House viewings - neighbour refuses to take down flag

[KayleighhMum]

Our house is up for sale and we have viewings commencing from tomorrow - 7 in total lined up over the course of the week.

Our neighbour hung a large England flag from his top window on Friday and it has remained up. DH saw him outside the front on Saturday and politely asked if he could take it down before Tuesday. He basically laughed and said if any prospective new neighbour dislikes the flag then they won’t be the sort of person he’d want living next to him. It remains up now.

I am concerned this would be off putting, but speaking to my mum earlier she thinks I am over thinking things and it wouldn’t make a difference if someone likes the house.

Do you think we should try and ask again or would you assume it shouldn’t put people off? We are semi detached so it will definitely be noticed.

No prior issues with this neighbour who has always been friendly etc.

It might have been hijacked by a very tiny minority of people in the past, but does that mean the majority of us should be ashamed of flying our flag as a result? Why can’t we take it back? It’s a method of control, that some people are holding us all to account for the actions of a few.

👏

This is really funny

Are any of the pro-flaggers actually going to list what they're proud of? We get it, you all love the flag, love Britain and feel pride in being British/english - what are you proud of?

I wouldn’t buy your house - sorry OP!

I could have written this myself so fully empathise. DH and I have just put our house on the market in the last week and we now have a couple of neighbours who have flags flying at the moment. DH was prepared to say something but we understand we can't stop them; also we didn't want to get into any disputes with neighbours and then have to start declaring it to any buyers. Both neighbours are lovely too. So, we are just putting up with it and hoping they'll be down when the rain and wind starts, which, being in the north, we are hoping is fairly soon.

Would you ask this question of a Spanish person in Spain who flew the Spanish flag?

Well you’ve just answered your own question….

Yes! What are you trying to indicate by putting a flag up? This is EXACTLY what I mean, no one will answer the question.

I suppose it’s the fact that the flag of England alone, as opposed to that of the Union, has been irrevocably tainted by the very worst associations over the course of about sixty years, with more recent decades really dousing it in stuff nobody’d be proud to declare in civilised company.
Attempting to reclaim it as a reasonable sign of a less toxic form of nationalism isn’t going to succeed in the middle of a plague of outright xenophobia.

But I can certainly feel for you in all this, seeing something you rightly cherish being traduced, misinterpreted, and generally abused by those who shame it so. (You’d not see many of those overgrown school bullies who hide behind that flag willingly engage in lethal dogfighting over the Channel to save England from real invasion)

Hey ho. Anyway, I hope all this madness will wither away, and England finds itself unharmed and whole again. (I miss Blighty keenly, after living over here half my life) Best wishes to you :-)

Thanks for explaining! In that case tomorrow I'm going to put a flag outside my house with a naked mole-rat on it. Because I just love naked-mole rats and am so proud of them. I won't explain why, it's obvious.

It’s not really a tiny majority thought is it? A large proportion of people who fly England flags outside of sporting tournaments are openly racist, that is my experience anyway. Whether that’s because other people no longer feel comfortable as a result of the connotations, I don’t know.

And it’s not in the past either, our flag is quite openly being used now in campaigns by far right groups. Unless, and until, they stop that sort of thing, it’ll always be associated with racism and far-right extremism

That we love our country and are proud to be a British. Isn’t that why most other countries fly their flags?

Living in Northern Ireland, I always would look at a street during flag season here. I only consider streets with no flags of either sort .If you have no idea what I'm on about, count yourself lucky. As a prospective buyer, he's telling me not to buy there.

I dont think.you were unreasonable to ask, but actually its good for people viewing the house he did comply.

Yes but what do you love, and why are you proud?

Try and answer without reversing the question and/or asking if anyone else loves Britain 😂

Do you really not understand what I'm asking? What does being British mean to you, and/or which specific achievements are you proud of? Or can you genuinely not think of any?

Let your neighbour leave it up so that prospective viewers have a heads up about the type of neighbour they would have and can avoid. I’m sure a fellow nationalist will come and put in an offer, so you will get your sale and he will get a new bigoted bestie living next door.

It would put me off, we were due to view a house a few years ago as we were considering moving so wanted to see what was out there. Drove down the road but two of the houses had England flags outside and it wasn’t football season so just turned around and decided it wasn’t for us.

Any house that hangs any flag outside would put us off. Although when we went to see friends in America (pre Trump wouldn’t go now whilst he’s in power), we went to the family ranch, they had the American and Dutch flags hanging on their porch and it was nice to see, they were proud of the flags but wasn’t made a big deal of.

I feel for you

It really is a tiny minority. You only have to look at the recent ‘protests’ re anti immigration. There were dozens, not hundreds, of questionable looking people flying the flag, with maybe racist intentions. There are many thousands more who didn’t join these protests, because even though we are against uncontrolled immigration, or love our country, we don’t associate ourselves with that behaviour. I love our country, and if I want to fly the flag, then that should be my choice, not a choice made on my behalf by others who don’t like the flag, or who don’t like the fact that a few people are flying it because they’re racist.

I drive through several fairly affluent villages on the school run, and loads of the big manor houses have flagpoles permanently erected with flags flying. My kids like to point them out. I always thought it came across as a bit eccentric, but never chavvy!

Not all those who fly an England flag are racist; but all racists will fly an England flag.

But why suddenly have so many People decided to do it when they haven’t been bothered before? It’s so blatantly connected to “stop the boats” type rhetoric!

Same. Although, you could get the EAs to drop in that the neighbour is a massive supporter of women’s sports and has left his Football flag up from the Euros for the Women’s rugby World Cup.
He deffo sounds like the sort of fella who would support women in sport…

It’s a tricky one.
I’m not sure if it would put me off but it might tbh.
The fact of the matter is there’s not really anything you can do about it and saying anything more might make your life difficult.
I do sympathise.