# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/101 "2011-07-21T09:03:32Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Normally a foreign flag doesn’t bother me but… > > 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. Cute. Nice way to brag about being a dick for the sake of being a dick. Your mother must be proud. I had a buddy who came to the US at 15 when his parents immigrated. He was extorted by someone who threatened to get him deported after a fender bender. He spent four years working full time while in high school to pay it off. He still hadn’t satisfied her (she claimed pain and suffering from whiplash, he didn’t know his legal rights and would have done anything to keep his mom and sister from the slums of Sao Paulo) and so instead of college- he was a straight A student- he became a printer and eventually fell into drugs. I hear he is still struggling. I’m not sure what his life would have been like i that woman had not chosen to screw over a scared Lusophone teenager who thought he had no rights, but he US lost a bright mind in this story. By all means, get what you are owed. But it is beyond contemptable to try to screw up someone’s life just because you can, even if they have broken a law. ---
**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 21, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/102 "2011-07-21T13:52:05Z")
> [@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. > > 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. Maybe I wasn’t clear I meant seeing the flag flying at private homes and say small businesses as opposed to government buildings and bigger businesses. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/103 "2011-07-21T14:36:47Z")
Why would the flags be the same pole? See the following (bolding mine). [QUOTE=36 U.S.C. § 175(g) (1993)] When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from **separate staffs** of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size.\*\* International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.\*\* [/quote] I don’t know if this is still in force, but you guys seem to be getting information from the rest of the [section](http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html#175) (specifically subsection c), so I would think this would be relevant. As far as I can tell, no nation is supposed to fly their flag over another, even if you are in that country. ---
**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, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/104 "2011-07-21T14:56:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why would the flags be the same pole? Possibly because somebody only has the one flag pole at their house. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/105 "2011-07-22T00:20:02Z")
Fly it high. Fly it low. Ride it. Swim it. If you’re going to burn one, do it downwind so I don’t have to smell it. I don’t give a shit. The “flag code” is so many flavors of ridiculous I don’t even know where to start. Not that I mind when folks are vocal; it’s an easy test to determine if the person I’m dealing with is a fucking idiot. Really? You really care if someone flies the “wrong” flag above another, or if one touches the ground? Really? It’s just like I prefer racists to be vocal rather than shy about it so the world can see them for what they are. So no, it doesn’t annoy me. In fact, I kind of like looking at unfamiliar flags. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/106 "2011-07-22T00:45:51Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I’m from Los Angeles. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the Mexican flag flown more frequently than the American flag. Does not perturb. > > Edit action: > I have an Iranian friend who hung a flag in his freshman dorm. His roommate remarked that it made him uncomfortable. I think I know why, it’s that emblem! I feel like it belongs to a [powerful empire/race](http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hZmsod3HM-k/TSeYbUyf3-I/AAAAAAAAABk/5_3NdP4XVqE/s1600/Star_Trek_Symbols_by_dridgett.png&imgrefurl=http://vertisartspace.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html&h=1200&w=900&sz=96&tbnid=_-ZxWS_1qq8K5M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=68&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dstar%2Btrek%2Bsymbol%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=star+trek+symbol&usg=__LS9MOk2rwLcEyDK_E8nhIEHanaY=&sa=X&ei=MMcoTvv4CIymsAKKnryNCw&ved=0CB0Q9QEwAQ&dur=400) in star trek. Iran simply has the [most bad-ass/scary emblem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallery_of_sovereign_state_coats_of_arms#I) in the entire world, and it’s sitting in the middle of [their flag](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Iran) **Blood Red!** Mwahahaha… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/107 "2011-07-22T00:51:07Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/108 "2011-07-22T00:59:47Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Cute. Nice way to brag about being a dick for the sake of being a dick. Your mother must be proud. I really don’t see how **pullin** was being a dick. They crashed into his truck. They have to pay for it, and that’s all there is to it. The concept of having a rally to support immigrants doesn’t bother me. Immigrants are very important to this country and they deserve to be treated with respect and have all the rights of everyone else. But when these immigrants, at their rallies, bitch and complain and condemn the country that _they immigrated to,_ that pisses me off and I no longer have any sympathy for the people doing it. If you don’t like this country, don’t be here. It’s like when I saw a photo in the news of a high school where these protestors put the Mexican flag on top of the flagpole and then turned the American flag beneath it _upside down._ If America is so bad, then get the fuck out. Seriously. Get the fuck out of this country. I have got no patience for the Americans who bash immigrants and want to “ship them all back to Mexico” or whatever. But on the other side of the coin, I have no patience for immigrants who come here and then bitch, bitch, bitch about how horrible America is. ---
**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 22, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/109 "2011-07-22T01:09:25Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > It’s like when I saw a photo in the news of a high school where these protestors put the Mexican flag on top of the flagpole and then turned the American flag beneath it _upside down._ If America is so bad, then get the fuck out. Seriously. Get the fuck out of this country. America is so great precisely because they can do shit like that and not have to suffer any adverse consequences. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/110 "2011-07-22T06:26:30Z")
> [@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. Well that’s because we don’t have a ‘national day’ and overt displays of patriotism and flag waving is Not The Done Thing in the UK unless it’s something innocuous and non-political like a sporting event or royal wedding, so we tend to go over the top when we have the opportunity. Patriotism will out. God, during the royal wedding, L[ondon resembled a Nuremberg rally](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8460702/Royal-wedding-Muslim-group-applies-for-permission-to-protest-outside-Westminster-Abbey.html). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/111 "2011-07-22T07:59:23Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The concept of having a rally to support immigrants doesn’t bother me. Immigrants are very important to this country and they deserve to be treated with respect and have all the rights of everyone else. But when these immigrants, at their rallies, bitch and complain and condemn the country that _they immigrated to,_ that pisses me off and I no longer have any sympathy for the people doing it. If you don’t like this country, don’t be here. Pfft. You can love something and still want to make it better. I like this country just fine and plan to stay here, and I will bitch my damn head off about the things about it that should be changed. As should we all. In fact, I can’t think of a single other person I know that hasn’t complained about some aspect of the US - and almost all of those people have the temerity to _still live here anyway_, the rat bastards. And anyway, your stance here is absolutely ludicrous. “Immigrants should have the same rights as everyone else – except the right to protest. All the other rights, though. Probably, unless I think of another one that pisses me off.” ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/112 "2011-07-22T14:23:02Z")
We have a Mexico flag hanging on our side porch. Of course I have a Mexican man in the house so those two things seem to go together. ---
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/113 "2011-07-22T23:21:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes. If you fly the flag of a US enemy on US soil I think you must be some kind of moron. You might be one of several types of moron, or more than one, but clearly a moron. I wonder who those “enemy” nations might be. I imagine it would be any country the US has decided to invade or bomb recently. It would also include countries that the US would like to invade or bomb, but find it inconvenient or impolitic at the moment. Also, of course, the Mexican flag really riles the Faux News crowd, especially if it is flying somewhere in those parts of the US formerly part of Mexico and now part of the US as a result of the various invasions of that country in the past. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/114 "2011-07-23T10:38:19Z")
He was gloating about making it as painful as possible. I’m uncomfortable with that line of thinking for rapists and murderers, much less a bunch of teenagers. Trying to make people’s life worse at no real benefit to yourself is a dick move, and sometimes you dick move has very real consequences for the people you are getting your sick jollies lording your power over. In our lives, we get so many chances to make the world a better place or a worse one. I don’t understand wanting to fuck with the lives of strangers beyond what it takes to set things right. It’s the choice of a small person. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/115 "2011-07-23T11:06:52Z")
Either I’m missing something here, or the above post is in the wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/116 "2011-07-23T12:54:16Z")
**jjimm** , that post follows **pullin** ’s at #85, **even sven** ’s at #101, **Argent Towers** ’ at #108. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/117 "2011-07-23T13:44:48Z")
Heck, I WISH I saw more foreign flags around. This is a pretty boring neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/118 "2011-07-24T23:01:45Z")
To the OP: I’m sorry if my statements caused a minor thread derailment. To **Argent Towers** : Thanks again my friend. Sorry I wasn’t around when yet again, you took my side. If it’s any excuse, we took the RV and the boat to hang out [here](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=lake+texoma+islands&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1016&bih=540&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=yOiP2NtUP_eikM:&imgrefurl=http://ghettolanparty.org/gallery/MemorialDay2008/2cqy58g&docid=0BoAd7xBDqBjjM&w=640&h=480&ei=1JcsTtiyOYqhtwfq96TXAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=322&vpy=86&dur=3767&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=138&ty=117&page=1&tbnh=123&tbnw=170&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0) for the last 4 days. Needed a little R&R and forgot to keep up with the thread.🆒 > [@even\_sven](#): > > He was gloating about making it as painful as possible. I’m uncomfortable with that line of thinking for rapists and murderers, much less a bunch of teenagers. Trying to make people’s life worse at no real benefit to yourself is a dick move, and sometimes you dick move has very real consequences for the people you are getting your sick jollies lording your power over. > > In our lives, we get so many chances to make the world a better place or a worse one. I don’t understand wanting to fuck with the lives of strangers beyond what it takes to set things right. It’s the choice of a small person. Now to answer **even sven**. I may seem like a dick to you, but consider where I’m coming from. I’m getting a little tired of my new “neighbors” who tend to follow this pattern. 1. Flee lawless 3rd-world country for a better life in a civilized place that adheres to the rule of law and is run by a stable, elected government. 2. Settle in same and enjoy the benefits accruing from the aforementioned lawful and peaceful society. 3. Decide that you don’t like some of the laws and that you _will flaunt and ignore them_ in a way that has a material and financial effect on **me** (a native of the aforementioned lawful and peaceful society). 4. Decide further, that the citizens of the aforementioned lawful and peaceful society _aren’t bending over backwards enough to please you,_ and that you need to stage large protests complete with disparaging statements about the aforementioned citizens, who you now refer\* to as “gringos”. 5. Then, as a result of: 1) your need to broadcast your dissatisfaction with the aforementioned citizens (by painting your native flag all over your car windows) and 2) your refusal to follow our laws (by driving without insurance), you end up causing me substantial monetary loss when you crash into my truck. You really expect me to turn the other cheek on this one? In your dreams.:rolleyes: I just hunted down our insurance records from last year. For the seven vehicles in our family, I seem to have paid in excess of $5000 to make sure all were adequately insured. The majority of that amount was liability to ensure that anyone harmed or materially affected by my mistakes (or that of the other drivers) was covered and could be restored _as much as possible_ to their original state before any accident. In some cases, the coverage is over 7 figures (teen driver + unusually fast, dangerous machine). I consider this my civic duty. Of that dollar amount, it seems that we spent roughly $600 per year on “uninsured motorist” coverage. So, when some shit-for-brains manages to follow the 5-step program outlined above, I figure they can be the ones to pay me back for all those years of uninsured coverage. The driver mentioned in my post isn’t the first I’ve hammered with the legal system for being uinsured, and probably won’t be the last. I consider this my civic duty as well. If that’s being a dick, I’m proud to wear the title. \*It was written on her windshield. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/119 "2011-07-25T21:43:41Z")
Some people on my street always flew the Danish flag at their house. On what must have been some Danish holiday they had 17 of them on display in their yard! I thought it was kind of funny, but not bothersome. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608/120 "2011-07-25T22:20:24Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > Some people on my street always flew the Danish flag at their house. On what must have been some Danish holiday they had 17 of them on display in their yard! I thought it was kind of funny, but not bothersome. Danish people–Scandinavians in general–really like flags. A lot. Your customary birthday cakes and Christmas trees in Denmark are festooned with flags. It’s very cheery. The flags may well have been for someone’s birthday, not a national holiday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dopers-does-it-annoy-you-when-people-fly-foreign-flags/589608.md?page=7)