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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What's With the Flags

176 replies

projuicehealth · 30/03/2021 08:50

It seems every minister who is interviewed on TV has a Union Jack flag in the background.
AIBU to think there is something a little more sinister to this than a sign of being patriotic? I wonder and worry about subliminal brain washing / hypnosis.
I'm concerned that all ministers are going along with it, are they afraid not to?
Johnson did very well keep repeating the mantra "Get Brexit Done" without much substance of how, why or implications.
I wonder if there is more concern about the break up of the United Kingdom in the government and the flags are a visual symbol of our unity, real or imagined.

OP posts:
FuriousCheekyFucker · 30/03/2021 09:33

@Lalliella

They’re trying to convince us that the UK is a fab country to be proud of, when actually it’s the shit-end of nowhere after Brexit.
Except its the only country in Europe to have managed a coherent vaccination policy and will have the first economy to recover due to this.

All done without the hindrance of the EU.

QwertyGirly · 30/03/2021 09:33

I think what bothers me is the way it's imposed. For most countries named above, Canada, the US, France, people are generally proud of their flags and are happy to fly it, it comes from the ground up. Where as here, it's so obvious that it is an order from the top, you HAVE to have the Union flag.

I often look back at the London Olympics, we were so happy to fly the flag, it was a genuine feeling of pride. Now it just looks fake and imposed. I am not from the UK and one of the first thing I understood from the British people in general, the Scots, the Welsh, is that they don't like to be told what to do. This is at risk of backfiring.

Nith · 30/03/2021 09:33

I hate the way people like Hancock are using the flag to distract from their own failings. The subtext seems to be "I won't pay nurses enough, but look! None of that matters because see how patriotic I am!"

Nith · 30/03/2021 09:37

"Except its the only country in Europe to have messed up PPE, quarantine control for people travelling abroad and lockdown to such a hefty extent, to have diverted billions of pounds towards govemment members' relatives and friends, and to have such a high death rate.

All done without the hindrance of the EU."

Fixed that for you, @FuriousCheekyFucker

FuriousCheekyFucker · 30/03/2021 09:42

@Nith

"Except its the only country in Europe to have messed up PPE, quarantine control for people travelling abroad and lockdown to such a hefty extent, to have diverted billions of pounds towards govemment members' relatives and friends, and to have such a high death rate.

All done without the hindrance of the EU."

Fixed that for you, @FuriousCheekyFucker

Very edgy of you.

My mother lives in France, she will heartily disagree with anyone who is unironically jingoistic for the great EU and their mishandling of the pandemic.

I could pick apart your individual points but you wouldn't listen anyway.

CounsellorTroi · 30/03/2021 09:42

@BrumBoo

The union flag is a symbol of unity, containing as it does the flags of England (which includes the incorporated principality of Wales)

Wales is a country, please don't be so rude. Bad enough we don't get representation on your 'British' flag.

Thank you! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Upamountain43 · 30/03/2021 09:53

On its own the flag thing would not be too much of an issue but it is the fact it is being done in conjunction with so much other authoritarian changes.

Many people do not realise that last year the Tory government banned the teaching of any anti-capitalist ideas in schools

The new crime bill effectively stops the ability of people to protest against anything the government does not want them to campaign against.

This bill also criminalises the lifestyle of a particular racial group in society

This bill also enables the Home Secretary to make laws without going through parliament - undermining a fundamental aspect of democracy.

The Tory government have also extended the notion of 'terrorist' group to virtually every anti-capitalist group regardless of whether they advocate violence or peaceful protest.

They have also embarked on a massive program of building more and bigger prisons.

They also introduced a law which means the newspaper cannot publish anything about the Justice system without it being approved first.

They also initiated new funding procedures which mean any body wanting government funding can no longer speak out against government policy. So an anti-poverty charity who receive funding to run a food bank can not speak out against government record on poverty.

For the fist time last year the Police were enabled to arrest Legal Observers and journalists at demonstrations

Put all together the flags are very sinister

tangerinelollipop · 30/03/2021 09:55

What's the problem with having a UK flag in the UK?

Seriously OP, get a grip

LostInTime · 30/03/2021 10:01

OK, what is a flag shagger? Confused

ImAlrightThanx · 30/03/2021 10:02

Government buildings are not required to fly the flag every day (www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/24/government-buildings-to-fly-union-jack-every-day-under-new-rules).

I don't like the creeping patriotism. Nationalists have hijacked the England flag already. Toxic "patriotism" really scares me to be honest.

SlovenlyUnwedMother · 30/03/2021 10:02

@Upamountain43 This.

It's scary what's being pushed through without people noticing. The flags are not an accident. The government are deliberately trying to appeal to nationalists and distract everyone from what they're up to. Sadly it appears to be working.

tangerinelollipop · 30/03/2021 10:03

We need it more than ever in these times of destructive separatists trying to tear our country and families apart

Yes. Destructive people of all sorts abound at the moment. It's worrying.

an attempt at a 'we all love being British DONT WE' ideology

What 'ideology'? What's wrong with loving being British?

ImAlrightThanx · 30/03/2021 10:03

@ImAlrightThanx

Government buildings are not required to fly the flag every day (www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/24/government-buildings-to-fly-union-jack-every-day-under-new-rules).

I don't like the creeping patriotism. Nationalists have hijacked the England flag already. Toxic "patriotism" really scares me to be honest.

NOW required, not not! Plus, clicky link, since I'm clarifying that:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/24/government-buildings-to-fly-union-jack-every-day-under-new-rules

TroysMammy · 30/03/2021 10:03

Never mind the flags I want to know the story about the knitted bunting on Only Connect last night.

EsmaCannonball · 30/03/2021 10:04

I'm more perturbed by how ugly that new briefing room looks. Millions of pounds and it looks like they've stuck up a load of fuzzy felt material in Superman unitard blue.

tangerinelollipop · 30/03/2021 10:07

Have no wish to emulate the OTT flag waving seen in America. Perhaps the best indicator of the American mentality

Why is waving a flag OTT? What's wrong with people being proud of their own country? Words fail me

ImAlrightThanx · 30/03/2021 10:07

What 'ideology'? What's wrong with loving being British?

Personally, I don't "love" being British. I am thankful to live here, there are of course many worse places. But it was an accident of birth. Why I am more fortunate than the poor boy who drowned in Greece escaping Syria? Or the woman who was shot last week in North Korea for trying to defect?
I just AM, and like I had no choice in being born, who my parents are etc. I think pride is more about what you have achieved, not what roll of the dice you got.
Again, only really speaking for myself. But I find being proud of your home country a bit odd.

tangerinelollipop · 30/03/2021 10:08

NOW required

It's about time, TBH

Riv · 30/03/2021 10:08

It’s what the Union Flag is being used to represent that I find worrying.

Just to be pedantic (or maybe it’s ironic) but the Union Flag is only officially a Union Jack when flown on a war ship when it’s out of the harbour!

TempsPerdu · 30/03/2021 10:10

What @Upamountain43 said. Flags on their own - not my bag, but fine if you like that sort of thing. Sudden appearance of flags everywhere in the midst of creeping authoritarianism - I find it all deeply sinister.

Wish everyone would wake up a bit and stop falling for these gimmicks. It’s a toxic mix of populism and nationalism and it won’t end well.

Spinningaround21 · 30/03/2021 10:12

Hospitals and government linked buildings have been instructed to put up the flag too. A different flag at work has been replaced with the Union Jack.....

tangerinelollipop · 30/03/2021 10:13

It’s what the Union Flag is being used to represent that I find worrying

What is it being used to represent?

Is the flag bashing another shameful attempt by the mob who insistently want to attribute new meanings to words, gatekeep rhetoric and rewrite history?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 30/03/2021 10:14

Fly the cross of St Geirge as often as possible.

Why should we let it remain the symbol of right wing nationalist twats? Why can we not look at it and feel the same pride that others feel when looking at their flag?

And please, don't mention Nazi Germany. Nor slavery, colonialism, etc, as there are few countries that are exempt from those accusations.

But I do agree with @EsmaCannonball about Superman's unitard!

tangerinelollipop · 30/03/2021 10:14

Hospitals and government linked buildings have been instructed to put up the flag too

Good

Riv · 30/03/2021 10:14

And while I am in pedant mode- if you do wave or fly it, make sure you know which way up. It’s amusing to us pedants to see it flown as a distress signal by accident (or maybe it’s rebellion or irony, sometimes I am not sure)