What does a black and white US flag signify?
June 19, 2020 3:39 PM Subscribe
I was driving around a slightly conservative area of the country today and I noticed four different black and white US flags - not a "thin blue line" US flag (or any other colored line), only black and white. What does this signify?
Two of the flags were displayed on someone's property and two were vehicle stickers. They were not "grouped" in a single area. The area was visiting would not be perceived as extraordinarily conservative, but perhaps somewhat right of center. I did not notice any other stickers/signs/etc that would give me context as to what they mean.
Two of the flags were displayed on someone's property and two were vehicle stickers. They were not "grouped" in a single area. The area was visiting would not be perceived as extraordinarily conservative, but perhaps somewhat right of center. I did not notice any other stickers/signs/etc that would give me context as to what they mean.
There are several 'thin line' flags. Blue is for police, red is firefighters, white is emergency medical services, gold is dispatchers, green spark rangers, conservation personnel and game wardens, purple is for security officers, and silver is corrections officers.
Maybe it had a white line? Those can be hard to spot from a distance.
posted by ananci at 4:02 PM on June 19, 2020
Maybe it had a white line? Those can be hard to spot from a distance.
posted by ananci at 4:02 PM on June 19, 2020
Alt-right/gun-haver
posted by rodlymight at 5:08 PM on June 19, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 5:08 PM on June 19, 2020 [7 favorites]
I think these are sometimes a reference to the military's use of monochrome "subdued" or infrared visible flags. Here are two random example photos I found of them being worn.
posted by kickingtheground at 5:29 PM on June 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by kickingtheground at 5:29 PM on June 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
According to a random seller on Amazon, "the black and white American flag is taken as a symbol for the economic recession that the country is going through."
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:22 PM on June 19, 2020
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:22 PM on June 19, 2020
I think these are sometimes a reference to the military's use of monochrome "subdued" or infrared visible flags.
Yep, these stickers (and flags) are available on and near most military bases. It doesn't mean the people you saw with them were in the military, but they definitely want to give that impression.
posted by Etrigan at 8:00 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yep, these stickers (and flags) are available on and near most military bases. It doesn't mean the people you saw with them were in the military, but they definitely want to give that impression.
posted by Etrigan at 8:00 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, the first time I saw the black & white Stars & Stripes was in 1989 in the simply awesome surrealist psychodrama film Sante Sangre. The flag is carried on horseback by the circus knife-thrower in the scene of the funeral of the circus elephant at about 1:40.
In that context it functions pretty clearly as a symbol of mourning.
posted by bertran at 8:10 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
In that context it functions pretty clearly as a symbol of mourning.
posted by bertran at 8:10 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oops, I messed up the timed link above; should be at about 1:40.
posted by bertran at 8:55 PM on June 19, 2020
posted by bertran at 8:55 PM on June 19, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kdar at 3:59 PM on June 19, 2020 [12 favorites]