Republicans have also shifted the blame for the Capitol riot over the past few weeks. While 47 percent of the GOP said Trump was at least partly responsible for the riot when asked Jan. 6–7, just 27 percent said so when asked Feb. 14–15. Now, 46 percent of those Republican respondents actually blamed President Biden and 58 percent blamed Democrats in Congress. Just 27 percent blamed Republicans in Congress — many of whom had challenged the Jan. 6 electoral college vote certification.
Let me highlight the salient part there:
Now, 46 percent of those Republican respondents actually blamed President Biden and 58 percent blamed Democrats in Congress.
There are very many in my neighborhood. A good share of them depict him in an aggressive and advancing military pose, such as on top of a tank. Very many of them also show military style rifles, or pistols. Many are accompanied by Confederate battle flags. I’m finding this saturation of enemy flags pretty disconcerting, given that there’s also violence and terrorism from the same side of the political divide.
Of course it was Biden’s fault for winning the election. If he had had the good sense to lose, then they wouldn’t have had to have an insurrection to try to keep Trump in power.
Of course they’re not rational. Republicans are dominated by people who feel that their country is being stolen from them. “If Biden had just admitted to voter fraud, then all would be well.”
A small number of Trump 2020 (or Trump / Pence 2020) signs are still up around here. Maybe 5% of what there was pre-election. I have yet to see any 2024 signs.
We did not have confederate = traitor flags in evidence during the election. Just lots and lots of American flags repurposed to mean Trumpist totalitarian flags. Often also flying with the blue lives matter (aka black lives don’t matter) flag alongside.
I wonder if ~100 years from now, perhaps the American flag will be seen as a white nationalist symbol, similar to how the Nazis appropriated the swastika from South and East Asian religions, and turned it into a symbol of antisemitism and hate.
If the USA is still standing by then, the flag may well need a redesign.
Nah, Germany had the same flag before and after the Nazi regime, it was only during it that it changed to different symbols.
These traitors to our country are not predominantly flying old glory, but instead the confederate battle flag or various bastardized versions, like blue lives matter or the “3 percenter flag.”
It may need a slight redesign to add some stars for DC and PR.
The USA flag is already demonized by many other nations and cultures. Adding white supremist to the list of reason why isn’t going to change this significantly.
I’d say very soon, not a hundred years. After all, the Gadsden Flag is now considered a white nationalist symbol, the Betsy Ross flag too, and of course the OK sign since liberals are so fucking easily trolled. I have heard that Hawaiian shirts are even getting on that list.
I saw several insurrectionists carrying American flags, thus based upon the same logic as the three things above, the far left will start calling Old Glory a white nationalist symbol.
Oh, no doubt about the fact that the American flag has very low standing in the eyes of foreign countries. I was primarily considering how it’s being viewed by people in the USA itself will evolve over time, though.
Good observation. The million-dollar question is: will the moderate and rational bloc of Americans (god forbid the Trumpists ever take over that sector) eventually see that the optics of the American flag have become too charged, and that for businesses and homes to fly the flag is to invite controversy and violence?
I don’t want to hijack this thread too much, so I’ll leave it at that. If someone wants, they can start a new thread for this.
They certainly have, and they have also used the US Flag as a symbol of hate. Also the thin blue line flag.
Mind you, the use of the OK symbol started as the left being trolled. Of course, it does look like a few white supremacists have taken up with it, but it’s hard to tell. Maybe they just are signing “OK”.
It is very interesting that your criticism in this is directed at the liberals who are the targets of the hate, rather than the hate groups themselves.
To some extent it has already happened. The right’s extreme nationalism masquerading as patriotism has effectively co-opted patriotic symbols to the point that they invoke a visceral negative association among certain Americans (myself included). Unless its the 4th of July, if I see a pickup truck festooned with American flags and bumper stickers, my initial reaction is going to be to assume that he is likely a right wing assshole Trump supporter.
Flag Day? Memorial Day? Veterans Day? September 11th? Just because these people wrap them selves up in the flag and kiss the ass of DJ Trump doesn’t make it theirs. Next thing you know they are going to own the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem.
I think there’s a substantial difference in extremist co-opting of patriotic symbols that are official emblems of the nation, and ones that nowadays have only historical significance.
Yes, very ostentatious display of the modern US flag is often suggestive of right-wing extremism, but that doesn’t take away the flag’s official role as an apolitical national symbol. The Gadsden flag, on the other hand, has AFAICT no official symbolic role in modern government, so it’s much more easily “taken over” by right-wing extremists as an ideological symbol.
