Yeah, I donno. But it seems the MAGA’s have co-opted it with Trump flags. That is of course a sure sign that they are taking it as a different meaning. MAGA’s are not patriots, although they think they are.
Symbols have meaning to us individually, and to the person who used the symbol, and they evolve. There’s no central clearing house to set or verify the meaning. I grew up associating American flags with broad American patriotism, but during the Reagan administration started considering that the person using them might be promoting Republican politics particularly. The association between flag pins on Presidents and the use of September 11 as a rallying cry seemed to pile on.
Today, when I see an American flag on a public school or government office, I see it as benign, but on a house or car it puts me on guard, a suggestion that the person posting the flag may be against democracy, and perhaps even dangerous. Of course, the frequent grouping of American flags with Trump flags, Confederate flags, Gadsden flags, and Christian flags or flags with Christian motifs, strongly increases this effect.
All else being equal, I’d prefer to patronize businesses that do not display American flags over those that do.
Emphatically: this post is about inferring possible meanings, and what serves as a cautionary warning to me. I don’t for a moment think an American flag necessarily means any of the darksome things that come up for me personally. There can be perfectly innocent reasons somebody chooses to fly or post an American flag.
Then take it up with the nazis and other bigots who deliberately and actively promote association of those “ordinary things” with their own worldview. To the point where the targets of their bigotry frequently, and not unreasonably, worry that any display of such symbols may be an attempt to intimidate or threaten them.
That situation is not the targets’ fault; it’s the fault of the bigots using those symbols as PR for their bigotry.
Mind you, I sympathize with your desire to reclaim traditional symbols from bigoted associations. And of course it’s true that many people view, and display, US and Thin Blue Line flags solely in terms of positive messages with no racist intent whatsoever. But you can’t achieve anything constructive by just complaining about the people pointing out the existence of the problem, rather than the people actually causing the problem.
Right, and when large numbers of assholes embrace those symbols as icons of their asshole cause, it becomes both reasonable and prudent for non-assholes to treat display of those symbols with caution and suspicion.
Being oblivious to white-supremacist associations of mainstream symbols like Thin Blue Line flags may be all very well for you as a white guy, who is unlikely to be a target of white-supremacist violence. But for people who are likely targets of white-supremacist violence, being oblivious or naive about the real-world associations of such symbols can get them injured or killed.
Please don’t promote naivete and ignorance about these issues by complaining when people acknowledge their reality. And yes, it is reality that the phrase “thin blue line” has longstanding associations with racist ideology, and that some racist organizations and individuals use the TBL flag to express racist approval of the sort of police violence that the Black Lives Matter movement is protesting.
Yeah - I agree. But if all of a sudden you realize maybe a third of your neighbors are flying the flag? As we were walking our dog, my wife asked, “Did something happen (that people are flying the flag)?”
I used to consider myself quite patriotic - as I define that term. Proudly flew my flag quite often. I stopped after we invaded Iraq. Didn’t fly the flag again until Obama was elected. But the election of Trump and what followed has tempered my personal sense of patriotism, and has me less enthused about flying the flag.
There is no hidden meaning, it’s long been known to the black community as being associated with white supremacists. I was taught to be wary of any neighborhood flying the American flag en-mass when I was a teenager 35 years ago. It was basically seen just like the rebel flag.
These days, besides the American and rebel flags there are a few more to look out for.
Trump, blue line, the coiled snake, punisher, the American flag with the 13 stars in a circle, ect.
None of it is new.
And a violation of the U.S. Flag Code:
8. Respect for flag
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
Thank you
Yeah - I’ve always sorta wondered about that.
Intellectually, I can kinda almost see the logic behind all/blue lives matter. But in my experience, that is generally being pretty generous to people who don’t deserve it.
While we’re on the subject, a house in my neighborhood has recently started flying a flag that looks like half an American flag on the left side and half a California state flag on the right side, with the transition between the two having a charred look, as if the flag had been burned (but I don’t think it had actually been burned, I’m pretty sure that’s just part of the flag’s design). I’m sure that’s supposed to symbolize something, but I have no idea what. For what it’s worth, I am in California.
I don’t think the “burn” line really symbolizes anything, it’s just a “cool etsy” way to transition the two flags. I’ve seen them for other states and a few other countries and they all used the same diagonal burnt looking line.
Maybe I was overthinking it then. I was wondering if it was some sort of “California is destroying America” message or something like that. Even though California is a solidly blue state, I’ve seen plenty of people in this region flying Trump flags and displaying “Let’s go Brandon” signs, so I was wondering if this flag fell into that category.
My neighbor has been flying a US flag and an Ukraine flag outside his house for months. I know him personally, so I know he’s definitely not a right winger. I think he’s just showing support for Ukraine (I think his family is from there.)
Everyone wants to associate different flags with the different “tribes” - red and blue. Flying an American flag at your house is neutral, and just showing pride in your country - you could be one of the assholes @DrDeth mentions, or someone wanting to reclaim the flag from the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6, as @Fear_Itself. No harm, no foul.
But the secondary flag chosen to fly with the American flag is what tells the story of which tribe that person want you to know they are a part of. The blue Thin Blue Line flag says something, the same as a rainbow flag, a Gadsden flag, a State of Jefferson flag, a peace flag, a Trump '24 flag, POW-MIA flag, etc.
FTR I only put my American flag out on days you are supposed to, and it flies solo at my house.
I found a large 48 star flag in my grandfather’s stuff, and would stretch it out along a porch rail every 4th of July until someone decided to make off with it. I expressed chagrin at that theft on Facebook, and was met with derision and threats for flying the wrong flag… So I found the standard dimensions & proportions online, was delighted to find that Sherwin-Williams puts up pints of flag red and flag blue, then laid out and painted me a perfect 8’ plywood flag, which has been securely bolted to sheltered porch and illuminated at night 24/7 ever since. PS: police lieutenant came by a week later with the old flag, but declined to say where it had been recovered from. I’ll save that flag for special events, like Biden’s second inauguration, and then Harris’s first.
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. Especially the NE corner. And pretty wide swaths of pink. Yeah, the population is higher in the blue areas such that CA goes blue for president and senators, but enough diversity that I felt the urge to quibble over your use of the word “solid”.
In my area, flying flags is coded communication.
Fly a regular flag on holidays? You’re normal.
Fly a regular flag every day of the year? You’re a MAGAt.
Fly a blue line flag every day of the year? You’re a batshit white supremacist who thinks you’re artfully disguising your true feelings by pretending you support the police MAGAt.
Fly a FJB flag? Gad zooks, stay away from me!
Once in awhile, someone will buck the trend. There’s a house I pass by on my usual route to town on a busy highway. It’s on the outskirts of town, rural but just. It was vacant for awhile and run down, but someone finally bought it. My trips to town are limited to once or twice a month, so it was fun watching the rehab project.
The people who purchased it are immensely skilled at reclaiming what looked like a daunting project. The home got spiffed and the landscaping became enviable.
One day, there was a new flag pole and an American flag, flown with obvious pride. “Oh, dear,” I thought.
Next trip, an Oregon Ducks flag had been added to the pole. “Hmmm, ok,” I thought.
Then came an enormous Ukraine flag tacked to the side of a very visible outside wall of the shop. “Me likey!” I thought.
The best part came when a very visible sign appeared for public consumption alongside the road just before our most recent election: “Vote Yes on Measure 114!” along with a large banner hung on the fence: “Do your civic duty and VOTE!” I decided I love these people. 
Unfortunately, next came the expected and sad final sign: “Video cameras on premises. Smile!”
Anyway, I appreciate this mode of non-verbal communication so I can note who the nuts are in the sundae.
We put up our flag on federal holidays and a couple of other times during the year (i.e., September 11, Pearl Harbor Day). We have done so for decades.
I worry a tad that people may see us as something we’re not, but I refuse to cede flying the flag to RWNJs. It’s my flag, too – and although there is much I’d change in this country, I’m still proud to be one of its citizens. You know, when Trumpism first reared its ugly head, I thought, “What’s this shit about making America great again? It’s already pretty fucking great, and a quite a bit greater than it was when I was born.”
I didn’t mean “solid” to mean every part of the state is blue, but rather that the state goes blue in every national election. Maybe “reliably” or “dependably” would have been a better word choice. I am well aware that there are parts of the state that are very conservative; I live pretty close to some of them.
Me too!
This isn’t quite on topic, but one of the flag people in my area has two flags. One is the US Flag, the other is a Trump flag. Their US flag is still in decent condition, but the other is so tattered and damaged that it now says
“TRUM
Take America B”
I wonder if something happened to it.
Maybe a leopard took a bite out of it. 