Comment by jncfhnb
Comment by jncfhnb 3 days ago
They have an assault rifle in their flag. Make no mistake about their purpose.
Comment by jncfhnb 3 days ago
They have an assault rifle in their flag. Make no mistake about their purpose.
I think you are mistaking your emotional reflexes for objective truth. Weapons on flags historically connote a message of 'don't mess with us'. The IDF's logo is a sword and an olive branch, and is more or less the same as the logo of the Haganah...a pre-independence paramilitary organization that was considered terroristic at the time when Palestine was still a British possession, and which killed hundreds of people.
The issue is not that weapons are shown. The issue is that it’s a fist holding an assault rifle. It’s very plainly a call for violent action. And frankly I think it’s kind of stupid to argue otherwise.
Regardless of your opinion of the IDF, their flag is clearly a very different vibe
2 American state flags depict people holding guns as well. I won't mention which two lest it lead to an outbreak of hostilities. And wait until you hear about the symbology of the US flag, or listen to the US national anthem!
More seriously, quite a few other countries have guns on the flag, reflecting a turbulent recent history. As I mentioned, Hezbollah was formed in response to the invasion and occupation of Lebanon just over 40 years ago, which was not a violence-free event. Let's not even get into swords on flags.
There's a tendency among some people to draw their conclusion first and then summon reasons for it afterwards, reasons which often lack consistency. Our violent history is glorious; theirs is deplorable. Consider, for example, the Irish Republican Army; like Hezbollah, it's considered a terrorist organization by US, UK, and many other jurisdictions. But due to the huge number of Irish American people and the subsidence of that political conflict in the last few decades, lots of Americans think the IRA is cool, while reflexively lumping Hezbollah in with other Islamic groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS.
In short, I think things like 'their flag has a gun on it' are the opposite of helpful or insightful.
Mozambique, too. We should bomb them.
It's even got the bayonet fixed so there's no confusion about their terrorist intentions.
Well, Guatemala has (older) rifles in theirs too...