Here’s mine
(sorry about the ifunny watermark. I have it saved somewhere but I ain’t digging through all that)
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.
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
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.
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
The minutemen became part of the southern Army so it’s not as if the symbol was ok to begin with…
Ultra-libertarian Jingoist? I’m as confused by that combination of words as I am the flags on the truck.
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
Ultra libertarian == I’m free to be whatever I want to be despite your freedoms
Well, no. A fundamental of libertarianism is that one’s liberty doesn’t encroach on others’ liberty, since obviously that would be taking away liberty, ergo anti-libertarian.
If someone claims to be “ultra libertarian”—an entirely different thing—and does this, they would ironically be in direct opposition of the thing they claim to be associated with; on it’s most fundamental level, no less.
The cool history: Are We The Baddies?
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
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
And that’s why you should get this version instead!
https://a.co/d/5vVlhLE (Amazon link)
“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 😂
Is this some kind of American joke that I’m too European to understand?
The way I, as another European, understand this, he’s flying an anti-oppression flag and a pro-oppression flag at the same time.
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.
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
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.”
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”.
Springsteen was a genius, knew exactly what he was making. I remember the first time I listened to the lyrics and my heart broke a little. The lyrics are all too familiar and sting, with the sharp positive turn to the chorus. It’s a perfect metaphor for society.
Whenever I hear it I get angry with America, and I get angry with conservative boomers who use the verses as drinking breaks so they can belt out the chorus proudly thinking they are real patriots.
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?
Yes, the yellow flag is anti-government, libertarian, while the black and blue flag is pro government and specifically pro police.
They can’t be oppressed, but they support the boots who oppresses you the other.
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.
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.
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.
Wasn’t able to identify the left flag, so I made a (rather lame) joke instead of asking directly. Thanks for clarifying!
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.”
