Meg
Meg
Jul 22, 2017 · 1 min read

I know exactly what you mean. A flag is a signal and a symbol.

Until recently, I would see a flag flying from a home and think, “These people love their country.” I would see a flag decal on a car and think, “Maybe this person is/was in the armed forces.”

Now, those mild thoughts are overlaid with new information, new code written into our culture, that makes me question intent. Am I looking at love, or am I looking at hate?

The intent is pretty obvious when the American Flag is paired with the Gadsden Flag or the Confederate Battle Flag, flown at the same or higher (!?!) height (as evidenced in your photos). But such pairings now have me questioning the signaling of every flag I see.

It’s a shame, because I’m sure some flags are flown with good intent. What is perhaps more of a shame, I now no longer hang my own flag because I don’t want to telegraph the wrong message about my beliefs. And that makes me sad indeed.

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Meg

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Meg

Writing, because talk is cheap