I was born and brought up in Scotland, but moved to England 46 years ago. I’ve always felt fear when seeing the St George flag because I associate it with the far right. At best, I think of it as small minded nationalism.
I don’t feel the same about the St Andrews flag because it feels friendlier somehow, or just an expression of the desire not to be oppressed by another country, but I came to hate hearing the way people sang Flower of Scotland. There was more than a touch of viciousness in that and it scared me. It was one of the reasons I was happy to leave when I did (plus the oil boom in Aberdeen making accommodation less affordable).
I can understand that, but although the SG flag has been seen as associated with far right groups like the NF and BMP, I think it's important to recognise that it is just the English flag. Don't get me wrong - I don't raise it myself except for football. But a situation where the national flag is seen as a problem in itself will only play to the divisive rhetoric of Farage and similar. If the left gets upset about the flags, the right are the only people to benefit - it's just not worth making that fuss (IMHO of course!).
I know the flags (St George's and the union flag) have been used by racists in the past, but they are just flags. There is nothing inherently racist about a national flag - and reclaiming it for the general population (rather than racist elements) is no bad thing.
Telling ordinary people that they shouldn't raise their own national flag will only enhance the false narrative that English people are second-class citizens in their own country. People will feel under attack and will double down.
Please don't make a big fuss about flags - it will only backfire and make people angrier. And it will give Farage and co a huge opportunity to deploy their divisive rhetoric.
The flag is not the problem - it's simply a distraction from the much more worrying divisions in our society. We need to bring people together, not argue about bits of cloth.
People being easily lead by the same names that caused Brexit under a different banner. This will also be a disaster for our country.
I was born and brought up in Scotland, but moved to England 46 years ago. I’ve always felt fear when seeing the St George flag because I associate it with the far right. At best, I think of it as small minded nationalism.
I don’t feel the same about the St Andrews flag because it feels friendlier somehow, or just an expression of the desire not to be oppressed by another country, but I came to hate hearing the way people sang Flower of Scotland. There was more than a touch of viciousness in that and it scared me. It was one of the reasons I was happy to leave when I did (plus the oil boom in Aberdeen making accommodation less affordable).
I can understand that, but although the SG flag has been seen as associated with far right groups like the NF and BMP, I think it's important to recognise that it is just the English flag. Don't get me wrong - I don't raise it myself except for football. But a situation where the national flag is seen as a problem in itself will only play to the divisive rhetoric of Farage and similar. If the left gets upset about the flags, the right are the only people to benefit - it's just not worth making that fuss (IMHO of course!).
I often tell myself “it’s just football” to try to quell the anxiety I feel when I see those flags. It helps.
I know the flags (St George's and the union flag) have been used by racists in the past, but they are just flags. There is nothing inherently racist about a national flag - and reclaiming it for the general population (rather than racist elements) is no bad thing.
Telling ordinary people that they shouldn't raise their own national flag will only enhance the false narrative that English people are second-class citizens in their own country. People will feel under attack and will double down.
Please don't make a big fuss about flags - it will only backfire and make people angrier. And it will give Farage and co a huge opportunity to deploy their divisive rhetoric.
The flag is not the problem - it's simply a distraction from the much more worrying divisions in our society. We need to bring people together, not argue about bits of cloth.