What does an upside-down American flag mean? | Mashable.

Why are people flying their American flags upside down?

We're in distress.

What does the upside down flag mean? Credit: Getty Images

We did it. We're finally fighting back. We're really showing it to the Supreme Court. We're…flying the American flag, but upside down.

Some folks are protesting the nation's recent Supreme Court decisions by flying their American flags upside down. This comes after the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court ruling on Friday that overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion, and Thursday's ruling that limits state and local government in restricting guns outside the home.                                                                                                                     



According to the U.S. Flag Code, flying the American flag shouldn't be flown upside down — with the stars at the bottom — "except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property." U.S. Flag Code is officially a law, but there aren't any federal punishments or enforcement for people who don't follow the code, according to Cornell Law School. So, it's not a particularly useful law. It sets the rules for when the American flag can be flown at half-staff (mourning) and how the flag shouldn't be used (for clothes, bedding, or drapery). 

So protesters are flying their flags upside down in response to what they see as a nation in distress. It's one of the many forms of peaceful protest that aren't particularly radical, but can be useful in making people feel like they're doing something when they feel helpless, or showing your neighbors where you align politically and that you're a safe space for certain folks.                                                                                                              

Forms of peaceful protests can help people find community when they feel frustrated and alone, can help to share resources, and can result in real change — like the 1963 March on Washington, which successfully pressured the government to pass a civil rights bill. Or take 2020's Black Lives Matter protests, which led to fewer legislative progress than the March on Washington but still important societal moves, like the removal of confederate symbols and marking Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

Putting up signs in your yard and attending peaceful marches can be an important way to show your support for movements, but activists and organizers encourage supporters to not feel that they've done enough work by simply flying a flag upside down. One of the problems with participating in demonstrations that don't put real pressure on those who hold actual power is that it can feel like you've done something to push the movement forward when, in reality, you have not.


Comments

  1. It's an indication of distress ...seeking help.

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  2. We should no longer have a national flag. We are the disunited states, not a country.

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    Replies
    1. the teachers union isn’t helping

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    2. wrong. Just vote...

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    3. How does voting unite a country?

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    4. the teacher’ Union? Which one?

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    5. how would it not?

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    6. how does that answer my question?

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    7. Never mind, Joe I think we both know the answer to that question.

      It can't... and it won't.

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  3. This is the first year in my 87 years that I will not celebrate INDEPENDENCE DAY.

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  4. Women should be taking a knee when the flag is raised and our National Anthem is sung! Why would you stand for freedom when you have no freedom under that flag?!

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    Replies
    1. as you stand on the corpses of babies?

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    2. hilarious stuff?

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    3. nd under that flag am I entitled to believe what I want or are you pointing fingers and passing judgment based solely on your beliefs. I thought that the flag and anthem were all about our freedom. I didn't know there was a "but for standing on the corpses of babies". Can you point me to where in the Anthem it says that and our Pledge of Allegiance? You are entitled to your opinion but not your facts. I don't believe I am standing on corpses of babies. I base that on my actual experience with a long time ago miscarriage. A 9 wk gestation. I had to retrieve it from the toilet for the doc to see if I passed it all. When is the last time you had a miscarriage and saw it upfront and close and touched it? Yeah, you will never have to experience that. There was not one thing that resembled a human. No heart, no legs, no arms, no head! NOTHING! So spew all your venom you can dream up in your twisted mind all you want that makes only YOU feel good. I on the other hand know the facts! I lived it!

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    4. VOTE BLUE ALL THE WAY DOWN BALLOT! We have to take back the red states!

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    5. That doesn’t jibe with facts

      https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/298626

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    6. school choice will destroy the blue states

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    7. A zygote is not a baby nor a human being. If you're this infatuated with babies Tommy, are you for universal health care, strict gun laws, and adopting the many many children in our adopting system?

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    8. she's saying women don't have freedom (which is very much true)

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  5. My flag has not been flown since Biden became President the only reason I don't have it upside down and flying is because I don't have a flagpole just in the tree where we would put the pole in a metal post

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    1. may as well leave it there cause trump will NEVER be in the he oval office again. this is where he should be

      https://media1.tenor.co/images/176434c8d7cb5de760b4cac8679e4926/tenor.gif?c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2tfd2ViY29tbWVudHM&itemid=5372129

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    2. because they'll rigged the election again They did it so Killary would win but they thought Trump would never get elected so did nothing so they made sure that the Feeler and Kneeler would win Anyone who thinks it was a fair election is a special kind of stupid

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  6. How disrespectful, flying the flag upside down is a sign of “extreme danger to life or property”. What danger are you in!? And what property!? A baby has a body of their own, it’s not your body!

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  7. Because America can't get right.

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  8. It's like watching fall off Rome in real time - about time for them to collapse on themselves .

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  9. Because the far left are slowly loosing their Imperial Power over everything! 🇺🇸

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    1. by imperial power you mean freedom.

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    2. losing it to the far-right, but I guess you are happy about that.

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    3. along with freedom

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  10. A foreign vessel berthed here in NZ flying an upside down 🇳🇿 flag, at the time it was a response seen around the country towards mandated covid vaccinations. I absolutely ripped the crew to shreds. Got a video of it flying and being pulled down to be flown upright. Didn’t think it was appropriate at all.

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  11. Maybe this is the best way to celebrate Independence Day.

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  12. I've been doing this since trump got elected. 😎

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    Replies
    1. and has the flag of a corrupted country that has literally nazis in their army nice contradiction

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  13. International sign of distress - flying a nation's flag upside down. Good to know conservatives won't do this. They're still working on flying the right flag.

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  14. If you think a metaphore as basic as this needs to be explained, it's no wonder your country is such a mess.

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  15. Our COUNTRY IS IN DISTRESS .BIDEN CARES MORE FOR UKRAINE THAN FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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  16. Self-fulfilling prophecy!

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  17. Can some other countries please send help.

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  18. Paul McCartney proved to have beaten John Lennon.
    By "American pie" ...

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  19. Easier to set the stars on fire first

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  20. That place is f*credit....

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  21. *y’all are in distress 
    NOT we’re

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  22. Nope. Everything going great the past week.

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  23. The country has been in distress for a very long time. I started doing this with postage stamps that beared the American flag back in the early 80's to send the message.

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  24. Look for Rage Against The Machine.

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  25. The empire is collapsing

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  26. These snowflakes don't know what real distress is.

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    Replies
    1. come back to us when you don’t have bodily autonomy and then convince us that we don’t know what real “distress” is.

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    2. read the constitution. The justices merely balanced the challenge to the Mississippi law against the constitution. By doing this it showed the RvW was flawed. Even RBG knew this. Just think, if the radical left didn't want late term abortion RvW would probably never been challenged by this case. 15 weeks was reasonable.

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    3. and sorry that I don’t think you or any other group of men is the arbiter of what is “reasonable” when defining limits in the bodily autonomy of women. If you hate women, just say that.

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    4. this is typical radical thought. Because I respect the constitution and believe in reason I must hate women. You are so incorrect. When discussing the limits of autonomy should we not consider the body of the baby at let's say 7-9 months? And if autonomy of our bodies is so important why did many on the left support the vaccine mandate? If you respond please don't make assumptions about me. I don't want to do that either in reference to your opinion.

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    5. Typical conservative response. Pretend that your hands are tied because of something men 200-300 years ago put in writing cannot possibly be out of touch with todays society or that it might be based on sexist ideals. Or, how about, we know that women are people today. We are not bound by a several hundred year old document or frame of mind to make decisions. If you KNOW women deserve bodily autonomy, you wouldn’t be backing up a piece of paper and pretending like it is unchangeable. Also, you Fox News people are so totally outrageous with the late term abortion thing. Look up what that really means and the statistics on how often it happens. And btw, if a fetus cannot survive outside of my body before it is born, it should not be considered a person with more rights than the fully formed woman bearing it.

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    6. if you respect a dusty old DOCUMENT more than the entire female species of human, then sir, you do hate women.

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    7. As to your vaccine straw-man — me aborting a fetus would have ZERO impact on you, your family, or the populace at large. A deadly virus, however, does.

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  27. We’ve been in distress since they gave Biden the presidency.

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    1. po 🌨️. in so much distress that domestic terrorists assaulted and desecrated the nation's capitol on Wednesday January 6 2021 cause your guy lost his bid for a second term. boo hoo hoo!

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  28. Apparently the July 4th celebrations are cancelled this year due to half the population losing their independence

    https://fb.me/e/1GwLyxWrg

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  29. Distressed Ashamed Embarrassed Vote OUT Republicans

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  30. Maga destroyed their own country

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  31. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  32. The government mo longer represent the people.
    Corporations have bought them.

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  33. They are doing it as a sign of distress over the failed Biden presidency

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  34. The country isn't in distress, just the liberals.

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  35. If there is dire distress, it’s because Biden is destroying America.

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  36. N AMERICA WE HAVE 2 POLITICAL PARTIES. ONE WITH BAD IDEAS…..AND ONE WITH NO IDEAS.

    The Supreme Court ruled in Row v. Wade, and the results were as expected (the terms scary, disappointing, and stupid also apply).

    Elected politicians were proposing that the decision be ignored. Some proposed the court be eliminated. Others suggested we pack the court with political ideologues (democrats).

    Do we not teach civics anymore in school?

    Let’s play “what if”……

    Congress gets us into wars where many of us die and are maimed (not them…us)… Congress causes inflation by their excess, self serving, spending. Congress promotes crime by self serving laws and regulations that refuse to jail criminals and that defund the police. Congress increases and perpetuates racism by promoting a double standard for Black people. And, they lie all the time! And they somehow get rich on a government salary.

    Perhaps we should ignore congress, or eliminate congress? Let’s just run the nation with the Executive Branch and the Judiciary.

    That is obviously stupid. But why are similar comments by democrat politicians not pointed out as equally stupid by the media and republicans?

    My chief concern is the republicans. Where are they? Why are they not more visible in defending the constitution and identifying evil and stupid politicians?

    This reminds me of the old saying: In America we have two political parties. One with bad ides….. and one with no ideas.

    Isn’t it interesting how we all know which is which?

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    Replies
    1. your chief concern relies on politicians saving you from politicians

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  37. I speak for everyone here when I say "You know it's bad when liberals start buying flags."

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  38. Last Castle 💪🏻
    A powerfull comparison

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  39. Two words - Joe Biden.

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  40. It is a mental illness. They can find relief by moving to another country maybe?

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  41. Symbol of insurrection jail them all

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  42. Because The illegitimate president is a traitor and should be removed by the military?

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  43. Only Demoratas & Karens

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