Amidst the destructive riots that have plagued Los Angeles over the past week, the Mexican flag has emerged as the standout symbol of defiance against law, order, and American sovereignty.
Aside from being made from cheap, undoubtedly Chinese-produced polyester, eagle-eyed observers may have noticed that these protest flags have something else in common: Almost all of them are unironed.
In video after video, in picture after picture, we’ve been bombarded by images of rioters taking to the streets, destroying public property, and waving around unironed flags to show their true allegiance.
It’s almost certain that these flags were ordered from Amazon, coming folded neatly in a convenient little square. You know what else you can order from Amazon with just a couple of clicks? A portable iron. Amazon has an entire page of affordable compact irons that rioters can peruse through. They’ll even save on shipping if they order the two together!
Not only does it make the flag look terrible, it also shows just how manufactured and insincere these riots are. If the rioters and activists really cared about their Mexican heritage or the illegal aliens they’re trying to protect, they’d take the time to iron out the unsightly creases in the symbol of their resistance. They can’t show respect to their own home country’s flag, so we can’t expect them to show respect to ours, and that’s reason enough to send them back.
We know that an organized network of far-left groups coordinates organized agitation against ICE and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. As The Federalist’s Matt Kittle reported this week, groups like the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) and Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) undermine law enforcement and spread lies about the administration’s efforts in an attempt to incite protests. Many of these groups have received considerable public funding.
While such disregard for decent aesthetics or respect for political symbols might be expected of illegal aliens, Americans are guilty of it, too.
It’s the most delicious irony that the featured image Politico chose for its article titled “Democrats reclaim the American flag” shows Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., standing in front of, what else, an unironed flag. How can the Democrats “reclaim” something if they can’t be bothered to show it the bare minimum of respect?
Note that Democrats are only trying to “reclaim” the flag to “win back voters,” according to Politico, not because of any genuine love for the flag or the values it represents.
“Patriotism is not something the Democratic Party should concede, because patriotism is not something the Republican Party created,” Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., said, according to Politico. But the Democrats didn’t “concede” patriotism; they abandoned it. They threw it to the wayside in favor of open borders, racist DEI policies, and a poisonous brand of historical revisionism that casts the United States as an irredeemable evil.
After their drubbing in the 2024 presidential election, they’re all of a sudden appealing to good old-fashioned Americana patriotism. But their Freudian flag slip shows that they still hold the flag, and what it stands for, in low regard.
What’s more, the 4th of July is coming up. Don’t even think about hoisting a wrinkled Old Glory up in your front yard and congratulating yourself on being a patriot. Don’t be a slacker. Get out the iron and take five minutes out of your day to correctly honor the flag.