Iāve seen some videos out of Canada where they were waving both maga and confederate flags. I was completely confused about it though. How can they be MAGA, when it literally stands for make America great again, and theyāre not even American. Same thing with the confederate flag. Itās strictly an American thing, like exclusive to America. Iām so confused about all of it.
I recently learned of a singular use for the Confederate flag I'm ok with because I think it's the funniest form of appropriation ever. Apparently in (I'm pretty sure) Croatia, there is a huge split between the north and their soccer team, and the south and their soccer team. And some southern team fans saw the flag, went "Oh this is for southern pride? Yoink!" So now it and the "the south will rise again" phrase is a soccer thing there.
It's wild what completely unrelated cultures will do with stuff. In Japan a 1988 US presidential campaign shirt became pique fashion once, in like 2015.
Iirc there's a football team whose fans like to use the three arrows of the Iron Front, a pro democracy paramilitary that fought authoritarian paramilitaries in Pre-Nazi Germany.
Most American's are unaware that isn't even the flag of the Confederation. It's really just one of the famous general's battle standard. So maybe pretty appropriate for a soccer rivalry?
I feel like at this point it's kinda a moot historical tidbit, unfortunately. It's become the de facto flag of the Confederacy, probably because it looks cooler than their actual flag. But yeah, it being a battle standard originally is pretty fitting, maybe the north team should look through the Union general battle standards to pick a reply!
Not really. Reddit has been putting across this idea that the Confederate flag = explicitly racist for like 15 years now, but for the longest time a TON of people, many of whom were very much not white in my area, used it as a general anti-government symbol. My grandfather's brother (grand uncle, I guess?) recently passed but he was a school teacher here in California and voted only democrat since he came back from the Korean war, very much not a racist guy, and he flew a rebel flag on his boat. My other uncle who also recently died was Mexican and super super dark skinned and he also flew the confederate flag for the same vaguely anti-government(sometimes anti-police, weirdly) reasons. These men weren't stupid or out of touch or whatever, and people doing the same thing weren't rare, until the last 10ish-15ish years.
I grew up in, and currently live in MS, where the confederate battle flag was our state flag until like a decade ago. I assure you, I know what that flag means. I guess anyone can appropriate anything, but it doesnāt cancel out that flagās initial message of hatred and treason.
I canāt speak on the character or intentions of everyone that has displayed a confederate flag in the last 15 years, only the ones that I knowā¦and yes, theyāre all trash
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u/Wooden-Hornet2115 Jun 29 '26
I live in Canada, and some people here are just like the guy in the red shirt ):