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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think tatty lampost flags are imposing on communities?

257 replies

Warmlight1 · 22/08/2026 12:42

To think.that people continuing to put up tatty flags on lamposts are imposing on communities?
There are people putting them up again near roads. They hang by a thread eventually causing a clear hazard. It looks disrespectful and costs money to make safe. And the intention looks less and less like they give a fig for anyone especially in diverse places.
Everywhere has a civic hub where flags are flown properly at the proper time.

OP posts:
MyLimeGuide · 23/08/2026 11:03

RufustheFactualReindeer · 23/08/2026 09:14

Why does the sight of dingy, torn flags flapping from one cable tied corner from half way up a lamppost

the vast vast majority of posters are talking about the above

no love there….and patriots are not painting mini roundabouts with George crosses, no patriot wants to drive over their flag

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OK I see your point re tatty tacky ones.

Original poster
Warmlight1 · 23/08/2026 10:58

LauraNorda · 23/08/2026 10:07

Have you reported them to the local council? Or is it just England flags with you?

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There seems to be a number of posters trying to put a cross the point of view that people only object to England flags. I would suggest these people own their perspective assertively instead of implying it at people. Perhaps post something like ' I think the objections to flags and other stuff only applys to England flags and that makes people anti patriotic' '
... And of course the answer would be - most probably if it were just the occasional one stuck on a lamp post, as with some advertising or various slogans- no one would be bothered and graffiti would still be handled as graffiti.
Thousands of flags have been systematically ( and illegally) hung from lamp posts and they degrade over time and there's no plan for that. That's the issue. . A side issue is the motivations of those doing it and financing it.

OP posts:
HelpMeGetThrough · 23/08/2026 10:35

Megifer · 22/08/2026 16:18

We've got a few round here that have been up for ages and they look fine, if a bit frayed.

The rather posh village 5 mins down the road is full of them! Every single lamp post has one, then they've strung up flag bunting along all the shop fronts. Drove through it a few days ago and they all look like theyve been renewed. Its not what id have expected from an achingly affluent area that has at least 3 artisan bread shops, yearly fetes, makers markets and a village society group 😂

Ah, they must be “naice flags”.

saveforthat · 23/08/2026 10:33

Warmlight1 · 23/08/2026 09:48

My point was not that makes people racists. But that local councils make democratic decisions about what to spend money on and it is transparent. For example Our local council spends some of the town taxes on flowers. If a council spends money maintaing a roundabout with flags it goes through the books and people can agree disagree, vote accordingly. If it spends the equivalent of 70 pensioners care packages on flags people can vote or not vote for that.
Councils are forced to either maintain flags or leave them tatty, when people force communities to have them on lampposts.

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No, not your point. Your posts are quite balanced. @Velumental personally attacked me and called me a racist simply for saying the flags looked good and were well maintained in my town. Their post was subsequently removed.

MyLimeGuide · 23/08/2026 10:32

soddingspiderseason · 23/08/2026 09:49

Enjoy your need to worship the flag in private. The rest of us don’t want cheap tat cable tied on public lamp posts like some Temu Nuremburg rally. Its embarrassing.

Edited
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Where did I say I worship the flags! Lol! They make a dull roundabout look pretty thats it! Same as I enjoy looking at those wool creations people are making to decorate post boxes.

FudgeFudy · 23/08/2026 10:11

I do feel sorry for people who don't go in for this sort of thing but who have to live amongst the types who do. It does just look shit and signifies that the area has more than its fair share of knuckle-dragging morons. Where I live is by no means well-to-do but for some reason it seems to have avoided this nonsense for which I am very grateful.

LauraNorda · 23/08/2026 10:08

soddingspiderseason · 23/08/2026 09:47

That’s just not true. There is nothing cable tied to lamp posts in Manchester apart from tacky, chavvy, cheap plastic flags that have now gone tatty. The occasional lost cat/dog poster is usually sellotaped on, not cable tied. And nowhere near the extent of the flag shagging nonsense. Its just chavvy and looks tatty. Never mind the impact of all that cheap plastic on local wildlife.

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It's probably that prevalent that you just don't see them any more.

LauraNorda · 23/08/2026 10:07

MandingoAteMyBaby · 23/08/2026 09:40

All of those things are illegal and all should be removed.

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Have you reported them to the local council? Or is it just England flags with you?

Original poster
Warmlight1 · 23/08/2026 09:54

Gealach · 23/08/2026 00:06

I’m in Ireland and we had a flurry of flags being put on lampposts there after the whole St George’s cross flag thing in Britain.

Now the Irish flag isn’t remotely controversial like the St George’s Flag but they were being used as - and I love @TooBigForMyBoots explanation here - like dog piss. Particularly annoying as the Irish flag stands for unity.

Anyway, in my town, the council decided that they weren’t taking them down (which i completely agree with, would have inflamed the situation) But they started to look seriously tatty as were cheap flags (ironically purchased from overseas) and in the end a community group came together and took them down after a meeting where there was a vote.

The council stayed out it and nobody could complain they were being silenced.

Edited

Thing is the George flag never used to be ' controversial'
I learned about the different countries flags in school it was a positive thing.
People like Yaxley Lennon and his paymasters have ingressed on it, like so many other things.

OP posts:
soddingspiderseason · 23/08/2026 09:49

MyLimeGuide · 23/08/2026 00:16

It wasn't I that put them up! How can it be embarrassing to look at a few flags of where we live! They are just around 1 roundabout (tastefully) in the town I live in

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Enjoy your need to worship the flag in private. The rest of us don’t want cheap tat cable tied on public lamp posts like some Temu Nuremburg rally. Its embarrassing.

Original poster
Warmlight1 · 23/08/2026 09:48

saveforthat · 22/08/2026 20:58

Our flags are maintained too @MyLimeGuide apparently that makes us racists.

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My point was not that makes people racists. But that local councils make democratic decisions about what to spend money on and it is transparent. For example Our local council spends some of the town taxes on flowers. If a council spends money maintaing a roundabout with flags it goes through the books and people can agree disagree, vote accordingly. If it spends the equivalent of 70 pensioners care packages on flags people can vote or not vote for that.
Councils are forced to either maintain flags or leave them tatty, when people force communities to have them on lampposts.

OP posts:
soddingspiderseason · 23/08/2026 09:47

LauraNorda · 23/08/2026 08:35

Are you blind?

There's a multitude of stuff cable-tied to lamp-posts. Flyers for local business, lost pets, church or other local events, music gigs and so on and so on. All that kind of stuff is eye height.

At least the England flags are high up, out of the way.

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That’s just not true. There is nothing cable tied to lamp posts in Manchester apart from tacky, chavvy, cheap plastic flags that have now gone tatty. The occasional lost cat/dog poster is usually sellotaped on, not cable tied. And nowhere near the extent of the flag shagging nonsense. Its just chavvy and looks tatty. Never mind the impact of all that cheap plastic on local wildlife.

MandingoAteMyBaby · 23/08/2026 09:40

LauraNorda · 23/08/2026 08:35

Are you blind?

There's a multitude of stuff cable-tied to lamp-posts. Flyers for local business, lost pets, church or other local events, music gigs and so on and so on. All that kind of stuff is eye height.

At least the England flags are high up, out of the way.

Show quote history

All of those things are illegal and all should be removed.

RufustheFactualReindeer · 23/08/2026 09:14

MyLimeGuide · 22/08/2026 20:26

Im going by the roundabout in my town which is loving and tastefully done with quality flags and bunting.

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Why does the sight of dingy, torn flags flapping from one cable tied corner from half way up a lamppost

the vast vast majority of posters are talking about the above

no love there….and patriots are not painting mini roundabouts with George crosses, no patriot wants to drive over their flag

LauraNorda · 23/08/2026 08:35

MasterBeth · 22/08/2026 21:28

Would the people who support right wing thugs cable-tying the flags they like onto lampposts also support left wing thugs cable-tying the flags they like onto lampposts? And what about middle of the road people who aren't even thugs? Can they tie stuff to lampposts?

Who should decide which flags are cable-tied onto lampposts? Should everyone be free to tie stuff so that every lamppost in the country has someone's flag, symbol, slogan on it, no matter how offensive, intimidating, provocative, rude or joyous other people may find it? Or maybe we should all agree not to do that and keep our streets clear of all that guff, which seems to me to be a very British thing to do.

It might get some of that twee knitted postbox shit out of the public realm, too...

Are you blind?

There's a multitude of stuff cable-tied to lamp-posts. Flyers for local business, lost pets, church or other local events, music gigs and so on and so on. All that kind of stuff is eye height.

At least the England flags are high up, out of the way.

Prycejosh1987 · 23/08/2026 00:19

Good faith is maintained with good personal value.

MyLimeGuide · 23/08/2026 00:16

soddingspiderseason · 22/08/2026 21:23

Enjoy them in private then please. Rather than littering public space with plastic tat. Its embarrassing as a country to have this kind of ridiculous behaviour.

Show quote history

It wasn't I that put them up! How can it be embarrassing to look at a few flags of where we live! They are just around 1 roundabout (tastefully) in the town I live in

DdraigGoch · 23/08/2026 00:10

SpaceShark · 22/08/2026 17:12

So we're not upset about Palestine or rainbow flags then? Colour me shocked.

I've not seen any of those cable-tied to lamp posts.

Gealach · 23/08/2026 00:06

I’m in Ireland and we had a flurry of flags being put on lampposts there after the whole St George’s cross flag thing in Britain.

Now the Irish flag isn’t remotely controversial like the St George’s Flag but they were being used as - and I love @TooBigForMyBoots explanation here - like dog piss. Particularly annoying as the Irish flag stands for unity.

Anyway, in my town, the council decided that they weren’t taking them down (which i completely agree with, would have inflamed the situation) But they started to look seriously tatty as were cheap flags (ironically purchased from overseas) and in the end a community group came together and took them down after a meeting where there was a vote.

The council stayed out it and nobody could complain they were being silenced.

DdraigGoch · 23/08/2026 00:02

BrokenBiscuitss · 22/08/2026 12:43

Do you mean england flags?

I've seen it in Wales and [the Republic of] Ireland too. It looks equally shit, regardless of which national flag is used. Freyed and faded bits of polyester attached at half-staff to a lamppost by a single remaining cable tie.

MandingoAteMyBaby · 22/08/2026 23:57

CatsAreCool222 · 22/08/2026 21:13

It's a sign you're in a run down area where people have not had the opportunity of education.

Oh they had the opportunity but chose to dick around and wasted it.

MandingoAteMyBaby · 22/08/2026 23:55

It really shows that an area is inhabited by simpletons and should be avoided.

intrepidpanda · 22/08/2026 23:37

They are not a hazard. They are actually there to help protect you from straying into the rough end of town.

Howsyoudoing · 22/08/2026 22:55

I think it’s disrespectful they look like dirty rags, I wish who ever put them up would replace them or take them down.

TooBigForMyBoots · 22/08/2026 22:51

CatsAreCool222 · 22/08/2026 21:13

It's a sign you're in a run down area where people have not had the opportunity of education.

Unfortunately here, it's much worse. Those putting up the flags to intimidate their neighbours are being funded and used by more powerful, well off and educated people who wouldn't dare get their own hands dirty.😡