Is is common/widely accepted to display foreign country's flags in your city?

[Capsicum]

For example, flying Mexican flags on cars to represent Mexican heritage?

Having a Filipino flag bumper sticker.

Or placing Italian flags on windows and shops etc.

If so, which flags do you see most often, and does it reflect the most common demographic origins of the city's inhabitants?

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

For example, flying Mexican flags on cars to represent Mexican heritage?

Having a Filipino flag bumper sticker.

Or placing Italian flags on windows and shops etc.

If so, which flags do you see most often, and does it reflect the most common demographic origins of the city's inhabitants?

In the US flying all kinds of flags for countries, cities, states, sports teams, long dead rebellions, POW etc etc etc is common, so yes.

[Acajack]

In my city of Gatineau, Quebec, the most common foreign flag believe it or not is... Portugal.

You also see the flag of the Azores, which are Portuguese islands, now and then.

[dimondpark]

Yes I see them every now and then.

[Centropolis]

other than the typical irish/italian flag

when i lived on the south side of st. louis, i'd see different iterations of bosnian flags into businesses, houses, vehicles, big rigs, etc


stlbosnians.com


or occasionally retro flags like that of louisiana (new france). primarily lots of st. louis flags...

[Pedestrian]

Is this flag "foreign"? It's probably the most commonly seen flag in SF:


https://www.citybirds.com/DigitalPho...eCastro03.html

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Is this flag "foreign"? It's probably the most commonly seen flag in SF:


https://www.citybirds.com/DigitalPho...eCastro03.html

Well, technically it was invented stateside.

[Shawn]

You barely see Japanese flags on actual national buildings - never on private homes. So it goes without saying you won’t find foreign flags in Tokyo either.

But in Boston? Irish and Italian flags outnumber American ones.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Shawn

You barely see Japanese flags on actual national buildings - never on private homes. So it goes without saying you won’t find foreign flags in Tokyo either.

But in Boston? Irish and Italian flags outnumber American ones.

I imagine the Japanese have the same attitude toward outward displays of national pricd that the Germans do, for obvious historical reasons.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by 10023

I imagine the Japanese have the same attitude toward outward displays of national pricd that the Germans do, for obvious historical reasons.

I feel like the premise of this thread isn't really about less or more national pride than it is whether there is a culture of flying a national flag at every single "national" building, or "quasi-national" buildings like schools,etc., or at private buildings like businesses and/or peoples homes.

As for the Japanese not showing outward displays of national pride? Ever been to or seen a figure skating competition, literally of any kind? It's like the arena of the rising sun. And for the the Germans, watched the World Cup? They don't seem shy about Deutschland uber Alles when it comes to football.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I feel like the premise of this thread isn't really about less or more national pride than it is whether there is a culture of flying a national flag at every single "national" building, or "quasi-national" buildings like schools,etc., or at private buildings like businesses and/or peoples homes.

As for the Japanese not showing outward displays of national pride? Ever been to or seen a figure skating competition, literally of any kind? It's like the arena of the rising sun. And for the the Germans, watched the World Cup? They don't seem shy about Deutschland uber Alles when it comes to futbol.

So, maybe, it's different for Japanese in Japan or Germans in Germany if we are talking about Japanese-Americans or German-Americans in the US hesitant to display the association with their old country as connoting past/foreign regimes given their own experience and relations with the home/ancestral country.

It seems fine for some groups (in the US, not sure about elsewhere) to display some flags without making a political statement. Italian restaurants show Italian flags without making anything political about Italy, the country, salient to others. Not so much for say Russia, China, or maybe Japan and Germany, so perhaps that's why those groups' descendants in the US don't fly their flags much.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

So, maybe, it's different for Japanese in Japan or Germans in Germany if we are talking about Japanese-Americans or German-Americans in the US hesitant to display the association with their old country as connoting past/foreign regimes given their own experience and relations with the home/ancestral country.

This is really a much much deeper conversation, but the snuffing out and shaming of Germany and of vigorous and active German ethnic culture in the United States dates to and has everything to do with World War I. Before WWI many Germans enjoyed a dual identity, much to the criticism of other Americans, maintaining strong German ethnic clubs and social org's and producing large amounts of German language books, periodicals and newspapers not to mention being the proprietors of businesses that catered to German tastes and clientele. This dramatically changed when they started to become vilified because of the actions of Imperial Germany in WWI. In very short order, through shaming and avoidance of conflict, many German-Americans chose to shun or at least significantly dial back their German ethnic identities, especially in public. Many families even chose to Anglicize their surnames or changed their surnames entirely in an effort to reduce suspicion of loyalty and discrimination for themselves and their children. There is a multitude of German surnames in this country that where changed likely around this period in time. By the time World War II came around, the outcome and stigma of Germany really was the nail in the coffin. What remains of the outward expression of German culture amongst German-Americans in the US almost exclusively comes in the form of almost comical Bavarian themed establishments and Oktoberfest activities, for better or worse.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I feel like the premise of this thread isn't really about less or more national pride than it is whether there is a culture of flying a national flag at every single "national" building, or "quasi-national" buildings like schools,etc., or at private buildings like businesses and/or peoples homes.

As for the Japanese not showing outward displays of national pride? Ever been to or seen a figure skating competition, literally of any kind? It's like the arena of the rising sun. And for the the Germans, watched the World Cup? They don't seem shy about Deutschland uber Alles when it comes to football.

Yes but there is still an aversion to flying the flag in other contexts. The idea of streets lined with the flag would be disconcerting to many Germans. They see American flag-waving as somewhat Nazi-like.

[pico44]

Originally Posted by 10023

Yes but there is still an aversion to flying the flag in other contexts. The idea of streets lined with the flag would be disconcerting to many Germans. They see American flag-waving as somewhat Nazi-like.

Interesting that they criticize aspects of my country as "Nazi-like" when we weren't the country that invented, you know... Nazis.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Shawn

You barely see Japanese flags on actual national buildings.

Ah ouais ? Funny, I thought the Japanese were a bit spoiled by some arrogant national pride of some sort.
National and EU flags on public buildings are pretty systematic in my country, up to public nurseries. Lol, poor local little kids brainwashed as of the age of 3...
I find it a bit silly as flags, including the gay/peace one made up of the rainbow colors (that's only a biblical thing and a natural phenomenon of physics, eh) often feel like some kind of bigotry, or at least like what we call "prosélytisme".
Definition of that thing:

Attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.

It is wrong, offensive. No one needs to do that.

That said, Idk why, despite being a Republican, I like the fleur de lys on flags.
But it's only a matter of design, nothing ideological.
This is officially the more or less historic flag of my Paris region.


https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drapea...8Ele-de-France

I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere over here, or it has to be very unusual.
Maybe because the fleur de lys is supposedly a monarchist symbol, while of course, our country's been trying to be a fair republic for long.
Anyway, its design itself was something stylish and effective IMO.

As for the OP question, yes, you'll see plenty of foreign flags here.
Especially Portuguese, Algerian, British, American, some German too, and many others on T-shirts and elsewhere.
I guess people just don't mind too much.

[xzmattzx]

You'll see a lot of Irish and Italian flags in the ethnic neighborhoods of the old Northeast cities, including mine.

You won't see Mexican flags, but you will see lots of Mexican iconography: the eagle and snake or Lady of Guadalupe on the back windows of cars, and so on.

You'll see foreign flags flying in front of ethnic restaurants: Jamaican, Puerto Rican (even though it's not really foreign), Spanish, British, etc.

[isaidso]

Italian, Portuguese, and Brazilian are the most common foreign flags flown here. Come World Cup it feels like every 5th car has a flag sticking out of the window.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Italian, Portuguese, and Brazilian are the most common foreign flags flown here. Come World Cup it feels like every 5th car has a flag sticking out of the window.

Same differenz here.

Quebec has no frontal license plates, so the usual flag-plates are Irish or Italian. Irish, Portuguese and Italian are very common and Brazilian during World Cup days.
Montreal has the most consulates of any city on the continent bar NYC, so you tend to see them hanging flags on their buildings.

[maru2501]

ireland and mexico in chicago

[Crawford]

Yes, but it depends on background. PR's fly their flags the most in NYC, even though PR isn't a "country". DRs, Colombians, Ecudaorians and Jamaicans are also proud flag-wavers. Italians, Irish, Ukranians and Israelis occasionally.

Russians and Chinese almost never fly their flags. For Russians it makes sense because most who immigrated to US dislike Russia, for Chinese probably a cultural thing.

I don't notice Mexican flags, but obviously they display the Virgin of Guadalupe. Everywhere. You can always tell an Italian neighborhood by the front-of-house or apartment building window Virgin Mary statues. You know Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods by spotting mezuzahs on front doors.