From Jason Kottke:
…I’ve developed a similar unsafe feeling about the flag. It’s not a voluntary thing — it’s something that has built up over two+ years of seeing American flags in photos of MAGA rallies & white nationalist marches but not so much at Black Lives Matter marches or pro-choice rallies. I’m sure you’ve also noticed the correlation between seeing an American flag emoji in someone’s Twitter bio next to the MAGA hashtag and the tendency of that person to act like a misogynist asshole. While it’s hardly a new thing, the aggressive, intolerant, nationalistic right has been particularly effective in visibly wrapping themselves in the flag lately. It’s great branding for them, but it’s not doing the flag any favors.
This is something I’ve noticed and discussed with my wife over the past few years as well. We’re at a point where if someone’s displaying an American flag, we assume they’re probably not someone we want to associate with — that it’s a display of nationalism, not patriotism. The bigger and more ostentatious the display, the more averse we are to interacting with them.