The council should be taking down England flags in public places?

[fourfoxsakes]

I have driven through a couple of areas in the last few days where England flags are being displayed on public lamp posts, it makes me feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome in the area and I think gosh I’m glad I don’t live here, but why are the council not taking them down?

That's your own prejudices showing. Not other people's.

I went down the Mall the other day. It was full of Union flags and one USA flag 🤷‍♀️ should they take them all down or just the outlier?
what about all the yellow ribbons where I live? Who is going to take those down? Should anyone?

Do you have a method for being able to determine how long they have been up?

I'm actually thinking of putting one up myself, because I am sick to death of seeing Palestinian flags. I am very far from being a racist, I am more than happy to see anyone of any colour who wants to come to the UK legally, contribute to society, accept western values, and stand under a British or English flag and be as patriotic for this country as they are for any other country they have citizenship of. And not subject other people in this country to hate.
In particular, the type of hate and vicious judgement I see every day on Mumsnet.

What a coincidence that all those people became so proud and patriotic they had the urge to hang up a flag up in the same week, eh?

Just like the clapping for the NHS which was a craze that caught on. It's showing appreciation and pride.

We never used to be a country that needed to fly a flag like other do as we were comfortable and confident enough in ourselves as a country. That's no longer the case.

Oi! Its are flag and u r the rasist one for not bein prahd of bein english (or something)

Erm, I'm talking about areas in my community which I know well. Roads I drive down regularly. It is abundantly clear that the flags attached to lampposts and painted onto roundabouts are a direct response to the Tommy Robinson campaign.

Sadly, a lot of people who might have flown flags for the rugby will feel unable to do so because they won't want to be associated with the racists.

An erudite response.

How is it "abundantly clear"? What did every person that put a flag up tell you about why they did it?

None of the flag worshippers are proud of their country. If they were they'd be off their backsides litter picking and giving a shit about our environment.

I've never seen any of them making our town look nicer. I'm happily stalking their facebook profiles as they're not private.

Timing

Well, clearly it is being forced on me. Whether I’m unreasonable to object or not is a separate matter. I don’t think so ans they are hanging these things illegally and - to put a generous spin on it - at least some groups have dubious motives. It isn’t the same as spontaneous pride at a sports event for a celebration like VE Day. It isn’t the same as the council putting them up. It’s groups that many of us do not support unilaterally deciding that our towns will have this divisive manifestation of flags.

As pps have pointed out, political associations aside, this is no different from pasting up signs wherever you feel like it. There are rules against simply commandeering public spaces.

Plus geography actually. The flags have appeared in those areas of town...

Rubbish.

Also interestingly my teens tell me that it's a massive thing with young people who are fed up of having to apologise for everything that's nothing to do with them. Eg colonialism.

No need for snobbery

They're finding their patriot spirit again after far too long. England was bombed to hell in the war, too many husbands and sons lost. Young men who would have been grandparents. Women who really struggled to raise children as widows. No benefits then, just parish relief, and a horror of the workhouses.

In my job I sat and heard many tales. One very elderly lady a herring barrel woman in Scotland widowed, who left her children with her mother while she worked. One year the herring failed so she crossed the sea to Ireland. She met a man, fell in love brought him home, they married.

He was English. But took on her children, they moved to England, he went back to his merchant navy engineering job, she never gutted another herring.

She'd climb to affix an English flag if she was here today, taught her children to be proud of Scotland and England.

It's not legal to put anything up on public property. Flying them on your own property is absolutely fine.

Tbf in the town near us, every year some political extremist maniac puts little handknitted hats on the postboxes, of Rudolph or Father Christmas or other such things. Commandeering public spaces. Everyone who is switched on politically is appalled! So upsetting for non Christians.

This! It’s ridiculous how flying the national flag is seen as anything other than patriotic. I’m so cross that the flag has been hijacked & it’s time that we were allowed to be proud of our country & heritage! The national flag belongs to everyone who lives here, not just one particular race or cultural background (& I say this as an Irish person living in England).

Its true though about demographics though. There are no flags in the well known 'richer' and I hate to say it, inhabited by more educated people, areas of my city but loads in the areas that are considered the poorer parts.

My grandkids go to school in the area which is and always has been thought of as the 'rough' part of town and they sprang up overnight (literally - balaclavad men in the dark) outside the school, all over the paths and on the lampposts.
Why deny the facts?

How on earth is it a hate crime to fly the flag of the country.. in the country 🤣🙄 I don’t agree with the use of them to make minorities feel uncomfortable but you cannot honestly think putting up an English flag in England could ever be chargeable as a hate crime- would cause uproar!

Yes they should take them down. Or do we just accept blatant racist bollocks now. Flankers are pathetic.

So what you are saying is that poor people are racist? Or poor people shouldn't be allowed to fly the flag of their nation?

This!

My 20yo tells me that racism is incredibly common amongst young people these days.