# American Dopers, does it annoy you when people fly foreign flags? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608 "2011-07-19T18:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/1 "2011-07-19T18:21:48Z")
The American flag is more ubiquitous in the US than national flags tend to be in this part of the world. I’m curious about the phenomenon of people flying non-American flags on their property and what you think about the phenomenon? It’s not unusual to see Italian, Irish, and various other flags flying on people’s property, often alongside a US flag but sometimes on their own. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/2 "2011-07-19T18:23:53Z")
Not at all. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/3 "2011-07-19T18:24:21Z")
Annoy? No, not really. If I were an expat living in another country, I might fly my US flag on July 4th, but probably not all the time. Hell, I don’t even fly Old Glory here in the US, except on national holidays. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/4 "2011-07-19T18:28:29Z")
The only person I’ve ever heard being annoyed by that was Lou Dobbs. I’ve never flown _any_ flag, AFAIR, but I don’t object to seeing Canadian flags paired with others. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/5 "2011-07-19T18:29:23Z")
Nope. You don’t really see it too often, but on the occasions I have noticed it, I might have thought, “Oh, that’s nice” or “Huh, wonder what flag that is” or something. I can’t imagine being annoyed by it. ---
**Author:** ![Troubles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Troubles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troubles)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/6 "2011-07-19T18:29:24Z")
No. A house I frequently pass by used to fly a Welsh flag, and it didn’t bother me one bit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/7 "2011-07-19T18:29:46Z")
It doesn’t bother me, which is odd, because I seethe a little when I see an American flag hung wrongly or otherwise mishandled. I figure people use their home flags to mark territory or remind their neighborhood they’re there, kind of like stamping “gay money” on dollar bills. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/8 "2011-07-19T18:33:03Z")
My first thought when I see a non-American flag is, “Is it World Cup time again?” ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/9 "2011-07-19T18:33:11Z")
No. I fly a tiny Italian flag from my (Italian) scooter. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/10 "2011-07-19T18:33:53Z")
No. I think it’s kind of cool, and try to identify the foreign flag. If I’ve been to the country whose flag it is, I might reminisce a bit about it, or if it’s the flag of a country I want to go to someday, I might think about that. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/11 "2011-07-19T18:45:00Z")
Of course not, why would it? Of course, I live in Philly, where one of the main streets is [lined with flags of the world](http://www.flickr.com/photos/captain-kidd/302894973/), which I think looks great. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/12 "2011-07-19T18:45:05Z")
My mother got totally bitched out - years and years ago - for flying an Indian flag next to the American flag in front of the house. The American flag was higher, but someone still flipped out on her, to the point that I have never hung an Indian flag anywhere, remembering the shitstorm that ensued. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/13 "2011-07-19T18:50:19Z")
I too like knowing where neighbors may hail from. In fact, we probably fly our state flag (where I was born) as often as the stars and stripes. The only time I’ve seen people express indignation or get pissy is when you see foreign flags at say an immigration rights rally. By the 2nd or 3rd day rally organizers were strongly encouraging participants to wave the American flag instead of Mexico’s, stressing for awhile at least an attitude of assimilation as opposed to fervent nationalism. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/14 "2011-07-19T19:01:25Z")
I fly the [flag of St Martin](http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/a/an-sm.gif) on my pontoon boat, alternating it with a dog paw flag when the dogs are aboard. I had one guy bitch at me about it. He told me I should move there if I’d rather live there. I told him we were planning to do just that, once all of our money was hidden overseas. Blows were not exchanged, but it was tense! ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/15 "2011-07-19T19:12:04Z")
Not at all. Not everyone living in America is from America - I have no problem with people celebrating their origins. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/16 "2011-07-19T19:14:48Z")
If you are waving a flag while standing on or burning or otherwise disrespecting the US of A flag and are in the US of A you should be shot on the spot. But then I would shoot traitors and be hard on illegal immigrants also but that is just me. If you have served your country and can prove it with a DD-214, then you can protest and do what you want, up to a point. ( I would draw the line shorter and more restrictive than a lot of other people. ) If not, you’re toast. Other wise, as long as it is not higher than the US of A flag while flown in the US of A or flown by itself in a non confrontational way, I have no problem with it. YMMV ( No, I don’t believe desecrating the US of A flag should be covered by free speech but that does not mean I will not abide by the laws of the land unless I can get away with it in these cases.) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/17 "2011-07-19T19:18:35Z")
I see lots of suction cup flags in side-rear windows of cars, as well as those oval shaped European-style country code stickers. That or a regular flag doesn’t bother me, unless it were done purposely to be a dick. I’m thinking if someone flew an Ulster flag July 12, a Vietnamese flag April 30, or perhaps a UK/Canadian Flag February 18 (and especially these are not flown any other day of the year), then that may be a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/18 "2011-07-19T19:22:10Z")
As long as they weren’t being a dick about it, I wouldn’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/19 "2011-07-19T19:25:43Z")
Not even a little. I see a lot of Irish flags around here. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/20 "2011-07-19T19:29:17Z")
I wonder. I mean, if someone flew a flag of Saudi Arabia or Iraq I bet that would be trouble. Pakistan, too, and this is not even a particularly insular town. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608.md?page=2)