@seungjin

there is no "instead of"

there are american flags and mexican flags in the protests

media and social media trolls with agendas will only show the mexican flags and omit the many american flags

they do this to manipulate the story

by your wording i fear your initial impression has already been touched by their manufactured optics

this is what they do: get in front of a story with lies and misrepresentations to touch your perception

@benroyce @seungjin

i've been to protests with no american flags and i will tell you why

because, to a lot of us, that flag represents this government and its oppression, not the people

@matildalove @seungjin

understandable but the point is to reclaim the symbol, not cede the symbol of a nation to the fascists

nonracists like punk music. racists like punk music. because racists like punk music means you're going to stop listening to punk?

don't let evil coopt things which are not automatically theirs. it did, or should, stand for something else

@matildalove

my thinking is #antifa should start flying the american flag. not least because it will piss #MAGA off. you have be strategic with this sort of stuff, not just give up

it's not some random symbol that appears then fades. it's been with us a long time and it will be with for a lot time longer. claim it. own it

@ianto_jones @matildalove

right but scroll up: that's what i'm arguing against: why let MAGA coopt it? it's some meme that disappears in 5 years. *at the very least*, take it back just to piss them off, nevermind the deeper reasons to take the symbol back

just because they grab it, doesn't mean you should go "ok fine it's yours." everything is a fight, we can't just give up and accept it

@benroyce @ianto_jones @matildalove

This!

There are racist, anti-refugee, anti-immigrant protestors in Ireland, too, and they've co-opted the Irish tricolour.

We were colonised, we never colonised anywhere, we emigrated because of famine and poverty in our millions. Now these assholes want to stop others coming here?

Fuck them, and fuck them for trying to take our flag. I still wear it proudly. It's a flag for all the people.

The US situation is different, I know, but broadly similar.