The relationship of many American leftists to patriotism reminds me a lot of those guys who grow up in oppressively evangelical communities and decide to express their disillusionment with it by becoming black metal satanists - a oppositional mirror of Christianity - instead of becoming atheists.
Like the correct response to the realization that nationalism is a false consciousness used to suppress class conflict is to focus on raising class consciousness not to root against the nation everyone around you is rooting for.
Flag burning anti-patriotism is stupid in the exact same way that jingoistic chauvinism is stupid but it's also stupid in an additional self-defeating way because it sets your goals up in opposition to a bunch of symbols and institutions that normies have been trained their whole life to believe in.
Nations are lines someone drew on maps and flags are pieces of cloth. Made up! Don't get mad at something that's made up especially if it's also alienating people that you need to reach for no good reason!
Ya I feel sometimes like this stuff is the foreign policy equivalent of those straight edge punks who'd tattoo X's on their hands or whatever bsky.app/profile/thre...
"have you ever considered how many people in the united states see the united states flag as an irredeemable symbol of profound evil" like, yes, and the number is "extremely few" which is why setting yourself up against it is insane bsky.app/profile/nacl...
ever consider how many people look at that flag and see mammon, a beast that hates them, a monster that has killed and harmed their families? those are the people our struggle is for. blessed are the meek, jackass
interesting to look at all the civil rights marchers who carried or even literally wrapped themselves in the flag in the 60s. were they rah rah jingo nationalists? or was there something more strategic happening?
Absolutely, but I think it’s worthwhile to keep in mind that most people view themselves as fundamentally good. Appealing to that can be very effective.
That’s the beauty of the line. “I know you’re actually good underneath, so let’s fix this thing where you’re not being good, and it‘ll all be sunshine and roses”
