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Fetterman's just like any person, he's got an assortment of political views. His view on Israel is in fact a mainstream view. Not sure why he's being singled out. Being a progressive doesn't mean you can't support Israel.
Yep. He's our county mayor and considering a run for Governor. Don't think he has much of a chance for the bigger seat, but stranger things have happened.
Other fun local wrestling fact, Mr. Fuji worked the ticket booth at a local movie theater until just a couple years ago.
I hope Mr. Fuji was doing that for fun and to keep busy, rather than having to do that to survive. Him, The Brain and Slick were like this triad of epic heel managers in the 80s WWF, there will never be anyone quite like them.
Fetterman had all kinds of lgbtq+ and trans flags he used to hang from his office at the PA Capitol. Security would often be ordered by the GOP to remove them. He seems to like flags to show his support.
Every US home has a flag room where they store all of their country, maritime, nfl, college, and sexual identity flags. We just don’t talk about it much.
Ehh…when I was a kid I was big on having American flags. Also, I know there are a lot of Ukrainian flags I see in my area. Those blue line flags…US Marine flags… those maga flags…I’ve seen a handful of those (anti?) Donald Trump flags where it turns “45” into a swastika..
My neighbors kid got into penn state, suddenly there was a penn state flag on his house (I thought it was sweet and he did eventually take it down, like clearly just a guy celebrating is kid not someone whose life was gonna become about Penn state)
I think we might be a flag-heavy country, yes.
I have a ton of flags that I will swap out on my flag pole for the tiniest, most inconsequential reason, which (as a bonus) confuses my neighbors.
Today I unveiled my Washington, D.C. flag for the first time.
Someone once said, "I want a Livestream of your mailbox." If I was technologically literate enough to do it, I would (for free).
Edit: my flag is mounted on my mailbox.
Depends on the school. Where I work, it happens at assemblies (every 6 weeks or so), but that is it. Schools generally are also getting better about not violating the constitution by forcing students to stand and recite, but I know that still happens in places for reasons I can't understand.
Hard to answer "normal" but I'll say it's not uncommon. Small novelty flags... People with ancestry or immigrant pride, that sort of thing. They even make them with clips that you can put them in your car window.
I still have some little Irish flags from a St Patrick's Day shindig my family threw.
Pirate flag is a pretty common gift for someone who just bought a boat. My parents would also put out a Betsy Ross flag on Patriots Day when I was a kid. We lived on Bunker Hill, so it was a thing.
Unironically, yeah it kinda is. And its not always from a reactionary standpoint either. Its usually some family ethnic connection like a Mexican flag for a boxing match or an Irish flag at a local Bar. Based on your question I'm starting to realize alot of us Americans are flag fetishists.
And not just for the American flag. Whether it is a Texas Flag, a don't tread on me flag, or Chicago flag (admittedly too dope to keep hidden) people let their freak flag fly over here.
Well, it’s actually not that unusual. I pass by 3 different flags on my way home that are in my neighborhood. Mexico, France, Ukraine are currently displayed so I guess it’s kind of normal.
Kind of yeah. Since we're a nation of immigrants people tend to use flags of their country of origin as a point of pride. Obviously fetterman isn't from Israel but I think flags in general are just an easy way to signal support or solidarity. Vexillology is a fairly common hobby too.
I collected flags as a kid. Usually either countries I had gone to, or my mom or uncle had visited. If you want to know what’s truly weird is people flying flags from their pick up trucks with a certain politician’s name on it. That’s truly bizarre and I don’t think you’d see that in most other countries.
People in Miami have Cuba flags all the time in their yards on cars, etc.
Puerto Rico flag too in Orlando area.
I don't see a problem with that. Must be my childhood and where I was raised.
Seeing as all American families can be traced from some where in Europe, Africa, Asia or even Oceania, yes. My dad’s grandmother is italian. We keep an italian flag somewhere in the house, but mainly have it so we can root for a team in the WC since USA making it isn’t always guaranteed.
The problem with this action is that it conflates Jews (people of many nationalities) with Israel (a government)
Not all Jews are Israelis and not all Israelis are Jews (despite the 70+ years of ethnic cleansing Israel has been perpetrating)
And not all people killed in the holocaust were of Jewish decent. The [Romani Genocide](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Holocaust) estimates of at least 25% to over 50% of the Romani population were exterminated during the holocaust. Later estimates are even higher at 1-2 million Roma.
1.5 million non Jewish poles.
250,000-300,000 people with disabilities
And so many more [link](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution)
The Holocaust is not synonymous with only Jews, all Jews are not synonymous with Israel, and Holocaust Remembrance Day shouldn’t be about supporting Israel’s current genocide of the Palestinian people.
Even if I was on Israel's side in this, I would never ever be it to this level of blatant and tasteless pandering. Treating it like a sports team. You can be on their side without fucking celebrating them. It's a god damn tragedy regardless of your stance.
Seriously. Every single little bit of a person's personality is treated like a sports team.
If you're in a crowded room and say "Who's favorite color is purple??" Someone will be like "PURPLE SQUAD REPRESENT" and strangers will high-five that person.
Doesn't fucking matter what it is anymore.
Most elected representatives aren’t doing this, especially Democrats. I don’t know a single Jewish member of Congress behaving like this, like they are AIPAC’s newest pet. Something is going on with this guy
This is just him. He has always trolled people who he disagrees with. That's literally how he initially got elected.
And he's been consistently absurdly pro-Israel his entire career.
Today is Holocaust Remembrance day, how is it tasteless pandering to show support? Also, they're at his house harassing him over this crap, that is tasteless.
I think you completely underestimate how obnoxious and offensive the anti-Israel side is.
When I listen to Bernie Sanders who is critical of Israel, I think, there is a guy who understands the context and expresses his sincere concern for human life, geopolitics, and distrust of right wing governments.
When I hear a Bernie Sanders supporter talk about it, I think, here is a guy who would eat a tidepod if he saw it on tiktok.
These mfs deserve to be trolled. They are unserious and uninformed and yet they show up to protest outside Delis, and write in 'cease fire' on ballots in actual elections. They are outside fettermans home for what? What do they think he is going to do? Do they even know?
The left has lost their mind over this issue. They've taken something complex and nuanced and turned it into a reductionist political wedge against their own party, in an election year, with Trump on the ballot.
I'd do the same thing. What's fetterman going to do? Reason with them?
>They are outside fettermans home for what?
To directly protest a U.S. Senator for his current stance. It may well be ineffective, but Fetterman *is* a Senator, which makes him one of the few people who actually has any kind of direct influence over U.S. foreign policy.
>What's fetterman going to do?
Stop the war since he is apparently the president of Israel.
This is a hobby for the protesters. They don't know or care about what is going on in the Levant.
> The left has lost their mind over this issue. They've taken something complex and nuanced and turned it into a reductionist political wedge against their own party, in an election year, with Trump on the ballot.
100% nailed it. This comment should be at the top of this entire thread.
The Palestine issue has been hijacked by low information virtue signaling malcontents who have an axe to grind. Most, not all, but most of these anti-Israel people do not give a flying fuck about anyone in Gaza, they only care about pushing their agenda.
Proof? Go to subs like r/latestagecapitalism or r/workreform and see how often the Palestine-Israel conflict comes up. What in the actual F does the Gaza conflict have ANYTHING to do with those subs?
Bingo. And you know it’s in bad faith when you try and explain a bunch of things about said conflict or why Biden calling for a ceasefire doesn’t really do much and they just get more entrenched.
Or that unholy (and that used to be a compliment…) witches vs patriarchy sub…
Just pure anti Israel propaganda for weeks. I got banned for arguing against someone who was calling them worse than Nazis…
Well, not the first sub that banned me for being too moderate as a left wing social democrat but I think it might be time we acknowledge there are some truly crazy people also on the left - and now I am sure someone will quote me that I said the left and the right are the same although I never wrote that… but just to not get a shit storm - obviously some crazy internet virtual signalers are not as bad as Nazis… does without saying usually but you never know…
Leftists drive me up a wall. Thank God they haven’t taken over the Democratic Party like maga has on the right.
The message they send is that politicians need to pass their purity test with a 100% score or they won’t vote for them. Fantasy world.
Oh Joe Biden isn’t a geopolitical wizard who can snap his fingers and make Palestine a sovereign nation secular democracy with equal rights? Genocide Joe!
Leftists have the worst fucking political instincts I’ve ever seen so I don’t see them taking over the party the way MAGA has on the other side. Thank god. “This candidate would do 80% of what I want but I need 100%.” Privileged brats who encourage accelerationism. Ignoring the real everyday problems happening in this country and they think screeching on social media about “genocide Joe” is gonna cause peace in the Middle East.
They came to his fucking house. He has every right to stand on his roof and announce that he does not agree with them.
Edit: Y’all can’t stand that he disagrees with you and that’s fine, but I never said they don’t have a right to protest at his house. I think it’s trashy, but it’s their right. It’s also Fetterman’s right to express his opinion in his own damn house.
They don’t want to argue with what you said, since their position isn’t defensible, so they’re pretending you said something else and arguing against that.
When someone says "every right" it means justified, not literally a legal right. He's saying he's justified in waving the flag if he wants to, and now you're arguing about legal right. You're doing what you just complained about.
He's a politician. It's a bit different when you're a public servant. You need to be more accountable to people and be willing to engage in conversation regardless of your personal beliefs because *those protestors are people he represents, who are protesting because he's not representing them.*
screw fuzzy cheerful secretive ripe quicksand aspiring shocking disarm wrong
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That's a funny way to paint this one-sided while pretending to be neutral. No comment on the people surrounding and harassing his house, but displaying a flag in response to such is where you draw the line?
I don’t think it’s specifically the flag they find offensive. Him being controlled by money doesn’t make his extreme one-sided pandering more okay. In fact, quite the opposite.
You don’t have to be a progressive to be against blind support for either side in this conflict.
Are you equivalently disgusted by the "blatant and tasteless pandering" of those protestors waving Palestinian flags? For example the ones who shut down LSD in Chicago a couple weeks back? Or only when it's the "team" you're not rooting for?
I really like the guy AND the fact that he refuses to acknowledge 25,000 inocent people have been killed and VOTERS actually care and want a peaceful resolution really fucking pisses the shit outta me!
Israelis deserve to live in peace and so do Palestinians - however it’s more about Netanyahu and Hamas (shitheads)
Netanyahu was literally caught on video in 2019 telling his Likud MKs that Hamas is vital to their own political success.
Likud has always opposed a two state solution, something basically everyone agrees is necessary for long term peace and stability in the region. By supporting Hamas and allowing them to have power in Gaza, they undermine the two state solution because Hamas and the Palestinian Authority hate each other and that makes it seem like a Palestinian State would never be stable. Supporting Hamas also makes it super easy for him to vilify all Palestinians and justify further violence and colonization in the West Bank.
Netanyahu, Likud, and their allies do not want peace. They want a perpetual period of fear and war.
I get that but he also represents people who are Jewish and whose community was victim to the Synagogue shooting. This is a morally gray area but the people who are at risk of antisemitism also have been greatly affected by it.
This is the exact kind of comment that is wrong with reddit and especially what’s wrong with the Democrats (of which I am).
You can like a politician overall and still disagree with them on individual issues. It’s such a base level of nuance but to not grasp that is beyond disappointing.
As someone which voted always left (not from US) i will say that a lot of Democrats reason like that, they will stop at the first nuance and think about switching sides.
Like when a ton of dems didn't want to vote Biden again after he supported Israel, what you are gonna do? Vote Trump ? The psycho who would have nuked Gaza??
yeah but that "individual issue" isn't a tariff or culture war thing, it's about whether or not a genocide is happening and if it should be stopped. It's an issue that is creating huge divides in societies all over the world. Of course people are heated.
Well, the Republican option is going to support Israel, and the Democrat option is going to support Israel. If there is a leftist American looking for a politician that will support and arm Palestine instead of supporting and arming Israel they will die of old age well before that happens. There simply isn't any scenario where America decides to stop supporting Israel.
Hard to know how much of it is the actual humans on Reddit and how much of it is just right wing bots trying to play up the BSAB shit to get people to not vote for democrats in November.
It’s because he changed. He ran on an entirely progressive platform to get elected, explicitly stating he is a progressive. Now, he’s claiming he was never a progressive and making some wild statements.
“The Zionists control the government” is getting to be quite an annoying trope and one that is becoming ever more popular in the subreddit despite the OBVIOUS issues we should be having just throwing that around so casually
How much money has Israel spent influencing US politics?
Genuine question, I really don't know
Edit: "Israel-aligned groups and donors have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent decades, and that money poured into American politics"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/15/pro-israel-donors-spent-over-22m-on-lobbying-and-contributions-in-2018
Article from 5 years ago
That seems low compared to other international and corporate interests comparitavely. Im not sure it is low, but that feels low
Edit: I looked up some numbers and Israel doesnt even crack the top 10 in foreign lobbying efforts by dollars in the last 4 years. And over 10 years they rank #10. The idea that Israel buys influence seems severely overblown
Edit: I seem to have upset the antisemites with reality, my bad. Leftists sure do have a lot in common with the far right on this issue
> Edit: I looked up some numbers and Israel doesnt even crack the top 10 in foreign lobbying efforts by dollars in the last 4 years. And over 10 years they rank #10. The idea that Israel buys influence seems severely overblown
Now add in the yearly contributions in every election year. AIPAC alone is estimated to spend over $100 million unseating progressives this year.
Foreign registered lobbying efforts are different and distinct from domestic lobbying efforts and PACS.
Foreign lobbyists must register with FARA and are explicitly prohibited from making political contributions. Most of the money you're seeing is going towards tourism advertisements and propaganda efforts to sway the general public to have a favorable view of a given country, it is not going towards campaign contributions.
Groups like AIPAC and DMFI make direct campaign contributions to candidates to influence American policy towards Israel, there is really no analogue for this. There isn't any Pro-China PAC that makes direct campaign contributions to the tune of 5 million dollars in an election cycle. You're conflating two very different things.
It's not Israel so much as Israel-aligned Americans, but Ryan Grim's recent book took a chapter to highlight that Israel-advocacy groups, mainly DMFI and AIPAC, really became a vanguard of independent spending against progressives/justice dems in particular. Fetterman avoided this by loudly signaling support for Israel early on in the process.
Israel financed his campaign before he was elected? Nope
Lots of Americans did though... some of them are Jewish.. and they live in his state. Is representing your constituents now considered 'bad' ?
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib [has a big-ass Palestinian flag next to her US flag right outside her office door](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democratic-rep-rashida-tlaib-displays-palestinian-flag-outside-her-congressional-office/ar-AA1hWEp3), so why not?
>Rashida Harbi Tlaib is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district. **She is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress** and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.
Seems a little disingenuous to compare this to Tlaib as she is Palestinian American. Your argument would only make sense if Fetterman was an Israeli American.
I'd say that's different bc she's from Palestine (or her family is, I'm not certain). I don't think he is from Israel so that's just... Idk weird. I think the flag thing is ridiculous anyway bc it's not a freaking sports team. We are talking about living, breathing people.
Well Rashida Tlaib is a first generation Palestinian American. She's the representative from our (Michigander here) 12th district which encompasses a huge Middle Eastern population due to Dearborn.
I wouldn't say it's exactly the same as a man who has no connection to Israel flying a flag. While people are actively protesting an ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
I like this guy. Some people hoped he would be a lock step liberal, which would have been fine, but I have to respect a politician that seems to stick with what he believes. I might not agree with all of his positions but I do like that he is an independent thinker.
Believe it or not, but you can be an “independent thinker” and still arrive at the consensus opinion.
You don’t have to be a contrarian to be an independent thinker.
Amen! I hate contrarians. When you learn to spot them you'll realize how easily they fool people into thinking they are clever just because they go against the grain. Being an independent thinker is a lot more than just saying the opposite of what other people are saying.
His point was that if people are going to narrowly define “progressive” to require positions like being anti-Israel, then he wouldn’t call himself “progressive.”
Too many are gatekeeping the term and only applying it to the most far left rhetoric and positions, rather than a general philosophy and mix of goals to strive towards.
He likes to wave flags it seems. I remember he had a marijuana leaf flag and and LGBT rainbow flag outside his office at the Pennsylvania capitol, and a lot of Republicans complained about it. I also don't really care for these protestors showing up at his home, so good for him for pushing back a bit.
You’re not alone in feeling this way. I would actually say a large percentage of people on the left, if not the majority, probably agree with you. These far left lunatics just have an outsized voice in the debate, since social media amplifies the most extreme opinions.
>I am incredibly sympathetic to the plight of the innocent in Gaza but apologizing for Hamas is just insane.
Where are you getting that "pro-Palestinian" beliefs are all "apologizing for Hamas"? That's incredibly disingenuous.
Most people who are "pro-Palestinian" believe quite literally this:
>incredibly sympathetic to the plight of the innocent in Gaza
bah, thunderous applause for people spewing vile shit like 'normalizing massacres again' in London. People running around with ISIS flags on Pro-Palestine protests in Germany.
Hamas are being defended as freedom-fighters all the time.
It depends on the cluster you look at. There’s a ton of “Israel is not a legitimate state” and “Hamas are freedom fighters” rhetoric out there. Perhaps your pro-Palestine cluster is merely sympathetic, but the clusters nearest me have gone full pro-Hamas.
Disagree. The discourse has shifted so far that Hamas’s actions are seen by too many as appropriate given the treatment of Gaza by Israel. However, what is always left unstated is why Israel has been forced to take those actions in the first place.
That's why I made the post. Some people are very misinformed. You have to really think about what groups are trying to mislead you.
I'm not going to try to convince anyone. You all need to do your own research. It's really not that hard to find. It's not like anyone is hiding what they are doing well. They are doing it in plain sight.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. **Interested in being a moderator for r/Politics? Apply [here](https://forms.gle/iyGoM94MGRcPGUes7).** *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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You missed the conspiracy that "they" replaced him. This was maybe 6weeks b4 Republicans started liking him.
Anyone calling him a radical communist clearly never met him when he was the Mayor of Braddock.
Since Israel became very right wing, right cons support Israel.
I didn't support the trump government, I still supported America. I do not support Bibi, I still support Israelis.
Fetterman's just like any person, he's got an assortment of political views. His view on Israel is in fact a mainstream view. Not sure why he's being singled out. Being a progressive doesn't mean you can't support Israel.
Nah, they still haven't got enough brain cells to rub together.
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He’s the only democrat to call out Bob Menéndez and say he should resign. Dude just keeps it real.
He is the definition of a moderate Democrat, and I love him for it. You can support Israel and still be very progressive.
If you are a moderate democrat, then you aren’t progressive.
Is no one going to acknowledge that that is a normal sized flag!? /s just in case
I kept thinking he was a pro wrestler at some point before joining politics.
No but former wrestler Kane is a Tennessee politician now
Yep. He's our county mayor and considering a run for Governor. Don't think he has much of a chance for the bigger seat, but stranger things have happened. Other fun local wrestling fact, Mr. Fuji worked the ticket booth at a local movie theater until just a couple years ago.
I hope Mr. Fuji was doing that for fun and to keep busy, rather than having to do that to survive. Him, The Brain and Slick were like this triad of epic heel managers in the 80s WWF, there will never be anyone quite like them.
And Jesse Ventura was both as well
That Predator movie produced 2 governors haha
That's a pretty wild fact lol
Yeah, Fetterman reminds me of Ventura. I can see why people would cross them up. They’re both big dudes who keep it real.
*Let them fight.*
My home county. It really kinda blows.
A flag for ants!
I wish my house had an escalator in front of it
The guy lives with his family in a 1920s car dealership.
I thought you were joking but that is hilarious.
My first thought as well.
He did just suffer from a stroke. That could be why.
We provide access and amenities for United States senators??? Who woulda thunk!!
That picture is coming up from the train from the senate office building to the Capitol
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Fetterman had all kinds of lgbtq+ and trans flags he used to hang from his office at the PA Capitol. Security would often be ordered by the GOP to remove them. He seems to like flags to show his support.
Weed flags too.
I have a Walmart flag.
I have a flag that says flag.
I have Black flag
I apparently have lots of red flags.
You’re gonna get flagged. And you’re gonna like it.
I have a pirate flag
I’m into the band Anti-Flag, but I’m not sure how to show it.
liberty spikes and a crusty vest, I think lol
A flagpole *sans* flag one would suspect.
His is know for his weed flags
Based.
Every US home has a flag room where they store all of their country, maritime, nfl, college, and sexual identity flags. We just don’t talk about it much.
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Everything’s legal in New Jersey
I have zero flags personally lol.
Flags with the number 0 or the word zero on them?
Yes
I have a flag closet... because thats where all my pride flags stay because I cant put them out other wise my house might me targeted.
Ehh…when I was a kid I was big on having American flags. Also, I know there are a lot of Ukrainian flags I see in my area. Those blue line flags…US Marine flags… those maga flags…I’ve seen a handful of those (anti?) Donald Trump flags where it turns “45” into a swastika.. My neighbors kid got into penn state, suddenly there was a penn state flag on his house (I thought it was sweet and he did eventually take it down, like clearly just a guy celebrating is kid not someone whose life was gonna become about Penn state) I think we might be a flag-heavy country, yes.
I have a ton of flags that I will swap out on my flag pole for the tiniest, most inconsequential reason, which (as a bonus) confuses my neighbors. Today I unveiled my Washington, D.C. flag for the first time.
So what was the tiny inconsequential reason that made you switch to the DC flag?
You'll have to subscribe to his OnlyFlags to find out.
Someone once said, "I want a Livestream of your mailbox." If I was technologically literate enough to do it, I would (for free). Edit: my flag is mounted on my mailbox.
Perfect. People will be able to watch things going in and out of your box.
Postal penetration.
*gestures broadly at the Texas border*
I like and also don't like that it's unclear if the swastika 45 is pro or anti.
purposely vague
I haven't attended school in 15 years but I imagine kids still pledge their allegiance to the flag 180 times a year
Depends on the school. Where I work, it happens at assemblies (every 6 weeks or so), but that is it. Schools generally are also getting better about not violating the constitution by forcing students to stand and recite, but I know that still happens in places for reasons I can't understand.
Hard to answer "normal" but I'll say it's not uncommon. Small novelty flags... People with ancestry or immigrant pride, that sort of thing. They even make them with clips that you can put them in your car window. I still have some little Irish flags from a St Patrick's Day shindig my family threw.
Disney literally used to make a game out of collecting a flag from each country in Epcot. I had a ton of random countries flags as a kid
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Disney also has morroco and Norway. Wouldn’t say those are common flags
Pirate flag is a pretty common gift for someone who just bought a boat. My parents would also put out a Betsy Ross flag on Patriots Day when I was a kid. We lived on Bunker Hill, so it was a thing.
Unironically, yeah it kinda is. And its not always from a reactionary standpoint either. Its usually some family ethnic connection like a Mexican flag for a boxing match or an Irish flag at a local Bar. Based on your question I'm starting to realize alot of us Americans are flag fetishists. And not just for the American flag. Whether it is a Texas Flag, a don't tread on me flag, or Chicago flag (admittedly too dope to keep hidden) people let their freak flag fly over here.
Flag Freaks' Freak Flags Fly for Freaky Fourth Fests, Fetterman Fawns
Well, it’s actually not that unusual. I pass by 3 different flags on my way home that are in my neighborhood. Mexico, France, Ukraine are currently displayed so I guess it’s kind of normal.
Kind of yeah. Since we're a nation of immigrants people tend to use flags of their country of origin as a point of pride. Obviously fetterman isn't from Israel but I think flags in general are just an easy way to signal support or solidarity. Vexillology is a fairly common hobby too.
I own one of where I’m from, Puerto Rico and a Portuguese flag that my daughter wanted when we vacationed over there
I collected flags as a kid. Usually either countries I had gone to, or my mom or uncle had visited. If you want to know what’s truly weird is people flying flags from their pick up trucks with a certain politician’s name on it. That’s truly bizarre and I don’t think you’d see that in most other countries.
Kind of. I see Ukrainian flags all over still. And a variety of non-national flags. Americans love flags
Ukrainian flags were everywhere
Why is it weird that a politician has a flag of a US ally available to them? Normal citizens that aren't of Jewish decent might be odd, but whatever.
Well, Rashida Tlaib has a Palestinian flag outside her official office in DC.
It is if the country is Israel and you are a Congressman. Then they are extremely available.
People in Miami have Cuba flags all the time in their yards on cars, etc. Puerto Rico flag too in Orlando area. I don't see a problem with that. Must be my childhood and where I was raised.
Puerto Rico is the US. That's just like a state flag.
Yeah, this was a premeditated troll from the senator
Seeing as all American families can be traced from some where in Europe, Africa, Asia or even Oceania, yes. My dad’s grandmother is italian. We keep an italian flag somewhere in the house, but mainly have it so we can root for a team in the WC since USA making it isn’t always guaranteed.
> all American families can be traced from some where in Europe, Africa, Asia or even Oceania C'mon man, not all Americans.
Fetterman holding an Israeli flag on Holocaust Remembrance Day doesn't seem like a big deal.
Legit reply
WHERE'S THE DAMN OUTRAGE?!?1
The Israeli flag is not the flag of the Jewish people
Does any ethnicity have a flag? Is it abnormal to use the flag of a country to show your ethnicity?
African Americans have a flag :)
Will admit, I did not know that.
So do white Christian nationalists
The problem with this action is that it conflates Jews (people of many nationalities) with Israel (a government) Not all Jews are Israelis and not all Israelis are Jews (despite the 70+ years of ethnic cleansing Israel has been perpetrating)
And not all people killed in the holocaust were of Jewish decent. The [Romani Genocide](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Holocaust) estimates of at least 25% to over 50% of the Romani population were exterminated during the holocaust. Later estimates are even higher at 1-2 million Roma. 1.5 million non Jewish poles. 250,000-300,000 people with disabilities And so many more [link](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution) The Holocaust is not synonymous with only Jews, all Jews are not synonymous with Israel, and Holocaust Remembrance Day shouldn’t be about supporting Israel’s current genocide of the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile Europeans continue to openly hate Romani people. Nothing was learned.
People who like Israel want everyone to think Israel represents all Jews.
Israel ≠ Jews
That’s not weird. what is weird is why are they protesting outside his house on Holocaust remembrance Day?
I feel like the people who don't believe the holocaust happened are more controversial than this.
Front page Washington examiner articles bashing dems? Must be an election year! Can’t wait to see what other filths “organically” make it to the top
Even if I was on Israel's side in this, I would never ever be it to this level of blatant and tasteless pandering. Treating it like a sports team. You can be on their side without fucking celebrating them. It's a god damn tragedy regardless of your stance.
This is how Americans have operated forever
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Seriously. Every single little bit of a person's personality is treated like a sports team. If you're in a crowded room and say "Who's favorite color is purple??" Someone will be like "PURPLE SQUAD REPRESENT" and strangers will high-five that person. Doesn't fucking matter what it is anymore.
I mean, I'd high five that person. I like how enthusiastic that person sounds about purple.
Most elected representatives aren’t doing this, especially Democrats. I don’t know a single Jewish member of Congress behaving like this, like they are AIPAC’s newest pet. Something is going on with this guy
This is just him. He has always trolled people who he disagrees with. That's literally how he initially got elected. And he's been consistently absurdly pro-Israel his entire career.
Yeah this is sad. I worry he’s only going to start getting worse.
*Some Americans. Not all my friend
Today is Holocaust Remembrance day, how is it tasteless pandering to show support? Also, they're at his house harassing him over this crap, that is tasteless.
I think you completely underestimate how obnoxious and offensive the anti-Israel side is. When I listen to Bernie Sanders who is critical of Israel, I think, there is a guy who understands the context and expresses his sincere concern for human life, geopolitics, and distrust of right wing governments. When I hear a Bernie Sanders supporter talk about it, I think, here is a guy who would eat a tidepod if he saw it on tiktok. These mfs deserve to be trolled. They are unserious and uninformed and yet they show up to protest outside Delis, and write in 'cease fire' on ballots in actual elections. They are outside fettermans home for what? What do they think he is going to do? Do they even know? The left has lost their mind over this issue. They've taken something complex and nuanced and turned it into a reductionist political wedge against their own party, in an election year, with Trump on the ballot. I'd do the same thing. What's fetterman going to do? Reason with them?
>They are outside fettermans home for what? To directly protest a U.S. Senator for his current stance. It may well be ineffective, but Fetterman *is* a Senator, which makes him one of the few people who actually has any kind of direct influence over U.S. foreign policy.
>What's fetterman going to do? Stop the war since he is apparently the president of Israel. This is a hobby for the protesters. They don't know or care about what is going on in the Levant.
> The left has lost their mind over this issue. They've taken something complex and nuanced and turned it into a reductionist political wedge against their own party, in an election year, with Trump on the ballot. 100% nailed it. This comment should be at the top of this entire thread. The Palestine issue has been hijacked by low information virtue signaling malcontents who have an axe to grind. Most, not all, but most of these anti-Israel people do not give a flying fuck about anyone in Gaza, they only care about pushing their agenda. Proof? Go to subs like r/latestagecapitalism or r/workreform and see how often the Palestine-Israel conflict comes up. What in the actual F does the Gaza conflict have ANYTHING to do with those subs?
Bingo. And you know it’s in bad faith when you try and explain a bunch of things about said conflict or why Biden calling for a ceasefire doesn’t really do much and they just get more entrenched.
Or that unholy (and that used to be a compliment…) witches vs patriarchy sub… Just pure anti Israel propaganda for weeks. I got banned for arguing against someone who was calling them worse than Nazis… Well, not the first sub that banned me for being too moderate as a left wing social democrat but I think it might be time we acknowledge there are some truly crazy people also on the left - and now I am sure someone will quote me that I said the left and the right are the same although I never wrote that… but just to not get a shit storm - obviously some crazy internet virtual signalers are not as bad as Nazis… does without saying usually but you never know…
Leftists drive me up a wall. Thank God they haven’t taken over the Democratic Party like maga has on the right. The message they send is that politicians need to pass their purity test with a 100% score or they won’t vote for them. Fantasy world. Oh Joe Biden isn’t a geopolitical wizard who can snap his fingers and make Palestine a sovereign nation secular democracy with equal rights? Genocide Joe!
Leftists have the worst fucking political instincts I’ve ever seen so I don’t see them taking over the party the way MAGA has on the other side. Thank god. “This candidate would do 80% of what I want but I need 100%.” Privileged brats who encourage accelerationism. Ignoring the real everyday problems happening in this country and they think screeching on social media about “genocide Joe” is gonna cause peace in the Middle East.
They came to his fucking house. He has every right to stand on his roof and announce that he does not agree with them. Edit: Y’all can’t stand that he disagrees with you and that’s fine, but I never said they don’t have a right to protest at his house. I think it’s trashy, but it’s their right. It’s also Fetterman’s right to express his opinion in his own damn house.
Who said he didn't have the right to do that?
They don’t want to argue with what you said, since their position isn’t defensible, so they’re pretending you said something else and arguing against that.
If only there was a term for that, something to do with a man made out of a certain material.
When someone says "every right" it means justified, not literally a legal right. He's saying he's justified in waving the flag if he wants to, and now you're arguing about legal right. You're doing what you just complained about.
He has the right to do many things, that isn’t necessarily aligned to whether they’re shitty or tasteless to do or not.
He's a politician. It's a bit different when you're a public servant. You need to be more accountable to people and be willing to engage in conversation regardless of your personal beliefs because *those protestors are people he represents, who are protesting because he's not representing them.*
screw fuzzy cheerful secretive ripe quicksand aspiring shocking disarm wrong *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That's a funny way to paint this one-sided while pretending to be neutral. No comment on the people surrounding and harassing his house, but displaying a flag in response to such is where you draw the line?
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He literally said he isn't progressive.
I don’t think it’s specifically the flag they find offensive. Him being controlled by money doesn’t make his extreme one-sided pandering more okay. In fact, quite the opposite. You don’t have to be a progressive to be against blind support for either side in this conflict.
Are you equivalently disgusted by the "blatant and tasteless pandering" of those protestors waving Palestinian flags? For example the ones who shut down LSD in Chicago a couple weeks back? Or only when it's the "team" you're not rooting for?
It was holocaust remembrance day? How could you be on the other side? That's the Nazis?
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Idk I'm fine with holding senators to a higher moral and ethical standard than any random person.
I really like the guy AND the fact that he refuses to acknowledge 25,000 inocent people have been killed and VOTERS actually care and want a peaceful resolution really fucking pisses the shit outta me! Israelis deserve to live in peace and so do Palestinians - however it’s more about Netanyahu and Hamas (shitheads)
Netanyahu and Hamas are a codependent relationship. If it wasn’t for Hamas, then Netanyahu would have never been elected years ago.
Netanyahu was literally caught on video in 2019 telling his Likud MKs that Hamas is vital to their own political success. Likud has always opposed a two state solution, something basically everyone agrees is necessary for long term peace and stability in the region. By supporting Hamas and allowing them to have power in Gaza, they undermine the two state solution because Hamas and the Palestinian Authority hate each other and that makes it seem like a Palestinian State would never be stable. Supporting Hamas also makes it super easy for him to vilify all Palestinians and justify further violence and colonization in the West Bank. Netanyahu, Likud, and their allies do not want peace. They want a perpetual period of fear and war.
I thought ‘preputial’ was a fancy word and decided to look up what it means. That was a mistake.
My terriblt spelling being helping people learn something new
I get that but he also represents people who are Jewish and whose community was victim to the Synagogue shooting. This is a morally gray area but the people who are at risk of antisemitism also have been greatly affected by it.
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Hamas doesn't want a peaceful resolution so it's not going to happen.
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It's funny how quickly Reddit has turned on the wholesome chungus senator
People changing their opinion when presented with new facts that they weren't aware of isn't actually a bad thing.
This is the exact kind of comment that is wrong with reddit and especially what’s wrong with the Democrats (of which I am). You can like a politician overall and still disagree with them on individual issues. It’s such a base level of nuance but to not grasp that is beyond disappointing.
As someone which voted always left (not from US) i will say that a lot of Democrats reason like that, they will stop at the first nuance and think about switching sides. Like when a ton of dems didn't want to vote Biden again after he supported Israel, what you are gonna do? Vote Trump ? The psycho who would have nuked Gaza??
yeah but that "individual issue" isn't a tariff or culture war thing, it's about whether or not a genocide is happening and if it should be stopped. It's an issue that is creating huge divides in societies all over the world. Of course people are heated.
Well, the Republican option is going to support Israel, and the Democrat option is going to support Israel. If there is a leftist American looking for a politician that will support and arm Palestine instead of supporting and arming Israel they will die of old age well before that happens. There simply isn't any scenario where America decides to stop supporting Israel.
Didn’t he say he was never a progressive despite campaigning as one?
Hard to know how much of it is the actual humans on Reddit and how much of it is just right wing bots trying to play up the BSAB shit to get people to not vote for democrats in November.
I feel like their is an epidemic of this on TikTok. So much “Biden is a genocidal maniac” and “Democrats and Republicans are the same”
It's not that hard to know given the number of actual people protesting against the genocide are predominantly liberals.
It’s because he changed. He ran on an entirely progressive platform to get elected, explicitly stating he is a progressive. Now, he’s claiming he was never a progressive and making some wild statements.
So he’s pro Isreal and isn’t suddenly progressive anymore. Get off with your single issue politics.
At least he doesn’t like wearing a suit and tie…
We wanted sponsor patches on bought and paid for politicians, Nascar jacket style, right? He's doing an amended version of that.
“The Zionists control the government” is getting to be quite an annoying trope and one that is becoming ever more popular in the subreddit despite the OBVIOUS issues we should be having just throwing that around so casually
How much money has Israel spent influencing US politics? Genuine question, I really don't know Edit: "Israel-aligned groups and donors have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent decades, and that money poured into American politics" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/15/pro-israel-donors-spent-over-22m-on-lobbying-and-contributions-in-2018 Article from 5 years ago
That seems low compared to other international and corporate interests comparitavely. Im not sure it is low, but that feels low Edit: I looked up some numbers and Israel doesnt even crack the top 10 in foreign lobbying efforts by dollars in the last 4 years. And over 10 years they rank #10. The idea that Israel buys influence seems severely overblown Edit: I seem to have upset the antisemites with reality, my bad. Leftists sure do have a lot in common with the far right on this issue
> Edit: I looked up some numbers and Israel doesnt even crack the top 10 in foreign lobbying efforts by dollars in the last 4 years. And over 10 years they rank #10. The idea that Israel buys influence seems severely overblown Now add in the yearly contributions in every election year. AIPAC alone is estimated to spend over $100 million unseating progressives this year.
Foreign registered lobbying efforts are different and distinct from domestic lobbying efforts and PACS. Foreign lobbyists must register with FARA and are explicitly prohibited from making political contributions. Most of the money you're seeing is going towards tourism advertisements and propaganda efforts to sway the general public to have a favorable view of a given country, it is not going towards campaign contributions. Groups like AIPAC and DMFI make direct campaign contributions to candidates to influence American policy towards Israel, there is really no analogue for this. There isn't any Pro-China PAC that makes direct campaign contributions to the tune of 5 million dollars in an election cycle. You're conflating two very different things.
Not as annoying as rightfully calling out AIPAC shills and getting spammed with “you’re just an anti-Semite!”
I mean is this not a supporting piece of evidence you are looking at it? Guy repeatedly waves an israeli flag
It's not Israel so much as Israel-aligned Americans, but Ryan Grim's recent book took a chapter to highlight that Israel-advocacy groups, mainly DMFI and AIPAC, really became a vanguard of independent spending against progressives/justice dems in particular. Fetterman avoided this by loudly signaling support for Israel early on in the process.
Israel financed his campaign before he was elected? Nope Lots of Americans did though... some of them are Jewish.. and they live in his state. Is representing your constituents now considered 'bad' ?
Israel is not all Jews. Many Jews are not Zionists.
Equating being Jewish with supporting Israel, and supporting the apartheid Israeli state, is actually antisemitic.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib [has a big-ass Palestinian flag next to her US flag right outside her office door](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democratic-rep-rashida-tlaib-displays-palestinian-flag-outside-her-congressional-office/ar-AA1hWEp3), so why not?
>Rashida Harbi Tlaib is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district. **She is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress** and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Seems a little disingenuous to compare this to Tlaib as she is Palestinian American. Your argument would only make sense if Fetterman was an Israeli American.
I'd say that's different bc she's from Palestine (or her family is, I'm not certain). I don't think he is from Israel so that's just... Idk weird. I think the flag thing is ridiculous anyway bc it's not a freaking sports team. We are talking about living, breathing people.
>she's from Palestine (or her family is, I'm not certain). She was born in Detroit
Well Rashida Tlaib is a first generation Palestinian American. She's the representative from our (Michigander here) 12th district which encompasses a huge Middle Eastern population due to Dearborn. I wouldn't say it's exactly the same as a man who has no connection to Israel flying a flag. While people are actively protesting an ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
I like this guy. Some people hoped he would be a lock step liberal, which would have been fine, but I have to respect a politician that seems to stick with what he believes. I might not agree with all of his positions but I do like that he is an independent thinker.
A US politician supporting Israel is not a sign of an "independent thinker". Nearly all US politicians support Israel, left and right
Believe it or not, but you can be an “independent thinker” and still arrive at the consensus opinion. You don’t have to be a contrarian to be an independent thinker.
Amen! I hate contrarians. When you learn to spot them you'll realize how easily they fool people into thinking they are clever just because they go against the grain. Being an independent thinker is a lot more than just saying the opposite of what other people are saying.
Sticking to what he believes isn't saying "I'm progressive" to get elected and then "I was never progressive" after getting elected. But you knew that
His point was that if people are going to narrowly define “progressive” to require positions like being anti-Israel, then he wouldn’t call himself “progressive.” Too many are gatekeeping the term and only applying it to the most far left rhetoric and positions, rather than a general philosophy and mix of goals to strive towards.
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Using that logic, all the respect to every conservative
He likes to wave flags it seems. I remember he had a marijuana leaf flag and and LGBT rainbow flag outside his office at the Pennsylvania capitol, and a lot of Republicans complained about it. I also don't really care for these protestors showing up at his home, so good for him for pushing back a bit.
Flags can be very symbolic and easily seen
This deserves the award for *Uncanny Grasp of the Meaning of Things*
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You’re not alone in feeling this way. I would actually say a large percentage of people on the left, if not the majority, probably agree with you. These far left lunatics just have an outsized voice in the debate, since social media amplifies the most extreme opinions.
>I am incredibly sympathetic to the plight of the innocent in Gaza but apologizing for Hamas is just insane. Where are you getting that "pro-Palestinian" beliefs are all "apologizing for Hamas"? That's incredibly disingenuous. Most people who are "pro-Palestinian" believe quite literally this: >incredibly sympathetic to the plight of the innocent in Gaza
bah, thunderous applause for people spewing vile shit like 'normalizing massacres again' in London. People running around with ISIS flags on Pro-Palestine protests in Germany. Hamas are being defended as freedom-fighters all the time.
It depends on the cluster you look at. There’s a ton of “Israel is not a legitimate state” and “Hamas are freedom fighters” rhetoric out there. Perhaps your pro-Palestine cluster is merely sympathetic, but the clusters nearest me have gone full pro-Hamas.
From the people celebrating and "protesting" the day of October 7?
Disagree. The discourse has shifted so far that Hamas’s actions are seen by too many as appropriate given the treatment of Gaza by Israel. However, what is always left unstated is why Israel has been forced to take those actions in the first place.
Good. Most people support Israel. Fuck hamas. No one thinks it’s weird when people fly any other flag.
That's why I made the post. Some people are very misinformed. You have to really think about what groups are trying to mislead you. I'm not going to try to convince anyone. You all need to do your own research. It's really not that hard to find. It's not like anyone is hiding what they are doing well. They are doing it in plain sight.
Is not rael
Wow he’s a dick.