AIBU to ask about this whole ‘painting flags on roundabouts’ thing?

[Ticktockk]

England flags have appeared all over my nice town, painted on to the mini roundabouts. What kind of a ‘thing’ is this? Is it a Reform thing, a football thing or a ‘proud to be English’ thing?
If it’s a reform thing, WIBU to go down and add “England welcomes you to our country” to all the red crosses?

Yes but all that freedom, freedom of thought, religion, where to send your kids to school? It doesn’t sound very equal. Wouldn’t it be better if the Government decided all that?

Now hold on, Palestinians are facing an unimaginable horror of deliberate starvation and war without rules aiming for their total extinction. You can't lump them in with LGBTQ people

I was responding in a rush to a poster who was saying the flags are akin to rainbow flags and Palestinian ones. I didn't have time for a detailed post at that point.

@ThatWaryOchreQuoter where to send your kids to school?

Not following your thinking - surely you send them to whatever school is in your catchment area? You have that freedom. You also have the freedom to home-school, or choose private - why would you want a Government to take away your freedom to choose and to dictate any of that?

I'll quote your own words back at you:

"Is this meant to be a comeback?? Jesus the bar is low these days."

I was being sarcastic as basically this is what all the lefty stuff is about, but I’m intrigued you’re ok with Government taking away freedom of thought and religion but not education choice.

No, still not following your thinking, sarcastic or not. I have no idea where you got that interpretation from. I celebrate our English freedoms and it is part of the reason I take pride in my homeland.

Yes I know, I agree with you.

The local population is just as likely to do all those things. Where's the outrage when it's a white, British perpetrator? The stupid, racist banner in town twitters on about protecting our children. The idiot who put it up has obviously never reflected on the fact that most violence and sexual assault against our children is perpetrated by their nearest and dearest. Where's the outrage about that?

Not all men but always men.

They didn't happen. I live near Canary Wharf and there are no reports. People on here are making up lies about 'illegals'. Yesterday someone said 18 women were raped last week. They're spreading lies.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/23/women-seeking-asylum-allege-sexual-abuse-in-mixed-sex-hotels

I suppose these asylum seeking women and children are lying too.

That article has absolutely nothing to do with my post.

You said that rapes and sexual assaults perpetrated by asylum seekers aren't happening and that its all lies. Its perfectly valid to ask you if you think these asylum seeking women and children are also lying when they make the same allegations, reported by the Guardian.

That isn't what I said. Reread my posts and respond with the reports of 18 women raped last week and the two other rapes mentioned. Many thanks.

There actually is a reported rape in Canary Wharf from a few days ago, details of the perpetrator aren't included but perhaps the person who posted about it knows more than the source 🤷‍♀️

In any event, it shouldn't be beyond you to acknowledge that if asylum seeking women and children are being sexually assaulted and raped in asylum hotels, the men responsible are a danger to the British public also when they leave the hotel lobby and walk out onto the streets.

So you don't have the evidence requested. Didn't think so

If these ones can't be confirmed or denied, there's shit load of others I can link for you. Including the article I've already linked which seems to have you quite flustered just now judging by your tone.

I asked you to provide evidence that 18 women were raped last week and the two mentioned in the above post. I was explaining to a poster that people are making up lies, weaponising VAWAG, to suit their agenda.

Not you though. You're very concerned about female asylum seekers and wouldn't want them to be deported somewhere they could face further trauma. You also want to make sure they're placed in secure housing.

Look, the question I asked you was a simple one. If your response to allegations of rape and/or sexual assault perpetrated by asylum seekers is essentially "show me proof, or you're lying", do you hold asylum seeking women and children to the same standard? Without proof, are they lying?

So you're are in favour of female asylum seekers being deported and don't give a toss about women's safety.

So you won't answer a simple question. I knew it was a tricky one for you but I didn't expect you to bottle it entirely. Disappointing.

Okay, lets pretend you actually do need this explained to you.

There is a difference between someone saying "I was raped" and someone saying "18 people were raped by illegal immigrants last week".

If someone says something happened to them, then their allegation is itself evidence. At bare minimum, it proves that the allegation itself exists.

If, however, someone makes a general factual claim, not based on their own experience, then it is sensible to ask them to provide an evidentiary basis.

It is depressing that this, apparently, requires an explanation.

A distinction without a difference.

"I don't believe these stories about rapes and sexual assaults perpetrated by asylum seekers"

"OK, do you believe these ones?"

It isn’t complicated.

Scenario 1: A specific person claims they were the victim of a crime, and give specific details about it.

Scenario 2: Someone on the internet says that 18 crimes occurred last week, but wont give any details or information about them.

If you genuinely can't see the difference, try to picture the criminal trial for scenario 2. There are no specified victims or defendants, just some person saying "some crimes occurred"...

As to specific instances of rape that have been mentioned (the Guardian link you posted, plus Harrow and Canary Wharf).

• in the Guardian-reported cases, the victims claim to have been raped by asylum seekers.

• in the Harrow case, a man claims to have been raped by another man. All that is publicly known about the accused is their name (Bruke Desalagne), age, and that they had no fixed address. People on the internet are claiming (based, seemingly, on the surname being of African origin) that the accused was an illegal immigrant.

• in the Canary Wharf case, there is no public information about the accused (or even if the victim saw them) and the alleged rapist has not been identified. Some people on the internet as claiming that the rapist must be an illegal immigrant, "because".

I believe all of these incidents very likely occurred. I believe that the ones in the Guardian link involved asylum seekers, because the victims have said as much. In the Harrow and Canary Wharf cases, I neither believe nor disbelieve anything about the immigration status of the accused, because the victims haven't alleged anything about that.

I can see why some people might leap to conclusions based on the surname and homelessness of the accused in the Harrow case - and they could be proven correct. I don't know why anyone, capable of critical thought, would believe the (so far, unidentified) accused in the Canary Wharf incident is an illegal immigrant just because someone on the internet says so.