# Does the display of American flags have some "hidden meaning" these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270 "2023-09-17T17:52:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 15
**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:** [October 10, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/281 "2023-10-10T14:19:58Z")
I recently replaced our storm-tattered U.S. and Kentucky state flags with a [20th Maine regimental flag](https://www.zazzle.com/20th_maine_volunteer_infantry_regiment_house_flag-256986937179276439?rf=238840279726397180&tc=Cj0KCQjw7JOpBhCfARIsAL3bobeGoZ8fokYWfvcr8FeLvM6j8fEx189m1Guh5XTeSkX9ZacIrRZGe5saAhXHEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_shopping&utm_term=z256986937179276439&ca_chid=2001810&ca_source=gaw&ca_ace=&ca_nw=g&ca_dev=c&ca_pl=&ca_pos=&ca_cid=547978542231&ca_agid=128392280580&ca_caid=6553881292&ca_adid=547978542231&ca_kwt=&ca_mt=&ca_fid=&ca_tid=pla-1430134042761&ca_lp=1017825&ca_li=21154&ca_devm=&ca_plt=&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7JOpBhCfARIsAL3bobeGoZ8fokYWfvcr8FeLvM6j8fEx189m1Guh5XTeSkX9ZacIrRZGe5saAhXHEALw_wcB). My neighbors probably don’t appreciate the [“hidden meaning”](https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/defense-little-round-top). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/282 "2023-10-10T17:06:13Z")
There’s “don’t appreciate” as in “don’t comprehend”, and “don’t appreciate” as in “don’t approve of”. I think you’ve probably got a two-fer on most of your neighbors. They’d disapprove, if only they could comprehend. Very well-played Good Sir. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/283 "2023-10-10T20:47:53Z")
Thanks to your wiki link, I see that the fifteen-star flag my neighbor is flying also has fifteen stripes, which I had not noticed. Also, it’s the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the flag that was current during the War of 1812, that Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about. (Coincidentally, FSK was a graduate of [my alma mater](https://www.sjc.edu/).) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/284 "2023-10-11T07:52:36Z")
Yeah, it was about then they figured as the union got bigger the number of required stripes would become unsupportable. Can you imagine a flag with 50 stripes? It would resemble one of those feather banners merchants use. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/285 "2023-10-11T09:54:28Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Can you imagine a flag with 50 stripes? I The flag would look pretty in pink. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/286 "2023-10-11T10:15:48Z")
[![](https://i.imgur.io/O1Xd5_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium) ](https://i.imgur.io/O1Xd5_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/287 "2023-10-11T17:03:39Z")
Without counting that can’t be 50. The fact both outer stripes are red means the total of red + white has gotta be an odd number. Unless there’s a white stripe across the bottom we can’t tell vs. the background. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/288 "2023-10-11T17:18:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Unless there’s a white stripe across the bottom we can’t tell vs. the background. On the skin I’m using, the background is black, the bottom stripe is white. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/289 "2023-10-11T18:34:25Z")
Ok then. Thank you. Makes me think such a flag might want to have a contrasting border. Hmmm Better yet, it should have a gold fringe. Can you imagine the total head asploding from the wackadoodles around the USA if we made the gold fringe an official and required part of the flag? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/290 "2023-10-11T18:35:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Makes me think such a flag might want to have a contrasting border. If we don’t go with a gold fringe, maybe the blood of traitors? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/291 "2023-10-11T19:29:01Z")
Just don’t make it a thin blue line. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/292 "2023-10-11T20:41:08Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If we don’t go with a gold fringe, maybe the blood of traitors? That would blend in with the red. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/293 "2023-10-11T22:43:19Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If we don’t go with a gold fringe, maybe the blood of traitors? Orange? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/294 "2023-10-12T04:20:24Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > Unless there’s a white stripe across the bottom we can’t tell vs. the background. > > On the skin I’m using, the background is black, the bottom stripe is white. At this point, I still had to go count them. Yep, it’s 50 stripes. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/295 "2023-10-13T11:20:03Z")
For international comparison: outside big international sporting events or national days, or regions where national identity is a big issue, it isn’t that widespread to see people flying national flags, certainly in England - Scottish and Welsh nationalists might make more of a display, and of course Northern Ireland is a law unto itself. Abroad, I’ve seen in Barcelona conspicuous displays of the Catalan flag (and even the Spanish Republican flag). I believe it’s very common for Danes to fly the Dannebrog, with no particular political connotation. But there was a time when conspicuous displays of either the Union flag or the St George’s flag in England could be (was meant to be?) a sign of support for extreme right/racist movements. Gradually that has diminished, as their connections to football hooliganism has been neutralised. But it can still be sensitive for some. [Pink Union flags](https://www.pinkjack.com/about-us/) appear at Pride without an issue, but it’s not so long since this occurred and was seized on by the RW press as left-wing patronising: > **[A British politician lost her job over a tweet: how to explain it to someone...](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/21/emily-thornberry-resignation-explain-outside-britain)** > > If you’re not British, Labour politician Emily Thornberry’s resignation for posting a tweet of a house, some flags and a van may seem baffling. Here’s why it happened ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/296 "2023-10-14T20:47:08Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > But there was a time when conspicuous displays of either the Union flag or the St George’s flag in England could be (was meant to be?) a sign of support for extreme right/racist movements. I watch Escape to the Country and a LOT of homes are decorated with Union Jack everything- pillows, towels, clothing etc. More so than the American flag usually is. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/297 "2023-10-15T07:17:41Z")
Ah, but that’s indoors. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/298 "2023-10-28T15:00:50Z")
I know a few of us check out [electoral-vote.com](http://electoral-vote.com) for US political news and insights. They have a weekly feature where they run a question from a reader, and ask other readers to respond to it. This week, the question is the same as this thread: > **D.D. in Hollywood, FL, asks:** Whenever I see an American flag in someone’s yard, I can’t help but think they must be MAGA Trump supporters. Am I the only one to see what Donald Trump has wrought for our national symbol? Or am I overreacting? Many thoughtful responses came in from readers of the column. Folks here might find it an interesting read. Scroll to the bottom of today’s page. And, is “D.D. in Hollywood, Florida” a reader of StraightDope? D.D. posed the question about a week after this thread wrapped up. Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/299 "2023-11-17T04:01:21Z")
Is this thread dead yet? Since I responded with the link and info about the Thin Blue Line flag, (and, yes, other crappy attempts at pedantry) I thought this might be relevant. **Barring ‘thin blue line’ flag on Pennsylvania township property is unconstitutional, US court rules** Link to the newspaper article (nothing unsafe for work here): [Barring 'thin blue line' flag on Pennsylvania township property is unconstitutional, US court rules | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-thin-blue-line-flag-lawsuit-73b143c751ec24088768fe64a0f84c9f) Some excerpts: Prohibiting the use of the thin blue line flag [by the public employees on governmental properties, including their uniforms] restricts the free speech of public employees under the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Karen Marston decided. . . . “Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the Flag carries racist undertones to certain members of the community,” she wrote in denying a request to impose sanctions on the township. “Indeed, the individual Plaintiffs admitted that they have been told the Flag carries racial undertones.” So it is still quite actively controversial, years after the inflamatory event and its resulting demonstrations and counterdemonstrations. –G! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270.md?page=14)