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?

In our city, we have English flags, Palestinian flags, Israeli flags, the flag of Norway, German flags, Italian flags, Chinese flags, Japanese flags, Indian flags, Scottish flags, Welsh flags and the Australian flag.

Are you offended by all of these or just the English ones? In England?

Why do the English flags in England make you feel uncomfortable?

Is it a trivial matter?

Will you think the same when they are all hanging in tatters in a few months time?

It is xenophobic littering.

Trivial my arse.

Well let’s be frank - operation raise the colours is co founded by Tommy Robinson and Andy Saxon - both far right racists associated with Britain First, EDL - Saxon fundraised for the flags - it has since spread with other Britain First and similar organisations picking up the baton locally.
Yes, non far right folk may have joined in, but personally if you’re having to follow a path led by these types of guys then to my mind you are either hard of thinking or agree with far right racists.

Where I live in Wales there are welsh flags all over the place, I've lived here 25 years and it's always been that way. Whenever I visit Scotland I see their flag a fair bit also. Come to mention it, I've seen a few Palestinian and Ukraine flags around in the last couple of years.

I feel sorry for the English, the only people in the world who are considered hateful for flying their national flag. I'm glad to see they are starting to push back.

Because at the moment particularly they are being used as a tool to intimidate innocent people.

As I posted above. I have no problem with a sharp knife when it’s being used to cut potatoes. I have a huge fucking problem with it when it’s being pointed at someone to scare them.

So it’s xenophobic to fly your own flag in your own country ?

Then they'll paint one on your house

In my patch of Wales flags Pop up everywhere, most months from different countries. Maybe because we're a tourism area. It's lovely to see.

In the area I work in, flags have been put up on the lampposts by the council to commemorate the Battle of Britain, as its an area with 2 RAF bases, an RAF museum. These flags are celebrating us defeating a dictator who wanted to take away our freedoms, wanted to kill people of certain religions. A good thing to celebrate IMHO.

There is also the small matter of England being in the Women's rugby world cup final tomorrow, following on from the Lionesses fabulous Euro win - a great time to be proud of our fantastic female sports players.

Councils are struggling to fund care for vunerable disabled people, and you want them to waste money in taking down flags! I suggest if you want it done you either do it yourself or you pay someone to do it, it's definitely not a council priority!

I don't see the difference between Scottish English or Welsh flags flying, everyone should be proud of their nation

It’s a good analogy and for that reason doomed to be ignored. The whole question of context is ignored because they have no answer to it.

Much easier to ask for the millionth time why it’s only English people who aren’t allowed to be patriotic. As if this was in any way an incisive point.

You can ask your councillors what their stance is. Where I am they'll be removed if causing danger or people feel they have been racially abused. They're keeping an open mind at the moment.

Oh catch yourself on.

I'm not going to engage with wilful ignorance.

Depends on how they’re being used, really, doesn’t it?

Well we'll be watching the rugby tomorrow and cheering England on.

I live in England why shouldn't we put up English flags? It's England for heavens sake

I live in england

people have always flown English and uk flags

they just haven’t put shoddy flags on lamp posts or painted mini roundabouts with the flags so people drive over them….which doesn’t strike me as particularly respectful

Well it’s because the people who started this whole flag thing are nasty little racists like Andy Saxon and Tommy Robinson. If everyone had suddenly had a burst of patriotism spontaneously then it would be fine, but that isn’t it. And it’s really disingenuous to act like there isn’t a subtext to this that is based on making immigrants feel uncomfortable.

But why the English flag and not the Union Jack ? It’s sending out a very specific message

It’s the lack of critical thinking for me….

I despair

Our local flag lovers have a collection pot fund to buy flags 🙄.

@fourfoxsakes You realise that some flags were up for the womens rugby team? The final is tomorrow and England are in it. No flags are not all there for the same reason and it's insulting to pretend they are. In some places there are very few to take down, the ones up have been there all year or for other sporting events and they are flying legally from flagpoles.

Some councils are taking flags down when installed illegally or in places where it is obviously with ill intent.

It would be great to post on sm how lovely it it is to see the flags flying for our England Ladies tomorrow!!

Maybe we all should

I quite like seeing the flags