What do you think of the flags?

[Latesummersunset]

Apologies if this has been done already.

I live in one of the areas where the flags were started. We couldn’t understand what they were for until it popped up in the news. Apparently the councils are going to be taking them down.

I don’t really have much of an opinion either way but my concern is that they’ll soon become tatty, fall down and leave a mess everywhere. But it seems lots of people are loving them. They do look quite cheery at the moment.

What do people think?

Yabu - they are a mess/racist/health and safety hazard

Yanbu - they are cheerful and patriotic. Keep them

Letting! AC is on drugs today

The English are used to being walked all over - might as well drive over us, as well. Good job we are made of strong stuff.

Xenophobia...... fuelled by Farage, The Conservatives, most of the press and also people egging each other along on social media.

Before anyone comes along as says it's just ordinary patriotism, it isn't. We normally only have England flags out for special occasions.

I'm happy that the flag of England is being reclaimed from the far right!

Every other nation flies theirs and NOBODY has an issue. England flag flown - "Gammon" "Knuckledraggers" "Racist"....etc etc etc

Well to fuck with that. I'm glad we're flying our flag. I have Zero shame in being proud to be English. If others have a problem with it - they can get some therapy. Get over it.

I think they’re great.

Bit pissed off about Birmingham council spending money to paint them over/ remove them when they’ve been bitching about not having enough money to empty the bins for most of the last year

The issue is the council is only finding the money to remove British / English flags. There are areas of Birmingham that have Palestine flags flying from
every lamppost for miles & they’ve been allowed to fly for months, with no attempt to remove them.

I wish those in power would realise that it’s the perceived unfairness / two tier system that now seems to exist, which is upsetting people. Nothing more! It’s not complicated & it’s not actually racism driving it either - it’s unfairness & also when the unfairness is highlighted or challenged, people are shut down without being heard, usually by being called racists, which then can lead to anger & hate.

Round here they went up mid-August to celebrate VJ day. My neighbour, who is in the British Legion, expects they'll be taken down after 2 September.

The Council seem happy enough, although I expect that permission was sought beforehand.

My local pub put them up and I thought at first it was for the women's rugby world cup, because it's being held locally, and I thought that was really nice.

But then flags started appearing in other places, and I really, really hate it. I grew up in Northern Ireland during the troubles and moved here to escape from that sort of attitude - at the time England felt so much more international and inclusive and looming towards the future. These flags feel like opposite of patriotism - there is so much to celebrate about England (and honestly, slightly petty and legalistic local government is one of them) and putting up the flags feels kind of small-minded and whiney and trying to look big by putting down others.

I assume the French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Belgian flags give you similar imperialist vibes?

Hear hear. Birmingham City Council- broke, inept and weak.

Love them. It's a peaceful form of protest. Why not?

Someone got the colours the wrong way round and painted a Danish flag on a roundabout here, to much amusement!

It's clearly being done to sow division, personally I hate it and i've not met anyone who doesn't

Protest against what?

It is not a flag, it’s a fleg

Government that fails to put its people first.

What are they protesting?

What exactly does flying flags on lampposts in residential areas ‘protest’ against?

Are people here just fishing for me to say something? Unless you're thick or you haven't followed the news you know the answer already.

It’s a peaceful form of pointless performative “protest” that will achieve the square root of fuck all.

If you don’t like something the government does, find out how you can best influence government policy and do that.

The government doesn’t give two shits about someone flying a flag.

Well done that man. I laughed at that 🤣 so true as well.

Yes, we are wanting you to explain.

You say we have a “Government that fails to put its people first” - So how exactly is flying England flags from lampposts in residential areas going to help citizens of the UK which are being failed by the government?

Please can you coherently explain your reasonings.

This.
I have no issue with flags, fly whatever you want, be proud of your heritage, celebrate your culture. Love that for you. But do it every day of every year, not because you’ve seen a load of Facebook posts telling you foreigners are taking over and you need to mark your territory like a cat.

That's rubbish. There was a Sikh gentleman on the news last night discussing this, proudly draped in a union jack because he's British. My local Indian restaurant displays st george and Indian flags when there's a cricket match on. Why are we not allowed to fly our flag when pretty much every other country displays theirs with pride?

Exactly.

Keir Starmer is not going to start deporting people because Sandra’s put a flag outside her house.