Neighbour has put up huge Unite the Kingdom flag

[UrticaDioca]

I am gutted. I haven't seen a single flag in my town, and suddenly this union jack goes up two doors over with the words 'Unite the Kingdom' printed on it in capital letters. The flag is huge and flying from a pole on top of their shed, but it's in their own garden so nothing can be done.

I am the daughter of an immigrant mother and therefore mixed race. Now I have to see this fucking flag waving at me every time I look out of my kitchen or living room windows.

Possibly. There aren't any in my community so I can't comment.

The dad looks like a standard English 'bloke' that you might see down the pub, a little overweight, balding. I don't think that's an indicator of anything though, despite what ppl say about 'gammon' (absolutely hate that term).

Would you? How disgraceful to make automatically pejorative assumptions about anybody based on such a thing as displaying the national flag of one's country.

So many of the people currently banging on scathingly about 'flag shaggers' thought nothing of plasting their facebook profiles with the EU flag post Brexit, did they? With its missing star and all the 'look after our star for us' bollocks. And smugly getting the obligatory UK bumper stickers with the EU stars and around them for driving into France. Funny how they don't see themselves as flag shaggers.

I know!!! 🙄🙈🤣🤣🤣

Calm down dear. It’s just a flag 😂😂😂😂

You say and I quote
” I think it’s perfectly legitimate to engage in legal protest about issues that they are concerned about,”
Therefore why on earth are you adding comments to this thread trying to downgrade people who want to fly this particular flag about issues they are concerned about.

I have no option but to try and ignore it. I can't exactly sneak into his garden and take it down. I would need a ladder and do not have the guts for that. Nor do I have the guts to go and speak to him about it. I also support his right to free speech and putting whatever he wants in his garden. None of that means I can't feel really gutted and depressed by having to see it all the time.

People did a lot of ‘minding their own business’ when Jews started being persecuted and Nazi flags went started being displayed. Keeping quiet is not always the flex you think it is.

What the Op getting a sense the family was racist from when she’d walked past the property and they’d been outside? You think unfathomable that people can convey racism obliquely?

That's horrendous, that poor woman. 🥺

Feel like white British people need a 'not in our name' campaign.

I’m sure there are many ‘standard English/overweight/balding blokes’ that go to the pub and (dare I say it) watch the football and have a pint, with no other agenda than to do just that.

You clearly have a ‘chip’

But when someone hasn't only put up a flag, but a flag which is accompanied by a slogan from a very well publicised racist campaign, I think it's inevitable that people will make assumptions about what that means. If people choose to visibly align themselves with any high profile campaign, then others will quite reasonably assume that they support that campaign.

British people don’t have tradition for flying the flag in their gardens though unless they are far right supporters.

Yes but putting the EU flag on your fb photo because you're sad about leaving is not QUITE the same as strapping a St George's flag to a random lampost to intimidate brown people because you hate them.

Bums. I thought the Union flag was safe!

Btw what is ‘gammon’

It would be mysteriously disappearing overnight.

Really struggling to see why you'd mention his hair loss and weight.

The examples of 'racism' given were just so simplistic and childlike though...

Ah look! Here’s another one.

I can’t tell if people are gaslighting or if some people do not understand how a flag with a slogan associated with a notorious racist would be offensive and intimating to non white people.

I can spell it out. The only reason for the recent proliferation of flags in the uk, is for white people to try and intimidate nonnwhite people who they feel “dont belong here”. A lot of the them will pipe up and say “its only the boat people” they despise, but this is disingenuous.

OP: I’m sorry that your living next to racists.

Think I’d have a ‘chip’ if my neighbours flew a flag that has clear and demonstrable links to a far right agenda and I was mixed race. I’d have a problem with it because I’d like to think I was surrounded by tolerance and Britishness in the true sense and not this nasty fascism dressed as patriotism.

The 'look after our star for us' thing was started by two WW2 veterans. Pretty sure they must have been very patriotic considering they served their country.

I would take several neon flashing snowmen over this flag any day. I do hope it's something that he will take down at some point. Everything has it's life cycle including campaigns and slogans like that. I can just see that he has invested in getting a nice big flag with this wording printed on it, and a flag pole to fly it from. And ladders to put it up. He's gone to a bit of effort.

ah yeah because a young woman feeling intimidated by racist neighbours is “endless drivel”

thanks for the compassion 👍

I am saying 'he'. In fact I do not know that the man is the main driver of this initiative.