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. 🇬🇷🇮🇪🇮🇳🇦🇫🇧🇸🇵🇰🇪🇸🇸🇩🇿🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Is it possible then that this mass immigration affects these people more than it does the upper echelons of society and therefore they may have a right to protest?

Wealth and class tend to shield people from a lot of the things that ordinary people have to deal with. Immigrants included. So we stand on the outside and virtue signal about how kind and caring we are to the immigrants before we consider our own countrymen.

Absolutely.

Would the poster care to elaborate???

I think there's a balance to be had. I certainly have no problem with immigrants, I will continue to be friends with my neighbours who are from Afghan and try and make them as welcome as I can (they only arrived 6 months ago) however, I refuse to be embarrassed by the England flag and I would absolutely not be ripping it down.

Are you deliberately being obtuse?
It’s so boring.
It’s so predictable.

Most of the country? Where are your stats to support this?

More likely a circa 50/50 split, as the poll on this thread might also indicate.

❤

Perhaps you shouldn't make too many assumptions about how much compassion people may or may not have for people in deprived white communities. Many of us may have actually invested a good deal of effort in trying to get justice for such communities.

And some of us know as a result of those efforts that it's wrong to pretend that everyone from those communities supports the far right. Some of them are disgusted by the racism that they see. Equally, we know that it's wrong to pretend that all on the far right are from working class backgrounds. Quite the contrary, in fact... some are incredibly privileged and are seeking to exploit disadvantaged communities for their own gain.

Some of us believe passionately in getting a better deal for those left behind communities. We just don't agree with the characterisation of the problem as having been caused by migrants or migration, and we don't see the far right as offering any solutions.

My personal view is that things will get much, much worse for disadvantaged communities of all ethnicities if Reform gets in. Sadly, many people genuinely aren't able to comprehend what they're voting for.

I always find the virtue signallers are the worst, in my experience anyway.

I know someone who'd help out at his local community centre, then go home and beat the crap out of his wife, and also someone who helped out at the local church festivals, only because she was shagging a married man who also volunteered there.

These holier than thou are usually anything but.

This is a great point.

No, I don’t regard the white working class as scum. You have no idea about my opinions on people, only the ones who are openly racist with their “save are country” flags. Some us have compassion for all people who need it, regardless of their background.

‘Sadly, many people genuinely aren't able to comprehend what they're voting for’

Doesn’t it ever get boring, simply writing off huge sections of the population as stupid, ignorant, educated fools, too stupid to know what they want or what might be in their best interests? How patronising and condescending.

What is it you think is "disappearing?"

Britain is still producing wonderful authors, artists and musicians.

There are problems with our landscape - pollution in rivers, climate change but none of these have anything to do with "identity".

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think a poll on here is slightly incomparable to the thousands and thousands and thousands, oh and thousands of people uniting together to march for freedom of speech, don't you?

It is possible to show compassion to migrants and disadvantaged people in our own country. It isn't a binary choice.

And yes it is possible that immigration affects people in these communities more than it affects people in more affluent communities. It is also possible that people with lower levels of education may be more susceptible to disinformation about the social and economic causes of their problems. Or there could be many other explanations. It's likely that the reasons will be multifaceted. Someone would need to do a detailed study in order to understand it fully.

Well OP, if you don't like seeing the St George's flag I suggest you move to another country.....

British culture will be whatever the British people of the day create.

I'm sure it will be just as interesting as it always has been.

So 100-200k people on a march out of a population of 70 million is “most of the country”? Better check your maths.

Most of us support freedom of speech.

I think you're referring to the racist march organised by Tommy Robinson. About 150,000 people, I think. Hardly a majority of the country.

Of course i did. But voting to leave the EU isn't the same as getting "kicked out". We knew we would lose those privileges. We weren't pushed, we jumped.

Here you go again with your piss taking of grammar with the 'save ARE country' comment.
How the hell do you know how well everyone supporting the unite the kingdom movement, and that includes people putting up flags, can spell?

Simple answer is you don't. Yet you feel fit to judge everyone.

The tricolour has been appearing more and more around Dublin City these days. A couple of days ago they appeared across the canal on the other side of the road to our house. I hate seeing them because it shows the narrow minded racists who live in that estate plus they are all half way up lampposts so it looks like they are all flying at half mast like someone has just died. It also reminds me of driving through various parts of the North (of Ireland) where you see tricolours or the Union Jack flags and bunting and it's intimidating.

Absolutely says it all. Thank God we have people like smallpinecone to tell the stupid poor people what to think. Views like these are revolting.

I think you meant the poster @smallpineconewas replying to? But agree generally.

It’s interesting watching all the flag supporters completely gloss over the fact our whole country is now covered in cheap,dirty, wet tatty rags that no one is allowed to touch, that don’t biodegrade and we are just about to go into winter, when they will look even worse.

Without even touching on a political or racial standpoint, It’s embarrassing. They look so awful and they make me ashamed to be British. Being British to me isn’t marking up and degrading our local landscape with cheap tatty gaudy litter. Flying an upside down flag that got caught on a tree branch and is now just a load of floating ribbons.. so patriotic

how long do we have to wait until they are all dirty muddy rags we can quietly remove? Asking for a friend

This thread is like a racist's bingo card:

"If you don't like it, go back to where you came from"
"People in boats FLOODING our country"
"Why would anyone be offended by their country's flag"
"Why don't they stay in the first safe country they come to?!"
"They all get 5 star hotels and mobile phones and gourmet meals"
"Its because of them we can't get GP appointments/long waiting lists at the NHS"
"Would you feel the same if it was insert other flag?"
"Our 'identity' is being eroded"
"You wait, in less than ten years we'll all be living under Sharia law"