Today, I fly two flags which are a combination of other flags or symbols. Over years, the meaning of flags can change and their designs can be altered to counter that new meaning or express a similar sentiment in a different way.
The first is a combination of the Gadsen Flag and the flag of the State of California. The Gadsen Flag originated in the revolutionary war and is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a timber rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Beneath the rattlesnake are the words “Don’t Tread on Me”. It is one of the most popular revolutionary war flags and has been adopted as a symbol by the far right.
The flag of the State of California was adopted by the legislature in 1911, based upon a precursor flag flown during the 1846 Bear Flag revolt. The first paragraph of California Government Code section 420 defines the flag thusly, “The Bear Flag is the State Flag of California. As viewed with the hoist end of the flag to the left of the observer there appears in the upper left-hand corner of a white field a five-pointed red star with one point vertically upward and in the middle of the white field a brown grizzly bear walking toward the left with all four paws on a green grass plot, with head and eye turned slightly toward the observer; a red stripe forms the length of the flag at the bottom, and between the grass plot and the red stripe appear the words CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC.”
The flag flown today is a protest flag, which overlays the star, bear, and grass of the California flag over the yellow background of the Gadsen Flag. It modifies the motto to read “Don’t Tread On Us”. This flag is a symbol of California’s resistance to the far right policies of the current administration. A resistance which I fully subscribe to!
Also flying today is a combination of the flag of General George Washington’s personal life guard and a symbol of resistance in Washington, D.C., the submarine sandwich. The Pine Tree Flag, was used by George Washington’s personal life guard as well as a squadron of six cruisers commissioned under George Washington’s authority as commander in chief of the Continental Army in October 1775. It consists of a pine tree and the words, “An Appeal to Heaven”. This flag has also has been adopted as a symbol by the far right.
The version of the flag which I am flying today removes the pine tree and replaces it with a submarine sandwich, in commemoration of the protestor who threw a sandwich at Customs and Border Protection officers operating in Washington, D.C. in early 2025. She was arrested for this action. The US Attorney for the District of Columbia tried and failed three times to have a grand jury charge the protestor with felony assault on the officers who were the target of her sandwich. It is rare for a federal grand jury to decline to indict one time, let alone three times. The third grand jury was only willing to charge he with a misdemeanor. After a brief trial and two hours of deliberation, a Washington, D.C. jury found the protestor not guilty. Since the sandwich tossing incident, flags similar to this have been seen during protests nationwide.
I fly these flags in solidarity with the protests going on around the nation today. We are a nation of laws, not kings.
Cruesbreck Flags 