# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/81 "2011-07-20T05:41:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This one is, and it would bother me. I have been to North Korea and have a large piece of artwork depicting (in part) the North Korean flag. My best friend’s wife is Korean (from the South) and neither she nor anyone else has been offended by it. I also have a coffee mug with that flag… as well as a similar mug with an Albanian flag. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/82 "2011-07-20T05:45:27Z")
> [@Implicit](#): > > Is there some sort of comprehensive list of US enemies? I’m sure I have some that qualify… my home office has flags of Turkmenistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon as well as artwork from North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/83 "2011-07-20T06:10:44Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Historically, there’s a good chance that the Russians would not be seen as white (again, the issue with other white immigrants being seen as “nonwhite”) and therefore having the same reaction. > > I’m not saying it’s not contributed to by numbers, but it’s not JUST numbers - there’s an aspect of racism to the “don’t fly your flag here!” reactions when the flag flyers are not white that isn’t there when the flag flyers are white. > > Of course, we may just have to agree to disagree. I think Russians (European Russians, anyways) are pretty unambiguously considered “white” in the US today. (I live with a Russian, who’d be quite surprised to learn that she’d be considered anything but.) So you’re saying that if there were huge numbers of them in the US and there was any backlash it would be because they’d suddenly been consigned to a “non-white” status? Seems a bit tortuous logic, and makes any opposing argument impossible to win. And I’m not saying it’s JUST numbers either - nothing’s ever JUST one thing. Of course there are some racists out there. But I do think it’s MOSTLY numbers. Fair or not, any group of newcomers that large is going to breed resentment. That’s why, IMHO, it’s crazy for any country to let one immigrant group become so disproportionately large. It can breed xenophobia, slow assimilation (BTW, the very first paragraph of your own cite says Mexican immigrants “…have assimilated slowly, but their experience is not representative of the entire immigrant population”), and is unfair to potential immigrants from other countries. It’s also less interesting (IMHO) than a more diversified immigrant pool. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/84 "2011-07-20T06:14:27Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > [Quote=Anaamika] > 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. (Bolding mine) This is sad to me, as India has one of the coolest flags in the world. [The spinning wheel, baby!](http://new.music.yahoo.com/lord-buckley/tracks/hip-gahn--209873617) [/QUOTE] It’s also just sad that one asshole’s rant could have such a lasting effect! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/85 "2011-07-20T12:05:14Z")
Normally a foreign flag doesn’t bother me but… > [@lieu](#): > > The only time I’ve seen people express indignation or get pissy is when you see foreign flags at say an immigration rights rally. I got sick of those immigration rally’s when they were happening here a few years ago. They were all the rage for the local schoolkids, who apparently didn’t have any pressing need to do things like attend class or do homework. My kids even got to hear a few choice words about the way the “gringos” were running this country, etc. etc. Imagine my delight when one of these idiots managed to crash into my truck while hurrying to a rally (she couldn’t see past the mexican flag painted on her car windows). IME their culture also doesn’t include such burdens as paying for car insurance (trust me, this ain’t the first time). However, it was great fun introducing her and her family to the American legal system. By the time they finished paying for the repairs and many weeks of rental fees\*, they could’ve bought 5 or 6 _years_ of car insurance.😃 Good times. \*I refused their offer of a small car and insisted they pay the rental for a large crewcab monstrosity like my own. This had the desired effect of making their “lesson” a very costly one. PS. To those who are about to lecture me on sympathy for the “poor”, save your breath. The rims on this car would have covered a couple of college semesters. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/86 "2011-07-20T12:24:18Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > IME their culture also doesn’t include such burdens as paying for car insurance (trust me, this ain’t the first time). However, it was great fun introducing her and her family to the American legal system. By the time they finished paying for the repairs and many weeks of rental fees\*, they could’ve bought 5 or 6 _years_ of car insurance.😃 > > Good times. > > \*I refused their offer of a small car and insisted they pay the rental for a large crewcab monstrosity like my own. This had the desired effect of making their “lesson” a very costly one. > > PS. To those who are about to lecture me on sympathy for the “poor”, save your breath. The rims on this car would have covered a couple of college semesters. Oh, I got no problem with THAT part. Ignorance or _Ignorancia_ are both worth setting straight. But in this instance the flag-waving is merely incidental and no more representative than the many Old-Glory-waving doofuses who cause their own brands of mayhem. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/87 "2011-07-20T12:29:40Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > 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.) Apparently the right to a trial is not among the rights that the military serves to protect and you feel a need to execute people for doing something that is not illegal. How sad. You might find this hard to believe, but serving in the military does not give one more civil rights than one who has not served in the military. I’ve never burned a flag, but if I knew you were watching I’d burn one just to be ornery. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/88 "2011-07-20T13:07:24Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I’m curious about the phenomenon of people flying non-American flags on their property and what you think about the phenomenon? Fine with me. Actually it’s not common for Americans to display the flag on private property other than on national holidays. > [@An Gadai](#): > > The American flag is more ubiquitous in the US than national flags tend to be in this part of the world. Does this annoy you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/89 "2011-07-20T14:03:09Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > February 18? What the hell is that? [Bloody Sunday](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1900)). ---
**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 20, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/90 "2011-07-20T14:17:35Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Fine with me. Actually it’s not common for Americans to display the flag on private property other than on national holidays. I’ve seen plenty of American flags on private property outside of national holidays, in various states. > [@](#): > > Does this annoy you? 🙂 Not in the slightest, I have to admit I found it initially odd on my first couple of visits to the US but now I think it’s part of the local flavour. Flying the Irish tricolour just isn’t all that common beyond government buildings and maybe tourist hotels, except when Ireland’s football team are playing a match or maybe on St. Patrick’s Day. I’d guess that the Irish flag is more often seen flying north of the border. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/91 "2011-07-20T15:00:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Actually it’s not common for Americans to display the flag on private property other than on national holidays. What? Have you ever been to this country? Compared to most of the world, we’re practically obsessed with it. I literally can not get out of my microscopic town, in any direction, without passing several private homes with permanent flag displays. If it’s not a legal requirement for veterans, it might as well be. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/92 "2011-07-20T19:46:56Z")
> [@Implicit](#): > > Is there some sort of comprehensive list of US enemies? No, but I can provide you with an uncomprehensible one. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/93 "2011-07-20T22:12:33Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What? Have you ever been to this country? Compared to most of the world, we’re practically obsessed with it. I literally can not get out of my microscopic town, in any direction, without passing several private homes with permanent flag displays. If “several private homes” equals “obsession” or “ubiquitous”, I guess we’re dealing with different definitions, or more likely different levels of sensitivity to the idea of flag display. I can’t recall anyone in my neighborhood offhand with a permanent flag display. But maybe that’s what you get, living in a development called Atheist Pinko Estates. 🙂 What is _not_ done in the U.S. commonly is going berserk with flag displays during international sporting matches - for instance you will not see over the top flag nuttiness during the World Cup like in the U.K., for example - or massive flag-waving in the U.S. if our Olympic water polo team reaches the semifinals. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/94 "2011-07-21T02:10:54Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If “several private homes” equals “obsession” or “ubiquitous”… Of course not. That’s just an example. But I’ve traveled around much of the country, and a little out of it, and I am indeed surprised to see anyone question the basic idea that Americans fly our national flag in “unofficial” contexts a lot more than most peoples do. I was in Ireland during the '02 World Cup and saw the flags out then, but otherwise the discrepancy is pretty clear. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > What is _not_ done in the U.S. commonly is going berserk with flag displays during international sporting matches - for instance you will not see over the top flag nuttiness during the World Cup like in the U.K., for example - or massive flag-waving in the U.S. if our Olympic water polo team reaches the semifinals. Are you talking about displays _at_ international sports events, or a boost to personal displays around the country? To the first, as far as I can tell, we’re typical. Most national “delegations” at international events are pretty flag-heavy. To the second, sure–because we already have lots of flags around, and our (average) interest in international events is low, so if there’s any difference, it’s not noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/95 "2011-07-21T02:12:27Z")
US citizen here, born and bred. No problem with other national flags–we have German, Mexican, Barbadian, jamaican, Puerto Rican (I know, not quite a country), Norwegian, and UK flags on private homes in my neighborhood. Lots of flag stickers too on cars. Does the US really display the national flag more than other countries? In my travels in Canada and Switzerland I was impressed with how often I saw those national flags–easily more often than in the US, in my opinion. That was not true in France or Austria, and not at all true in Germany (West Germany at the time–spent 2 months there and still didn’t know what the flag looked like). ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/96 "2011-07-21T02:20:02Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > In my travels in Canada and Switzerland I was impressed with how often I saw those national flags–easily more often than in the US, in my opinion. On _private_ property? Excluding public facilities of all sorts? ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/97 "2011-07-21T03:27:09Z")
My response when my exchange student roommate tacked up a Uruguay flag on our dorm room wall: “Hey, finally, some wall decoration!” So I guess my answer is “no.” ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/98 "2011-07-21T03:29:43Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > On _private_ property? Excluding public facilities of all sorts? Well, the OP wrote “The American flag is more ubiquitous in the US than national flags tend to be in this part of the world.” Which doesn’t specify public or private–the OP’s only mention of flags on private property had to do with non-US ones. So I was thinking about both public and private use–the sheer number of national flags you see (or at least I saw) in a given country. Anyway, it could easily be that private homes in Canada and Switzerland don’t fly the national flag in the same numbers as in the US. I must confess I don’t recall one way or the other. It’s an interesting question. I’d still stand by my observation that, public or private, there were more national flags in Canada and Switzerland per square inch or per capita or per whatever other measure you’d like than there were US flags in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/99 "2011-07-21T03:44:23Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Well, the OP wrote “The American flag is more ubiquitous in the US than national flags tend to be in this part of the world.” Which doesn’t specify public or private–the OP’s only mention of flags on private property had to do with non-US ones. So I was thinking about both public and private use–the sheer number of national flags you see (or at least I saw) in a given country. Ah. I had taken this all as about “unofficial” displays, and reckoned that government buildings and public facilities in most countries often had flags. Whereas I’ve not only noticed myself, but also seen remarked upon often, our American propensity for flying the national flag beside or before our own private doors. Maybe Canada and Switzerland just have a lot of flagged public facilities. Certainly some states or areas here aren’t _so_ rich with the personal ones. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/100 "2011-07-21T03:48:45Z")
As long as you’re not breaking “rule number 1”, I have no problem with it. Someone who’s trying to be a dick and get a rise out of me may succeed, but that doesn’t happen often. Around here it’s mainly Puerto Rican, Mexican, Italian and Irish flags that get displayed. I do feel that people should fly flags properly. The place I work flies a U.S. flag out front on a small angled pole. It’s permanently attached to the pole and it is a minor annoyance that I can’t fold it at night. I still have the flag that was draped on my fathers casket in '71. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608.md?page=6)