How common is it to fly your country's flag, and how is it seen by others?
My ex from Norway mentioned how unusual it was that so many places and people here fly our flag (USA), so I was curious to hear what it's like for others here on the fediverse.
I'm from Spain, it's not uncommon unfortunately, but that's because the flag is appropriated by the right and far right and if you see someone with one you can be 90% sure of the type (homophobe, anti abortion, bullfighting supporter, climate change denier, etc etc)
It has become that way in the US.
Flying your country's flag soft implies that you like your country, liking your country soft implies that you support and enjoy the status quo of your country. Conservatives seek to preserve the status quo. Therefore, conservatives and supporters of the status quo will always have a greater connection to the flag than those who are marginalized in the same country.
Patriotism and nationalism have a strong association, independent of how people opposed to nationalism feel about it. Why would we want to adopt a symbol that is even loosely associated with nationalism or suggests contentness with the status quo if we want to significantly change the status quo?
I disagree progressives flying the flag enables the hate of the right. In fact, I feel the opposite; flying the flag normalizes nationalistic tendencies instead of making you look like an obsessed weirdo.
Wanted to add to this, a couple other reasons why progressive-minded people wouldn't want to fly the flag:
There's inherent colonial symbolism in the 13 stripes on the flag, and flying it also can be seen as a celebration of colonial conquest over native lands.
If liberals regularly fly the flag, leaving only left-wing people who dislike the US as the only people not flying the flag, not flying the flag will actively become a political statement, placing a target on their backs, and becoming a reason to antagonize people just living their lives.
The phenomena I describe is much broader than the US and the current time period. It has existed across time and cultures, implying that there are broader factors at play than the opinions and behaviors of contemporary US culture. Flag waving nationalism is damn near universal. Americans only differ by how universally people feel the need to wave the flag.
My greater point is that you can't change what the flag symbolizes by having different opinions and flying the flag. Symbols are just that: symbols. To change what the flag means you must either change what the US does or change the flag. Embracing national symbols only emboldens nationalism if your nation isn't diametrically opposed to nationalism.
This is quite literally true and always has been. You don't see flags representing the Lakota or Seneca nations anywhere, and the 13 stripes are a direct hat nod to the European colonization wiped them out. The state will not stop systematically repressing indigenous, black, or other marginalized peoples if progressives suddenly start identifying with the flag. It will just make progressives look supporters or useful idiots to that state oppression.
Why would I want to prevent right-wingers from taking sole ownership of something intended to represent a state with long history of right-wing violence, slavery, and military interventionism? They can have it. It's as perfect of a symbol for right-wingers as any other. Should we fly the swastika to reclaim it too?
Everything except bullfighting goes for Croatia too, mostly.
Could say the same about Germany
Also from Spain, I don't think the right hasreally appropriated the flag since it's always been a rightist flag. But yeah I know what you mean.
The problem that the origin of our flag is dated in 1785 but because we were under the Dictatorship of Franco for 40 years, young people identifies the flag with that regimen (extreme right). But not everydody things that way 😏 🙄
https://eslemmy.es/
I am from Germany and no one is raising a flag. Except he is a Nazi. Or it is soccer World Championship.
That's kind of sad. It's getting that way in Canada. Trudeau has called people every ism and ist when they are carrying a Canadian flag that people don't fly it very much.
It's not perceived as sad because it's just something most people have no desire to do. Flags just aren't a super common decoration you see outside of store advertisements and official government buildings. "I should install a flag pole on my property" is already a rare thought in most places and a lot of people then rather put a flag about something that is special to them on there. In line with that thought, being German in Germany obviously isn't that special, so it's usually not your choice of "displaying something that is special to me" unless you have a right-wing mindset. You'll more often see football teams, maybe music bands and the more rare political issue here and there, like "stop nuclear power plants".
In Scotland, it tends to indicate your political beliefs. People flying the Union Jack are normally unionists and supporters of the monarchy, whereas people flying the Saltire (Scottish) flag are normally nationalists (pro-independence). It's therefore difficult to fly a flag 'neutrally' unless you were to fly both.
Tends to be the same case in England with people flying the St George’s cross and the Union Jack
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usually its the churches and during the world cup we see St George's cross, it's more of the Union Jack or Ukraine flags here in suburb London.
Southeast Brazil: Unless it's the world cup you're assumed to be a shithead
can confirm
Can confirm too
Very common in Mexico during September. Otherwise not that common but also not frowned upon. There's no significance behind it.
Why September?
September 16 1810, Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain.
Lmao I should have been able to piece that together. Thanks!
My country is a former colony of an imperial power so it's flown all the time to reinforce our feeling of sovereignty
Are you in the US? 😁
no
What about now?
no
From the US, I see American flags everywhere.
Some small towns have a flag on every electrical pole on their main street. It used to just be around Memorial Day and the 4th of July, but a lot of towns seem to be leaving them up year round.
A huge proportion of houses in US suburbs and rural areas have flags flying. If you have wealth or a big chunk of land, it's pretty certain you also have a flag flying or prominently displayed on your property. Less frequent on the porches of more modest homes.
Pickup trucks fly flags (sometimes multiple) attached to their beds. These trucks often also have punisher stickers, human skulls, or "thin blue line" flag stickers on them.
Most medium to large businesses have a flag pole on their campus.
I definitely see fewer flags in cities, but still see a lot of flag stickers on storefront windows, and flags in apartment bedroom windows.
A lot of people in our small (US) town seem to not like our flag. We happily fly it and a pride flag.
I'm in Canada and would say it's not extremely common, but enough so that I wouldn't think twice if I saw the flag on a house. Maybe one in fifty houses has one.
Sometimes it's on clothing too, but nowhere close to the extent that I've seen the American flag on everything when I've visited. You guys seem to really really like your flag!
We also have provincial flags which people will put on their houses, but the one I see most is for Newfoundland and Labrador, which is a different province than mine. It's arguably close to as common as the Canadian flag.
Yup. I'd say the Canadian flag isn't super common but isn't out of the ordinary. I also don't see people waving the flag and think the person must be some extremist nut job. Those ones are waving around "F*ck Trudeau" flags.
You must not be from out west. People here have flags on their cars (trucks actually mostly) and those people are Convoy idiots exclusively. And there are a lot of them. I don't go a day without seeing at least one
I see confederate loser flags on trucks and shitty vehicles a fair bit in Alberta. Lots of fuck Trudeau flags, because western alienation is stronger than ever.
Im from Newfoundland, generally the type of people here who fly the national flag are also flying flags from other provinces and nations along side it.
Seems to be the custom to fly the flag of a nation that a relative or friend lives in. Sometimes you see flags for causes they support as well, like the 'Every Child Matters' flags, pride flags, and the Ukrainian flag has been pretty popular lately.
Its pretty rare to see just the Canada flag or just the provincial/republic flag on its own outside of government property.
In the UK it's very unusual unless it's football or royal related. The union flag, the Welsh flag and the Scottish flag are ok most of the time but the England flag is seen as being a bit racist.
Would be nice if it was reclaimed from the football hooligan/EDL types, but the union flag serves well enough
I see people with their county flag outside quite a bit out in the sticks
Yeah, thinking about it I reckon I see county flag about the same as national flag in England.
I'm slightly triggered by the number of comments from UK people here who don't know the first thing about their own country.
In northern Ireland there are approximately a fuck ton of flags per square mile.
Indeed. Both the England flag and the Union flag are pretty much non-existent in London outside of official buildings, unless there is an event or holiday (including sports). It's more common to see other nation's flags in windows, which is fair enough.
I'm a New Zealander. I don't see anyone flying a NZ flag in Dunedin, where I live. I may have seen one or two in private residences in my life. Flying flags is weird. Nationalism sucks.
kia ora bro nationalism teaches u to hate people youve never met
I'm from the western US. It's not unusual here but when I see it I usually assume the person doing it is a weirdo.
Austria: not often and I like that. Not a fan of nationalism, so the less visible this is in my life the better. I see flags IRL mainly on government functions and when right wingers parade around, maybe also near football matches, that‘s about it.
I‘d like to think the history with Nazis made it less popular, but the actual amount of far-right voters makes me think I might just live in a happy little bubble and I’d be shocked if I looked into people‘s cellars.
It's weirdly common in Denmark. People fly the national flag for birthdays, and some people even decorate the Christmas tree with flag guirlandes. It's seen as an act of celebration rather than patriotism.
https://tenor.com/bRmME.gif
OP sounds strange to me I feel like all Scandinavians have their flag a lot, on birthday cakes and for graduations and such. I definitely experienced this in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Yeah I see it all the time in Sweden. Not on cars so much but flagpoles and such especially when it is a nice day out
Nothing brings a family together like waving your country's flag from an overpass while yelling at traffic
It's very common if you're travelling Europe and are American.
It was uncommon in The Netherlands. Except on certain holidays. And when kids get a high school diploma: a flag plus school bag.
But since last year, angry farmers ‘decorated’ the country with flags hung upside down to protest against environmental measures. All kinds of angry right wing people followed.
Here in Canada (southwestern Ontario, anyway) it's around, but not super common. You see it on government buildings (municipal, provincial, and federal), but that's about it. You don't often see it on people's homes, vehicles, or businesses the way you see in the States, and it's not something you see on merch very often outside of tourist traps or Canada Day.
Except, ironically, for at some of the bigger and more famous American retail chains. Walmart and Home Depot both have a Canadian flag planted firmly in every location, it seems. Maybe because they're so used to flying their own flag in the States that they just assume it's what everyone does everywhere?
Yeah, it's not unheard of to see someone flying a flag here, but it's definitely not as common as in the US. It's still much more common here than other countries I've been to though.
Within the past year or two I've definitely started associating people flying Canadian flags on their houses/cars with a certain (unpleasant) type of person.
Huh, I was pretty sure there were only certain days that the flag could be displayed. I guess people were hanging it up and forgetting about it, then the flag got really tattered?
Australian here. Outside of official government uses, it's generally a sign that someone is a racist fuckwit.
Interesting, I though those groups tended to prefer the eureka stockade flag. Has it shifted more to the Australian flag now?
Eureka stockade is for your wild-eyed shovel-waving racists, the national flag is for the smug boomer ones.
we should replace the union jack with the first nations flag
Kangaroo with lasers coming out of its eyes
German here. No, we don't do that here. (Exceptions: Football World Cup and weird dudes on camp sites or allotment gardens. Usually a sign to avoid the area.) Interestingly, the fascists don't show the German flag, but the one from the Germany before the current one...
Was in Germany in April. On one outing, we passed an area of private garden spaces (which is an interesting concept, but makes sense in context) and the tour guide mentioned how the German flags we saw flying around in some places were a pretty recent addition; they only really started being accepted again after the World Cup showing.
I thought it was a nice sign that Germans are happy being proud of their country. It made me happy to see; you've got a lot to be proud of and it's a wonderful place to visit.
As an American, it's interesting to see the distain from other parts of the world. I understand the distain for nationalism, but I do think there's some nuance there between nationalism and taking pride in your home. Of course, the caveat there is here in the US, flying the flag has been coopted by conservatives in a big way, which is unfortunate. I have seen a counter sentiment to it, though, basically saying "it's not your flag, it's our flag, and we can all claim it".
Whats the matter with camping sites? Saw that too
I ... have no idea. Really.
I am from India. It was illegal to fly the flag untill a decade ago. It took a supreme court verdict to get the right to fly the flag in private residences. So it is not common at all. You would see government buildings and some schools hoist the flag every day. In my school it was every Friday. I have walked around suburbs in US and almost every house had a flag in their porch. Very big ones too.
As a former Philly suburban who's moved to the rural PA, can confirm.
When I went to Norway I counted the flags I saw. I forget the exact number but I saw maybe 6 in the week I was there. Come back to the US I saw at least 20 coming back from the airport.
Canada: VERY common and considered standard practice, we like to make fun of the Americans for being obsessed with their flag but overall we're just as bad. It's also flown by Nazis as often as the American flag is.
In the states the houses with American flags out front are the most likely to shoot you for knocking on the door. The only way to cancel the uncertainty is with an LGBTQ+ flag or the rainbow american flag.
I had a professor who liked flying flags and got the cops called on him for flying the flag of the USSR. Dude just liked the design.
Flying Canadian flags is generally a more subtle sign that someone is like that. Usually the people that do are polite and not overtly assholish, just avoid the following topics with them:
They will still be super polite while being racist. Canadians seem to have mastered that.
Interesting thing is that racist Canadians are often still fairly LGBTQ+ supportive, those are generally seen as separate issues in Canada, which is better than nothing I guess? The way that is counteracted like in your example is if they fly the Canadian flag with another country's flag, immigrant families do that a lot and they are usually genuinely pleasent and nice people.
Here in Netherlands, it is tradition fly the flag with a backpack hanged on it when you graduate.
And the rest of the year it's crumpled up in an Albert Heijn bag in the back of the closet somewhere. I think.
Only okay if flown with a pride flag or some other flag supporting oppressed minorities. Questionable a bit, but generally seen as allyship and maybe a political statement.
Otherwise, racist.
australia?
Here in the Philippines, it's generally around only on government buildings and schools. Some establishments and residences may opt to fly the flag as well, but most of us just don't bother at all.
Generally the flag doesn't have any negative (or positive) connotations. Both the leftists and rightists see the flag equally.
UK here. A UK flag is only flown from govt buildings unless it's some royal event or football but then it's usually the individual national flag such as England, Scotland, Wales, etc
The union flag & the St George cross (Englands flag) were co-opted by the far right in the 70s so flying one outside of the occasions named above had other people mark you as a bit of a nationalist & to be weary of you.
You should visit Freiburg Im Breisgau for a nice confusing experience.
Northern Ireland is also part of UK. When I lived in the UK people would always ask me about northern Ireland because I'm Irish. My response: "It's your country mate, not mine"
In Brazil it's more common now mainly because of the far right who appropriated it for themselves. Most will identify a person flying our flag as a Bolsonaro supporter, me personally like to stay clear of them.
I miss /r/suddenlycaralho.
In Australia there are flags at government buildings and very rarely do I see any in personal homes.
Yeah. I'm in regional Australia, I'm guessing but maybe 1 in 500 homes have flags outside. I don't really know but I always assume they're "fuck off we're full" types.
Yeah every time I see someone with a flag at their house I ask myself why? Whats the point? Everyone here knows we're currently in Australia and flying a flag doesn't really do anything otherwise.
As a Texas resident, I see more Texas flags than USA flags. Texas flags are everywhere here.
Not all common in South Africa (can't ever remember seeing it at any private residence). Mainly flies at government buildings, and we see it in some clothing designs. It would not mean anything really at a private residences, as we are already all South Africans so what would it really designate?
Pretty funny that coming from a Norwegian because they still have the flag out many places in my opinion :)
It's actually one of the things that stuck out the most after I had moved there.
Especially at "hytter" (vacation cabins) I think the majority has a flag out.
Same for national day, you'll see a bunch of flags.
Compare that to Belgium, where I'm from. Even on national day it's a rare sight to see a flag.
And it's only very fanatic people that will actually wave it around on the street.
The moment you'll see most flags out is probably during the world cup.
Not really. Vacation cabins are for vacation with Norwegians not acting like Norwegians, i.e. socializing with neighbors and having the flag up indicating their precense. More often than not, the flag is used as a celebration of either a national holiday or the birthday of someone in the household. Cabin, hiking and boat culture are weird albeit common outliers of Norwegian culture.
Australia: Very unusual. I'll see someone doing it maybe once a month and always think "fucking weirdos". It's more common to see Aboriginal flags, but still uncommon
It's more common to see bogans using it as part or their beach or BBQ attire (eg, maybe an Australian flag stubby cooler)
In the UK, you generally don't see people flying the Union Jack unless its a major sporting event, or its a major governmental sort of building.
If anything, you're probaby more likely to see the English, Scottish or Welsh (or NIish I assume, but never been there) flags than the Union Jack. Because the different nations have their own football teams (and other sports too), so they come out for the big international tournaments and some stay flying in between.
There's no single Northern Irish flag, because anything you would fly would be...problematic
American here. When I was in Sweden it felt like their flag was everywhere. Maybe I just noticed it more because I was traveling.
In Brazil I saw their flag plastered on a lot of stuff - clothes, bags, painted on the street - but not so much flying on flag poles.
I see fair amount of US flags here at home, usually at government buildings, cemeteries, and the like. When flown at homes I usually assume the person is on the political right.
In the US, almost all private residences flying the US flag are on the right. The flag is almost a sign of being aggressively complacent with the current status of the US. It would be nice if the US was more like Sweden and less divided but as it stands you can almost certainly guarantee that the only people flying flags are conservative.
I lived in MD for a few years. The flag is everywhere. You can always tell someone from MD, no matter where you are, because the flag is incorporated into their clothing. I've never seen anything like it from anywhere else.
I'm in Maryland and unsurprisingly have the state flag flying right now lol. It's the only flag I usually have on the flag pole.
What does 'MD' stand for?
Mega Drive. OP lives in Green Hill Zone.
I assume Maryland USA .
The state of Maryland in the USA.
The US state of Maryland.
Do Usain's not realise that the rest of the world doesn't know their local abbreviations?
I'm just north in PA, I think MD has the best looking flag of any state. I understand why it's plastered on everything down there.
About 3 days per year I think
Here in the UK flags are rare, I don't think there is a single one in the entire village. I think people here on the whole, are intelligent enough to realise rallying behind a picture printed in a piece of cloth doesn't really say or achieve much. It's more something the ruling class encourage to distract you from their meddling in/with your life.
Northern Ireland: Surprised Pikachu
We beat our bout fascism early on (or so I thought) and some flags harken back to that era
There's probably more Ukraine flags than UK flags in villages?
In Germany, official government buildings will have the flag on or in front of it, usually next to a bunch of other (eu, county, city...).
Private citizens will fly the flag for sports reasons, or in more right-wing communities they'll fly either the official flag or the old black-white-red one from empire times. Most people will look at you funny for flying the flag when no sports or eurovision are/is going on.
There is really very little "neutral" ground here.
Here in Portugal, unless there's a national football team game, or some otherwise nationwide event going on, it's rare seeing it. There's some merch-like items with our flag and "branding", but it's mostly tourists.
I'm in Illinois, USA, and downstate you see mostly United States flags at businesses and residences (and the occasional confederate battle flag hanging at morons' homes).
What's funny, is that when you get up to Chicago, people there mostly fly the city of Chicago flag over any others.
CGP Grey made a YouTube video on proper US state flag design etiquette that I personally agree with. Spoiler alert, most states failed the test.
https://youtu.be/l4w6808wJcU
I'm from Indiana and we're more likely to see our national flag instead of our state flag here, but Indiana isn't known for much anyway.
That's a great video, being from PA our flag is pretty bad but at least I never have to see it. I only ever see it if I go by the courthouse or Walmart for some reason.
In Germany its pretty much only Nazis, Rightwing people and the Bundeswehr, so also often right wing people
I am from a small town in the US but live near a nepali community. Many of them have flags inside their homes or on their desks but not outdoors. They are usually super proud that they have the most unique national flag shape, and I love that for them. I am curious if it is the same in their home country as well!
Burger here. You're considered a freak if you don't have a flag flying. Then again, I do live in a white suburb.
Northern Germany here. The German flag is usually only flown at government or other public buildings or, as another commenter said, when there's a special occasion such as an international football match.
Something a bit more common up here seems to be flying the state flag (blue, white and red), which can be seen in private gardens or on some residential buildings.
In Canada it’s traditionally only been around sporting events, mostly hockey. In the last maybe 10 years or so, though, it’s gotten a lot more common, mostly because of nationalist assholes. It’s at the point now where if someone is flying it and there isn’t a Canadian team playing in something, I assume the person is a piece of shit.
In my country we fly our flag when we win important football matches.
US here. There are, of course, flags flown on at government buildings and those most often also include the state flag as well.
Flying an American flag personally definitely identifies you as someone who leans right-wing, and I think that's unfortunate because I quite like flags in general and would probably have a many different flags to display at different times (including the American flag at times) depending on the time of year.
I am from western MA, USA. Other than outside of government buildings, I can't recall when the last time I saw a flag was. Occasional flag bumper stickers are a thing, but actual, flying flags? Not really.
Literally every single overpass in MA has a flag on both sides. I think you're just so used to them being everywhere that you tune them out. My partner is from MA, but we live in Canada now. They had never noticed until I started pointing it out. Now when we're south of the border they realize how omnipresent they are.
Somewhat common in Brazil, but nowadays the nationalistic far rights are the only ones who fly it
In Spain it's extremely common to hang the flag on your balcony, especially since the pandemic. It's also quite common to see younger people wearing bracelets of the spanish flag. I'm not really a fan of it but most people don't do it for political reasons, it's just nornalized, so I can't really blame them.
Not in the Basque Country, and not in Catalonia, or Valencia, or...
Depending on the province, showing up with the Spanish flag can get you at least a keyed car, and at most a trip to the ER.
It is common here in Valencia region to see both the Spanish and Valencian flags. In Catalonia it is common to see their flag, especially in Barcelona.
I can't speak for Basque and I'm only using my own observations & opinions.
In the US I would most often be a sticker on the bumper/back of the car wirh the US then second most common would be country of origin (i assume) or confederate flag. Outside of the deep south you would mainly see US flags flying from houses, espartero 9/11.
During the 4th of July week(end) there are groups that set up placing small flags in lawns ...it's very interesting.
It's actually become very common for people to mount flags in the bed of their truck or to the back of their car. Was relatively rare until Trump was elected President, then it became much more common. The most common is at/on houses. If a house has a flag pole of some kind, it's almost always the US flag. If they have more than one, it's usually followed by one of: military branch they or family serve(d) in, favorite sports team, or political statement (pride flag or Trump 2024 being most common in my part of the country).
But you are right about the 4th of July. US flags are plastered everywhere and people start to look at you weirdly if you don't have one displayed somewhere. Part of the reason I'm glad I don't really have neighbors now.
It's very uncommon in France (except if a big event is going on). And if I see someone fly the flag, my first thought would be that they are a far right nationalist.