Should countries and territories abolish the Union Jack Flag?

[Suburbia]

Get rid of the Commonwealth.

Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda should have their own identity and abolish the Union Jack Flag.

Get rid of the British Empire once and for all. To the ash heap of history.

[SWE]

Yes, it's hideous

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's the Union Flag or the Union Jack, not 'the Union Jack Flag': a Jack is a flag flown from the front of a ship. Also: why do you care?

[Cassius]

Bermuda is an overseas territory of the UK so it retaining the Union Jack on its flag is perfectly apposite.

I personally don’t understand the opprobrium heaped on the Australian and Kiwi flags - they’re both very aesthetically pleasing (particularly the Australian flag) and perfectly recognisable. Moreover there doesn’t seem to be much support in either country for changing the flag - the option of replacing the flag was comfortably defeated in a referendum in New Zealand in 2015, whilst opinion polls don’t show a great appetite for reopening the ‘flag debate’ in Australia either.

[Suburbia]

It's the Union Flag or the Union Jack, not 'the Union Jack Flag': a Jack is a flag flown from the front of a ship. Also: why do you care?

We are living in the racial reckoning, that's why. Get used to it. Colonialism is on it's way out

[Filuwaúrdjan]

We are living in the racial reckoning, that's why. Get used to it. Colonialism is on it's way out

Leaving aside the fact that Colonialism died before you were born, where would this leave, for instance, the flag of the United States?

[Suburbia]

We are living in the racial reckoning, that's why. Get used to it. Colonialism is on it's way out

Leaving aside the fact that Colonialism died before you were born, where would this leave, for instance, the flag of the United States?

A lot of people don't think colonialism died. If not, there would not be the racial tension we have today globally.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Thif if a Bronf threaf.

[Pick Up the Phone]

We are living in the racial reckoning, that's why. Get used to it. Colonialism is on it's way out

Leaving aside the fact that Colonialism died before you were born, where would this leave, for instance, the flag of the United States?

A lot of people don't think colonialism died. If not, there would not be the racial tension we have today globally.

What racial tensions do you mean? To me it seems as if you fall victim to the common misperception that what is relevant in the US must also be relevant globally. But most people in this world don’t share the weird American obsession with and fetishization of race and similar identity categories. Neither do they muse about colonialism all day long (except for a few keyboard warriors perhaps).

Regarding the Union Jack, there is evidently no need or willingness to change the status quo in the countries you highlighted. So the answer is: No.

[Suburbia]

We are living in the racial reckoning, that's why. Get used to it. Colonialism is on it's way out

Leaving aside the fact that Colonialism died before you were born, where would this leave, for instance, the flag of the United States?

A lot of people don't think colonialism died. If not, there would not be the racial tension we have today globally.

What racial tensions do you mean? To me it seems as if you fall victim to the common misperception that what is relevant in the US must also be relevant globally. But most people in this world don’t share the weird American obsession with and fetishization of race and similar identity categories. Neither do they muse about colonialism all day long (except for a few keyboard warriors perhaps).

Regarding the Union Jack, there is evidently no need or willingness to change the status quo in the countries you highlighted. So the answer is: No.

Really? Wow. Dianne Abbott and Patrick Bamford would tell you differently. Listen to what they have to say.

Race is a problem globally, not just in America. Look at how the Prince and Princess of Wales were treated in Jamaica, the country will leave the Commonwealth and the monarchy will be no more...

C'mon man.

[President Johnson]

I honestly don't have a strong opinion either way. Let each country do whatever their people or duly elected representatives want.

[Hatman 🍁]

If the commonwealth is so bad, why are countries that were never part of the British Empire joining it?

[angus]

Union Jack Flag.

That is redundant.  It is like saying the HIV virus or Please RSVP or ATM machine.  If you are already saying that it is the Jack of the Union, then saying that it is a flag is unnecessary and awkward.  

Regarding the flag, I rather like it.  I appreciate symmetric flags, and that one combines the crosses of St. George, St. Patrick, and St. Andrews.  I like diagonal crosses generally.  For example, I have a flag of Jamaica on the wall.  I even like the CSA naval jack of 1864-65, although it has received such bad press that I wouldn't have one.  I also like the Isle of Man and the Nazi flags.  One has a C3 rotational symmetry and the other a C4.  Like the confederate jack, the hakenkreuz flag also gets too much bad press so I wouldn't have one.  (I have worked with several Hindus and Buddhists who have been excoriated for wearing innocent and well-meaning religious symbolism to their workplace and have observed the populist, and perhaps feigned but effective, rage which invariably accompanies such symbolism.)  North Macedonia has really nice 8-fold symmetry.  

I always thought that the US should try something with radial symmetry.  Keep the colors but maybe have 50 stars radiating out from the center in a spiral pattern, red stars on a white sun, with a blue background.  Or maybe concentric circles of stars or a diamond pattern.  Here's a little design a made.  There aren't enough stars because I became impatient, but you get the idea.



As far as the general idea of the british commonwealth, I think that should be a matter for each member to decide.  A more important matter for us would be the status of Puerto Rico.  Voters there have decided that they would rather be a US state than a US commonwealth, at least a majority in their two latest referenda have.  In December the House passed a bill that would have instituted a binding referendum that would allow Puerto Ricans to vote on the future status of the island, that Congress would have to obey.  I'm not sure what the status is currently, but I think the ball is in their court.  If PR again has a majority vote for statehood, then our elected representatives in congress should be taking steps to make PR a state.  

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

I tend to think that the flags of Australia and New Zealand being that similar is annoying, but other than that I don't have much to say. Fiji and Tuvalu are more distinct still.

Regarding the flag, I rather like it.  I appreciate symmetric flags, and that one combines the crosses of St. George, St. Patrick, and St. Andrews.  I like diagonal crosses generally.  For example, I have a flag of Jamaica on the wall.  I even like the CSA naval jack, although it has received such bad press that I wouldn't have one.  I also like the Isle of Man and the Nazi flags.  One has a C3 rotational symmetry and the other a C4.  Like the confederate jack, the Nazi flag also gets too much bad press so I wouldn't have one.  North Macedonia has really nice 8-fold symmetry.

Group theory! I am guessing chemist and not mathematician however.

[angus]

Outstanding guess.  My BS is in mathematics with minors in physics and chemistry.  My MS is in chemical physics and my PhD is in physical chemistry.  I guess I have had at least five classes which cover group theory, but I don't use them much in my work so I'm a bit rusty on group theory.  

Maybe the Isle of Man would be in the C_3h group, because it contains a C₃ axis but also the other elements since the plane of the flag gives it a s-reflextion.  The Nazi flag would be D_4h by similar reasoning.  I may be mistaken.  Here are the character tables; see if you agree.





(source: http://symmetry.jacobs-university.de)

Caveat:  I am not considering the rectangular shape of the flag itself, which would throw off the whole thing, but only the designs in the middle.  The Hakenkreuz for the German flag and the ... well, I don't know if I have a word for it, but the three-legs design for the Isle of Man.

[Sestak]

Just get rid of the Hawaii flag that uses it.

[CumbrianLefty]

If the commonwealth is so bad, why are countries that were never part of the British Empire joining it?

Semi-serious answer - because their previous imperial powers were even worse?

But yes, the opprobrium heaped by the OP on the Commonwealth is rather silly.

Its a pretty harmless organisation all told.

[angus]

Just get rid of the Hawaii flag that uses it.

Oddly, the union jack has not garnered the notoriety that the CSA jack acquired.  (I suppose the latter is a special case because it was co-opted by domestic terrorists for racially-motivated murders and intimidation.)  Still, the times I have been in Hawaii and had conversations with both Hawaiians and Islanders (which is the correct term for people of Japanese, Chinese, or European descent who live on, or are born in, Hawaii but who are not of Polynesian descent), I observed that they are keenly aware that the exploitation of the Hawaiian land and people led to the destruction of their culture.  But it was US and UK businessmen, along with the help of the US Marines, that abolished the Kingdom of Hawaii, so they could also remove the stripes (reminiscent of the US flag) while they're at it.  

I guess it's a matter for the Hawaiians and Islanders to decide.  There's a change afoot in Hawaii.  After many decades in the 20th century of overwhelming support for Democrats, the voters began to shift toward the Republicans.  In 2000, the general election resulted in 55% for Gore, 37% for Bush, according to Dave Leip's Atlas.  In 2004, Bush increased his support to 45% (with 54% for Kerry).  The Republicans dropped below 30% in 2008 but that was due to the overwhelming popularity of native son Barrack Obama.  Mitt Romney brought them back over 47%.  

Also, consider the non-presidential years.  In 2022 more than 73 thousand voters in Hawaii voted in the Republican primary, a small fraction of all voters (22%), but significantly more than in 2018 (11%), 2014 (15%), 2010 (15%), and 2006 (11%), so there's a trend toward Republican registration in non-presidential general election years.  

That may not have anything to do with attitudes about colonization, however, since the Republican party is changing.  The Republican party of the late 20th century was a conservative, pro-business, power-projectionist party.  Now it hardly seems conservative, being bent on nihilism and grievance.  A vast departure from global stewardship and keeping the sea lanes open and safe for American business ventures.  

Also, the very recent swing (compare 2018 to 2022) may have more to do with coronavirus policies that damaged the state's tourism-dependent economy and meant that children went without face-to-face instruction for at least 18 months.  In Hawaii, general dissatisfaction with politics means dissatisfaction with the Democratic party since they still control the vast majority of statewide offices and legislative seats.  I think that the importance of the current state of the economy and of education is much greater than frustration over UK and US colonization.

[MABA 2020]

No, it's a top tier flag

[Meclazine for Israel]

I am happy to keep the Union Jack and the Monarchy.

I just want to see how this Prince Harry book turns out.

[Suburbia]

Hawaii should get rid of their flag and be modernized.

America is not a British colony anymore, Hawaii is a US state. Put it in a museum if you'd like, but purge colonialism.

This is a new era, and it's time for people to realize it.

[EastAnglianLefty]

Hawaii should get rid of their flag and be modernized.

America is not a British colony anymore, Hawaii is a US state. Put it in a museum if you'd like, but purge colonialism.

1898 called.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Just get rid of the Hawaii flag that uses it.

No, this is one of the most objectively funny flags around.

[angus]

In a 2001 survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association, the Hawaii flag ranked 11th-favorite among the 72 flags (US state, territories, Canadian provinces, etc.)

First was New Mexico.  Second was Texas.  South Carolina (which I find appealing despite the lack of symmetry) was tenth.  

https://nava.org/digital-library/design/surveys/2001-State-Provincial-Flag-Survey.pdf

[Torie]

Sad such an inane op intended to troll was such an outstanding success for its author. If you guys were fish you would be on a hook before the spring was done.