If you asked me like 4-8 years ago, I felt kind of neutral about things. Now I don’t feel an ounce bit patriotic or proud enough to even state that I’m an American.
Now, when I see an American flag around, I see it as a symbol of fascism, anti-intelluctialism, neo-nazism, and late-stage capitalism amongst other things. If there’s an American flag flying on a car, I can totally see that person possessing at least one of those qualities.
I suppose it’s good to be self aware and not blindly feel patriotic and ignoring that your country needs improvement.
I don’t know what I’m expecting in the comments here but just thought I would get this off my chest.
I kinda know what you mean… I used to not think anything weird about seeing an American flag, sometimes it even made me feel patriotic. Now when I see a car with an American flag sticker I assume the person driving probably has a loaded gun and is desperate to get into an argument about something
Exactly my point. It tends to be the case too.
Don’t forget who took that from you.
It was never a flag with lots of good behind it, it’s one of the least deserving of patriotism flags. And the fact that it is so heavily used, just like patriotism, lying about history in schools, the military shit is all extremely fucked up. It’s brainwashing on a disgusting level.
Every time I see flags out in public, it just reminds me of authority.
I don’t like authority, from schools administrators to employers, or even parents, fuck them all, wannabe fascists.
Flags, school logos, corporate logos, or the concept of the “family name” its all the same. (I’d change the family name if it doesn’t cause so much paperwork trouble)
Maybe this flag as a replacement?
Found the anarchist
Are you on Lemmy? Yes? Then you’re just shooting fish in a barrel on that one.
None of us are using Lemmy because we agree with the status quo out there.
Came here to post this. Thank you for your service.
Thanks for the laugh. It’s basically all I can do at this point is laugh about how shitty it is.
“To this extent? Yes.”
youre not alone. the american flag makes me sick. overt patriotism has been coopted by magats, and its hard to see it any other way.
if someone feels the need to wave the american flag, i feel the need to be suspicious of your lack of empathy and possible fascist undertones. sorry.
Yeah but if I see an Australian or New Zealander fly their flag I’m like “they’re probably chill”. If I see someone waving a bit american flag I would think they were going to shoot me and call me the n word
The country where I was born and raised is 900 years old. This implies a lit of history, both good and bad.
The country was literally started because our first king decided he wasn’t going to allow his mother and her lover to steal his father’s lands. After that, the Pope demanded our country to pay the church a huge sum in order to be recognized, the king said “we’ll eventually come to that” and never payed. We were taken over by our neighbouring country at some point because of blood ties and after 75 years we just said “enough is enough, these guys are getting housted”. We fought Napoleon. We had a bloody civil war. Somewhere inbetween all of this we decided “Let’s build a lot of boats and see where we can go.” because the price of spices was to damn high. And more recently we got out of bed for a morning, threw down a fascist dictatorship, and went back to our quiet life. Nobody cares or notices us but yet we have one of the most powerful passports in the world.
But why all of this boasting?
It’s cool to have all this history and background. But I don’t owe my country nothing. I owe who I am to my family and friends and I owe to the future generations to remember where we come from and teach them the same I learned by myself: we are our country. We decide what we stand for and we represent the values we want to spread.
The government of your land may be corrupt today but it does not have or needs to represent you. And by refusing that, you put up your own resistance. No matter how small, that is resistance. And if you feel your flag needs to be reclaimed, put it upside down.
Stay strong, OP.
I’m guessing Portugal?
Correct!
Nice ❤️
I love your great country :) Trying to move there :) In the process right now.
Gotta get out of this fucking hellhole that the US has turned into.
Thanks for this! <3
The greatest lie the Right ever told that the Left bought hook line and sinker was that they were the ones who represented America.
The thing is, while the US has it’s horrible history and present, the people who fought for the ideals we’re supposed to have are also just as much American as any conservative asshole. MLK Jr was American. Frederick Douglass was American. John Brown was American. Mister Rogers was American. Abolitionists. Suffragists. Union fighters. People fighting for fixing the problems, righting the wrongs, holding our country accountable for it’s own ideals, are just as much a part of that flag.
The assholes laid claim to that flag and the people who are aware of the problems, who have legitimate concerns with the bullshit this country has done and continues to do, accidentally let them.
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So then the question is, what should the flag represent, the people or the ideals? If it’s the ideals, then some real shitheads are trying to steal your flag.
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I agree with this with every piece of my heart. I’d like more than anything for American non-maga’s to take back the American flag (and the gadsden for that matter). Let them have their maga and thin blue line, but ceding the American flag to them is essentially admitting that you don’t want to be a part of this country, which only makes maga’s feel more comfortable about labeling you as an “other”. I know, I grew up in a conservative family, and still live in a conservative state. It’s a self-exacerbating problem.
I can sympathize with those that really are done with the country, but I’m not ready to give up yet. We can flip the script. Pride marches should be flooded with American flags. Civil rights too. Force conservatives to come to terms with the fact that they’re no more American than the trans-commie over there waving the big-ass American flag. If we’re so lucky to make it through this and come out the other side a better country, I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to changing the flag. But right now I believe it makes strategic sense to claim the 50-stars. Fly your other flags with it if you don’t want to be confused for a conservative, then you’re essentially projecting “hey, I’m American too, dumbass!”.
TL;DR: the American left needs stop being so self-concious about what waving an American flag says about them and realize that a.) non-maga’s waving the American flag can be a powerful propaganda tool, and b.) they can take it back.
🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲 NAZI AMERICANS FUCK OFF 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 SHOOT ALL NAZIS ON SIGHT! USA! USA! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Patriotism leads to nationalism, xenophobia, and racism. Not always, of course, but often enough to make it a horrible thing. Our communities are only as good as we make them, and any notion that presupposes greatness is antithetical to continued improvement.
A German comedian put this quite well: Only in a patriotically heated hothouse can racism/nationalism thrive
And a German philosopher said: “The cheapest sort of pride is national pride; for if a man is proud of his own nation, it argues that he has no qualities of his own of which he can be proud; otherwise he would not have recourse to those which he shares with so many millions of his fellowmen.”
No. I saw a lady driving with two USA flags on the sides of her car yesterday. I assume this is her alternative to having a Trump sticker, since that shit would likely engender a negative response in the Bay Area (specifically Oakland / Berkeley). She just looked dumb as fuck. I was embarrassed for her.
Don’t be ashamed to be ashamed of your country. If you’re also a USA citizen, we have a lot to be ashamed about. But also don’t give up. Fight back. Don’t let them slow-roll to victory by causing us to go numb.
You tell me, man. Over here in Brazil, seeing a national flag outside the context of “it’s world cup match day” generally signals whoever is flying it is a fascist twat.
Dang, that’s interesting. Thank you for the context. (-an embarrassed american)
Fun little anecdote – One of my neighbours is one such twat. They used to fly a Brazilian flag from their window.
Then Jan 8 2023 came and went, and the “patriots” failed to manifest a CIA-backed military coup in our country by camping outside army boot camps (because the CIA right now has other problems and doesn’t care to fund right wing dictatorships in Latin America, and our military does not like to work and will never move their asses, for or against any cause, without a fat paycheck telling them to) – And they became disillusioned.
So they replaced the Brazilian flag, with the flag of SE Palmeiras, a soccer team. Which is hilarious because Palmeiras has history with the original fascists, like the Italian, Mussolini-before-he-was-hung ones.
On a semi-related note, I’m glad that Superman’s motto was updated to “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow” back in 2021.
Oh god, I didn’t think of how awful that old motto would read now.
Poor Captain America is fucked, it’s part of his name.
You are not wrong. Seeing jingoism and corporatized patriotism for the sham that they are really opens your eyes to how much of it truly exists. A person who wants no politics in life is often fine with a national anthem, a gigantic flag stretched across a stadium, with jets flying over for a Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and has absolutely no idea that it is political propaganda for nationalism and perpetual war.
In my 50+years here, it has only gotten worse and worse. We’ve always stuck our military where it doesn’t belong, back to the beginning with genociding indigenous peoples here. Now we stick military bases all over the planet and strong arm every other nation into unbalanced alliance. We create conflict for oil and to line the pockets of defense contractors. We aid those currently committing genocide and protect the perpetrators from receiving international justice. Nationalism and fascism snap together like two magnets.
Every time I am told to stand for a national anthem at a professional for-profit sporting event, I think of these things and remain sitting.
Do you think it’s possible to live in harmony with the rest of the world? If the united states conceded its powerful position, who would take over as the new world power? (Probably China) Would you be better off? Would the world in general be better off with someone else in charge? Would you prefer to stand for the Chinese flag or the American flag? Or do you actually think we are ready for a world where there are no super powers?
That’s a lot of questions, many of which I don’t know. All I know is that it is possible for the US to close all the bases and live in harmony with other countries around the globe. It is, however, improbable due to immense wealth among industrial sectors in the United States who hold the actual cards. Their greed will inevitably lead to full scale war as they wither and cede power.
My point is that the united states is a stabilizing force, and in many cases someone else would step in if we left. So my question is, would they be more fair? Its not as simple as saying that the united states is the sole source of evil in the world.
The American flag has become more a symbol of nationalism to me than a symbol of patriotism. It represents everything I hate about my country, and none of the things I love.
I hate even dressing up on July 4th for fear of looking like a capitol raiding moron. It didn’t use to be like this, and frankly, it’s depressing as fuck. I used to be very proud of my nation, and the progress we’d made in my short lifespan. We legalized gay marriage, elected a black president, tried to get healthcare for all (didn’t work and we all know why), but I genuinely felt optimistic about our nation and the future. 4 years of Trump did a number on my sense of patriotism, and were only 1 months in to Trump 2.0 and he’s dealt a knockout blow to it. I genuinely cringe seeing any amount of national pride now.
Back in the day when my grandfather had a shack in Canada for the summers he would wear a Canada flag hat from time to time. People complimented him on it. This was in the 80s when pride in your country wasn’t associated with “nationalism” and sort of racial pride. Now-a-days even a Canadian flag holds weirdo connotations not even getting into the American flag…
Aw, I like the Canadian flag. I’m not Canadian, but I like Canada. Bunch of good people up there.
What I’m trying to say is…PLEASE LET ME IN!!! GET ME OUTTA THIS HELL HOLE AMERICA!!! I’m even in Cleveland! It wouldn’t even be that far away! Just I’ll borrow a jetski in the summer, and I’ll be over in like…20 minutes. I don’t know how long it takes to cross Lake Erie. I assume it’s short.
It’s a good step to consider patriotic ideology as prelude to fascism and tribalism. Welcome in the world of great oportunities, free from borders and labels put with force in your mind. Welcome there, human!
