To be devasted the roundabout in my town has a crappy 'flag' painted on?

[Liesmorelies]

I nearly threw up when I saw it this morning - what a horrible shock.

It's a very small town in the Midlands near a city. Yes it's ex-mining but does reasonable ok now, not deprived eg no contextual offers for my dc for uni, but not massively desirable or trendy. Has a Labour MP now but hasn't always in recent years. Voted for Brexit but only just. In 2019 more people voted against Tories AND Brexit than for them - split the vote so we still got a Tory, but still.

In other words, I did not expect this. It's horrible - looks ugly and badly done even before you get started on the thinking behind it. AIBU to ring the council on Tuesday and ask when they are going to deal with this vandalism?

I did a four hour round-trip on the motorway today too and the amount of flags on bridges was shocking - just make it stop.

Maybe one of the men can wipe your forehead with a flannel and administer anti-sickness tablets.

OP it sounds like you could be near me … as soon as I read the start of your post I visualised the flag I saw a couple days ago on my way to work.. if it’s the same mini roundabout, I’m all for celebrating the English flag.. but it looks awful and why bother IMO! Always makes me wonder how and when someone did it as well 🤣

It's obviously not as...ahem...a black or white an issue as that.

Minorities in this country (and others, obviously) have historically been discriminated against, oppressed, abused, ignored and even killed due to nothing more than the colour of their skin. This still happens today, everywhere from police stops, to housing, education, employment, medical diagnosis, finance, even simple day-to-day interactions...this is not up for debate.

Things are far from perfect, but they're better than they were as society takes actions to redress the balance.

A minority celebrating their culture or their community isn't simply a case of celebrating the colour of their skin, or their heritage. It's about celebrating the progress made. That a black person can be a high ranking police officer, or a corporate CEO, or a bank manager, where for previous generations that was not an option. It's about redress, or being treated equally. Being accepted, while remembering your roots. Being black, or brown or whatever on an equal footing in a society that has historically been preferential to white people and considered you lesser. Breaking stereotypes.

Can people not see why a minority might be proud of that progress, and feel the need to celebrate it.

Being proud of being white is...what? White isn't a culture. White people have never been oppressed in this country just for being white. Don't conflate it with being proud to be English or British or whatever. The only thing unique about being white in England is that you've (knowingly or otherwise) enjoyed the benefits of a society that has been kinder to you and easier for you by virtue of a genetic lottery that granted you a certain skin pigmentation. A white person having a tough life doesn't negate the experience of minority groups.

Celebrating 'being white' in England, a country where people of all colours are as culturally English as you, is to suggest that you are somehow better, more important or more entitled than someone who isn't, by virtue of the colour of your skin. That what the Nazis believed. That's what the KKK believes.

Thankfully it isn't true. A white person in England who's biggest case for celebration is being white must have absolutely nothing else going on in their life.

Nobody is TELLING people we shouldn't use the flag - we can SEE who does and don't want to be associated with them!

The people putting them up, the people posting about it, the people arguing about it on small town Facebook groups, the people who attended the recent immigrant rallies - they look like the exact opposite of anyone I'd want to associate with.

Some of us are old enough to have been through this before. No way would I have flown the flag in the 80's, when the National Front were prominent. They TOOK our flag and marched under it with such hatred that many Brits disassociated from it.

The same is happening now.

Am I aware? I live here.

Yes it's an act of vandalism and by all means report it but it was that much of a horrible shock you nearly threw up? Ffs some people have real problems

I'm intrested in your reply as I guess I'm looking at it from a diff angle?

I'm dubious of anyone making broad brush statements like 'immigration is a only a good thing' where we're human and good and bad coexist. Anyone proclaiming it's all one way makes think they live in a bubble and lack critical thinking facalties. Or are willfully ignorant and don't want their comfy moraly superior status challenged.

But would def say there's a colloration bwtn poverty and immigration - of course not all. But would definitely say it would be a factor.
For instance, being homeless on a housing waiting list and being pushed down list in favour of someone extreamly new to the area. Most of London social housing is now occupied by non native brits.
Overcrowding in schools, doctors/dentists waiting lists. Fuel allowence cuts for elderly.

The social sector cuts of last 15 years
Helping people combat poverty.

But theres enough money for infinite new arrivals?

I'm sure they were the same people who were protesting and shouting 'All lives matter' a few years ago, right?

That mantra hasn't aged well for them has it?

I agree. Where were the flags during the Woman's Euros?

Except nobody has ever told you to be sad or ashamed about your flag. Ever.

People are simply that those who've just started to care about it this week due to a movement backed by some appalling racists, because they think it's upsetting immigrants, are quite sad.

We call them flegs in NI we are so used to them. In someplaces they paint the kerbs red white and blue too which makes them look like French flegs near where I live we have a street with union flegs everywhere and another parallel to it with the Irish tricolour!

Also it's not..."irony' that the people that phsyically built the country should feel othered...

Im not sure why anyone in this position should feel othered in their own country

Oh nobody is missing the point.

Sadly this is posters showing their own ignorant opinions aligning with the anti immigrant crowd.

Exactly. The same kind of sad acts who say "When's National Men's Day?" on National Women's Day, ask "When's Straight Pride?" every year like clockwork, or copy and paste Facebook statuses about not forgetting Dad's on Mother's Day.

According to the "logic" on display here, ALL flags should be allowed. ALL, regardless of connotation or motivation. Think about it.

Is there any flag from recent history you might possibly draw a line over?

Hopefully now the more performative members of the country see how ridiculous things like rainbow crossings are?

If anything its holding a mirror up to how ludicrous the last 5 years has been in empty performative gestures of anything vaguely cool to support.

And i say that as a member Of tge lgb

The couple of painted roundabouts I’ve seen look more like the aftermath of a nasty roadkill incident than a flag. Cable-tied flags drooping at half mast from lampposts don’t exactly create an atmosphere of joy or celebration either

They dont have a whole councils DEI budget to burn through sadly

I grew up in the 90s
and Im brown and a child of immigrants
for me the 90s /2000s was bloody wonderful

Of course, the very ones. Be the same ones we'll see in the Daily Fail next week when they send their kids back in Air Force 1s and with a buzz cut or a nose ring and cry about it!

Shhh its better to let people speak for you to suit their narrative

Nothing like a bit of classism

So the Women's World Cup isn't a major sporting event then

Id also like to know why she feels she is the official gatekeeper of exactky when and why the cross can fly

Amazing! It must've been wonderful for all then.