Help me identify a flag.
October 23, 2005 3:53 PM Subscribe
What is the flag on the left in this photo?
Best answer: Or maybe the old Canadian flag from before the maple leaf one? Given that they have a stars'n'bars, whoever these people are may not be real up on current events.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:55 PM on October 23, 2005
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:55 PM on October 23, 2005
Response by poster: Ontario is close, but the crest is wrong.
posted by I Love Tacos at 3:57 PM on October 23, 2005
posted by I Love Tacos at 3:57 PM on October 23, 2005
It's the Red Ensign, the previous flag of Canada, as ROU said.
posted by solid-one-love at 3:59 PM on October 23, 2005
posted by solid-one-love at 3:59 PM on October 23, 2005
Best answer: Chuckles beat me to it. To be more specific, it is the version of the Red Ensign used from 1922 to 1965.
posted by solid-one-love at 4:03 PM on October 23, 2005
posted by solid-one-love at 4:03 PM on October 23, 2005
Response by poster: That makes sense, as the speaker in the photo is Canadian Paul Fromm.
Can anybody explain the significance of his use of the older flag?
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:09 PM on October 23, 2005
Can anybody explain the significance of his use of the older flag?
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:09 PM on October 23, 2005
Isn't that Stars & Stripes reversed?
posted by dash_slot- at 4:13 PM on October 23, 2005
posted by dash_slot- at 4:13 PM on October 23, 2005
Response by poster: Isn't that Stars & Stripes reversed?
Yes, it is. I'd assume they hung it in "distress" mode purposefully.
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:17 PM on October 23, 2005
Yes, it is. I'd assume they hung it in "distress" mode purposefully.
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:17 PM on October 23, 2005
dash_slot-
Indeed it is.
I was in a drug house (That's what I call 'em, anyway. One of those cheap rented houses where forty seven people are always sitting around, passing a bong back and forth, a band is rehearsing and no one remembers who actually lives there and who doesn't.) recently and they had on the wall an upside down American flag. Perhaps it's another variation on the same sentiment?
posted by Clay201 at 4:20 PM on October 23, 2005
Indeed it is.
I was in a drug house (That's what I call 'em, anyway. One of those cheap rented houses where forty seven people are always sitting around, passing a bong back and forth, a band is rehearsing and no one remembers who actually lives there and who doesn't.) recently and they had on the wall an upside down American flag. Perhaps it's another variation on the same sentiment?
posted by Clay201 at 4:20 PM on October 23, 2005
"Isn't that Stars & Stripes reversed?"
No. When hung against a wall, as in the picture, the Stars and Stripes should be hung with the star field to the upper-left, according to the Federal Flag Code:
"(i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street"
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:20 PM on October 23, 2005
No. When hung against a wall, as in the picture, the Stars and Stripes should be hung with the star field to the upper-left, according to the Federal Flag Code:
"(i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street"
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:20 PM on October 23, 2005
O.
Well I see that it conforms to the flag law (Huh? There's a flag law?) - now the question is: why is it prescribed thus? It looks wrong (except if it's against a window - not a wall - and one is viewing form the other side).
posted by dash_slot- at 4:33 PM on October 23, 2005
Well I see that it conforms to the flag law (Huh? There's a flag law?) - now the question is: why is it prescribed thus? It looks wrong (except if it's against a window - not a wall - and one is viewing form the other side).
posted by dash_slot- at 4:33 PM on October 23, 2005
I love Tacos -
Apparently, it's been flown for years by Canadian traditionalists.
Lately, it's been co-opted by Canadian white supremacists(who are similar to, but should not be confused with, Illinois Nazis).
I'm not Canadian, but I'd imagine the controversy is similar to that of the Confederate Navy Jack in the States.
posted by madajb at 4:33 PM on October 23, 2005
Apparently, it's been flown for years by Canadian traditionalists.
Lately, it's been co-opted by Canadian white supremacists(who are similar to, but should not be confused with, Illinois Nazis).
I'm not Canadian, but I'd imagine the controversy is similar to that of the Confederate Navy Jack in the States.
posted by madajb at 4:33 PM on October 23, 2005
I recently spent a few months in Beijing, where strange national flags are placed in Tianenmen Square everytime a tinpot head of a friendly foreign nation.
This little flag identifier was often useful for ID-ing obscure banners.
posted by DickStock at 11:15 PM on October 23, 2005
This little flag identifier was often useful for ID-ing obscure banners.
posted by DickStock at 11:15 PM on October 23, 2005
I recently spent a few months in Beijing, where strange national flags are placed in Tianenmen Square everytime a tinpot head of a friendly foreign nation comes on a state visit.
This little flag identifier was often useful for ID-ing obscure banners.
posted by DickStock at 11:16 PM on October 23, 2005
This little flag identifier was often useful for ID-ing obscure banners.
posted by DickStock at 11:16 PM on October 23, 2005
Can anybody explain the significance of his use of the older flag?
Yes, the Wikipedia article Red Ensign linked earlier in this thread explained that.
(madajb: It's really not like the stars and bars, except that Paul Fromm has started using it; it was always the flag of Canada, and since it was the Canadian flag during both World Wars, a lot of veterans who fly it patriotically instead of the "Pearson pennant" since it was the one they fought under. Of course, there aren't a lot of veterans at all anymore, so patriotic use of the Red Ensign is dying off too.)
posted by mendel at 9:06 AM on October 24, 2005
Yes, the Wikipedia article Red Ensign linked earlier in this thread explained that.
(madajb: It's really not like the stars and bars, except that Paul Fromm has started using it; it was always the flag of Canada, and since it was the Canadian flag during both World Wars, a lot of veterans who fly it patriotically instead of the "Pearson pennant" since it was the one they fought under. Of course, there aren't a lot of veterans at all anymore, so patriotic use of the Red Ensign is dying off too.)
posted by mendel at 9:06 AM on October 24, 2005
Lately, it's been co-opted by Canadian white supremacists
That would explain the presence of the Confederate battle flag in this picture.
posted by NoMich at 10:47 AM on October 24, 2005
That would explain the presence of the Confederate battle flag in this picture.
posted by NoMich at 10:47 AM on October 24, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:54 PM on October 23, 2005