# Please ID This Flag- Possibly White Supremacist **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201 "2015-05-04T03:16:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/1 "2015-05-04T03:16:19Z")
Three horizontal stripes, from top to bottom- red, white and black. Centered on the flag was a white dog’s head seen from the front. The dog had pointed ears. I saw this flag as a sticker on a lamp post. Due to the color scheme, my gut, and the fact that I have seen definite WS stickers in the neighborhood (They say stuff like “Don’t betray your race! Marry White!” some actually gave the website of the Keystone State Aryans), I suspect this is some white supremacist flag. Oh, and please forgive the lack of grammar and complete sentences at the start of the post. I wanted to give a full description of the flag in the mouse over. Oh again, thanks for your help ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/2 "2015-05-04T03:32:31Z")
No clue. The stripe pattern brings up several Arabic countries, but the dog’s head is a mystery. Where’s Sheldon Cooper when you need him? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/3 "2015-05-04T03:47:40Z")
I did a few more searches and found [this](http://www.adl.org/combating-hate/hate-on-display/c/pitbull.html#.VUbqHBYzhOk) The hound’s head I mentioned was a modified version of the pit bull shown on that page. If I needed further confirmation, the page specifically mentions the Keystone State Skinheads. So, it’s definitely white supremacist stuff. The question remains, do I remove it or deface it? I could get my Sharpie and write “Aryans Are Wimps!” on it. hmmm ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/4 "2015-05-04T04:10:32Z")
Removing it yourself runs into the possibility of one of the members staring over your shoulder as you do it. I recommend contacting your local PD. They may have an anti-graffiti team who can take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/5 "2015-05-04T04:22:48Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Removing it yourself runs into the possibility of one of the members staring over your shoulder as you do it. Eh, if the Keystone Skinheads are anything like the Keystone Cops, that shouldn’t be a problem 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/6 "2015-05-04T05:10:20Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The question remains, do I remove it or deface it? I could get my Sharpie and write “Aryans Are Wimps!” on it. hmmm That’s getting out of GQ territory. Let’s not go there. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/7 "2015-05-04T08:57:21Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > No clue. The stripe pattern brings up several Arabic countries, but the dog’s head is a mystery. It’s from the flag of the German Empire, which collapsed in 1919 after the First World War and was replaced by the Weimar Republic (officially known in English as the German Reich, because Reich doesn’t mean Empire or Kingdom or anything else you can translate into English), which used the same flag that modern Germany does. [Flag of the German Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg). It’s used by a number of German Neo-Nazi groups because the Nazi symbols are banned there, which obviously means [del]Neo-Nazi and extremist far right groups no longer exist in Germany and have all moved on to baking cookies[/del] Neo-Nazi and far right groups in Germany no longer use them and have moved on to using pre-Nazi symbols which are still legal. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/8 "2015-05-04T09:22:04Z")
More to the point perhaps it’s also linked with the Freikorps, which many neo-nazi groups have a big ol’ nazi boner for. The Freikorps was a 1920s [del]style death ray[/del] paramilitary organisation formed by soldiers returning from WW1 who fought against the newly established Weimar republic, as well as against communist groups. They were basically the proto-nazis and many nazi OGs had been members of the Freikorps (though a large number of those were purged during the Night of Long Knives). As \*\*Derleth \*\*says, references to the Freikorps instead of the Nazis are a way to skirt anti-nazi imagery laws (and prejudices) ; as well it’s my understanding that some skinhead groups idealize them as a sort of “even purer” form of right-wing violence compared to the Nazis. They link it with the SA, and the SA were purged by Hitler in part for being overzealous with street violence against Jews and suspected leftists. That’s right, these guys think the Nazis didn’t hate on Jews _enough_. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/9 "2015-05-04T10:35:58Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > It’s from the flag of the German Empire, which collapsed in 1919 after the First World War and was replaced by the Weimar Republic (officially known in English as the German Reich, because Reich doesn’t mean Empire or Kingdom or anything else you can translate into English), which used the same flag that modern Germany does. Well it means empire, or kingdom, or realm, and picking just one of those would be wrong at least part of the time. So Reich it is. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/10 "2015-05-04T15:57:21Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Reich doesn’t mean Empire or Kingdom or anything else you can translate into English “Realm” is a perfectly cromulent translation. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/11 "2015-05-04T15:59:46Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > They link it with the SA, and the SA were purged by Hitler in part for being overzealous with street violence against Jews and suspected leftists. Well, that and being a big old mobile bath-house… which amuses me greatly given skinhead attitudes to gays. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/12 "2015-05-04T20:17:45Z")
Update- Either I remembered the location wrong or somebody else took down the sticker. I did find another sticker on the back of a street sign in the same neighborhood. “Protecting Your Heritage Since 2001” with a web address below it. I peeled the sticker off and threw it away. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/13 "2015-05-05T02:23:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Well, that and being a big old mobile bath-house… > > which amuses me greatly given skinhead attitudes to gays. Ever heard of [Nicky Crane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Crane)? The link between the far right and homosexuals wasn’t limited to that group, or that time. I’m sure I could find more examples, but he just popped into my head. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/14 "2015-05-05T03:19:51Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > More to the point perhaps it’s also linked with the Freikorps, which many neo-nazi groups have a big ol’ nazi boner for. > > The Freikorps was a 1920s [del]style death ray[/del] paramilitary organisation formed by soldiers returning from WW1 who fought against the newly established Weimar republic So the dog’s head should be a Weimaraner with a red “no” slash through it? [http://www.obeythepurebreed.com/images/weim\_sm.gif](http://www.obeythepurebreed.com/images/weim_sm.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/15 "2015-05-05T06:18:11Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Three horizontal stripes, from top to bottom- red, white and black. Centered on the flag was a white dog’s head seen from the front. The dog had pointed ears. But isn’t that upside down? The black stripe should be at the top. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/16 "2015-05-05T08:34:53Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But isn’t that upside down? The black stripe should be at the top. Nazis tend not to be very bright. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/17 "2015-05-05T17:43:10Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But isn’t that upside down? The black stripe should be at the top. I noticed that when I found the pitbull on the ADL page. Either a skinhead made a mistake in ordering, or the printer made a mistake in printing. I’m at least 90% sure that from top to bottom the sticker I saw was red, white, and black. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/18 "2015-05-06T13:16:03Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Ever heard of [Nicky Crane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Crane)? The link between the far right and homosexuals wasn’t limited to that group, or that time. Crane wasn’t out to his RW compatriots, and they disowned him as soon as he came out. Which is about what I’d expect. But AFAIK there are no Far Right gay groups - Log Cabin Republicans being about the furthest Right of any I know, which isn’t that much. Are there any gay Tea Party groups? That a Right Winger \*can \*be a homosexual isn’t the issue (look at all those Republican and Fundie closet cases always being outed) - it’s that the SA was \*known \*for having gay leadership, yet gay-hating Far Right hate groups still idolize them. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/19 "2015-05-06T13:32:51Z")
Not quite sure why Nazism is necessarily “rightist” or “far-right.” ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201/20 "2015-05-06T23:00:19Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Not quite sure why Nazism is necessarily “rightist” or “far-right.” Because they’re anti-communist, pro-capitalist, anti-egalitarian, traditionalist, nationalist. Pretty much the opposite of leftist. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-id-this-flag-possibly-white-supremacist/719201.md?page=2)