Reform are spending £75,000 putting up Union flags in Nottingham

I live in a tourist area . We have a Reform councillor. In his area lots of flags have appeared but they have been placed around tourist attractions. This gives the impression we are a racist town and this is not my view so I strongly object. We have lots of British Asian/black visitors who were born and work in the UK . I don’t want them or anyone else to feel unwelcome. I do support controlled immigration though.

seasider

I live in a tourist area . We have a Reform councillor. In his area lots of flags have appeared but they have been placed around tourist attractions. This gives the impression we are a racist town and this is not my view so I strongly object. We have lots of British Asian/black visitors who were born and work in the UK . I don’t want them or anyone else to feel unwelcome. I do support controlled immigration though.

I have never ever met anybody who doesn't support controlled immigration. If anybody knows anybody who stands on the beach at Dover with a banner saying "Asylum seekers welcome - bring your friends and family", please make it public.

I wouldn't want all those flags either, but of the council approves them, I don't suppose there's much you can do - until the next election.

growstuff

Oreo

So English flags are now offensive MaizieD dear oh dear.

Yes, the values represented by the flags are offensive to many people.

How very sad.

Are we the only country in the world which is ashamed of our national flag?

Why do the British feel the need to self- flagellate? Is it only the British who apologise to someone who might tread on their toe?

Allira

growstuff

Oreo

So English flags are now offensive MaizieD dear oh dear.

Yes, the values represented by the flags are offensive to many people.

How very sad.

Are we the only country in the world which is ashamed of our national flag?

Why do the British feel the need to self- flagellate? Is it only the British who apologise to someone who might tread on their toe?

Why sad? You're not stupid and you know very well that the flags represent a certain brand of jingoism. I make no apology for disliking jingoism.

I don't like jingoism either, nor nationalism but some people seem unable to separate jingoism from patriotism.

It's sad.

You're not stupid and you know very well that the flags represent a certain brand of jingoism.
Oh thank you 😁

But no, it is an interpretation which is being put on our national flags by certain people and they all need to be reclaimed.

Allira

growstuff

Oreo

So English flags are now offensive MaizieD dear oh dear.

Yes, the values represented by the flags are offensive to many people.

How very sad.

Are we the only country in the world which is ashamed of our national flag?

Why do the British feel the need to self- flagellate? Is it only the British who apologise to someone who might tread on their toe?

We had a whole long thread about this not so long ago. It was very clear from the posts on it that some people objected very strongly to the English flag or the Union Jack being used as a tool of hate towards 'foreigners'.

Anyone who pretends that the flag epidemic initiated by Reform supporters is merely displaying 'patriotism' must be frighteningly naive or a Reform sympathiser.

It is, also, very offensive to be told that one is 'ashamed of our national flag'. The shame is the purpose which it is being used for.

Dorisdodar

I find it upsetting and disrespectful of posters to say our flag is a symbol of hate... especially at this time of year when we are remembering our fallen in the WWs. My GGD died on the battle field in France and is buried in a lonely grave...his wife was part of the Suffragette movement so she also played her part in history. My Grandad took his own life because of the horrors of WW2. I fly my flags on their behalf with pride..they fought for it. If things had turned out different in the wars who knows who's flag would be flying in the UK.

Don’t you understand it’s not the flag that is a problem it’s the misogynist, racist people ( Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage to name the main characters) who are funding and, encouraging this symbol of hatred division and racism

They have turned our flag into a symbol of hate and until we can recover our flag it needs to be down and not flying on every roundabout and public walking area

The message is ‘we are white and English and you are not welcome’ and our flag especially at this time of year as you say should be inclusive of all the nations especially remembering all the countries and people of every colour that fought alongside us
Remember how Hitler started the flag waving of the swastika and his treatment of Jews people of colour and disabled the gas chambers everyone says it couldn’t happen here I bet that’s what Germany thought too
The flag needs to be down until it came be reclaimed as the nations symbol for EVERYONE for inclusion for compassion

MaizieD

It is, also, very offensive to be told that one is 'ashamed of our national flag'. The shame is the purpose which it is being used for.

Well, exactly! I'm not ashamed of our national flag when it's used appropriately to show support for a national team or when celebrating a special occasion or when flown half-mast if somebody of national significance dies. I'm not ashamed of the values which I personally consider to be British, but I do find the values of the campaigners behind the flag-waving offensive.

It's not rocket science to understand, however much people try to distort the argument.

MaizieD

It is, also, very offensive to be told that one is 'ashamed of our national flag'. The shame is the purpose which it is being used for.

Which is exactly what I said.

We, too, have a reform councillor in a nearby ward and she's not the smartest tool in the shed. She got herself into hot water over a particularly stupid comment she made and had to backtrack furiously. She will post constantly on our local Facebook group about issues which are nothing to do with her area.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

I haven't fallen for anything growstuff and in fact you have just repeated what I said.

I won't report you even though it's nasty, a deliberate twisting of what I said but not unexpected as it is just the latest in a long line of attacks from you.

And you recently said I was the one to call you nasty names!! Untrue, the boot is on the other foot methinks.

Seem to be well ahead in the polls GS

Allira

MaizieD

It is, also, very offensive to be told that one is 'ashamed of our national flag'. The shame is the purpose which it is being used for.

Which is exactly what I said.

Perhaps you should make it clear who the 'some people' who couldn't separate jingoism from patriotism' are, in your opinion.

And why that separation should make one tolerant of the hate symbols fluttering from every local lamp post.

Oh ffs.

I do not see the Union Flag or the Cross of St. George flag as symbols of hate

I am intelligent enough to know the difference between our national flag and a hooligan.

As for not flying them until the hooliganism is over, really!

There always been and always will be hooliganism.

Oreo

Casdon

Galaxy

Reform took county durham via the ballot box not with political violence. I know this is hard for some people to accept, but more people voted for them.

Yes, but that doesn’t mean everybody voted for Reform, so why try to invalidate somebody else’s comment?

Galaxy is just pointing out a simple fact.Not always appreciated I know.

She wasn’t, if you read the posts before, you’ll see that it was a continuing conversation.

I saw two small union flags hanging outside windows at the top of a four storey building this morning. They cheered me up.
At the bottom was an Indian restaurant; don't know if there was any connection.

I love to see the UJ’s flying. We came home via Brandon yesterday and there is a long main road there and the flags have been flying on every single lamp post either side of the road for months. Then when you get near Mildenhall and Lakenheath airbases you see US flags inside the base.

Our village has a UJ flying in the village centre all year round and I love it. It gets changed for Remembrance Sunday, Christmas and St George’s Day. I love it.

I saw a big Union flag in the road, in a filthy wet pile where somebody had put it up and presumably somebody else had taken it down and discarded it, this morning, it was on a big, busy roundabout near Merthyr, and everybody was driving over it. I’m not a flag fan, but I didn’t like that.

GrannyGravy13

I do not see the Union Flag or the Cross of St. George flag as symbols of hate

I am intelligent enough to know the difference between our national flag and a hooligan.

As for not flying them until the hooliganism is over, really!

There always been and always will be hooliganism.

Sorry, I don't understand your point.

Anybody who follows the news even rarely knows that there's a campaign to fly flags, which has been instigated by various nationalist organisations and everybody with any sense knows the reasoning.

How do you tell the difference between a national flag flown as it always has been and a flag flown by one of the nationalist organisations. Flags are flags - bits of cloth - they mean nothing. They only mean anything because the person flying them has some intent. I despise the intent of the people currently campaigning to fly flags - nothing unpatriotic about saying that and I have every right to say so without being screamed at by a load of jingoists.

growstuff I am not a jingoist nor am I screaming at you.

The Union flag/jack is the national flag, why should it belong to one section of the population only?

Wherever I have traveled in the world the national flag of the country has been visible.

Are you suggesting the entire population of the planet is jingoistic due to flying flags?

MaizieD hate symbols? No that would be hamas flags or swastikas and most def not the flag of St George or our Union flag.