I have to laugh about the fact that half the flags are the wrong way around so here is a friendly guide.

It assumes the flag pole is on the left by the way.

all 44 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 21 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

Sometimes, you just want to fly a flag upside down, knowing which way is up certainly helps with that! Probably not very popular as a statement in the UK, though, considering how subtle the visual effect is.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Why is it not symmetrical though?

  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    (I'm going to call them Xs because referring to them as saint's crosses or whatever can be confusing)

    because if it were symmetrical, the white X would look like it's merely a border to the red, which is not supposed to be the case because it's a separate symbol.

    there's also optical alignment at play. i didn't find much about this online but as a designer I've learned that diagonal lines, if broken by another object, can look weirdly crooked if perfectly aligned, so if you actually slightly misalign them you can make them look more straight. the red X here is broken, but it still looks centered rather than to the side of the white X.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    Flag flying is cringe, its funny that this is the UKs current culture war

  • source
  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    Why is your flag orientable but difficult to tell‽

  • source
  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    I like how it is an interesting flag from an aesthetic point of view. So intricate and detailed. Unlike most tricolours. It even works in black and white pretty well.

    I acknowledge, however, the political and historical controversies it carries. Not trying to undo that.

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    What's the punishment for hanging it the wrong way around?

  • source
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    When I worked at a historic site that flew the Union Flag, you had to run around the parade square three times if you screwed up while raising or lowering it. That included hanging it upside down or letting it hit the ground.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    You get hanged the wrong way around

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    You just gave me a good way of looking at it. The stripes on the right side is the “right” way up. Now I’ll always remember which way it goes.

  • source
  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago
    [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    This is why I scruffily daub England flags onto mini roundabouts.

    I'm not sure who told the far right that flying a flag is anti-establishment. The fucking king flies them for fucks sake.

  • source
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    What percentage of Brits would recognize the "distress signal" of hanging flag upside down?

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That just means you need to put the kettle on, which as a Brit you will already be doing anyway.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    What about hanging it vertically?

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    How are you supposed to even tell from a distance? In America hanging the flag upside down is used as a distress signal - how do y'all do it?

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    If it's been flown at all it's a sign of distress. It's something only racists do, to try and prove they're better then everyone else.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)

    You think any and all instances of a country's flag being flown means the person who put it up is racist? That seems like a bit of an extreme opinion.

    Where I am, I see plenty of Scotland/Northumberland/Ukraine flags, interspersed with the occasional UK, England, and Palestine flag. Are all of these people who raised these flags racist/bigoted?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago
    [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    "Started at the bottom now we here". First red stripe in upper left is at the bottom.

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago
    [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    It depends on which side the flag poles is on.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago

    Who cares about the idolatry of a flag?

  • source
  • [+] -9 points 1 year ago

    Burning it is the only correct way to handle that nazi flag

  • source