Well said Charlotte. I agree with you completely on this issue. As a veteran who took great pride in serving my country (knowing it was flawed but doing what I could to represent positive change) I am dismayed and disgusted by the blatant corruption of our flag to stand for hate, misogyny, racism, bigotry and violence.
Where I live (IN) there are plenty of pickups with large to extra-large flags flying from the back - American flags next to trump flags next to confederate flags and the occasional q-flag in the mix. A house in town has two flag poles - one much taller than the other. Guess which one flies their trump flag? My guess is they do this intentionally, not caring about the rules on how to fly/display the American flag. To top off their proud display, they have a cross on the house. Christian decoration I suppose. A business in town displays the American flag that has the name 'trump' across the stripes. (It is not handmade but was printed this way.) At first they displayed this flag by itself but eventually put a normal, legal American flag above it on the flagpole. To cover their ass is my guess. There are many others like this - some with his face on them, others with the various colored lines. It is disheartening to see our national flag treated with such disrespect.
You are correct in your first line - "the use of symbols is intentional". Of course it is. It is just another To Do in the authoritarian (fascist) takeover playbook. Cloak yourself in the national symbol so that all who disagree with you can be accused of being against the flag and all it stands for. Eventually that will make those who disagree with the takeover enemies of the (new) state and they can be dealt with accordingly.
I am sorry you had to deal with death threats and all that hatred. Thank you for speaking up in spite of it all. Thank you for your courage.
I love your writing. I probably say that every time I comment! One of my favorite lines from The American President is something like “ America is hard” “You gotta want it bad”. “The symbol of your country has to be more than a flag…” 🇺🇸
Thank you. I was part of a hardcore group in ruby red Flathead County, Montana, that met EVERY Tuesday for years (even during blizzards, sub zero temps, & excessive summer heat) protesting the corruption of the former guy & his regime. I proudly held my signs & a small American flag. Even though I’ve never been much of a “flag person,” I refused to let them claim ownership of our flag. (Plus it drove the former guys peeps crazy/crazier).
Yesterday I saw a large white man in a trucker hat holding a huge sign of a cartoon giant penis that said, "Joe Biden sucks!" He was standing along a commuter route with a mix of homes and businesses on either side - a high-traffic area near a school, where hundreds of people (including kids) couldn't miss it as they went about their day. He had obviously designed and paid for the professionally printed sign, and was trading middle fingers or fist-pumps with drivers, depending on how they reacted.
I have no idea what his purpose was, other than to engage in his own performative anger, as you aptly put it. There was no message other than "I hate". There was no call to action other than "fuck you". I saw another driver flip him off, which made him roar with laughter as he responded in kind. Of course he was wearing an American flag t-shirt.
There's a deep sickness spreading fast among the angry white "patriot" crowd, and there are a multitude of transmission vectors we're all too familiar with, now open and spewing poison at full capacity. Guys like that have become immune to "political correctness", or as it was known in the olden days, basic respect and civility. They're "free" to let their freak flags fly - literally - and they revel in the disgust and fear they instill in people who are just trying to get their kids to school on time.
As a Junior in HS in 1970 we protested the bombing of Cambodia. Just across the street were a group of our classmates throwing eggs at us and yelling "America love it or leave it." My father was a Marine and was in Nagasaki 4 weeks after the bomb. He did not approve of Vietnam so it was hard for me to see the other I'm right, you're wrong side. 50 years ago!
Beautiful story from your childhood. I agree with everything you said. It makes me so sad that the flag and what it represents have been so distorted by the far right. I also think that they have tarnished what it means to be a Christian with all of their hate speech. I try to tell my grandchildren about the true teachings of Jesus - simply love one another. Regardless of all the hateful rhetoric in today’s world, I stand by those words. Hate never made any nation great.
Well said Charlotte. I agree with you completely on this issue. As a veteran who took great pride in serving my country (knowing it was flawed but doing what I could to represent positive change) I am dismayed and disgusted by the blatant corruption of our flag to stand for hate, misogyny, racism, bigotry and violence.
Where I live (IN) there are plenty of pickups with large to extra-large flags flying from the back - American flags next to trump flags next to confederate flags and the occasional q-flag in the mix. A house in town has two flag poles - one much taller than the other. Guess which one flies their trump flag? My guess is they do this intentionally, not caring about the rules on how to fly/display the American flag. To top off their proud display, they have a cross on the house. Christian decoration I suppose. A business in town displays the American flag that has the name 'trump' across the stripes. (It is not handmade but was printed this way.) At first they displayed this flag by itself but eventually put a normal, legal American flag above it on the flagpole. To cover their ass is my guess. There are many others like this - some with his face on them, others with the various colored lines. It is disheartening to see our national flag treated with such disrespect.
You are correct in your first line - "the use of symbols is intentional". Of course it is. It is just another To Do in the authoritarian (fascist) takeover playbook. Cloak yourself in the national symbol so that all who disagree with you can be accused of being against the flag and all it stands for. Eventually that will make those who disagree with the takeover enemies of the (new) state and they can be dealt with accordingly.
I am sorry you had to deal with death threats and all that hatred. Thank you for speaking up in spite of it all. Thank you for your courage.
I love your writing. I probably say that every time I comment! One of my favorite lines from The American President is something like “ America is hard” “You gotta want it bad”. “The symbol of your country has to be more than a flag…” 🇺🇸
Best advice I've received about displaying the flag is fly a Pride flag along with the American flag - then no one will confuse you with a MAGA nut.
Thank you. I was part of a hardcore group in ruby red Flathead County, Montana, that met EVERY Tuesday for years (even during blizzards, sub zero temps, & excessive summer heat) protesting the corruption of the former guy & his regime. I proudly held my signs & a small American flag. Even though I’ve never been much of a “flag person,” I refused to let them claim ownership of our flag. (Plus it drove the former guys peeps crazy/crazier).
Love reading your insights.
Once again, your talent as a writer enables you to articulate what so many of us are thinking. Thank you for your courage.
Yesterday I saw a large white man in a trucker hat holding a huge sign of a cartoon giant penis that said, "Joe Biden sucks!" He was standing along a commuter route with a mix of homes and businesses on either side - a high-traffic area near a school, where hundreds of people (including kids) couldn't miss it as they went about their day. He had obviously designed and paid for the professionally printed sign, and was trading middle fingers or fist-pumps with drivers, depending on how they reacted.
I have no idea what his purpose was, other than to engage in his own performative anger, as you aptly put it. There was no message other than "I hate". There was no call to action other than "fuck you". I saw another driver flip him off, which made him roar with laughter as he responded in kind. Of course he was wearing an American flag t-shirt.
There's a deep sickness spreading fast among the angry white "patriot" crowd, and there are a multitude of transmission vectors we're all too familiar with, now open and spewing poison at full capacity. Guys like that have become immune to "political correctness", or as it was known in the olden days, basic respect and civility. They're "free" to let their freak flags fly - literally - and they revel in the disgust and fear they instill in people who are just trying to get their kids to school on time.
As a Junior in HS in 1970 we protested the bombing of Cambodia. Just across the street were a group of our classmates throwing eggs at us and yelling "America love it or leave it." My father was a Marine and was in Nagasaki 4 weeks after the bomb. He did not approve of Vietnam so it was hard for me to see the other I'm right, you're wrong side. 50 years ago!
Beautiful story from your childhood. I agree with everything you said. It makes me so sad that the flag and what it represents have been so distorted by the far right. I also think that they have tarnished what it means to be a Christian with all of their hate speech. I try to tell my grandchildren about the true teachings of Jesus - simply love one another. Regardless of all the hateful rhetoric in today’s world, I stand by those words. Hate never made any nation great.
Well said. Thanks you
PERFECTLY SAID. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 You are the 🐐.
Nicely put, as usual. Thanks Charlotte