• zqwzzle@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Isn’t putting up flags an American thing too? Don’t really see this kind of nationalism in other coutnries.

    • Blackmist
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      3 months ago

      In England we only really put them up for football and racism.

        • Sway@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          If you see a truck in Canada with our flag on it, high probability it’s also got an ‘F Trudeau’ sticker and an asshole driver.

          • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            Signs of overcompensating for a small dick IMHO. I’ve never seen a woman driving a vehicle with either a flag or FucK Trudeau on it

            • Sway@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Lol, yup generally true. Though I’ll say I’ve seen one or two driven by women out west here.

            • Poop@lemmy.ca
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              3 months ago

              I saw a lady driving a big red Dodge Ram the other day covered in you know which stickers and there were 5 full sized flags on the truck bed.

              As I saw it in the distance I said to my gf “oh, check it out, pp compensation truck ahead” and was shocked to see a woman driving.

      • crawancon@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        can you explain the racism part of it to a non brit? like I’m five /stupid american pls

        • Blackmist
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          3 months ago

          The EDL often used the England St George Cross flag. The National Front used the British Union Jack flag.

          I think the only other time you see our flags apart from sport, is for royal family related days off work, which about all they’re good for.

        • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
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          3 months ago

          Not OP, but British, seems you only really see them on house for football as previously stated and on the houses of people that tend to be ignorant and/or racist so they fly the Union Jack St George Cross Flag as a means to be patriotic to this shit hole.

          Edit: Put the wrong flag, as evidently I’m a moron today.

          • foofiepie@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Worse if it’s the St George Cross imo. I’ve never understood the “away with immigrants” argument from a nation of immigrants. Do they think life evolved in the UK?

            • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
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              3 months ago

              That’s the flag I meant. I’m just a moron today apparently.

              They’ve just been conditioned to target their frustrations at the wrong people by the media they consume.

            • Baggins
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              3 months ago

              Yes - just like the American ones as well.

    • modifier@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      I’ve seen it in just about every country I have visited physically and in Geoguessr. Maybe not quite as prevalent as the US but I wouldn’t actually say the difference is as big as people probably think.

      What’s funny is that beyond knowing you’re in America, the flag doesn’t help a lot with location guessing. USA is one of the tougher countries to pinpoint within in GeoGuesser. It’s probably harder to distinguish Vermont from Ohio from Oregon (depending on the photo) than it is to tell Albania from Austria even with no flags or signs.

      • gmtom@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Complete opposite of my experience. While you do see flags in other countries they are usually only at governme t buildings, it’s rare to see people flying flags themselves. Whereas in America they are everywhere and also buildins will often have multiple. Like I went to a mall and the outside had at least a dozen flags on sides.

        • bestagon@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Or ice in Minnesota to the literal desert, or ice in Massachusetts to the literal desert, or ice in the literal desert to the literal desert

          • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            3 months ago

            comparing american lat to european lat is a rather interesting exercise, the majority of europes latitude is covered by america. We’re quite the diverse climate region.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I went to a hardware store in the states during a trip. Turns out they had a patriotic corner there, full of flags and banners. I’ve never seen anything like that before in any country. In a lot of countries you have to search for even a tiny souvenir flag.

    • Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      In Finland we have plenty of national “flag days” every year. I don’t see people putting up flags on their porch or anything but many has flag poles on their yard and flying a Finnish flag has no racist implications to it or anything like that. It’s a traditional thing to do and especially the elderly are pretty strict about it.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        That was what the US used to be, but now flying a flag has too many negative connotations. Don’t let your nationalist nut-jobs ruin it for you too

        • Serinus@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          If it doesn’t have a blue stripe, you can absolutely still fly the flag at your house. It’s when you have it on your shirt and car that it gets weird.

          • doctordevice@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            I make a lot of assumptions about people flying regular US flags in their yard, and I can’t really say any of them are positive. Could be a regional thing? I’m in a pretty heavily left-leaning area and the people that are that outwardly patriotic are typically far right. Not universally, but enough for the assumptions.

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              I am proud of my country and most of the ideals we stand for: that’s why I do what I can to help it live up to those ideals, to be even better. It is our patriotic duty to constructively criticize, to correct its mistakes, to rebel against the status quo, to invest in all citizens and a better tomorrow.

              For example, look at all those immigrants fleeing into our country looking for a better life: it’s our duty to make this country work like the ideal they are coming for.

              • doctordevice@lemmy.ca
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                3 months ago

                I think I’m probably less proud of the US than you, but I generally agree with your sentiment. Although I don’t think that sentiment necessitates a nationalistic action like flying a flag in a yard or on a car. Especially when that type of nationalism tends to be associated with a mindset that is anti-immigration.

              • Zwiebel@feddit.org
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                3 months ago

                Fyi as an outsider, “patriotic duty” has to be one of the most american phrases I’ve ever heard

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      It seems like it’s common in places that have an independence movement (Quebec, Ireland and Taiwan as others have mentioned), the USA is an exception to that.

      • boogetyboo@aussie.zone
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        3 months ago

        And they without fail put up the coalition corflutes during elections, and had the ‘if you don’t know, vote no’ signs during the referendum.

        The Venn diagram is a perfect circle.

        • mathematicalMagpie@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          It’s somewhat common in Ontario. Not every street, but I’d probably see a few while driving around the city.

        • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Every city/town/municipality I have traveled to has multiple. It’s not every yard, but there’s enough that it’s noticeable. About the same rate as most cities I’ve been everywhere really.

          Lots of business in fact fly them, dealerships are one prominent one.

          Do you travel by air instead of vehicle between places?

          • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            No, I’ve actually driven from Vancouver to Alberta quite a few times, a couple to Saskatchewan, and once to Manitoba.

            Outside of very specific government buildings, I barely see them*. It’s so rare that, like I said, I very much noticed when one was suddenly in walking distance of my house. I’ve seen them super faded in windows of old buildings at times, but not a flag standing outside.

            (*If I go to the extremely rural areas of BC or Alberta, I will see more in a single ‘town’, and I mean like ~100 people, than I will in Vancouver, say. But those in small areas stand out and are, frankly, not usually a great sign? One house that has it also has a confederate flag up, as well as a replica General Lee car from Dukes of Hazzard)

            • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              I spent 2 minutes going down a couple streets in abbostford before finding one……

              Sounds like you just aren’t as perceptive as you thought, they are far more common than you’re thinking. Or you live downtown where there’s less individualism, but I’m sure there would be a few balconies that have them, provided condo board rules don’t disallow them….

      • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        It really depends on what definition of nationalism you’re using, absolutely. Original usage of “nationalism” had its meaning much closer to “patriotism”, the older of the two words, but usage over time has separated their definitions (again, dependant on where you are in the world).

        In america “nationalism” is more often associated with ‘white nationalism’ and even when not explicitly tied to the white nationalist movement, ‘nationalism’ at best carries with it a negative connotation. “Nationalism” in the States means patriotism, but an exclusive sort which puts the rest of the world beneath the needs of America, even the basic needs of a given country’s right to self-determination if it goes against the US’s interests, which dovetails nicely with your definition of fanaticism

        • Zwiebel@feddit.org
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          3 months ago

          As another example: In the context of 19th century “Germany”, the “nationalist movement” refers to the unification movement, so a “nationalist” was just a person who wanted the many german countries to become a single nation-state.

      • bergie@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        We were there a couple of weeks ago. Seems different neighbourhoods had different flags. We elected not to fly a courtesy flag on our boat as all the alternatives were partisan one way or another.

        • GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          It’s one of the more obvious signs that you’re in either an unionist or republican area. Kerb painting, murals, street names in Irish.

    • asm_x86@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      In austria, the only flags that i have seen are pride flags. And even that is very rare.

    • calcopiritus@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Depends on which part of the country. In Spain some places are full of Spanish flags, others have none, and others have regional flags (Catalonia, basque country).

      My guess is they’re more common in rural areas, independent of the country.