# If an immigrant disrepects your flag. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673 "2010-07-31T11:15:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/161 "2010-08-06T18:47:44Z")
There are only two things I hate in this world: People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures, and the Elbonians. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/162 "2010-08-06T18:48:29Z")
> [@figure9](#): > > Let’s pretend your neighbor is an immigrant from Elbonia. One day he hangs a large Elbonian flag and flies a smaller flag, your country’s, underneath it. Does it bother you? Do you do anything about it? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/163 "2010-08-06T19:08:49Z")
This is a minor faux-pas that a good neighbor would point out in a friendly way. I see flags flown inappropriately all the time, probably by US citizens, and I don’t assume they are any kind of protest. I’ve always assumed this was honest patriotism poorly expressed. If that damned Elbow decided to got in my face about it, then there would be trouble. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/164 "2010-08-06T19:11:41Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > It’s a piece of cloth for crying out loud! Why should I care? So you’d have no problem if he displayed a six foot tall Nazi flag? It isn’t just a “piece of cloth,” it’s a symbol, and people can be very, very touchy about symbols. Making a display of your nation’s flag on the soil of another nation isn’t necessarily bad manners or a breach of etiquette, but obviously it requires some discretion and taste if you want to be a good neighbor. Rule of thumb: the bigger and more obtrusive a display is (i.e. the harder it is to simply ignore), the more likely it is to be insensitive and in bad taste. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/165 "2010-08-06T19:23:44Z")
> [@gardentraveler](#): > > American checking in. It wouldn’t register with me. As others have said: it’s just a piece of cloth. I’m not saying this is true of you as an individual, but I’ve noticed many people who insist that a flag is “just a piece of cloth” nevertheless get offended at the sight of a Confederate battle flag. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/166 "2010-08-06T19:46:57Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > > > It’s a piece of cloth for crying out loud! Why should I care? > > So you’d have no problem if he displayed a six foot tall Nazi flag? Still none of my business, and none if yours either. It’s still just a piece of cloth no matter how much you stamp your foot about it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/167 "2010-08-06T19:48:37Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > > > It’s a piece of cloth for crying out loud! Why should I care? > > So you’d have no problem if he displayed a six foot tall Nazi flag? It isn’t just a “piece of cloth,” it’s a symbol, and people can be very, very touchy about symbols. Mr. Godwin on line one! Mr. Godwin on line one! The flag of another nation is NOT the equivalent of a Nazi flag. And even if someone wants to display a swastika, the law does not forbid it. First amendment, and all that. (And equating the flag of say, Britain, or France to the Nazis is rather, I dunno, fascist?) > [@](#): > > Rule of thumb: the bigger and more obtrusive a display is (i.e. the harder it is to simply ignore), the more likely it is to be insensitive and in bad taste. Rule of other thumb: Insensitivity and bad taste are not illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/168 "2010-08-06T19:49:26Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > [@gardentraveler](#): > > > > American checking in. It wouldn’t register with me. As others have said: it’s just a piece of cloth. > > I’m not saying this is true of you as an individual, but I’ve noticed many people who insist that a flag is “just a piece of cloth” nevertheless get offended at the sight of a Confederate battle flag. So go yell at those people then. I don’t think there are any in this thread. I doubt you’ll find anyone who would call the cops about it. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/169 "2010-08-06T20:05:40Z")
Dio & Guin: Where did I say the police should be involved? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/170 "2010-08-06T20:09:31Z")
FWIW, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Israel all prohibit the public display of Nazi flags: [Bans on Nazi symbols - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_use_of_Nazi_flags) ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/171 "2010-08-06T20:31:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > FWIW, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Israel all prohibit the public display of Nazi flags: [Bans on Nazi symbols - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_use_of_Nazi_flags) Thank you for the link, but judging from the OP, the thread is about manners and etiquette, not legality. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/172 "2010-08-06T20:44:56Z")
I would not care if a neighbor flew a Confederate flag (I’m originally from Louisiana and have also lived in other parts of the south where confederate flags were ubiquitous. I don’t give them a second thought) I would be more concerned if they were flying a Nazi flag, not because of the flag itself, but because it could be an indication of mental instability or posible violence, and those things would still be there whether the flag was up or not. I wouldn’t want _any_ of it to be illegal for citizens to do. If the_government_ is doing it (as some states have done with the Confederate flag), then that’s a different issue. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/173 "2010-08-06T20:49:49Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Dio & Guin: Where did I say the police should be involved? I appologize – I thought you were saying that you were in agreement with **Oakminster**. Like I said, I have a neighbor around the corner who was flying her flag upside down. I just rolled my eyes. (She’s also the dumbass who parks her motorcycle almost in the middle of the street) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/174 "2010-08-06T20:54:39Z")
Flying the flag upside down is a distress signal. It’s probably some teabagger way to protest Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/175 "2010-08-07T12:12:11Z")
The arsehole next door has a row of flagpoles with different signal flags on them. I translated them with a flag guide and it spells out “Flood the runway theres a seaplane landing”. The bastards, I don’t know if they are actually Elbonians but I have my suspicions. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673/176 "2010-08-08T02:54:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Flying the flag upside down is a distress signal. It’s probably some teabagger way to protest Obama. I don’t know if she’s a teabagger (although I wouldn’t be surprised), but she started doing so right after the election. Plus she has “Michael Savage for President!” stickers on her SUV and stuff like that. (You know, the guy who told a homosexual caller that he should get AIDS and die?) Now she has a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag and some other one. (Not that there’s anything wrong with the first, mind you, I’m just saying at least she no longer flies that upside down flag – it was embarassing to look at!) It might be a Marine flag – she also has Marine stickers on her car. Note: I am NOT bashing Marines. I’m bashing people who fly upside down flags after Obama got elected and people who listen to Michael Savage and take the jackass seriously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-immigrant-disrepects-your-flag/548673.md?page=8)