plant one's flag

Hi,

"Plant one's flag" means declaring one's standpoint firmly or waving a flag showing one's slogan or demands? The expression is from the following paragraph:

And yet do we take to the streets and the airwaves and say “here we are, and this is what we demand”? Do we plant our flag of youthful rebellion on the mall in Washington and say “we are not leaving until we see change!

Thanks very much!

"Plant a flag" means to take and stake out a position; the phrase is used figuratively in the example sentence. "waving a flag" is not quite a correct reading.


Sometimes the term implies staking a claim on the land where the flag is planted.

I see. Thank you so much, Bennymix!

Explorers laying claim to an area for their country would plant that country's flag to show possession.