this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023
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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.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (5 children)

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)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (5 children)

It has become that way in the US.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Everything except bullfighting goes for Croatia too, mostly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Could say the same about Germany

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[–] snota 12 points 1 year ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Would be nice if it was reclaimed from the football hooligan/EDL types, but the union flag serves well enough

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am from Germany and no one is raising a flag. Except he is a Nazi. Or it is soccer World Championship.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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...

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Very common in Mexico during September. Otherwise not that common but also not frowned upon. There's no significance behind it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

September 16 1810, Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My country is a former colony of an imperial power so it's flown all the time to reinforce our feeling of sovereignty

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Are you in the US? 😁

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unless it's the world cup you're assumed to be a shithead

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Canada here, not very common until you get close to Canada day or Armistice day. Recently though; there have been people flying it a lot and they mostly seem to be the conspiracy/queen of Canada types.

So yes, it is unusual. Perhaps it can be seen as a symptom of American nationalism, and all the pitfalls it represents.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Canada here, not very common until you get close to Canada day or Armistice day.

It's very common if you're travelling Europe and are American.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

My Grandpa almost got mugged in ...Spain I think, but the guys seen that he had a tim hortons mug and a Canadian flag sowed onto his bag, so they left him alone lol.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

A lot of people in our small (US) town seem to not like our flag. We happily fly it and a pride flag.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] kersploosh 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

kia ora bro nationalism teaches u to hate people youve never met

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

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, thatβ€˜s about it.

Iβ€˜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 peopleβ€˜s cellars.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Australian here. Outside of official government uses, it's generally a sign that someone is a racist fuckwit.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

About 3 days per year I think

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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)

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