Flags represent more than just the images that they actually display- for example, the U.S. flag represents all 50 states, our government, and our people; the rainbow flag is a symbol for the LGBTQ community. That being said, certain flags associated with certain groups of people, governments, or beliefs can be used to represent many things. Trump 2020 flags may be a tool of propaganda, used by his campaign team, or a way for people to express their beliefs of who they are voting for this elections. However, no matter the way in which these flags are presented, those flags are symbols of Donald Trump and his policies. These flags represent his beliefs and the beliefs of his team: all lives matter, abortion should be illegal, gay people should not have the right to be married, and so on. All of the things listed infringe upon the rights of others at the least, and can actually put the safety of others- mainly Black Americans and other people of color- at stake. Trump 2020 flags represent all of those ideas, because they embody Donald Trump, and therefore one could look to this flag as a symbol of support for hate.
Our country is divided like it has never been before, and although there can be some grey area in between seemingly two sided political debate, for the most part people are either for or against Trump. This is in part because of the way he simply believes in dehumanizing ideas and does nothing to combat racism, hate, or prejudice in our country. He appointed a woman to Supreme Court who is against women’s rights to choose what they need for their reproductive health, his vice president is a supporter of conversion therapy for gay individuals, he is personally mixed up in one of the largest sexual predator rings in our country’s history, and he seems to be unable to condemn racism for some reason (maybe because he lacks basic human empathy). In short, the people who support Trump have some if not all of these same views, or at the very least see nothing wrong with a person who has these views, and because of this the flags they parade around represent these views. Seeing this flag on our neighbor’s porches, on the back of trucks driving down busy streets, and being paraded on boats feels like a slap in the face and a threat to those who are a part of the BIPOC community, LGTBQ community, and other communities that have been targeted by Trump, his team, and followers. It is also haunting for people who may not fall in any of those communities personally but still supports them.
Just today- keep in mind this is after the election has been called and Joe Biden had been elected- I was driving and in the lane next to me a massive truck pulled up with a huge American flag and a Trump flag (decorated with army green lettering and a huge gun underneath his name). I looked to my friend in the passenger seat, and she and I both had the same gut reaction of nervousness and fear. Anything that makes a person react like that, with true terror, should definitely be questioned. Anyone would call a swastika on a flag a crime, and to me, seeing TRUMP with a gun underneath is is not too different.
