
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.
Could say the same about Germany
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)
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.
Southeast Brazil: Unless it’s the world cup you’re assumed to be a shithead
can confirm
Canada here, not very common until you get close to Canada day or Armistice day. Recently though; there have been people flying it a lot and they mostly seem to be the conspiracy/queen of Canada types.
So yes, it is unusual. Perhaps it can be seen as a symptom of American nationalism, and all the pitfalls it represents.
Canada here, not very common until you get close to Canada day or Armistice day.
It’s very common if you’re travelling Europe and are American.
Nothing brings a family together like waving your country’s flag from an overpass while yelling at traffic
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
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…
Was in Germany in April. On one outing, we passed an area of private garden spaces (which is an interesting concept, but makes sense in context) and the tour guide mentioned how the German flags we saw flying around in some places were a pretty recent addition; they only really started being accepted again after the World Cup showing.
I thought it was a nice sign that Germans are happy being proud of their country. It made me happy to see; you’ve got a lot to be proud of and it’s a wonderful place to visit.
As an American, it’s interesting to see the distain from other parts of the world. I understand the distain for nationalism, but I do think there’s some nuance there between nationalism and taking pride in your home. Of course, the caveat there is here in the US, flying the flag has been coopted by conservatives in a big way, which is unfortunate. I have seen a counter sentiment to it, though, basically saying “it’s not your flag, it’s our flag, and we can all claim it”.
Whats the matter with camping sites? Saw that too
I … have no idea. Really.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
I am from a small town in the US but live near a nepali community. Many of them have flags inside their homes or on their desks but not outdoors. They are usually super proud that they have the most unique national flag shape, and I love that for them. I am curious if it is the same in their home country as well!
