I took down some flags and DH wasn’t happy

[LittleChopper]

On my commute today, I noticed someone had hung three large St George flags on a bridge coming out of our village. They have been popping up everywhere but this particular instance I thought “I’m not having that”. On the way home I pulled over and took them down.

when I got home and DH asked why I was binning three large flags I told him and he.. had some interesting opinions. He told me I shouldn’t be pissing off people in the village, that they have every right to hang an England flag in England, and that I’m being too political.

For a start, I would argue that I’ve always been quite strongly opinionated so he shouldn’t be surprised I did it.

Just as others have the right to their opinion I have mine. We have people in the village who are migrants… why should they have to look at that. It’s clear why they were hanging there given what’s going on at the moment and I’ve never see a flag hanging in the village in the decade we’ve been here so why else would they be there now.

I’m just so disappointed with it all. With the UK, with DH.

Next time maybe I’ll add to the collection instead. 🇬🇷🇮🇪🇮🇳🇦🇫🇧🇸🇵🇰🇪🇸🇸🇩🇿🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I did watch lots of it live. There wasn't "plenty" of black or brown people. There were some, relatively very few. What does the word "plenty" mean to you?

If the country you emigrated from were flying its national flag (and let’s face it, chances are it would be, and without attracting criticism) would you feel grief/anger for all the English people who might have emigrated there?

I don’t understand the comments about the NHS. It’s your job isn’t it? Or do you do it for free?

Immigrants emigrate because it benefits them and their families. Not because they are altruistic.

That must be conflicting, given the cornish dont want to be english

You sound nice

Anyone that thinks the message from these moronic flag flyers is anything but exclusionary - ‘this is our space, not yours’ - is just as narrow minded as the halfwits that are scaling lamp posts and bridges to display them.

I’m pleased to say they’ve all been removed from our town public spaces.

Or just realistic?

Some posters are being deliberately disingenuous.

There’s a huge difference between people always having had a flag up, and putting flags up in public spaces over the past couple of months as a show of aggression to immigrants.

If people really want to help their community and show how proud they are, they could be volunteering to help their town and make it better, by litter picking, applying to be a town councillor, volunteering in any capacity, helping at food bank, joining local organisations, etc. I wonder how many of these flag-waving idiots do that?

If you worked for the NHS in Wales you'd be confronted by flags showing Y Draig Goch.

Would you be offended by that?

I've never seen a precise 50/50 split on a thread, interesting...

I want to be proud of my country, my flag; it should be a source of national pride just like the Cornish, Northumbrian and all others are but instead it is being hijacked by idiots. However, instead of taking them down why can’t we put more up and shout about the MANY reasons to be proud to be English or Welsh or Scottish or Northern Irish. Take the opportunity to educate your children (and others) to be proud of their heritage but also teach them about kindness to others, whoever’s they are.
However, remember that there are people out there who are frightened by change and whose only source of information is the newspaper or their next door neighbour or some other misguided fool.
Don’t take them down, celebrate them and change the rhetoric.

Because the flag has unfortunate connotations. Which is a real shame. I wish it wasn’t the case, but it is. Sadly the flag doesn’t say “welcome to England” it says “fuck off”, which is not a pleasant sentiment and not one I would want migrant people in my neighbourhood to have to see.

I’ve been to a lot of global sporting events with around 100,000 in attendance. If you genuinely believe Saturday’s protest was similar in size to one of those attendances then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Yesterday I saw flags flying on a local pub and a scaffolding company lorry. Lets me know whose business I should never use again.

I actually saw some flags being put up on lampposts in my nearest town. It was 3am and the three of them were wearing balaclavas.

That’s not patriotism.

@BellissimoGecko There’s a huge difference between people always having had a flag up, and putting flags up in public spaces over the past couple of months as a show of aggression to immigrants.

I think all this aggression business is a figment of peoples' imagination.

Are those of us who fly Y Ddraig Goch being aggressive to the English (main group of immigrants in Wales) ??

Quite a few people on here are going to implode at 10pm on the night of the next GE when the exit poll is revealed.

Maybe then they’ll realise that demonising anyone with a different viewpoint to them is a naive and ineffective tactic.

Yes, it's a shame that racists have corrupted the flag by using it as a symbol of their own hate. The idea that such behaviour is "patriotic" would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

Here you go ...

Noses & faces, methinks.

How is that "racist" ?

Now this is racist

www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/islamic-state-isis-isil-daesh-260nw-1200426370.jpg

I think it’s a bit disingenuous / deliberately obtuse to say “oh but you see Welsh flags in Wales and Italian flags in Italy, why can’t we fly our flag and be proud to be English?” Because the right have used our flag as a symbol of aggression. If you hang some Union Jack bunting at your local fete on the cake stall, probably no one would bat an eyelid. In this context it would have a cutesy old England, cricket on the green connotation. If you hang the flag on the bridge in your village or outside your house then it has a different connotation. In other words “fuck off immigrants, you’re not welcome”. I think people pretend not to understand this and make useless comparisons about other nations flying their flags. It isn’t the same. Those flags do not have the same connotations.
Personally think it’s very sad our flag has been misappropriated for such a horrible cause. But given that it has (which surely no one can deny), then because I am not asshole and I don’t want immigrants here to feel threatened or unwelcome, then I would be sensitive to the message it sends and not display flags openly in what would surely be seen as a hostile gesture. Whatever people say about us having a right to be proud to English or British or whatever, it is a hostile gesture and people who pretend they don’t realise this are being deliberately ignorant.

I used to live in a village, I'm glad I live in a city now.

It’s amazing how so many responses are the - oh what’s the problem here - as if 5 years ago we would have been be seeing the same thing loads a flags being put up. Is it stupidity, naivety, silent agreement - not to appreciate it is done in large part to intimidate and divide and as a political action.
not the odd flag that’s been up since forever, but the new ones popping up all over the place - quite the coincidence eh!

100,000 is a lot of people. It will look a lot different walking through the streets of London than in a stadium.
It's a bit larger than the capacity of Wembley and the crowds before/after events there are vast.
Just accept that the police and media are more experienced crowd counters than you. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm sick of people thinking its racist. Think you all need to get a grip. Why shouldn't the flags be up.