More Examples:
I see this everywhere. Hidden or transparent monochrome American black flags on large trucks or 4-Runners. Usually speeding or driving aggressively on the highway.
I found this:
The black and white American flag originated during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. It was created as an opposing symbol to the white flag, which symbolizes surrender. Confederate army soldiers flew the black flag to demonstrate they would not give in or surrender to the enemy. It showed that they would rather be killed than taken in as prisoner.
And this:
Sometimes soldiers show respect for their country by using the black version on their vehicles
My question is for the people doing this. What message are you trying to send? Are you openly telling your coworkers and neighbors that you are still supporting the South in a war that ended long ago? Are you low key showing your support for Trump? Are you ex military showing support for your country? I ask because at least for me, the message is unclear.
I’ve always assumed this was a variation of the pro police brutality flag that Republicans like. I don’t think I’ve met any non-Republicans with these flag designs.
They’re flags where you want to say you’re Republican but don’t want to be blue lives matter is how I know it colloquially in practice.
Not quite as bad as the ‘Stars and Bars’, but I’ve only seen one type of person wear it. And they’re usually diehard exmilitary Republicans that like to shit on Democrats but play plausible deniability when you call them out on it lol.
Edit: Most legit and cool military people I know just use their branch or company symbols. Army/Marine Globe/actual company patch etc.
Honestly it runs the gambit. I first was seeing them on cop-related stuff in the 90’s, when everyone wanted to wear black things and look “tacticool.” (go to the 5.11 website if you’re not familiar) I suppose there’s a segment of the population going for “patriotic, yet edgy,” that gets this stuff. As I get older I tend to view these people as looking for someone to fight, but only if they think they can win.
These people usually live in their own conservative bubble, and the behavior is accepted or rewarded. They usually leave the bubble in groups, so they can reinforce their views with each other when confronted or avoided. But when mixing with general society, they tend to mellow out. Leaving an echo chambers does that.
There are definitely people using it as a dog whistle. Those people will double down, not mellow out. These are your idiots attacking the capital. Fuck those guys.
Fwiw the term is ‘runs the gamut’
Gamut - the complete range or scope of something. “the whole gamut of human emotion”
I agree with your perspective. FYI - something with many varieties “runs the gamut.” A gambit is a ploy or strategy, a gamut is a spectrum of values.
You’re way overthinking it, my friend. The meaning of it is “‘Murica, fuck yeah!” They want everyone to know what a tough, Trump-loving big boy they are.
Trump is entirely irrelevant to this, and I’m confused why you feel the need to throw it in. This trend has been around long before 2016.
Many people do this now, I find it super disappointing that an overt display of patriotism is now considered by many to be a sign of the maga crowd. Talk about cultural appropriation 😕
When you have that goofy mf hugging the flag on stage to applause and adoration, the association becomes stronger.
Many people do this now, I find it super disappointing that an overt display of patriotism is now considered by many to be a sign of the maga crowd.
I feel like there’s some kind of correlation between the two things. Obviously it’s not guaranteed that someone displaying patriotism is going to be a bigot but… It’s based on “my place is better”, “go my team” just because the person randomly got born in a specific geographical location. Most of the time, patriotism isn’t based on rationally assessing anything: you’re just born into it like religion and there’s really no critical thinking in the mix.
Because people just can’t seem to get the world doesn’t revolve around Trump
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Any version of the flag has basically become a racist, nationalist dog whistle. The thin blue line, black and white, upsidedown/backwards ones are the even more extreme folks typically. There’s a slim chance someone with a regular American flag isn’t a nationalist twat.
That’s what pisses me off about the Gadsden flag.
The flag has been described as the “most popular symbol of the American revolution”. Its design proclaims an assertive warning of vigilance and willingness to act in defense against coercion. This has led it to be associated with the ideas of individualism and liberty.
These are some of the ideals that I favor and stand behind. But now the right wing loonies have corrupted it and use it for their own purposes.
Ya, that one always cracks me up because it’s the folks bootlicking the police state and our corporate overlords having it displayed.
Upside down flag means distress, need to be saved or rescued. Co-opted by idiots saying the nation as a whole is in trouble.
Backwards is actually a normal, proper way to display it if it’s on someone’s right shoulder or the right side of a vehicle. It’s as it would be were it blowing in the wind as the car or person moves forward.
But of course, so few people that put the flag on anything know even the basics of the flag code. Any change to it is disrespectful, such as the blue line. Making clothes out of it is disrespectful. Hell, I had a neighbor who painted it on the bed of his vehicle trailer. He was literally driving and parking vehicles on top of the flag.
There’s a slim chance someone with a regular American flag isn’t a nationalist twat.
Y’all should really reclaim that. It’s a good flag, and it’s supposed to mean some things that are actually quite nice.
It’s already too late at this point. Can’t happen anytime soon. Hell, I’m a approaching middle age white guy living in the south, I cant do a buzzcut without getting assuming looks. Wearing or sporting an American flag gets all the wrong kind of attention. I really don’t want to deal with it. Frightening minorities and getting thumbs up/nods from racists isn’t really my thing.
Yall need to get a pride american flag. That would let you take it back.
That or fly both at once.
Definitely fly both at once, or overlay them tastefully or something, instead of going full pride-version.
Mutilating the country’s flag in order to show your “patriotism”, as certain groups do, is… Certainly an interesting symbolic choice.
Wearing or sporting an American flag gets all the wrong kind of attention. I really don’t want to deal with it. Frightening minorities and getting thumbs up/nods from racists isn’t really my thing.
Then stick it next to a rainbow flag, or a Statue of Liberty, or a peace sign, or the date of the Emancipation Proclamation, or any of the symbols that y’all actually do still have for actual freedom.
It’s all about the messaging. Make it clear: “This is the flag of the nation, for everybody in the nation, and anyone who flies a mutilated version of it is a coward.”
Maybe they just like the American flag. There doesn’t always have to be a hidden meaning behind it.
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AFAIK, the monochrome flag comes from military uniforms, a lot of them have adopted flag patches in monochrome tans and greens to better match the camo of their uniforms. Police have been adopting more “tactical” military style uniforms in black, so black monochrome flags match that color scheme.
You may also notice that some of them have the flag backwards with the stars on the right, that’s another styling cue from the military. The flag patches on uniform shoulders are in that orientation, it’s mean to evoke the image of the flag streaming behind them as they walk.
As far as why civilians display these symbols, there’s probably a few reasons, but it’s probably pretty safe to say that most of them would identify themselves as being patriotic to some extent or another and want to show support for the police and/or military or at least think that the tactical look is cool.
The black version probably caught on mostly because it looks cool and kind of works with whatever color gear or vehicle you want to slap it on, tans and greens and such don’t necessarily go with everything quite so well.
You’ll often see these black flags with a single colored stripe, this originates from the nickname for the police “the thin blue line” (blue because police in the US traditionally usually had blue uniforms) though pretty much every vaguely public-safety/military/law enforcement has their own colored line these days- red for fire, green for military, forest green for park rangers, yellow for tow truck drivers etc.
You could probably write a book about what these lines are meant to represent, how they’re interpreted by different groups, etc. Often they’re meant to represent something like “the line between order and chaos”
Thanks to the blue lives matter response to the black lives matter movement, this sort of imagery has also become very associated with conservative politics
You may occasionally see the flag being flown upside-down. This originated as a distress signal, and is basically people saying that they think the nation is trouble.
I’ve tried to keep this mostly very matter-of-fact and not go off on my personal thought on these types of symbols and the people that display them, and kept it to just where these symbols come from. I’m going to leave my personal opinions with just a simple statement that these symbols tend to be used disproportionatly by the right wing, and I do not particularly like the symbols, what they represent, and how they are used.
In my experience, it’s mostly a vet/military thing. Rednecks fly the actual confederate battle flag. It could be cop, but they typically fly the thin blue line flag. Subdued/monochrome flags are pretty popular accesories in military and military adjacent communities. If you check out “Grunt Style” you’ll probably see dozens. And enlisted (grunts in particular) tend to skew less educated and are more entrenched in toxic ideals of masculinity, so it’s no surprise to see them acting like fools on the road.
Patriotic edge-lord. I’m not sure what they believe or stand for, but they are edgy about it.
They think having flag themed everything is patriotic while having never actually read the flag code to know that it isn’t.
It has to match their Punisher sticker duh
weird trump shit brother. i’ve noticed much of those flags are also the back the blue shit flags too (blue lives matter tomfoolery)
Someone is reading WAY the fuck too much into this.
It’s just a flag.
The vast, vast, vast majority of people putting on these tacky flags onto their cars are doing it because they might think it looks cool.
Yeah. The monochrome just comes from the fact that they want it to be subtle and blend in with the window. Some states may make full window decals illegal too, which may be why they’re trying to be stealthy. AFAIK there’s no alternative meaning behind the flags other than they look “better” on cars than a colored flag decal.
I have something like this on my Prius. Its just a black flag that doesn’t take up the whole back panel.
It’s just a flag. It has absolutely nothing to do with the civil war and doesnt have any hidden meaning. I didnt want a color flag because it would stand out.
I very much dislike trump, and in no way does the American flag represent him in my interpretation of it. For me, the flag just represents the sacrafice made by military members and the ability of the people to make meaningful changes to our country.
Im also understanding that the flag does not represent that to many people, and does represent an insitution of racism. I just hope those people understand that it doesn’t mean that to me.
For me, the flag just represents the sacrafice made by military members and the ability of the people to make meaningful changes to our country.
Then find a symbol that obviously represents that. The flag is the adopted symbol of the empire that spread(s) death and despair to funnel resources and power into the coffers of the bastards on top, all supposedly on our behalf. It is that very flag and those people who blindly serve it that make meaningful change impossible in this country.
I just hope those people understand that it doesn’t mean that to me.
Emphasis mine. Now my opinion (that there is no good reason [1] to display the American flag so long as the flag represents the US government or anyone who serves it) is probably not mainstream, but I think it is a lot closer to the average person’s experience of the flag. Most Americans have been fucked over somehow by our government, and will be for the foreseeable future. Your experience has been okay, and I hope that it continues to be okay for you, but most people are not in that boat.
For many people, myself included, that flag represents death to me, my friends, and several of my family members.
Sorry if I sound jaded, but I really wish people would stop conflating nationalism with affinity for their community. Patriotism is clearly (at least in my view) a nationalist ploy to identify the “will of the nation,” e.g. the goals of the people who run it, with the actual needs of the people who live there. We have nothing in common with the rulers other than that we breathe air.
I beg you to find a different symbol to show your love for the community. I made a comment about how this particular flag isn’t any weirder than any other flag, and I stand by that, but it is still a deeply strange gesture to wear a national flag, and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.
[1] Except for educational purposes, and we could probably find other examples.
Anyone that looks at a symbol and assumes what it means to you is an asshole.
People can look at your symbol and be offended, or be reminded of traumatic events (swastika), but humans are fascinating, deep, beautiful and awful creatures and it’s always a bad idea to assume you know why someone else is doing what they are doing.
I DO believe that there’s a correlation between hyper-patriotism and hyper-aggression here right now, but I hope it’s a passing trend.
It means they’re a nationalist twat. Simple question, not worth this much thought.
Confederate army soldiers flew the black flag to demonstrate they would not give in or surrender to the enemy. It showed that they would rather be killed than taken in as prisoner.
Fine. Pass the ammo.
