Also nothing says "No Kings" like waving several large flags of Palestine, where the last election was held in 2005 and LGBTQIA+ people are thrown off of roofs by Hamas.
If the Democrats want to win they can simply have competitive Democratic Primaries (the last one where the party establishment did not annoint the winner was Obama in 2008).
Also for the other amateur vexillologists (person who studies/loves flags) who reached out to us.
This is ironic because protesters at a "no kings" rally are waving the ultimate imperial merch.
While today the Palestinian flag might be a symbol of liberation for some activists, historically speaking... those colors are pure, unadulterated royal branding.
Here’s the historical tea on the Islamic dynasties:
Black: The Abbasids, who ruled from opulent palaces and passed absolute power from father to son.
White: The Umayyads, the dynasty that literally turned the early caliphate into a hereditary kingdom.
Green: The Fatimids, another massive, absolute imperial dynasty.
Red Triangle: The Hashemites, the actual royal family that designed the flag and still rules Jordan today.
The Irony?
Flying a flag designed to honor historical, hereditary monarchs at an anti-monarchy rally is like wearing a tiara to a guillotine party.
History always keeps the receipts!
Compare that to the US flag and what the stars and stripes literally represent.
Let's hope the Democrats can get their act together before the midterms so that there can be some proper checks and balances at the federal level.
~
Has Sam Hodge dropped out yet? Sam why don't you move to a swing state and help flip a Senate or House seat?
Is Joe Ferris (while in office as Mayor) still on the City of Hudson Democratic Committee?
Flags are symbols and symbols are interpreted differently by different people and during different times. It is questionable that anyone waving a Palestinian flag at a No Kings rally was supporting anything other than a free Palestine. Suggesting otherwise feels specious.
Another example of a flag with shifting symbolism is one flying outside the HCS offices. Perhaps the SPQR flag is simply harkening back to the days of the Roman Republic. However it IS a symbol that has, of late, been appropriated by white nationalists.
It's unclear when exactly the SPQR flag became the most recent addition to the facade of 441 Warren Street, but it appeared not too long after the United States began attacking Iran. HCS's website lists as its "manifesto" Liberty, Merit and Western Civilization. Iran is, generally, not considered part of the latter.
So here we have a symbol that has been appropriated by white nationalists, flying proudly outside the offices of a "group" (?) that holds Western civilization as one of its ideals, and appearing not long after America launched a war against a Muslim-majority country.
It's incredibly meek to surrender historical symbols to fringe groups and instantly accept them as micro-aggressions.
That’s exactly how the Betsy Ross flag, or even the American flag just a few years ago, absurdly became "offensive," or how the classic dad-vacation Hawaiian shirt was briefly deemed an extremist symbol simply because a fringe group of internet dads and successful tech entrepreneurs from Hawaii decided to wear it as a uniform.
It says a lot that you consider the ancient Roman SPQR flag non-optimal just because fringe online trolls briefly discovered it after watching a movie. Just wait until the Italians find out their heritage is suddenly problematic, on an area blog, or when Classicists who know that Rome created the first social safety net, teh first General Strike (labor), and basically pioneered public infrastructure, hear about your take!
Also, Michael, since you're tracking U.S. conflicts with "Muslim-majority" countries: you surely know America's first authorized foreign war wasn't against the British, French, or Greater Mexico.
It was the Barbary Wars, fought because Islamic Barbary states were abducting and enslaving Americans and we were the first Western nation to stop paying tributes (briefly joined by Sweden until they chickened out). By your standard of shifting symbolism and historical guilt-by-association, does the U.S. flag suddenly become an inherently anti-Muslim symbol? Is the store on Warren with a Swedish flag pro-slavery because they once paid a large tribute for peace.
Your logic completely falls apart.
The First Amendment protects all flags, regardless of who is offended. We literally have people flying the flag of Greenland down on Warren Street, which is hilarious, but it certainly does not mean that house is plotting a polar insurrection. The funniest flags are in the 3rd/4th Wards. Imagine the panic if someone flew the original (Lion and Sun) Iranian flag or, god forbid, the First Navy Jack! Gasp! Clutch the pearls!
We say let your freak flag fly and go wild. Didn't Vincent Mulford, famous Hudson legend to all, fly the "Don't Tread on Me Flag" (and other maritime flags)?
That didn't mean that he was a 2nd Amendment supporter (or maybe he was), maybe he just thought it was funny, or maybe he wanted to be left alone, or it was a statement about Marriage Equality.
As for you, Michael, why don't you try to find the least offensive, most beta flag in the world, a flag that represents a place that has never conquered anyone or anything, and one that absolutely no online community has ever used erroneously. Maybe you should just fly the flag of Antarctica? It is entirely populated by penguins, its only export is ice, and it has never declared war on anyone. Though I am sure someone, somewhere, will eventually find a way to declare the penguins problematic.
Are they a tad too heteronormative and monogamous for your taste? They do wear black and white all the time...
Except that isn’t an “ancient Roman SPQR flag” because such a thing simply did not exist. What you’re flying outside your front door is a piece of decorative cosplay for ahistorical fanboys.
Maybe a direct question will produce a more focused answer without the prevaricating and posturing (“beta” in the year 2026, good lord):
Why did you choose to fly THAT flag at THIS time?
I’m sure you can suss out why a neighbor might be flying a Greenland flag. Before the SPQR appeared, you had an Irish flag up for Saint Patrick’s. After last year’s election, it was the Jolly Roger, which historically was used to intimidate ships so they could be plundered without a fight. Was that also a coincidence?
There seems to always be a method to the madness. Just own up to it.
- "The following blogroll comment contains unapologetic patriotism, accurate historical calendars, passing references to billionaires, and a severe lack of ideological panic. Also humoUr. Please secure your fainting couch before proceeding"
Michael, thank you for the stunning revelation that ancient Romans didn't mass-produce nylon flags with brass grommets and ship them via Amazon on the viae publicae. You must be tenured.
Anyone with basic historical literacy knows they used vexilla. But if you were a real Roman history fanboy, you’d know exactly why that symbol flew in March and not betray your ignorance for all to see: March (Martius) is the original Roman New Year (pre-Julian calendar). It's a month packed with traditions marking the resumption of civic life, Romans planting their crops, ancient festivals... the Ides of March... need we go on? It’s not "cosplay," Michael. It’s a calendar.
As for your broader panic, various editors and contributors fly different flags at their homes across town and the county. Neighbors frequently give us flags to fly, and we have flown most of them.
We hoist the French tricolor for Bastille Day (stylish allies), the Japanese flag on Shogatsu (allies we nuked), the Rainbow flag during Pride celebrations (fab allies), or the UN-style United Federation of Planets flag (alien allies). We fly a Memorial Day flag gifted by a Vietnam veteran. Sometimes we fly one in solidarity with a country during a natural disaster, or get jokingly reprimanded by our Southern Hemisphere neighbors when we lack the right one, like the Argentine flag after the World Cup. But then again would you have missed the soccer reference and called it a Milei-inspired libertarian fever dream?
After all, this is a pluralistic society. And sometimes, Michael, we just like a handsome flag. We might go wild and fly a flag so colorful it is gay, in a merry kinda way, and sometimes one that is somber, in a purely saturnine way.
To be clear, we never said the No King's protesters shouldn't fly Palestinian or Ukrainian flags. People can fly whatever they like. We merely pointed out the glaring hypocrisy of waving a flag rooted in hereditary monarchy at a "No Kings" rally, or waving the flag of an international conflict at an anti-international wars rally, and how it weakens the rally's message.
One of the unexpected lessons we've learned is that flags are essentially Rorschach tests in Hudson.
These symbols are well-studied and clear, but people like you will inevitably see whatever phantom dog whistles you desperately want to see.
This is not the 2010s of cancellation and groupthink. This moral panic, seeing a conspiracy or some "-ism" in everything, is exactly why the town lost so many of its moderates.
What's next, do you want a mandatory "diversity" statement in the form of compelled speech resident contracts... because as you say surely "you can suss out why... a Greenland flag".
Let's take a breath and make Hudson more colorful, more international, and more American. You're always welcome to fly a flag of your own, just as long as it isn't those problematic penguins. jk.
Look, we knew we had a lot of fans, and it is good to have another.
You can sign up here at www.HudsonCommonSense.com/subscribe and on our next international flight we might use Starlink to write the real and true story of the Great Flag War of 2022 on Warren Street... ;-)
You flew a flag that is about 30 years old with zero historical significance to “celebrate” the original Roman New Year three weeks late. I’d mention the “glaring hypocrisy” of flying a flag invented in the late 20th century as a nod to the pre-Julian calendar, but what’s the point.
Which calendar event was the Jolly Roger commemorating? Were you wildly late to Talk Like a Pirate Day?
(Hint: the Greenland flag is probably in reference to Trump’s passing fascination with acquiring the country. It’s really not that complicated.)
The Roman Martius was a month-long season of civic festivals extending well into late March. We are exactly on schedule. But we can also fly flags randomly, as you shall see from Kinderhook to the 1st Ward.
This is your second “gotcha” turned gaffe, demonstrating your lack of knowledge on a topic you selected to try to make a point on. It perfectly illustrates how classical literacy and the principle of pluralism is replaced with the paranoia of an ideological hall monitor.
It requires a profound (or funny?) disconnect from reality for a Roman flag / symbol to upset you this much. Just wait until someone on Allen St flies the Star Wars Rebel Alliance crest and you mistake them for an Islamic sovereign citizen splinter cell plotting an intergalactic January 6th.
~
Anyway - a fan is an obsessive… hate mail or love mail, it is all called fan mail.
~
Let’s move on… this is getting boring and we dare not test your knowledge of the Greeks.
Randall Martin.... 100% protest attendance record, 50% Board of Supervisor attendance record.
ReplyDeleteAlso nothing says "No Kings" like waving several large flags of Palestine, where the last election was held in 2005 and LGBTQIA+ people are thrown off of roofs by Hamas.
If the Democrats want to win they can simply have competitive Democratic Primaries (the last one where the party establishment did not annoint the winner was Obama in 2008).
Also for the other amateur vexillologists (person who studies/loves flags) who reached out to us.
DeleteThis is ironic because protesters at a "no kings" rally are waving the ultimate imperial merch.
While today the Palestinian flag might be a symbol of liberation for some activists, historically speaking... those colors are pure, unadulterated royal branding.
Here’s the historical tea on the Islamic dynasties:
Black: The Abbasids, who ruled from opulent palaces and passed absolute power from father to son.
White: The Umayyads, the dynasty that literally turned the early caliphate into a hereditary kingdom.
Green: The Fatimids, another massive, absolute imperial dynasty.
Red Triangle: The Hashemites, the actual royal family that designed the flag and still rules Jordan today.
The Irony?
Flying a flag designed to honor historical, hereditary monarchs at an anti-monarchy rally is like wearing a tiara to a guillotine party.
History always keeps the receipts!
Compare that to the US flag and what the stars and stripes literally represent.
Let's hope the Democrats can get their act together before the midterms so that there can be some proper checks and balances at the federal level.
~
Has Sam Hodge dropped out yet? Sam why don't you move to a swing state and help flip a Senate or House seat?
Is Joe Ferris (while in office as Mayor) still on the City of Hudson Democratic Committee?
Flags are symbols and symbols are interpreted differently by different people and during different times. It is questionable that anyone waving a Palestinian flag at a No Kings rally was supporting anything other than a free Palestine. Suggesting otherwise feels specious.
DeleteAnother example of a flag with shifting symbolism is one flying outside the HCS offices. Perhaps the SPQR flag is simply harkening back to the days of the Roman Republic. However it IS a symbol that has, of late, been appropriated by white nationalists.
It's unclear when exactly the SPQR flag became the most recent addition to the facade of 441 Warren Street, but it appeared not too long after the United States began attacking Iran. HCS's website lists as its "manifesto" Liberty, Merit and Western Civilization. Iran is, generally, not considered part of the latter.
So here we have a symbol that has been appropriated by white nationalists, flying proudly outside the offices of a "group" (?) that holds Western civilization as one of its ideals, and appearing not long after America launched a war against a Muslim-majority country.
Maybe it's all just a big coincidence.
It's incredibly meek to surrender historical symbols to fringe groups and instantly accept them as micro-aggressions.
DeleteThat’s exactly how the Betsy Ross flag, or even the American flag just a few years ago, absurdly became "offensive," or how the classic dad-vacation Hawaiian shirt was briefly deemed an extremist symbol simply because a fringe group of internet dads and successful tech entrepreneurs from Hawaii decided to wear it as a uniform.
It says a lot that you consider the ancient Roman SPQR flag non-optimal just because fringe online trolls briefly discovered it after watching a movie. Just wait until the Italians find out their heritage is suddenly problematic, on an area blog, or when Classicists who know that Rome created the first social safety net, teh first General Strike (labor), and basically pioneered public infrastructure, hear about your take!
Also, Michael, since you're tracking U.S. conflicts with "Muslim-majority" countries: you surely know America's first authorized foreign war wasn't against the British, French, or Greater Mexico.
It was the Barbary Wars, fought because Islamic Barbary states were abducting and enslaving Americans and we were the first Western nation to stop paying tributes (briefly joined by Sweden until they chickened out). By your standard of shifting symbolism and historical guilt-by-association, does the U.S. flag suddenly become an inherently anti-Muslim symbol? Is the store on Warren with a Swedish flag pro-slavery because they once paid a large tribute for peace.
Your logic completely falls apart.
The First Amendment protects all flags, regardless of who is offended. We literally have people flying the flag of Greenland down on Warren Street, which is hilarious, but it certainly does not mean that house is plotting a polar insurrection. The funniest flags are in the 3rd/4th Wards. Imagine the panic if someone flew the original (Lion and Sun) Iranian flag or, god forbid, the First Navy Jack! Gasp! Clutch the pearls!
We say let your freak flag fly and go wild. Didn't Vincent Mulford, famous Hudson legend to all, fly the "Don't Tread on Me Flag" (and other maritime flags)?
https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2021/10/in-memoriam-vincent-mulford.html
That didn't mean that he was a 2nd Amendment supporter (or maybe he was), maybe he just thought it was funny, or maybe he wanted to be left alone, or it was a statement about Marriage Equality.
As for you, Michael, why don't you try to find the least offensive, most beta flag in the world, a flag that represents a place that has never conquered anyone or anything, and one that absolutely no online community has ever used erroneously. Maybe you should just fly the flag of Antarctica? It is entirely populated by penguins, its only export is ice, and it has never declared war on anyone. Though I am sure someone, somewhere, will eventually find a way to declare the penguins problematic.
Are they a tad too heteronormative and monogamous for your taste? They do wear black and white all the time...
"Maybe it's all just a big coincidence."
Except that isn’t an “ancient Roman SPQR flag” because such a thing simply did not exist. What you’re flying outside your front door is a piece of decorative cosplay for ahistorical fanboys.
DeleteMaybe a direct question will produce a more focused answer without the prevaricating and posturing (“beta” in the year 2026, good lord):
Why did you choose to fly THAT flag at THIS time?
I’m sure you can suss out why a neighbor might be flying a Greenland flag. Before the SPQR appeared, you had an Irish flag up for Saint Patrick’s. After last year’s election, it was the Jolly Roger, which historically was used to intimidate ships so they could be plundered without a fight. Was that also a coincidence?
There seems to always be a method to the madness. Just own up to it.
Content Warning specifically for Michael:
Delete- "The following blogroll comment contains unapologetic patriotism, accurate historical calendars, passing references to billionaires, and a severe lack of ideological panic. Also humoUr. Please secure your fainting couch before proceeding"
Michael, thank you for the stunning revelation that ancient Romans didn't mass-produce nylon flags with brass grommets and ship them via Amazon on the viae publicae. You must be tenured.
Anyone with basic historical literacy knows they used vexilla. But if you were a real Roman history fanboy, you’d know exactly why that symbol flew in March and not betray your ignorance for all to see:
March (Martius) is the original Roman New Year (pre-Julian calendar). It's a month packed with traditions marking the resumption of civic life, Romans planting their crops, ancient festivals... the Ides of March... need we go on? It’s not "cosplay," Michael. It’s a calendar.
As for your broader panic, various editors and contributors fly different flags at their homes across town and the county. Neighbors frequently give us flags to fly, and we have flown most of them.
We hoist the French tricolor for Bastille Day (stylish allies), the Japanese flag on Shogatsu (allies we nuked), the Rainbow flag during Pride celebrations (fab allies), or the UN-style United Federation of Planets flag (alien allies). We fly a Memorial Day flag gifted by a Vietnam veteran. Sometimes we fly one in solidarity with a country during a natural disaster, or get jokingly reprimanded by our Southern Hemisphere neighbors when we lack the right one, like the Argentine flag after the World Cup. But then again would you have missed the soccer reference and called it a Milei-inspired libertarian fever dream?
After all, this is a pluralistic society. And sometimes, Michael, we just like a handsome flag. We might go wild and fly a flag so colorful it is gay, in a merry kinda way, and sometimes one that is somber, in a purely saturnine way.
To be clear, we never said the No King's protesters shouldn't fly Palestinian or Ukrainian flags. People can fly whatever they like. We merely pointed out the glaring hypocrisy of waving a flag rooted in hereditary monarchy at a "No Kings" rally, or waving the flag of an international conflict at an anti-international wars rally, and how it weakens the rally's message.
One of the unexpected lessons we've learned is that flags are essentially Rorschach tests in Hudson.
These symbols are well-studied and clear, but people like you will inevitably see whatever phantom dog whistles you desperately want to see.
This is not the 2010s of cancellation and groupthink. This moral panic, seeing a conspiracy or some "-ism" in everything, is exactly why the town lost so many of its moderates.
What's next, do you want a mandatory "diversity" statement in the form of compelled speech resident contracts... because as you say surely "you can suss out why... a Greenland flag".
Let's take a breath and make Hudson more colorful, more international, and more American. You're always welcome to fly a flag of your own, just as long as it isn't those problematic penguins. jk.
Look, we knew we had a lot of fans, and it is good to have another.
You can sign up here at www.HudsonCommonSense.com/subscribe and on our next international flight we might use Starlink to write the real and true story of the Great Flag War of 2022 on Warren Street... ;-)
So to recap:
ReplyDeleteYou flew a flag that is about 30 years old with zero historical significance to “celebrate” the original Roman New Year three weeks late. I’d mention the “glaring hypocrisy” of flying a flag invented in the late 20th century as a nod to the pre-Julian calendar, but what’s the point.
Which calendar event was the Jolly Roger commemorating? Were you wildly late to Talk Like a Pirate Day?
(Hint: the Greenland flag is probably in reference to Trump’s passing fascination with acquiring the country. It’s really not that complicated.)
FYI 😘 We were going to post this over the summer but moved it up for April Fool's Day:
Deletehttps://www.hudsoncommonsense.com/conservativemonth
And like that, you wave the white flag.
ReplyDeleteThe Roman Martius was a month-long season of civic festivals extending well into late March. We are exactly on schedule. But we can also fly flags randomly, as you shall see from Kinderhook to the 1st Ward.
This is your second “gotcha” turned gaffe, demonstrating your lack of knowledge on a topic you selected to try to make a point on. It perfectly illustrates how classical literacy and the principle of pluralism is replaced with the paranoia of an ideological hall monitor.
It requires a profound (or funny?) disconnect from reality for a Roman flag / symbol to upset you this much. Just wait until someone on Allen St flies the Star Wars Rebel Alliance crest and you mistake them for an Islamic sovereign citizen splinter cell plotting an intergalactic January 6th.
~
Anyway - a fan is an obsessive… hate mail or love mail, it is all called fan mail.
~
Let’s move on… this is getting boring and we dare not test your knowledge of the Greeks.
~
Sincerely; what is your favorite flag and why?