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.

Progress flag, yes.

Rainbow flag - probably but not definitely.

It’s just tedious, though. LGBT people have equal rights in the UK and are not under threat. No political party is threatening to deport them or remove rights from them or endanger them at all. No one is marching against them. Indeed, most parties bend over backwards to pander to them, some to the extent of trampling over other people’s rights, especially women’s, and ignoring the law.

But they do like to play the victim. Makes them more interesting, I suppose.

And that’s different to shunning someone in a Burka or someone or dressed in traditional Hasidic clothing or dreads and Rastafarian garb. The assumptions about how you present to the world go both ways.

Treat everyone how you would want to be treated.

Where does your definition of racism begin and end?

How would you define the 100-150k who attended the recent march/demo?

Like I said in the post above I don’t follow politics so I really don’t know.
but if this is true, then I don’t get the problem with it. Why would ppl want criminals illegally entering? I feel the U.K. is very multi cultural but unfortunately it’s not as safe as what it used to be.

It’s a bit different yes…

Immigrant here.

There are hundreds of flags on my high street and commute.

It makes me feel incredibly sad, angry, frustrated, unwelcome, othered...

I also feel sad for my children, neither of whom are white, both who were born here and have only English passports

I’m afraid although you are right there are Labour middle class on here who haven’t a clue as they live in leafy safe suburbs.They don’t have to fear any of this, any mention of fear of these things they have to scream “racist, xenophobic” etc etc etc as if their life depended on it.

YABU

He's free to fly a flag.

Because the flag is currently being used as anti immigration symbol perhaps?

Yeah the disingenuousness is so tiresome.

And possibly wrong. You'll remember judge not that you be not judged? It means do not jump to conclusions without evidence.

Racists, useful idiots, the odd person with legitimate concerns and no other way to express them than attach themselves to a march arranged by a known criminal and racist.

Report to police. The neighbour could be found guilty of intent to cause distress under the malicious communications act.
They've been arresting people for carrying cardboard signs supporting Gaza so this would certainly be comparable.

I agree. I also find it strange when people fly the England or UK flag outside their house. Unless it’s for a sporting event or the army, it feels unnecessary. It comes across as territorial, like a statement of ownership. My parents were white working-class immigrants, and even I find it intimidating. You already know what country you’re in; you don’t need a flag to remind everyone. Whether people intend it or not, it carries racial or xenophobic undertones in certain contexts. OP YNBU unfortunately there's not a lot you can do apart from put your own flag up? Maybe Geri from Spice Girls wearing GB cardboard cut out or stormzy in his bullet proof vest in your front window?

You’re not unreasonable at all OP. Really sorry you’re having to deal with this - even though (as you say) he has the ‘right’ to hang this flag, it’s making you feel awful every time you look through your kitchen window. Really not cool. I hope you find a way to not let it bother you too much …

It was actually Led by Donkeys who started it - like so many claims on this thread, don't let facts get in the way.

You say that but its firstly an embarrassment to live next to someone so fecking stupid they revere Tommy dickhead Robinson and secondly, suggests, to a high level of certainty, that they are racist.

Yes, I've found that it's also handy for labelling racist businesses. There's a cattery near me that I tried to book my cats into before, but it was full. They sounded so nice on the phone that I thought I'd try again next time I'm going away. Then right after the Tommy Robinson march they've put up a massive flagpole with an England flag, no way was that timing a coincidence. My cats will not be going to a racist cattery, so it's back to the further away one.

I presume that business owners assume that as a white woman I won't be bothered, but as someone whose Polish grandparents were both in the Polish army in WW2, I will not give my money to anyone who wants to give their support to the far right.

Maybe talk to your neighbour and find out why he's flying the flag and what it means to him. You'd probably find out he's concerned about the historically never before seen levels of immigration, both legal and illegal, we've had over the last five years. It's not racist to be concerned about the impact of this, particularly when you place large groups of young men, from societies with very different attitudes to women, into small communities.

I'd probably put my own flag up, a montage of all the flags (alongside British) of all the nationalities that reside in your town/ city/ county. A bit like the Welsh did across that bridge (Flags is it?) We have a house across our road which is flying the George Cross and the Union flag (never have done before, shown no patriotism during important tournaments etc). I'm genuinely thinking of putting my own montage flag up.

They're entitled to their views, apparently. And so are you.

I would be very sad and unhappy to see the misogynistic, homophobic, anti-science 'progress' flag up on a neighbour's house. I'd far rather see a Union Flag, thanks. Or a St. George. I think I would be tempted to tie the suffragette colours to my gatepost (had I got one) were I to see that (but I have to be careful, I live in a very woke city, so would hold back - which is one reason I hate the 'progress' flag for it represents forced speech unless one wants to be cancelled, persecuted and shouted down).

Its tommy Robinsons campaign slogan. So it could not.

You can get arrested for owning or displaying a British flag?! What have we come to???

Well, there are lots of people in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales who disagree with that sentiment.

So you object to the flag of the country some of your co-nationalists fought and gave their lives for during WWII?