Unique flag that I can leave outside in the rain

May 11, 2009 8:15 PM

What flag can I fly on the flag pole that came with my house that has the same symbolic value of say the American or Texas flag, but isn't subject to the same code of treatment (ie taken inside when it's raining, etc)?

I need a unique flag that has positive symbolism, but I'm not looking for another chore... so whatever flag it is, I just want to let it fly... rain or shine... yet I don't want to disrespect any of my neighbors (lots of vets) and I don't want to send any messages that can be mis-perceived (peace sign / rainbow flags... even though I like their symbolic values)... So is there a good compromise out there?

posted by eli_d to home & garden (30 comments total)

Don't Tread on Me
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:20 PM on May 11

We fly an Earth flag which can be thought of as a little peacenicky, but I think it's nice.
posted by jessamyn at 8:20 PM on May 11

Pirate flag!
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:23 PM on May 11 [1 favorite has favorites]

Did you read this? You may diplay an all-weather flag in the rain. I often see flags that are never lowered, for example, the big ones at car dealers. Note that they must be kept illuminated at night.
posted by Robert Angelo at 8:32 PM on May 11

Smiley Face Flag
posted by Comrade_robot at 8:33 PM on May 11

I like your question because we also have an empty flag pole. flags.com has all kinds of stuff: pirate flags, historical flags, marine flags, design-your-own decorative flats. Perhaps browsing there will inspire you.
posted by not that girl at 8:33 PM on May 11 [1 favorite has favorites]

Bunker Hill flag
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:36 PM on May 11

The shipping flag of the White Star Line - owner of the Titanic.

US Naval Jack

Flags of ... everywhere.
posted by strixus at 8:38 PM on May 11

Well, if your name is Charlie, Juliet, Mike, Oscar, Romeo, or Victor, you could fly the marine signal flag of that name. (Though watch out - some of them mean something, at least on a ship. Flying Victor could get a bunch of sailors offering to help you. Heh.)

My next door neighbor flys a flag that looks very much like "Mike". I could have sworn before I met him that his name would turn out to be mike, or that he was a doctor. (The ship with the duty medical officer in port flies Mike so injured people know where to go.)

Turns out he's Scottish and that's the old Scotland flag (more rectangular than Mike.)
posted by ctmf at 8:40 PM on May 11

At my house, we fly boys' day carp from the flag pole.
posted by ctmf at 8:41 PM on May 11

Also, I like the old blue US Navy jack better than the First Navy Jack we use now. I don't know of any special handling rules for the jack.
posted by ctmf at 8:47 PM on May 11

Hm, I would think that if someone views your flag as having equal symbolic value to the US or Texas flags, then they will view the same treatment as disrespectful to the flag as they would view as disrespectful to the national or state flag -- even if there's not a code that requires specific treatment for that flag.
posted by winston at 8:53 PM on May 11

A custom made flag with your family's coat of arms?
posted by No New Diamonds Please at 8:55 PM on May 11

The red flag of revolt is peculiar in that customarily, it shouldn't be taken down at all.

(Though it probably won't comply with your requirement that the flag be inoffensive).
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:59 PM on May 11

In my neighborhood, you see lots of school/alma mater flags, or flags of people's favorite sports teams. There are also a fair amount of so-called "house flags", often with pineapples (a welcome symbol).
posted by gudrun at 9:23 PM on May 11

Flying Victor could get a bunch of sailors offering to help you. Heh.

Given that it's also the state flag of Alabama, you might also get folks like me coming up and saying "War Eagle" or "Roll Tide" (not that I'd ever say "Roll Tide," mind you).
posted by ocherdraco at 9:54 PM on May 11

Come And Take It
posted by sanko at 10:10 PM on May 11

Sell it as advertising space.
posted by atmosphere at 10:34 PM on May 11

I work in a federal office (wildlife refuge) and we fly our american flag ran or shine, but we put it up in the morning and take it down at night (kind of an annoying chore).

my parents used to fly a 10 foot fish kite from their pole, it was awesome. if that's not your style, maybe you could get some other sort of large, exciting windsock, even in your state or usa colors if you're going for some particular symbolism.
posted by dahliachewswell at 10:42 PM on May 11

how about a pretty windsock
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:36 PM on May 11

I'm in the UK and the personal flag pole is a lot less ubiquitous although they do tend to appear in seemingly competitive clusters. In my gf's family's village there's an England flag next door to a Scotland flag but the main competition seems to be with football (soccer) teams.

My gf's father owns the village pub so has the alpha-location and has the West Ham United flag flying. He'll fly it at half mast following a loss which apparently has caused amusement in the team dressing room. (One of the players lives nearby and drives past regularly.)

Depending on how deeply you feel about your teams, this may or may not have symbolic value...
posted by i_cola at 2:59 AM on May 12

You could always fly the <your city> flag, if your city indeed has one (mine does; I don't know exactly how common this is).
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 3:38 AM on May 12

The Black Flag represents the absence of a flag, and thus stands in opposition to the very notion of nation-states and hierarchical institutions.
posted by adamvasco at 5:53 AM on May 12

I suggest the POW/MIA flag. The motto "You Are Not Forgotten" would have a large symbolic meaning when flown rain or shine. I think your veteran neighbors would appreciate the sentiment.
posted by bugsoup at 6:35 AM on May 12

How about a flag representing your favorite college or university?
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 6:57 AM on May 12

2nd the Come and Take it flag.
posted by bigmusic at 6:58 AM on May 12

The United Federation of Planets flag!
posted by Greg Nog at 9:02 AM on May 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wow. Some good input that got me thinking about flags like I never had before. After browsing through some of the links ya'll posted I stumbled upon the Burnet Flag --- the first official flag of the Republic of Texas. It is elusive enough that people probably won't call me out for "disrespecting" it even though it has some excellent symbolic value. I'll probably start here and explore some of the other ideas in future years. It turns out that there are a bunch of neat Texas historic flags... if they were cheaper, I'd probably go with the Lorenzo DeZavala flag or the Johanna Troutman flag.

Out of American historic flags, the Commodore Perry flag looks pretty neat and so does the Fort Moultrie flag (note: according to the Flags of the World website - the "liberty" is supposed to be inside the crescent... either way... a pretty neat flag with great symbolic value).

Another future possibility... The City of Portland flag --- even though I've never been there, I consider myself a Texan living the symbolic life of a Portlander...

Another future possibility... I like the ideas of the black flag and of the United Federation of Planets flag and the custom flag. So if I mix them all together, I'll come up with something like this on a flag (The Star Trek "Live Long and Prosper" hand outline ... without the words).

Oh also... I like the Naval Jack idea, but I read on wikipedia that those are subject to the same conduct guidelines as the American flag. It's a great fricking paradox to me that a flag that is the ultimate symbol of freedom to so many people is bound by so many rules and regulations!

Thanks everyone... ;-)
posted by eli_d at 7:33 PM on May 12

I would like to add that if your flag is illuminated at night you aren't violating flag etiquette.
posted by mmascolino at 8:06 PM on May 12

The flag of Mars is nice. Red circle on black background.
posted by Jawn at 12:33 AM on May 14