# I shall fly the Union Jack **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 8, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564 "2005-07-08T06:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/1 "2005-07-08T06:16:13Z")
Tomorrow, I shall fly the Union Jack. It’s not the official flag of England, but it’s the one which I identify with Britain. In all the helplessness and turmoil of this morning, it’s the one thing which I can do to signify that I, all the way across the globe, stand with my friends in England. I was so very reminded of 9/11, when people across the globe flew our Stars and Bars to show their solidarity with us in our time of grief and pain. I was awestruck by that outpouring of expression. On 9/11, I was working with a small City here. I went to the store to buy yellow ribbon, but they had sold out. So, I bought a yellow vinyl table cloth and began to cut it up. As I was doing this, the men began to come into the shop to clock out. One by one, they came by the table … Ms. 90, can I have one ? … One for my wife’s car too? … Um … one for my brother? These guys are the working poor. Coming in greasy, muddy, smelling of sweat and sewer and cigarette smoke. Tough, burly guys. And yet, humbled in the moment. Many with tears running down their cheeks. It wasn’t long until the table cloth ran out. But out in the shop yard, the entire City fleet sported a yellow ribbon flying in the breeze. And in several homes that evening, work-worn, knotty hands painstakingly tied on another one, and another. In that spirit, I shall go to the banner store for a Union Jack to-morrow. I want a BIG one. I want to post it outside my home, I want it to wave and shimmer in the Mississippi heat. Yes. To-morrow I shall fly the Union Jack. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/2 "2005-07-08T08:40:23Z")
Total nitpick, but stars and stripes. I doubt any other countries were flying the stars and bars. Still, good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/3 "2005-07-08T12:22:18Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > It’s not the official flag of England, but it’s the one which I identify with Britain. The Union Jack is the official flag of the United Kingdom, and London is the capital of the UK, so it is the totally appropriate flag to fly in solidarity with the people of London. ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/4 "2005-07-08T12:25:40Z")
What a wonderful idea; I’ll do the same. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/5 "2005-07-08T12:29:50Z")
I’ll do it as well. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/6 "2005-07-08T12:42:27Z")
fuck the union jack. and fuck flying any flag at half mast. yesterday about 450 or less londoners died. the day before it was about 400. today it will be about 400. the bombs made only a fractional difference, and even less in the world of policy. i mean, it was a horrible, horrible tragedy, but c’mon. how many iraqi flags fly at half mast every day in america? how many afghani flags? how many sudanese died yesterday? and how many even know what their flag looks like? fucking hypocrites, the bunch of you. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/7 "2005-07-08T12:54:04Z")
**bob\_loblaw** : You have complaints about how people are showing their support for England and the victims in London, you take it to the Pit. This isn’t the forum for your insults and this especially isn’t the thread for them. Don’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/8 "2005-07-08T13:32:51Z")
waa-waa-waa, cry for the white people; bla-bla-bla ignore the brown people. fucking typical ‘american’ attitude. if this kinda thread isn’t the place for this sorta confrontation of your prejudices, than i don’t know what is. and, really, c’mon. fucking wake up and deal, or fucking lose all pretence of living in the real world, and go back to licking your beloved bush. it is an either/or proposition, with reality occupying the opposite field as faith. pick one. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/9 "2005-07-08T14:18:36Z")
You’re having difficulties reading, **bob\_loblaw** , so I’m going to say it again: this isn’t the place for your complaints. Regardless of whether you choose to take this up in the Pit, you will stop with your insults in this thread and you will bow out now. Calm down, take a rest, I don’t care. Just leave. Or you take the chance of having your posting privileges suspended. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/10 "2005-07-08T17:39:21Z")
Check to make sure you fly the union jack the correct way up, not that many (even Brits) would recognise the error if you inverted the flag, but still it is better to get it right. Link to the correct orientation [http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page398.asp](http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page398.asp) . This is a kind gesture, be careful your state doesn’t have a law requirng that a Stars and Stripes must be hung at a higher position at the same time (not that breaking that law in this instance would likely be punished). As for other flags, people should feel free to show whatever flags they wish, as long as it is done in a respectful manner. ---
**Author:** ![Cranky\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cranky\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cranky_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/11 "2005-07-08T17:52:29Z")
Such a great idea! Loved the OP. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/12 "2005-07-08T17:54:15Z")
If I had one, I’d be flying it. It’s just the kind, decent thing to do in a situation like this. ---
**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 8, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/13 "2005-07-08T18:20:26Z")
I can’t imagine that any state has a law that flags of other soverign nations must be below that of the US flag. State flags, yes. But etiquette requires all national standards to be at equal heights. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/14 "2005-07-08T18:35:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I can’t imagine that any state has a law that flags of other soverign nations must be below that of the US flag. State flags, yes. But etiquette requires all national standards to be at equal heights. Probably right, I think the law was that th US flag must be present and at least as high as any other soverign nations flag when displaying a sovereign nation’s flag in Colorado. So etiquette would allow them to be equally high. But I can’t find a cite to Colorado state law on this subject. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/15 "2005-07-08T18:52:18Z")
There’s a sample of US flag-related laws [here](http://flagspot.net/flags/us-law.html) (although I can’t vouch for their accuracy!) Most relate to flags on public buildings & property, ‘the red flag’, and the only one relevant seems to be New Jersery, requiring a foreign flag to be accompanied by an American one of the same dimensions. ---
**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 8, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/16 "2005-07-08T19:10:25Z")
Actually, [I stand corrected.](http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode04/usc_sec_04_00000007----000-.html) > [@](#): > > No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the headquarters of the United Nations. So I guess you can’t fly the flag of another nation at equal prominence with the US flag. But I wager prosecutions of this law are rare. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/17 "2005-07-08T19:34:28Z")
**FinnAgain** “stars and bars”? :smack: And I’ve a college education! Thanks **Bippy** and **GorillaMan** for the tips. And wow, I didn’t realize the Union Flag is made of two different crosses. 🙂 P.S. Thanks everybody for indulging me when I get a bit treacl-y. 😉 P.S.S. **Skip** Why do _I_ always attract the weirdos? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/18 "2005-07-08T20:10:16Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Actually, [I stand corrected.](http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode04/usc_sec_04_00000007----000-.html) > > So I guess you can’t fly the flag of another nation at equal prominence with the US flag. But I wager prosecutions of this law are rare. Actually, the code contradicts itself: > [@](#): > > 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. Anyways, to my knowledge it is just a code, not a prosecutable law. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/19 "2005-07-08T20:49:30Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Thanks **Bippy** and **GorillaMan** for the tips. And wow, I didn’t realize the Union Flag is made of two different crosses. 🙂 Three actually. St Andrew’s (representing Scotland), St George’s (England) and St Patrick’s (Ireland - which was added in 1801). The St Andrew’s cross is a white ‘X’ on a blue field, St George’s is a red ‘+’ on a white field, St Patrick’s is a red ‘X’ on a white field. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564/20 "2005-07-08T22:53:00Z")
I do not presently own a Union Jack, but in honor of the fallen, I had tea, an english muffin while listening to the Stones. It was the least I could do, really. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shall-fly-the-union-jack/311564.md?page=2)