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Flag flown upside down as sign of distress outside of US State Department building today
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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Wasn't the upside down us flag thing used by j6'ers? Are the line workers taking it back as the symbol of a stolen country for themselves, or is this Musk and crew indicating we're fucked?
It's a sign of distress.
They were distressed, but it's only because they're sore losers and couldn't cope with Trump losing.
This is actual distress, it's appropriate this time.
Its nothing exclusive to J6. Its an international sign that an insurrection or coup has occurred or is occurring.
Not quite, it's an international sign that a vessel is in distress.
Then mostly right wing lunatics co-opted it to mean that our country is in distress.
Which they co-opted from protesters in the 60's, rallying against the Vietnam war, which they co-opted from the Revolutionary war, where (allegedly, much harder to source), the revolutionaries also flew the Union Jack inverted. Its history to mean insurrection in the US is as old as the US.
Its been used in many other instances internationally, and yes, also at sea with a much deeper history to signal distress. Regardless, the pedantry is both technically and figuratively misplaced.
If they did, I assume a half dozen vexillology enthusiasts with good eyesight got very concerned.
How could they tell?
The flag isn’t symmetrical, which is where the orginial flying the flag upside down comes from. It’s subtle enough pirates wont notice but an experienced British naval officer will and come rescue you.
I could be mistaken, but I think that was a consideration when designing the stars and stripes. The colors and lack of symmetry make it easy to see its orientation from a distance.
Ahh, I didn't know about that historical context. Thanks!
It has been used by punk bands and Anarchists waaay before that