# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/41 "2023-09-18T18:29:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You know, I am getting tired of ordinary things becoming “sekret simbols of nazis”. The American flag is our flag. It’s nice to display it There is no hidden meaning. The Okay sign is not a white power sign. If you believe that, you were trolled- by tolls at 4Chan. The Gadsen flag is a historical American flag. The Thin Blue line means you support the police. You know what else was a widely used symbol around the world until the Nazis ruined it for everyone else by coopting it? > **[Cañon City Swastikas](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca%C3%B1on_City_Swastikas)** > > The Cañon City Swastikas were a minor league baseball team based in Cañon City, Colorado, in 1912. Cañon City briefly played in the 1912 season as members of the Class D level Rocky Mountain League, before the Cañon City franchise relocated to Raton, New Mexico, during the season. Canon City hosted minor league home games at Centennial Park. > An early Cañon City based team called the "Cañon City Inter-Ocean Base Ball Club" played organized baseball, beginning in 1874. > The 1912 Cañon City Swastik... And, sorry, a flag that represents how the police are the only thing keeping society from falling into chaos and which is flown to “support” the police whenever the police is in hot water for killing unarmed black people **is** white supremacist. > [@Grestarian](#): > > In the 1950s, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bill Parker coined the term “[thin blue line](https://www.flagandbanner.com/products/thin-blue-line-flag.asp)” as the barrier between law and order, and social and civil anarchy. This is pretty fucking fascist. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/42 "2023-09-18T18:34:39Z")
There’s a clown I pass by that has his US Flag upside down. Kid Cheesesteak sees it and says “that idiot hung the flag upside down!” You don’t know how right you are, kid. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/43 "2023-09-18T18:39:08Z")
That’s a universal signal for distress, as in a sinking ship. I think the guy is suggesting that the USA is a sinking ship. And probably mostly caused by people who like to fly large flags rightside up. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/44 "2023-09-18T18:42:17Z")
There was a car dealer where I grew up that flew a ridiculously large American flag on the lot. It was out of proportion to the size of the flagpole so it looked wrong to me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/45 "2023-09-18T18:51:26Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > There’s a clown I pass by that has his US Flag upside down. Sixteen years ago, a Pennsylvania man got arrested for doing that. > **[Man arrested for flying US flag upside down](https://www.aclupa.org/en/cases/man-arrested-flying-us-flag-upside-down)** > > In the spring of 2007, Joseph Yamrus chose to express his disagreement with the Middle East policy of certain members of Congress by flying the US flag upside down (an internationally recognized ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/46 "2023-09-18T18:55:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There was a car dealer where I grew up that flew a ridiculously large American flag on the lot. It was out of proportion to the size of the flagpole so it looked wrong to me. That must be a car dealer thing - I’ve seen giant flags waving proudly at car lots in Mexico and Canada 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/47 "2023-09-18T19:15:07Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > That must be a car dealer thing It is. It looks like car dealers all over the US use “[under the giant American flag](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-m&sca_esv=566347325&channel=ts&sxsrf=AM9HkKk0nasz7e38im4Dzgp-xbsbG1qOEw%3A1695064322996&q=cars+%22under+the+giant+american+flag%22&oq=cars+%22under+the+giant+american+flag%22&aqs=heirloom-srp)” in their advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/48 "2023-09-18T19:15:52Z")
To repeat a post I made in a similar thread: it depends. A 3’ x 5’ flag hanging off a flagpole in a suburban neighborhood? I assume a mildy conservative Republican who gets vaguely uncomfortable around brown or gay people; but the only thing you _really_ hate is crabgrass. A jacked-up doolie with a bedsheet-sized American flag in the bed? The FBI wants to know where you were on January 6. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/49 "2023-09-18T19:35:06Z")
Of course, the easy way to “reclaim” the US flag if you live in a MAGA neighborhood is to fly your US flag alongside a pride flag. I can’t think of any flaw in this cunning plan… Or maybe if you have Norwegian heritage, fly it alongside a Norwegian flag? > **[Michigan inn owners take down Norwegian flag after it’s mistaken for...](https://nypost.com/2020/07/29/norwegian-flag-removed-from-inn-after-its-mistaken-for-confederate-flag/)** > > “It bugs me as far as the stupidity of people.” Come to think of it, a Norwegian flag alongside a pride flag would really confuse your MAGA neighbors. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/50 "2023-09-18T19:47:02Z")
MAGAts are already plenty confused. But in terms of understanding a flag code they have a very simple problem to solve: > Mongo see US flag and Blue line flag = EXCELLENT > Mongo see US flag or blue line flag = GOOD > Mongo see other = BAD; set fire to house or car. It really is no deeper than that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/51 "2023-09-18T21:02:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It’s more like “If we pretend the asshole isn’t there, she/he will just disappear magically!”. After a bit, fashions will change and those assholes will disappear. Of course we will get a new set… > [@BigT](#): > > Beau of the Fifth Column has a video on this. Symbols change. No argument was even won with a YT. > [@enipla](#): > > Yeah, I donno. But it seems the MAGA’s have co-opted it with Trump flags. T Yeah, I see trump flags from the worse MAGAs not American flags. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > Not a resident, but I don’t know if it is a nitpick to observe that in your HUGE state there are some areas that are the darkest possible blue, and others that are awfully darned red. True. But overall, so Blue that the state legislature has a very solid majority. > [@Babale](#): > > You know what else was a widely used symbol around the world until the Nazis ruined it for everyone else by coopting it? Not widely at all, But yeah the swastika, altho often (but by no means always) backwards from the nazi symbol does go back. So? If you think the police as fascist, you either do not know what the word means or there’s no use debating with you. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > Sixteen years ago, a Pennsylvania man got arrested for doing that. > > [Man arrested for flying US flag upside down | ACLU Pennsylvania](https://www.aclupa.org/en/cases/man-arrested-flying-us-flag-upside-down) Which was overturned, and the law tossed out. Hell SCOTUS sez you can _burn_ the flag if you want to. (May be in violation of fire codes) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/52 "2023-09-18T21:07:36Z")
You might get some of the wackadoodles’ heads to explode by flying a gold-fringed flag. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/53 "2023-09-18T21:11:16Z")
> ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/54 "2023-09-18T21:12:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not widely at all, But yeah the swastika, altho often (but by no means always) backwards from the nazi symbol does go back. So? Not widely at all? It was used by tons of cultures across the world. > [@DrDeth](#): > > If you think the police as fascist, you either do not know what the word means or there’s no use debating with you. I don’t think the police is fascist, which is why none of my posts said that; I think the attitude “the world is savage and dangerous, the only thing holding all that back is a thin blue line of righteous agents of the state” is EXTREMELY fascistic. I also think that expressing support for your police officer is not white supremacist, but loudly shouting that you support police whenever a police officer is criticized for shooting an unarmed black man **is**. Context matters, it would help if you responded to my whole post instead of little snippets 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/55 "2023-09-18T21:15:10Z")
The Invisible Hand of the Free Market (represented here by a five fingered realistically drawn Mickey Mouse glove) is pulling back the “thin blue line” flag, revealing what it is that it is holding back that we should all be afraid of - a Chihuahua seeing the vision of a cross in the sky, echoing the story of Emperor Constantine - soon thid pup will utter _In hoc signo vinces_ before marching to conquer the United States. Only the boys in blue can stop him. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/56 "2023-09-18T21:21:39Z")
Clearly the thin blue line that matters on that flag is ICE defending the southern border from an invasion, an _invasion_ I tell you! of Those People. We are sooo Doomed! Sounds like a pretty racist bit of iconography to me. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/57 "2023-09-18T21:26:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No argument was even won with a YT. Does the _absence_ of YouTube videos of aliens, Bigfoot and the alternate ending to _Big_ count? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/58 "2023-09-18T21:29:21Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Does the _absence_ of YouTube videos of aliens, Bigfoot and the alternate ending to _Big_ count? snort. 🤪 But there are plenty of YT of aliens & Bigfoot. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/59 "2023-09-19T01:02:07Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/Manigarm/status/1703759802969505879) Behind this flag is one cross bitch? ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270/60 "2023-09-19T13:39:04Z")
It’s not “hidden”, it is overt and clearly stated. It is MAGA. It is their flag now, their purity test, and all others outside their cult are to be killed. Think I’m overreacting? Look at the town hall where DeSantis openly states under his Presidency he will execute people caught crossing the border. No courts, no trials, no crime worthy of Capital Punishment. AND THE AUDIENCE CHEERED. Watch the video, most of the women cheering look like the same yoga-pants wearing mom you see every day at the school pick-up line. How long until it’s “execute people protesting the government” or “execute people caught protesting”. Listen and read the rhetoric inciting them to violence against anyone not MAGA for having destroyed America. It’s not being spouted by some incel trolling from his mother’s basement but by right-wing politicians, and opinion-makers in the media. I hate that now my reaction to seeing a flag is disdain for the individual and a degree of fear that the person is a fascist who believes me and my family are “destroying America” and intend to do us harm. And it’s all for simply holding different opinions on topics like human rights, tax policy, fiscal priorities, etc. Or you know, following evidence based science or using critical thinking or just simply VOTING. Everyone knows, unless your head is in the sand, that it’s not “love of Country” behind flying flags from their truck beds, feeling the need to decorate their vehicles in flag vinyl stickers, displaying “FJB” stickers in their rear windows. It’s the people that put up an American Flag, a Gadsden flag, a confederate flag, and a Trump Flag on their homes with one purpose - to show us all they are here, are numerous, and they are coming for anyone who does not agree with them. And let’s not pretend this is a small vocal minority, every major automotive maker sells vehicles right off the assembly line with similar factory-options. Truck manufacturers would not be doing this if there wasn’t a significant addressable $$$ market for it. You bet your ass their marketing people did research on the monetization of fascism. Notice how many previously bland and ordinary cards are now available in sand metallic or olive green? Buy a backpack for your kid’s back to school, notice all the military camo prints with American flag patches already sewn on? Everyone is jumping in and selling militia cos-play to the masses and the masses are eating it up. It’s grotesque and frightening that these things are so pervasive in our country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-display-of-american-flags-have-some-hidden-meaning-these-days/990270.md?page=4)