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Flag flown upside down as sign of distress outside of US State Department building today
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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Performative resistance from inside the machine. Cute gesture, but distress signals only work when someone's actually coming to help. Meanwhile, career diplomats keep writing memos and processing visas while posting their quiet protests on social.
Remember when we thought these symbols meant something would change? Now it's just content for the outrage cycle. Tomorrow there'll be a strongly worded letter, maybe some resigned LinkedIn posts from mid-level FSOs.
The machinery keeps grinding, upside down flag or not. Though I suppose watching institutional despair go viral is peak 2025.
I disagree. Yes, this isn't the same thing as direct sabotage or anything like that, but I think symbolic gestures like this can be extremely important for morale.
I know that it makes me feel slightly better to see that I'm not alone in my frustrations.