Is a St George cross an underlying sign of passive racism?

[ThatCyanJoker]

Walked past the house of a relatively new friend today and was surprised to see they’ve put up a huge flagpole, complete with St George cross flag flying high. I am generally patriotic , and put out the bunting for notable occasions without a second thought. I would probably be pleased had it been a Union Jack, but the St George has an undertone of racism to me, unless it’s flown for the football World Cup or something.
AIBU to reconsider friendship?

Wow, what obvious ragebait. England is now so 'multicultural' that English people can't fly their own flag from a flagpole without being branded racist. Let me guess, men in dresses are women, too. 🙄

Well I'm biased and think Flower of Scotland is pretty good. But the centre of Cardiff when the Principality Stadium starts singing is magical.

When I see England flags outside people's homes, and there's no football on, my mind immediately goes to "A big racist probably lives there" It is wrong of me to make that assumption though

Not even passive racism - fully blown

Way too subtle...

Welsh person here.

I think it is certainly a warning sign that the person who lives there is racist. Of course there are non-racists that fly flags, but the St George's Cross has been waved by the worst of England's people far too often.

In Wales the racist arseholes would most often use the Union Flag instead, our own flag is untainted in that regard. I wouldn't fly a Union Flag in my garden for money. There are other reasons for that, but even if they didn't exist, I would hate to think that I was doing a hideous "Britain for the British" dick move.

Exactly this. Yes, it was hijacked by awful people with awful views. But the only way to end that is for normal people to take it back. Make it so it’s seen as someone celebrating the football or rugby, or St George’s day, or someone who isn’t ashamed of the country they come from. So nobody feels uncomfortable or unwelcome here when they see it. Take it back so that it loses its power as a symbol of racism and it becomes just another flag. Even if you have to write ‘we love all nationalities here’ all over the front of it, just to make your point clear. If we want to do something meaningful to stamp out racism, don’t we all have a responsibility to take away the things they use to frighten and intimidate people?

Ask her before you do anything. It's a shame that it's been hijacked a bit.

We need Ginger Spice to wear it in a dress to make it cool again 😎 😉

My mum's neighbour has had an ENORMOUS flag pole in his garden for the last 25 years, it is usually the St George's Cross but he seems to have at least a dozen different ones (happy Easter, other countries' ones) that go up for certain events. I can only conclude that he just Really Loves Flags. He does half mast and everything. I find it festive!

I genuinely don't know how flag associations work in Scotland (except for the obvious use of the St Andrew's cross denoting indepence) - is it really the case that the Union Jack would imply racism there?

Or just people who are unionists and don't want independence? Genuine question - I hadn't realised it might have other connotations.

It is. Particularly as England’s women’s rugby team is the best in the world. Can’t say the same for the men’s team, sadly, but we really have something to celebrate in our women’s team.

Oh give over. With the current high profile status of the flag, anyone wanting to put one up would be well aware of the connotations. They either support racists or are racists.

You literally don’t know that. You are guessing, presuming, assigning motivations to a person you’ve never spoken to.
And because you and others like you do that, it stops you from listening and understanding your fellow citizens, and fails to acknowledge there could be many, many nuanced reasons people wish to fly their own flag.

They are not. People can know it has been harnessed and want to reclaim it. As @GeneralPeter said - we all saw what happened with the union flag back in the 1970s.The swastika is not remotely comparative because it's not a symbol of a specific nation of people. It was used all across the world in many contexts - in buildings, in business logos, on the planes of the US and Finnish air force - it wasn't a case of hijacking the symbol of a nation. It is completely and utterly different and faux naive to suggest otherwise.

I'll tell you what, if someone started to use my flag in nefarious circumstances there would be absolute bloody uproar. In fact Reform want to perform opposite madness - fly the union flag and make us put up pictures of royalty in all of our schools: https://nation.cymru/news/reform-uk-would-introduce-patriotic-history-and-make-schools-fly-union-flag/

Well you can fuck right off to fuckity fuckoffland with that 'policy'. The very idea that failed English nationalists would impose this shit on us is intolerable.

I work with impoverished communities and, of course, there are people in those communities who like Reform because:

• they are not Labour
• they think the Senedd is useless/has done nothing
• they are 'real' people who stand up for the common man/woman/child

They are entitled to think/feel/vote how they wish providing they are not being racist, sexist or any other 'ist'. But I tell you what, when I tell them about enforced flag flying... they are outraged. And well might they be.

I think unless you know them personally, it’s hard to gauge, my English husband put one up this week for the football, I am Indian, and would not have been ok with him putting it up if it was for racist reasons. I know it’s not, he loves the football

Near me there's quite a lot of Palestinian flags, I do think that flag has also suffered the same fate of connotations

Flags are always high profile @BoredZelda. But it is possible to support your country of origin and it's national day by flying a flag on a pole. Why do you think it automatically indicates racism?

Excellent points. 👌

I’m British living in England but I wouldn’t fly a flag no matter what countryI was from. I also think that generally, a certain type of person flys a flag regardless of where they are from.

I think given it’s just been St George’s day, and that there were parades all over the country last Sunday, then flying a flag last week and this week would for me be assumed to do with that. But outside of sport and important occasions I would lean to thinking it was being used as a racist symbol. But I wish that it would be used as a symbol of England and nothing more and would welcome nonracists to take it back for that purpose.

But that's tragic - if right wing arseholes utilised my flag for their own nefarious purposes I would be outraged and probably cover my house in Welsh flags! Why are people not permitted to counteract this appalling and damaging behaviour? If anyone tried to take either the dragon or Dewi Sant away I would be apoplectic - in fact people would be assembling by the Nye Bevan statue in Queens Street to march against the attempt of popularising the flag for awful causes. Why are the English not permitted to do the same? They should be. But instead people casually say: "Oh probably racists"... offensive and unfair.

So much wide eyed disingenuousness. “But I don’t understaaaaaaand!!!!”😂

Who is that comment for?

There's also the fact they want to change the "narrative" of Welsh museums. Will chain myself to St Fagans railings and bite any fucker that dares try.

We won't be told who we are.

Racist, chavvy and tacky. Grim.