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Why should they be?
I have not heard it used as a cliche very often but I suspect the use you mean is from social-media sites using the symbol as a warning or reporting sign.
Despite Communist nations adopting red as their main flag colour, red flags (and lamps, etc.) were warning-symbols long before even the Bolshevik coup that followed the Russian Revolution.
When the motor-car was introduced in Britain in the 1890s or early 1900s, it had to proceed through streets at a walking pace, set by following a man with a red flag. That was soon repealed but red is still internationally the danger colour.
Even before that, the railways in many countries used red flags and lamps to signify [i]Stop[/i] - and they still do.
There is also of course the old saying, "Like a red rag to a bull", meaning the subject of the comparison greatly angers the person cited. That comes from the traditionally bright-red cape used by Spanish matadors, although bulls are colour-blind so the cape may just as well be of any colour. (I don't know if bull-fighting has been outlawed now.)
So while the [i]Red Flag [/i]with capital letters is frequently used by Communists themselves to mean their common symbol, the [i]red flag [/i]generally has a very innocent and indeed honourable history as a warning or stop sign.
Why should they be?
I have not heard it used as a cliche very often but I suspect the use you mean is from social-media sites using the symbol as a warning or reporting sign.
Despite Communist nations adopting red as their main flag colour, red flags (and lamps, etc.) were warning-symbols long before even the Bolshevik coup that followed the Russian Revolution.
When the motor-car was introduced in Britain in the 1890s or early 1900s, it had to proceed through streets at a walking pace, set by following a man with a red flag. That was soon repealed but red is still internationally the danger colour.
Even before that, the railways in many countries used red flags and lamps to signify [i]Stop[/i] - and they still do.
There is also of course the old saying, "Like a red rag to a bull", meaning the subject of the comparison greatly angers the person cited. That comes from the traditionally bright-red cape used by Spanish matadors, although bulls are colour-blind so the cape may just as well be of any colour. (I don't know if bull-fighting has been outlawed now.)
So while the [i]Red Flag [/i]with capital letters is frequently used by Communists themselves to mean their common symbol, the [i]red flag [/i]generally has a very innocent and indeed honourable history as a warning or stop sign.
TheOneyouwerewarnedabout · 41-45, MVIP
Red : danger