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AIBU?

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Original poster

House viewings - neighbour refuses to take down flag

1000 replies

KayleighhMum · 25/08/2025 15:53

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.

OP posts:
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7
CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2025 19:53

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 18:37

Thankfully my neighbourhood isn’t very racist. Not a flag to be seen! It’s multicultural here though - bet the flags are thickest in the places where there are 99% white faces anyway.

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Fortunately it's not where I actually live. There's nothing in my road it's confined to certain pockets and creeping along some main roads. We acquired a Remain councillor at the last council elections. Say no more.

Elle771 · 26/08/2025 19:53

Yerdug · 26/08/2025 17:26

It would put me off and I'd not make an offer. Sorry

Same

allmymonkeys · 26/08/2025 19:54

To look on the bright side, perhaps your neighbour is showing his ardent support for the England Women's rugby team? Stranger things...

I voted Unreasonable not because I don't sympathise with your concerns about first impressions on potential buyers but because I think you'd be wasting your breath if you were to ask him again to remove the flag. These are prickly times and people are picking sides for all kinds of reasons from the simplistic or silly to the distasteful. Don't get pulled in.

I haven't gone through all 35 pages - how are the viewings going?

BackToLurk · 26/08/2025 19:55

Lyraloo · 26/08/2025 19:19

Gosh, all you people who say it would put you off! It’s a good job you don’t live in other countries where people are proud of their flag and fly it all the time.

Most countries that fly flags are quite strict about how to respect the flag. Tying it to a lamppost with cable ties to get turned into a limp rag by the weather and painting it on the ground to be driven over/walked on are generally frowned upon.

MyLimeGuide · 26/08/2025 19:55

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 19:32

You and your neighbour are both white are t you?

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Why is this posters skin colour relevant? What is the colour of your skin? Waist measurements foot size? But size? Hair colour? Eye colour? Please tell its so relevant

Tsama · 26/08/2025 19:56

MyLimeGuide · 26/08/2025 19:55

Why is this posters skin colour relevant? What is the colour of your skin? Waist measurements foot size? But size? Hair colour? Eye colour? Please tell its so relevant

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I hope you keep your strawman away from fires :v

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 19:56

GallifreyGirl · 26/08/2025 19:36

In my village there is a Sikh gentleman flying the union flag. So please tell me is it just white, far right racists flying our flag??

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Oh gosh now that you’ve given that obviously completely true example, I’ve totally changed my mind.

Blablibladirladada · 26/08/2025 19:57

Hi op,

leave your neighbor be :) ours have a huge working truck constantly parked on the private road in addition with three other cars (it is a two cars parking each situation) and we never said something as we could always back and go as we need to. Tbh, he will probably leave it more than anticipated because you said something it seems!

good luck on your sale!

SporadicMincePieMuncher · 26/08/2025 19:57

AngeloMysterioso · 26/08/2025 18:15

There IS a World Cup on at the moment. The Women’s Rugby World Cup started last week, we are hosting the tournament, and England played last Friday (and absolutely kicked ass 🌹🏉) and will be again this weekend.

So in fact, this is a perfectly appropriate time to be displaying England flags.

Unless you think a Women’s World Cup isn’t an important enough tournament to merit displaying flags, in which case you might want to examine your own prejudice before you start judging other people’s.

Happily, the BBC just announced that the England match last week broke viewing figure and match attendance records so it looks like some people think it’s a big deal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cm2vg8205rgo

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And if people had been posting all over social media encouraging others to fly the England flag for the ladies rugby team, and to congregate in front of Rugby stadiums you'd have a valid point....

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2025 19:58

anotherside · 26/08/2025 19:26

Because the British/English are not generally a flag flying people, for better or worse. And this has meant that since the 70s the St George’s Cross has largely been co-opted by far right groups.

And right now it’s not Euro 1996. Nor is it not another major rugby/football tournament. Nor is it the women getting to the latter stages of a football tournament or the last day of the Proms or a Royal wedding.

Rather, it’s a political party, which has immigration as its raison d’être, telling people to put up flags as a protest against immigrants/immigration policy/the fact that there are lots of non-white people living in the UK.

So yes, many people are not getting a warm patriotic glow when they see these St George’s Flags going up as it’s not one of those occasional happy “All Together Now” Euro 96 moments, but rather a “Far Right” moment ….. not exactly rocket science is it?

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I agree but this has been said so many times now and some people either haven't read the whole thread and dont see the difference btween patriotism and racism, are incredibly naive or are complicit. I give up.

MD86 · 26/08/2025 19:59

Probably because the English flag is much vaunted by the fascist Farage supporters. I would not want to live next door to such a person

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 19:59

Grammarnut · 26/08/2025 18:11

Well, sometimes it is sport. When the Lionesses won a European cup a few weeks ago there were lots of St George flags out. As to Pride Month, since it became a kink fest full of TiMs and has ousted Lesbians for being genital bigots, I think quite a lot of us have ceased to support it - esp after the Safeguarding officer of Sussex Pride turned out to be a paedophile.
Also, family and nation are the bedrock of our democracy. We decry them at our peril. Without the nation we cannot rally ourselves to protect our way of life, our beliefs and our culture - which would be a bad outcome.

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What IS British culture? Can you describe it to me? And what are our shared beliefs - asking as a Republican atheist? If we’re all rallying behind the same shared ideal, it would be good to know exactly what it was.

Tsama · 26/08/2025 19:59

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2025 19:58

I agree but this has been said so many times now and some people either haven't read the whole thread and dont see the difference btween patriotism and racism, are incredibly naive or are complicit. I give up.

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Oh they know what we're saying, they simply agree with why the flags are flying right now

Why do you think there's so many bad faith arguments, strawman and so on?

No naivety that's for sure

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2025 20:00

BackToLurk · 26/08/2025 19:55

Most countries that fly flags are quite strict about how to respect the flag. Tying it to a lamppost with cable ties to get turned into a limp rag by the weather and painting it on the ground to be driven over/walked on are generally frowned upon.

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Not to mention the Swiss flag painted on a roundabout somewhere. I can't find the link again but this patriot doesn't even know what his own flag looks like.

GiveDogBone · 26/08/2025 20:01

It’s his house, what on earth makes you think you have any right to tell him what he can and cannot put on his house. That’s Karen talk.

Not that I’m a racist who flies an England flag outside my house, but if I was and any neighbour complained , I’d tell them to jog on.

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2025 20:02

GiveDogBone · 26/08/2025 20:01

It’s his house, what on earth makes you think you have any right to tell him what he can and cannot put on his house. That’s Karen talk.

Not that I’m a racist who flies an England flag outside my house, but if I was and any neighbour complained , I’d tell them to jog on.

You lost the high ground there using the term 'Karen'.

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 20:03

MyLimeGuide · 26/08/2025 19:55

Why is this posters skin colour relevant? What is the colour of your skin? Waist measurements foot size? But size? Hair colour? Eye colour? Please tell its so relevant

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Lol. We all know why skin colour matters in this context. People are tying themselves in knots pretending the OP’s neighbour isn’t just a massive racist. A selfish one too since he’d rather she didn’t sell her house than a brown face move in next door.

Rewis · 26/08/2025 20:07

Of someone has a flagpole and they have a flag up, totally fine and even appreciated. But when it is just hung from a window, that's a turn off for me. Not necessarily would put me off from buying, but defo would notice it and might ask some questions.

Lyraloo · 26/08/2025 20:08

BackToLurk · 26/08/2025 19:55

Most countries that fly flags are quite strict about how to respect the flag. Tying it to a lamppost with cable ties to get turned into a limp rag by the weather and painting it on the ground to be driven over/walked on are generally frowned upon.

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Maybe so but flying a flag from your home home, is certainly not frowned upon. Pathetic to be put off or offended by your own countries flag!

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 20:10

GiveDogBone · 26/08/2025 20:01

It’s his house, what on earth makes you think you have any right to tell him what he can and cannot put on his house. That’s Karen talk.

Not that I’m a racist who flies an England flag outside my house, but if I was and any neighbour complained , I’d tell them to jog on.

Haha! But fair point. You can’t really tell someone to take down their hideous tacky flag that proudly proclaims they’re racism down. It’s their house. If they were my neighbour, I’d counter by hanging a massive Jolly Roger flag. And a Pride one and one of those non-binary ones, because the colours are pretty. If one person can brighten up the neighbourhood, we all can!

I wouldn’t do any of that if I actually wanted to sell the house though obvs.

amberonyx · 26/08/2025 20:12

I'm English, all for live and let live, but it would definitely put me off.

I can imagine the type of person he is, especially if he laughed in your husband's face.

I'm guessing he's the type to wear union jack shorts on his all inclusive holiday in Spain, a beer in one hand, burger in the other, dancing to Come On Eileen.

No thank you!

GallifreyGirl · 26/08/2025 20:16

AnonymousBleep · 26/08/2025 19:56

Oh gosh now that you’ve given that obviously completely true example, I’ve totally changed my mind.

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I assure you it’s true. I live near Leicester. It’s a very multicultural city. It has a large Asian population. Many Asian people of many religions were born here along with their parents. Many are proud to call themselves British. So your assumption only white people are proud to fly their flag is wrong. Yes the demonstrations are largely white but not all so don’t assume.

SanityLeftTheChat · 26/08/2025 20:22

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/08/2025 20:02

You lost the high ground there using the term 'Karen'.

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Just like the anti flag brigade on here lost the high ground when they resorted to using insults like twat for anyone with flags.

2dogsandabudgie · 26/08/2025 20:24

missrabbit1990 · 26/08/2025 12:50

Like it or not, flag lovers, but the connotations of having one in your garden is that you’re either thick, racist or both.

Says who? You?

purplehair1 · 26/08/2025 20:28

It would put me off massively, I just associate it with racists and Farage I’m afraid.

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