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.

Well that's a relief. Pity the flag has been caught up in it eh?

You can only report something if you are witness to it. Years ago I witnessed a Muslim lady that I know being verbally abused by some local schoolboys. I asked her if she would like me to report it to the school but she didn't want me to. That must be be about 12/13 years ago. I haven't witnessed anything since.

I did wonder why they were flying St Patrick's flag in Saudi Arabia 😆

I am not, your 'patriotic' groupies are doing just that.

Given the fact that you seem so irate about someone calling out racism and not the racism itself then that is why we have such an issue today in society with racism.

I don't see you getting angry at people using the flag as a tool to be openly racist. I don't see you getting angry at these groups and calling them out.

I see you victim blaming the person on the receiving end of the racism who reported it.

Now how very patriotic of you to shout at the person who was called a p shagger and not the ones doing the shouting.

Turn a blind eye sweetheart, stop your gaslighting and stand up and be counted. If you do not want this flag associated with the racists who are using as such then do something about it. You have easily stood up to flag waving when the knuckleheads have told you to do so, why will you not stand up now?

Oh of course, you never see it these days.

Thought so.

Open your eyes. It is all around.

That really depends on where you live/visit.

England. It is all around England. It is all over every facebook page too of late. Not one of the 'patriots' have called it out yet on facebook.

I wonder why not. Maybe they 'didn't see it'? saw the flags and the posts on facebook alright but never the racism that accompanies it, eh?

Tell what is also weird, men have cried not all men for eons. Now suddenly it is all men - all brown men.

Men: Not all men.
White men: All men, the brown ones.

Maybe we should stop flying the national flag to make her feel better?

I said for the majority, maybe it's just the circles I move in but I don't believe the majority of people are racist and calling someone racist without anything to really back it up with should be classed as hate speech.

Fly it all the time, not just when the racists tell you to.

Engage your own brain and do it because you want to not because some racist tells you it is 'time to'.

There is a flag flown at a house near me. Every single day it flies. He changes it when it is November to one about the soldiers and then back to the union flag.

Always there, showing his pride. Wonder why the current lot never do this, why have they suddenly found their pride and never had it before?

Which flag is it that’s being used to intimidate Jewish people? Please remind me.

I’ll fly it whenever I want thank you very much. Which was never btw, but I’m having second thoughts now

But you never did because you never cared.

My local FB page is absolutely revolting, it's full of "look at me, I put a flag up" or a picture of a roundabout saying "isn't this great"
The comments underneath show exactly what it's about. It's not about "but I just like flags" or "what, I like my country" at all.
Actually, a lot will frame it as "I'm just proud of my country, why should I be ashamed of my flag?" which on the surface could be seen as innocent by some
It's just a veneer though. Look a bit further (eg some of the names commenting or posting and a few days ago they'll have been using the most dehumanising language about refugees (which I won't even repeat here) or advocating violence.
People don't (or refuse to) see the bigger picture.

'Nearly threw up'... after seeing an England flag... in England?

You sound unhinged.

Locally a rabbi woke up on Saturday to a swastika sprayed on one of his walls. Relatively posh area by the way.

There appears to be a general uptick in racism and xenophobia all round.

Certain flags and symbols being used as a tool of "free speech".

It's quite terrifying if you have a rudimentary grasp of 20th C history.

Not really, I do now I’m being told I can’t because it’s racist. Honestly, a small bit of gesture identity politics from the other side for once and all h€ll breaks loose.

I'm Scottish and just can't understand the attitude that a country's national flag is 'racist'

Mine is the same. Mine is openly racist. Rallying people to burn places - they did burn one place last week because they thought it was for brown people when it was for students.

Egged on by the local Fromage Cllr of course who then pretends it was a bad thing and no one should've burned that place down. I just happened to wrongly tell you it was for brown people knowing the town will react.

Oddly not one of the flag fliers have stood up and said anything. Too busy being patriotic to call out racism, eh?

The government local and central started all this mess years ago demonising the flag to appease those who lobbied/shouted.

I remember the hoo hah at the proms a few years ago to ban patriotic music. Ridiculous.

No one is telling you you can't. What people are challenging you on is - why now? Why not before? A simple question asked and you say it means you cannot do something. Oh absolutely you can. But be prepared to answer questions of curiosity about why now?

Remember there is freedom of speech to ask that question or is that only for one side?

A question you have yet to answer.

All this “yes and it’s wonderful!” Nonsense on here is ridiculous. People know exactly why this is happening but are happy to go along with it. Scary.

Yes, people seem rather blind to racism when pointed in a certain direction, unfortunately. Some people are even happy to be arrested in support of a proscribed terrorist group whose co-founder spoke in praise of Hamas on 8 Oct 2023. It's all very concerning.

Nor us in Wales.

Um, I didn't say that. Or do that.