Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2020 July 24

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July 24

Why is the rainbow flag used to support the NHS?

Hi. I live in the UK and during the coronavirus times people have been expressing support for the NHS by showing a rainbow flag (usually posted in a house window, or chalked on a street); this is briefly mentioned here: Rainbow_flag#Support_for_the_NHS. However, the rainbow has never been an official symbol of the NHS. How did this NHS rainbow symbol originate; where did it come from? 2A00:23C5:FE0C:2100:2C8E:1B8D:2BE5:F733 (talk) 23:06, 24 July 2020 (UTC)

It probably started with children making and posting rainbow drawings, symbolizing hope, to express their support.^[1][2][3] When this caught on some grown-ups thought it would be appropriate to fly rainbow flags for this purpose. Unfortunately, instead of using the rainbow peace flag or an ad-hoc rainbow design, some repurposed (and thereby usurped) the LGBTQ flag.  --Lambiam 01:08, 25 July 2020 (UTC)

This article discusses some of the issues. Matt Hancock, the UK Health Secretary, has muddied the waters a bit more by wearing an NHS rainbow badge] originally intended to show support for LGBT workers within the NHS. Alansplodge (talk) 16:40, 25 July 2020 (UTC)

Would it have been better if they had usurped the peace flag? ... There are only so many ways you can paint a rainbow ... 93.142.123.92 (talk) 18:08, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses. I seem to have enough ontological belief in my own existence that I can't be "erased" by somebody using the same flag or wearing the same shirt, but hey-ho, we live in a time. 2A00:23C5:FE0C:2100:1C67:844C:96EF:CD62 (talk) 00:51, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

Wearing the same shirt? You'll become a glitch in the matrix.  --Lambiam 15:29, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

Use of the same symbol by different groups with different goals causes confusion in the populace. This can be problematic, even dangerous. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are especially sensitive to this, as they can face harassment or attack for even just being somewhere. As a separate example, a few weeks (months?) ago we ran a picture on the Main Page that incorporated a swastika as part of symbolism related to Jainism and people complained about "Nazi imagery". --Khajidha (talk) 19:42, 30 July 2020 (UTC)