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. 🇬🇷🇮🇪🇮🇳🇦🇫🇧🇸🇵🇰🇪🇸🇸🇩🇿🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@the5thgoldengirl

The political entity known as the UK is an island. But individually the constituent countries are not. And we all have our own national identities.

How do you know she didn’t mean your white German immigrant neighbour?

It is clear from your many posts on this thread that you think immigrant and ethnic minority are synonyms.

In your opinion.

Other opinions are available.

Edited because responding to wrong poster

Yes, already corrected it. Perhaps you should take your own advice too

Good googling, @the5thgoldengirl.

But you haven't explained why you think the OP taking down a flag in her own country is xenophobic.

It's good that you found a definition. The next step is to work on understanding that definition.

I had to drive down to a shop yesterday that was around 4 miles from home. Turning onto the main road that led to it there were flags on all the lampposts. My first thought was "they'd look great if they weren't all at different heights and a bit cheap looking". My second thought was "Urgh, they're part of this Raise the Flags nonsense to 'take are cuntry back'. If flags were being flown for the right reasons they'd be brilliant. As it is, we all know they've been put up to make a statement that England belongs to the English and immigrants (particularly brown ones) are not welcome. It's been organised by far right activists and that doesn't sit well with me.

I've been accused of hating this country as I don't support this flag nonsense. I don't at all. I just hate the minority who weaponise flags to intimidate and threaten minorities.

Be proud to be English - fly your flag on your own property but don't stick them on lampposts and vandalise roundabouts and walls. It's not uniting the kingdom, it's stoking division.

We've had immigration for centuries, but particularly over the last 80 years, and that's hardly surprising given that Great Britain colonised a quarter of the entire world at its height, giving millions of people English as their second language. We forced our culture and customs on them and now you're complaining that they want to come here. Why wouldn't they when our language and culture is so familiar to them?
And if you think "group based rights taking precedence over the rights of the individual" is such a bad thing then presumably you don't respect women's rights gay rights, trans rights or the rights of any minority group? You really are the poster girl for Reform UK, aren't you?

Do you know what amazes me, people notice all the flags flying around, yet seem oblivious to the very concerning likelihood that England as we've known it is going to be eradicated if something isn't done about the continuous stream of people on boats coming over here.
Imo, if this situation continues, in ten years time (and possibly sooner) it'll be an offence to fly our own nations flag anywhere, and those who take offence to our flags now will wish they could have the opportunity to see one.

I'm astounded that some people see the Union flag and Saint George's flag being adorned everywhere as sending a racist message, but that isn't the case, it's a message to show unity in this Country.

I'm proud of my Country and I don't care who knows it,

They're not complaining about it for no reason though are they?

I've seen the United Kingdom flag removed to be replaced by a Saltire. Which I quite agree with, tbh.

Holyrood, Stormont & The Senedd should proudly fly their own national flags.

A white British person put up those flags and a white British person took them down. There's no xenophobia there.
If people can hang flags from public property without their local council's permission, OP can take them down without referring to the council.
And FFS stop using semi-colons when you should be using apostrophes! 🙄

Nobody is offended by the flag. All decent people are offended by the racists who are currently weaponising it to intimidate anybody who doesn't fit their white supremacist vision of how England should be.

The world has changed since the 50s. We are a multicultural society. At Yaxley Lennon's hate march on Saturday, loads of the drunk "patriots" were filmed buying street food from vendors of different ethnicities. The ignorance of these idiots is staggering. These people do not represent English or British values.

If you don't see that, I suggest you find some news outlets that don't parrot the right wing narrative and think for yourself.

It would be nice to see them flying both. It was, after all, a Scottish king who united the Kingdom 300 years ago.

Your husband is right. You sound obnoxious.

People are perfectly at liberty to peacefully protest against a lack of immigration control if they want to. They don't have to co-opt our national flag as a racist symbol of intimidation to do it.

Absolute nonsense. The England I'm seeing at the moment, with drunken "Patriots" hurling abuse and bottles at the Police, telling anybody who isn't white to "go back where they came from" and blaming immigration for everything that is wrong with their lives when the truth is it's down to 14 years of Tory corruption is not an England I am proud to live in.

People are coming here on boats because this country has funded the wars that have caused them to flee their homes. We take fewer asylum seekers than other large European countries and net migration is down by around 50%. But don't let the facts get in the way of racism as it's easier to blame brown people because the Tories prioritised their cronies over the plebs.

I assume all those moaning about the flags would be perfectly happy living next to an illegal migrant hotel then?
apart from anything else there just isn’t any more room! Our public services are already on their knees. We have no housing. People are fed up. And you can want to protect the identity of your own country without being racist. I think people are just totally done, tbh. Struggling to financially survive whilst illegal immigrants get their meals cooked for them and their free health and dental care. It is an absolute kick in the teeth. It’s not about race per se, it is just unfair.

OP seems to want a pat on the head. Embarrassing.

When people protest peacefully that's also made out to be racist and the intention is also seen as being racist. There is no way or form of protest that won't be labelled as being racist, and you know it.

Flying the Union Flag is frowned upon in NI, now eg Central Hall/Belfast Council removed the Union Flag. Nothing is flown except for special occasions.

NI a different case tbh.