this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2024
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Memes

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[–] [email protected] 148 points 6 months ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 89 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 40 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Snake kissing a boot and saying "Please tread on everyone but me, sir."

Here's mine

(sorry about the ifunny watermark. I have it saved somewhere but I ain't digging through all that)

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I had this as a bumper sticker on my ~~electric car~~ Chevy Volt a few years ago. Hehe. I got a lot of laughs and comments about it when pumping gas, or parking.

Edited for clarity about why I would need gas for an electric car.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

electric car

pumping gas

Pick one haha

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (4 children)

Chevy Volt. It's a plug-in electric power train with a backup gas generator. But yes, I can see how that seems very contradictory. Lol

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[–] [email protected] 116 points 6 months ago (5 children)

Anyone else hate that the Gadsden flag has been appropriated by ultra-libertarian jingoists? It's an awesome-looking flag with a cool history and symbolism, but I feel like I couldn't fly it without looking like a twat.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I feel you, i had the flag of Culpepper's Minute Men hanging in my college dorm back in the day. Just like the Nazis before them Fascists bastardize shit they didn't create

[–] Kecessa 23 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The minutemen became part of the southern Army so it's not as if the symbol was ok to begin with...

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago (2 children)

yeah I was ignorant of that at the time, but holyshit fuck me...

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

They always do

[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Ultra-libertarian Jingoist? I'm as confused by that combination of words as I am the flags on the truck.

[–] prettybunnys 56 points 6 months ago (22 children)

Ultra libertarian == I’m free to be whatever I want to be despite your freedoms

Jingoist == my country is the best ever no matter what you say

“Ultra libertarian + Jingoist” == fuck you im a nationalist and don’t know civics

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Culpepper’s Minute Men

I had the Dont Tread on Me on twitter as my profile picture, I put that more than 10-15 years ago. I had to remove a couple years ago, because anyone who sees it will get the wrong idea.

Edit: also I was rewatching the movie Wind (about the American's Cup) and the Geronimo ship had the Glasden flag on, that hasn't aged well.

https://twitter.com/Kabutor_/status/1407103551197822979/photo/1

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 6 months ago (1 children)

“Woman trampled in Capitol riots had 'don't tread on me' flag”

"I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking (on top of her).

"There were people stacked two-three deep…people just crushed."

Paramedics desperately tried to revive her but were unable to.

Photos from earlier that day showed her carrying the banner with the phrase "Don't tread on me".

The flag clearly doesn’t work 😂

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 months ago

That's called imbecide

[–] [email protected] 48 points 6 months ago (6 children)

Is this some kind of American joke that I'm too European to understand?

[–] [email protected] 146 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The way I, as another European, understand this, he's flying an anti-oppression flag and a pro-oppression flag at the same time.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 6 months ago (1 children)

South Asian here, so I don't know well, but left one is appropriated by ancaps. Right one is used by MAGA crazies. Both are economically right leaning ideologies. One is anti-government, other is pro-government.

[–] Kecessa 29 points 6 months ago (1 children)

First one is libertarian (do your own shit, protect your own shit by yourself), the other is pro-police forces. In the end it's just pretty ironic.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Well not to him because police are to tread on the others, not him.

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[–] prettybunnys 95 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

The Gadsden flag, the snake, was a patriotic symbol during the American revolutionary war.

The snake in general was a common symbol used at the time with a famous (Franklin?) illustration of a snake in 13 pieces representing how the snake needs all 13 colonies to be whole.

The Gadsden flag was the “13 pieces of the snake united, coiled and dangerous” with its “don’t step on me” motto. This flag despite being anti-government oppression was actually supposed to represent the strength in our unity (sad they now use it to divide).

The blue line flag is part of a movement that implies that the police are the only thing holding back chaos from society. It’s designed to mean the flag only exists because police keep society existing. This has and was always been a load of shit but now has moved more into meaning “our side is the side who makes stuff work” and sliding even further into a fascist strongman style ethos.

Both are now effectively just “brands” of the American conservative right.

The thin blue line flag is supposed to support police, the weapon of the state. But the Gadsden flag represents that “they can’t or won’t be oppressed.” The Gadsden flag made a big comeback during the Bush years and the spread of a more “(what they called) libertarian” sect of the American right. Which frankly is bullshit because it’s an American symbol not the hate symbol they’ve coopted it into these days.

It’s a grab bag of US conservative branding but all in all on the surface you can make a measured bet that this person complains very hard about the taxes other people pay, don’t understand civics at a fundamental level, and likely while pretending they aren’t they are supremely racist.

You could equate these two flags to be the equivalent of someone flying a Thor Steinar logo flag in europe.

A better idea of how dumb this is would be imagine someone driving down the road in 2250 flying a Brexit flag and a EU flag on their truck

[–] [email protected] 38 points 6 months ago (2 children)

This. It's a typical example of how conservatives are utterly clueless about American symbols. Like how they adopted Springsteen's "Born in the USA" thinking it's a patriotic jingle, when the song is completely critical of the USA. Just read the lyrics of the song for God's sake.

But the only thing Goober Nation hears is "Born in the USA."

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They used the song for an American win at the 2012 London Olympics, as well as "Werewolves of London" for a British win, a song with the line "little old lady got mutilated last night".

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I do believe it was Franklin who had the 13 pieces of the snake but I always thought the 13 pieces of the snake was printed with the slogan “Unite or Die” which had a slightly different context than the more commonly seen “don’t tread on me”.

I expect that both were kicked around at the same time during the revolutionary or pre-revolutionary war and Franklin made use of it as he saw best.

Of course I could just search for it, but what fun would that be…..I already researched it a long time ago, why go back and try to correct memory, right?

[–] prettybunnys 11 points 6 months ago

The Franklin illustration and Gadsden flag are separate, I was just referencing the common use of the snake to represent the colonies

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Yes, the yellow flag is anti-government, libertarian, while the black and blue flag is pro government and specifically pro police.

[–] prettybunnys 13 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

They can’t be oppressed, but they support the boots who oppresses you the other.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's propaganda. Cops have a serious image problem in the US so they cynically co-opted an American flag for their cause, figuring that people won't criticize the FLAG, right? It's a marketing strategy that only appeals to folks who already have a child-like worship of authority.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (2 children)

It's hilarious that they do it in a way that blatantly goes against the flag code. How disrespectful it is to change the flag, to wear the flag, or use it for advertisements.

I have seriously considered creating and printing pamphlets with the flag code on it to give to these faux patriots. Or maybe even those fake ticket things where I can check off what exactly they did to disrespect it.

I even had a neighbor who painted the floor of their trailer with it. They literally drove vehicles and trampled on the flag daily.

4 U.S. Code § 8 - Respect for flag

(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.

(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.

(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.

(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Bottom is just a classic meme, top is a guy flying near full size "don't tread on me" and "thin blue line"( fanatic police support) flags. Many would argue these are varying levels of contradictory. It's also a very MAGA thing to do so you can draw conclusions from that as well.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

If ignorance and foolishness is a joke, then yes. The meanings of the two flags are ideologically opposed to each other.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Lots of interesting discussions over the flags and the hypocrisy and lack of understanding of the flags by the person displaying the flags.

However, I think their message is crystal clear.

“Don’t try to stop me from oppressing anyone I disagree with.”

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I once saw a guy with a bumper sticker featuring the US flag and the Confederate flag with the caption, "One nation under God."

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago

"one nation under white skinned blue eyed God"

[–] [email protected] 39 points 6 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Can't believe they went so woke /s

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 26 points 6 months ago

"Don't tread on me! Tread on them!"

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago

There's a person in a town near me with a big pickup truck that confuses the hell out of people because it's a Trump flag, except the background is a pride flag. What makes it so confusing is that the word 'fuck' above the word 'Trump' is in much smaller letters.

Decent troll job if you ask me. I love the idea of MAGA assholes going apeshit over a Trump pride flag.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago

Angry Dennis is my favorite Dennis.

"You haven't thought of the smell you bitch!!!"

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago

not sure what the censoring of the plate does. That truck is visible and identifiable for a five mile radius, and I guarantee you can hear it for more than that

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