A lady who lives on our block just got one of these license plates. I'm baffled, because she and her family live with her parents and are on every single type of government assistance (except Section 8, because they're living with her parents). I know about the government assistance part because her parents are not very happy about them living there and have told a lot of people about their issues.

Interesting background on the flag

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-shifting-symbolism-of-the-gadsden-flag/amp

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor drives a Subaru. I avoid them as much as possible.

Don't tread on me, bro.

My neighbor drives a Subaru. I avoid them as much as possible.

Around 7 corners, most of the Gadsden plates I've seen lately are on cars driven by young Latinos/as.

I'm a retired Marine. And very liberal. I voted for Obama and Clinton. I recall seeing the Gadsen flag often when I joined the USMC (early 1990s). It was on t-shirts, jackets, bumper stickers, etc. White people, black people, Latinos, Asian Americans... all races wore it. It was a way to show pride in being a Marine. Some units used this as their local flag. It has a lot of historical significance to Marines. I retired in 2012, and saw the "don't tread on me" symbol throughout my entire time in the USMC. It gained popularity after 9/11 as well.
Now, the Tea Party started using it. I don't associate Gadsen flag automatically with Tea Party, since for 2 decades before that I had known it as a military flag dating back to the American Revolution.
The Gadsen flag is very different than the swastika. No one in the U.S. knew what the swastika was before the Nazis, save for a maybe a few Indian immigrants. Even then, it wasn't in current use in India. The swastika was used in a regime that murdered millions of civilians. The swastika will always be associated with Nazis, no matter what it's ancient origins may be.
Nor is the Gadsen flag like the Confederate Flag, which was the official flag of the Confederacy, aka - keep black people enslaved. And then used by southern whites to intimidate blacks. The Confederate flag was born in the confederacy for the Confederacy.
The Gadsen flag... so some conservatives now cling to that flag. Some are racist. And some may have waved the flag at various right wing rallies. But no regime has used that flag that has murdered or enslaved.
I'm sure somewhere in my house is a t-shirt or patch or something with the Gadsen flag. Something I would have gotten years ago before the Tea Party existed.
Most veterans don't associate the Gadsen flag with Tea Party. I don't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Likewise, the Gadsen is a very appropriate symbol in response to Islamic terrorism of 9/11.

Do you always state your opinions as fact?

When you don't have a fact-based rebuttal, yes.

Well, you've proven yourself to be a waste of my time. The above is nothing but your opinion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Likewise, the Gadsen is a very appropriate symbol in response to Islamic terrorism of 9/11.

Do you always state your opinions as fact?

When you don't have a fact-based rebuttal, yes.

Well, you've proven yourself to be a waste of my time. The above is nothing but your opinion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would absolutely keep my (polite) distance. They are telling you who they are - believe them. Yes, be polite; yes, smile and wave; yes, be there for them if there was an emergency but keep your distance from people like that.

And I agree - no matter what - do not let your children do over to their house. There will be firearms in that house. Most likely unsecured firearms.

Would you offer the same advice when the Muslim family moves in on the other side and the wife is wearing a hijab?

1. I would not invite them over for a Dos Equis

2. I would probably avoid telling them about my DC's latest trip to Israel, at least until I got to know them better, casually. Even as I am in principle opposed to Islamophobia, which I think makes things worse, I am not naive - I know SOME of them are going to be intolerant towards my position, and others will need slow educating. I would probably approach a tea partier with similar caution -mainly I want to show the Muslims that a Zionist Jew is a regular person and good neighbor, and show tea partiers that a liberal hillary voter is that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Likewise, the Gadsen is a very appropriate symbol in response to Islamic terrorism of 9/11.

Do you always state your opinions as fact?

When you don't have a fact-based rebuttal, yes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Likewise, the Gadsen is a very appropriate symbol in response to Islamic terrorism of 9/11.

Do you always state your opinions as fact?

Nope, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis

Anonymous wrote:

Likewise, the Gadsen is a very appropriate symbol in response to Islamic terrorism of 9/11.

Do you always state your opinions as fact?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

People express themselves in different ways. The Gadsen flag was a protest against tyranny. ACTUAL tyranny. So people who put it on their license plate during the Obama years are expressing that they compared Obama's presidency to tyranny. This is an explicit choice of hostile expression. One absolutely CAN take this at face value and it's not inconsistent with supporting peace, tolerance, and liberal values because the notion that Obama was tyranny is invalid on its face. This notion that somehow a liberal is being hypocritical for drawing conclusions about someone that are being telegraphed loudly and clearly is ludicrous. If you don't want to be judged, don't wear your damn politics on your sleeve -- or your license plate

.

So... the people who put it on their license plate during the Trump years are expressing that they are comparing Trump's presidency to tyranny.

Nah, it's already a RWNJ symbol. As much as those who wave the Gadsen want to pretend it not and then act butthurt when you point out that its been a RWNJ symbol since 2009. Pretending that it's not a RWNJ symbol by bringing up the Marines or colonial history just makes you seem like a disingenuous jerk. It's basically stating "I respect you so little that I think you'll fall for my blatant lie."

No one opposed to Trump is adopting the Gadsen. Why? Because we all know that it's now a RWNJ symbol. Duh.

It's a historical anti-tyranny symbol. Do all liberals just ignore history?

It was an anti tyranny symbol in the 18th century. After 1783 or so, it fell into disuse, and AFAICT its uses between then and 2009 were extremely rare. In 2009 its use by the tea party was widespread, effectively co-opting it. While it might be good to reclaim it, I am skeptical that is the intent of most who display it now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

People express themselves in different ways. The Gadsen flag was a protest against tyranny. ACTUAL tyranny. So people who put it on their license plate during the Obama years are expressing that they compared Obama's presidency to tyranny. This is an explicit choice of hostile expression. One absolutely CAN take this at face value and it's not inconsistent with supporting peace, tolerance, and liberal values because the notion that Obama was tyranny is invalid on its face. This notion that somehow a liberal is being hypocritical for drawing conclusions about someone that are being telegraphed loudly and clearly is ludicrous. If you don't want to be judged, don't wear your damn politics on your sleeve -- or your license plate

.

So... the people who put it on their license plate during the Trump years are expressing that they are comparing Trump's presidency to tyranny.

Nah, it's already a RWNJ symbol. As much as those who wave the Gadsen want to pretend it not and then act butthurt when you point out that its been a RWNJ symbol since 2009. Pretending that it's not a RWNJ symbol by bringing up the Marines or colonial history just makes you seem like a disingenuous jerk. It's basically stating "I respect you so little that I think you'll fall for my blatant lie."

No one opposed to Trump is adopting the Gadsen. Why? Because we all know that it's now a RWNJ symbol. Duh.

It's a historical anti-tyranny symbol. Do all liberals just ignore history?

By that logic, you were waving the Gadsen after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11, right?

Oh, you actually didn't. Why did you wait until 2010 to bring out the Gadsen and get your yellow license plate in 2012?

Well, I was in college during 9/11 and couldn't afford the fabric it was made out of, but let's not let facts get in the way of your rhetoric.

Because, terrorism is different than tyranny and the Berlin Wall wasn't in the US. What an odd comparison.

Not odd at all. The "evil empire" had falled and democracy prevailed in 1989-1991 - that seems like a great time to give the middle finger to tyranny.

Likewise, the Gadsen is a very appropriate symbol in response to Islamic terrorism of 9/11.

So again, what was so special about 2009 to present day that made the Gadsen the banner for rightwing nut jobs?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

People express themselves in different ways. The Gadsen flag was a protest against tyranny. ACTUAL tyranny. So people who put it on their license plate during the Obama years are expressing that they compared Obama's presidency to tyranny. This is an explicit choice of hostile expression. One absolutely CAN take this at face value and it's not inconsistent with supporting peace, tolerance, and liberal values because the notion that Obama was tyranny is invalid on its face. This notion that somehow a liberal is being hypocritical for drawing conclusions about someone that are being telegraphed loudly and clearly is ludicrous. If you don't want to be judged, don't wear your damn politics on your sleeve -- or your license plate

.

So... the people who put it on their license plate during the Trump years are expressing that they are comparing Trump's presidency to tyranny.

Nah, it's already a RWNJ symbol. As much as those who wave the Gadsen want to pretend it not and then act butthurt when you point out that its been a RWNJ symbol since 2009. Pretending that it's not a RWNJ symbol by bringing up the Marines or colonial history just makes you seem like a disingenuous jerk. It's basically stating "I respect you so little that I think you'll fall for my blatant lie."

No one opposed to Trump is adopting the Gadsen. Why? Because we all know that it's now a RWNJ symbol. Duh.

It's a historical anti-tyranny symbol. Do all liberals just ignore history?

By that logic, you were waving the Gadsen after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11, right?

Oh, you actually didn't. Why did you wait until 2010 to bring out the Gadsen and get your yellow license plate in 2012?

Well, I was in college during 9/11 and couldn't afford the fabric it was made out of, but let's not let facts get in the way of your rhetoric.

Because, terrorism is different than tyranny and the Berlin Wall wasn't in the US. What an odd comparison.