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. 🇬🇷🇮🇪🇮🇳🇦🇫🇧🇸🇵🇰🇪🇸🇸🇩🇿🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

No, he was actually born in Turkey.

On. Their. Own. Property.

NOT on public property.

Or is it a bit too outing to demonstrate your racist opinion where you live?

That's absolute nonsense. If it wasn't done to be deliberately aggressive, then how do you explain the timing? All these folk who are putting up flags everywhere would always have had them up in their own garden.

It's deliberate and it is aggressive. And I'm sure some of the Welsh who fly the Welsh flag are also doing it to show their disappoval of English immigration to Wales.

I am more worried about the flags on bridges not being fixed properly and blowing down covering my windshield when I'm driving.

Surely not? For example, if someone put up graffiti, surely ok to wash it?

If a flag is put up on public property, it’s not up to individuals to remove it. That’s the role of the authorities, who can act according to the law.

It's not up to individuals to put the flags there in the first place.

I’ll repost it for you because this gets to the heart of the matter!

It’s about context. You’re assuming every single person who wants to display a flag has ulterior motives, so should for that reason be banned from displaying it at all. It’s our national flag fgs. And yet there’s people that seem to think that it’s never to be displayed again. Madness.

Town hall, official buildings, even bunting around city centre etc has no sinister connotation to it. It’s the recent fly the flag from houses and street lampposts etc it’s a clear message to anyone who isn’t white and that is you’re not wanted here. Dw op the rain and wind will deal with them very soon.

I do have a Union flag in my house as it happens (not up) but it has the Olympic rings in the middle of it as it’s from London 2012.

Great days, although people forget the rot was already setting in and we were all booing George Osbourne!

Flying a flag can mean a lot of different things to different people. Disagreeing with the message is fair, but assuming everyone who flies one has the same motives is too simplistic.

Just because someone flies a flag doesn’t mean they’re racist.

Some of them are really dangerously attached, most of the ones on our super windy main road have blown down and if they cover a windshield of someone going 50mph it could be fatal.

There are also lots of really rubbish crosses spray painted on random things like the back of street signs and top of bollards which is just pure vandalism and makes the town look really scruffy. Wouldn’t blame anyone for painting over them

I don't understand people taking the flags down??
I visit the U.S a lot, civic buildings and the many residential properties fly the stars and stripes and I've always admired their patriotism and wished we were the same.
Now we are, British citizens like the op get all offended by them???

Maybe England needs a St Patrick’s Day? As in a St George’s day and have all those celebrations, to express all that national pride?

Many places already celebrate St George's Day, @SlieveMiskish, but I've heard it said that this should be banned too - apparently it's all too "triggering" at a time when others are using the flag for different purposes

Sometimes the rip 'em down folk really don't help themselves, but I guess it's anything for a nice bit of virtue signalling; ask them to do something to support legal immigrants and IME the vast majority are nowhere to be seen

It doesn’t indicate he’s not welcome. It indicates that illegal immigration isn’t welcome.

Good for you, op.

I’m sick of the disingenuous queries on here from flag fans about why on earth we’re offended by our own dear, innocuous flag when we wouldn’t raise an eyebrow at the Italian flag, for example.

The flag is flown at the town hall. I also see it at some businesses and in private homes. One local town has had union jacks flying from shopfronts in the high street for years now. Fine. Let us not pretend that hanging flags from every single lamppost and telegraph pole on the main road through the town as I saw a little gang doing where I live last night is normal. It’s one group of citizens forcing their interpretation of national pride and their preferences on everyone else in a very provocative manner. It’s territorial pissing. It most definitely doesn’t feel moderate.

It is right to stand up to this.

(And I’m being generous and not ascribing more sinister motives to these people.)

On a related point, why do flag flyers in this country have to use giant bloody flagpoles that everyone else must see? I lived in the US as a child. Flags were a very normal sight on private homes, but they were hung from poles on the house. Again, seems to be about imposing your views on others rather than genuine pride.

If you weren't flying a flat 6 months ago and just happen to have put one up recently, it isn't out of patriotism.

Flying a flag or having opinions about immigration isn’t automatically about racism.

There’s usually a lot more going on, history, identity, personal experiences, and reducing it to a simple label misses the bigger picture.

Generally speaking areas with flags flying tend to be places where you would avoid buying. St George’s flag has been appropriated by various racist groups and no amount of feigning is about to change that reputation.

I'm as English mongrel as they come and I have never needed to hang a flag outside my house or from a bridge to make an unpleasant political point. Flags were for special occasions.

Yes because the flag flyers are able to make that distinction which often requires and examination of the law, lawyers on both side as well as a court hearing and an expert judge. 🙄

I'm not at all sure that people differentiate, sadly. I hate this trend.

I ended up in an area where there were flags from the lampposts. It was a fairly deprived area. All I tell my children is to look at where flags are and where they are not, and see the difference in these places.

When the far right want to dominate a space, they make this public. I can understand someone flag flying on their property, up to them.

Public buildings are another thing altogether

Our flag flies above the Monarchs home, was HM The Queen, was she a flag shagger ?