When this nation was founded, it had many qualities that are extremely offensive to our modern sensibilities. It was also a radically progressive government for it's era, and a huge leap forward for the human race as a whole. Just look at the number of democracies that have been founded using our government as a model.

The Betsy Ross flag should not be held in contempt, it represents a great leap forward. Reserve that scorn and the swastika comparison for the Confederate battle flag

Confederate battle flag. We will be seeing it used like that now though.

Yellow, with a snake, and the words "Don't Tread on Me".

in the past, but NOW, the fuckers WILL use it all the time, so the cat is out of the bag. As a person of colour, I was never upset at the sight of the 'Betsy Ross' flag, and I find it stupid to cede yet another symbol to the bad and evil side. Nazi girls wear skirts and Doc Martens at times, like fuck if I stop doing that at times just because those fuckers do.

If you follow this (the anti-Betsy Ross flag) line of logic, most all national symbolism from pre-civil war times could be accused of representing a slaver nation. It is going to become yet another cultural clusterfuck I fear.


here are previous examples of white nationalists and nazis using it


Members of the largest neo-Nazi organization in the country, the National Socialist Movement, held up the flag during an anti-immigration rally in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2007.

Link to tweet

where will it end?






Gadsden flag motif (that flag is also used by white nationalists and neo nazis)

Please can we focus on issues that mean something? This is just pointless. I wouldn't defend Kap or Nike for a second - the American flag, whatever year, is the symbol for all of us.

Maybe it's because I'm a 25 year Army vet, still serving. I salute at attention for reveille and retreat.

I fully supported Kap's protests, but that moment has passed and trying to pass judgement on flags on sneakers is reaching too far, and asking for pointless backlash.

Kids in cages, climate change, wealth disparity, Russian interference, cozying up with creeps (S.Arabia, N. Korea, Russia), propping up fossil fuels, opiod epidemic, health care. And we're talking about sneakers (?)

But prior to these shoes I cannot recall on DU, or anywhere else, a reference that the Betsy Ross style flag was offensive, racist or symbolic of slavery.

Suddenly however it is equivalent to a swastika?

Last edited Fri Jul 5, 2019, 11:32 AM - Edit history (1)

I won’t presume to know their motives, but I have my suspicions.

Edit to add that this post is NOT directed at this OP, but at certain others who enjoy creating division here.

Ridiculous I tell them it’s an ancient symbol of well being to me . I do not have a problem with it and will not bend !

By exactly the same logic, it's a racist holiday that celebrates slavery, and everything in our nation at the time that was regressive by today's standards.

Next time I take my sons to the fireworks, I'll explain to them that it's because our family is racist and fascist. I'm sure that will help to improve their moral character.

If that's what you got out of Frederick Douglass' thoughtful speech, ok.

I just feel sorry for you.

Dyson said the flag could be reclaimed from far-right groups to educate Americans on the Revolutionary War era in the United States but added that people should advocate for racial justice issues before they rail against "PC culture."

Will not define or name the majority because talk about defensive snowflakes

a period "deeply embroiled in, you know, enslavement..." Some things from that time period are OK, evidently, others not so much.

I'm opposed to Confederate symbolism but Colin, et al. have lost me on the Betsy Ross flag. Going after a flag purportedly made by a Quaker, abolitionist, American Revolutionary widow (2x), and single mother is truly idiotic. This is not a winning issue for the Democratic Party.

"That would be beautiful," Dyson says. OK, I'll display the Betsy Ross flag next to my 2020 Democratic candidate bumper sticker. Consider it reclaimed.

Nike created a shoe. Some people let them know that their shoe would likely be really popular with white supremacist groups. They decided to drop it. BFD. I don't get it.

It's about people having just decided that the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol of racism and slavery, or even the equivalent of the swastika.

I couldn't care less about Nike. I do care about all our national symbols being appropriated by the far right, and the rest of us happily giving them away.

does the cross come down? Ku Kluxers carry crosses, they burn crosses, they have crosses on insignia.

To be honest, I don't fly my 50-starred flag anymore because it's too identified with the military and the right wing. I used to fly it for the IDEALS it stood for.

There's the real scandal in Dyson's remarks: "Well, yeah."

Why aren't conservatives publicly opposing the white supremacists in their midst? Where is their equivalent of antifa? Where is the Republican leadership speaking out against white supremacists and their appropriation of American symbols?