You may have noticed that St. George’s flags are appearing everywhere in the last few days: outside people’s homes, on flyovers, walkways, factory units, and even painted on roundabouts and pedestrian crossings around the country. What’s going on exactly?
Here are a few examples:
As is the case any time a St. George’s flag pops up anywhere, the debate seems to be: patriotism or racism? It appears there’s a grassroots movement behind the trend called ‘Operation Raise The Colours’, which is encouraging supporters to put up the St. George’s flag or Union Jack anywhere and everywhere as a means to celebrate English identity and community pride.
The other side of it is that the St. George’s flag has somehow been interpreted a symbol of hate in recent years, and you can’t fly it without looking like some kind of racist incel Nazi. Dorset council described the explosion of St. George’s flags in their community as ‘intimidating‘ and suggested the movement may have started innocently but had since been hijacked by far-right groups.
It probably doesn’t help that the timing of all these flags going up has coincided with heated debates on immigration, in particular all the drama with asylum seekers being housed in hotels around the UK.
Sabby Dhalu, joint secretary for Stand up to Racism, questioned the motivation behind the movement:
“It’s being encouraged by far-right groups and it’s designed to make refugees, immigrants and people who were born here but have family from a different country, feel unwelcome.”
Attempts to take down and remove the flags have also caused outrage, with supporters – including some political figures – arguing that councils are showing double standards by removing the St. George’s cross while allowing other flags, such as Palestinian banners or LGBT flags, to remain.
It remains to be seen whether the flags keep going up and appearing on roads and bridges and buildings around the country, or whether the movement begins to run out of steam. The main hotspots so far appear to be Kent, Birmingham, Portsmouth, West Sussex, Derbyshire, with paintings/flags also reported in Norwich, Bradford, Newcastle and Teignmouth more recently.
Maybe if the organisers had waited till the World Cup next summer, it would have been easier to pass off as a purely positive show of patriotic support? As of now, a lot of people remain unconvinced that it’s anything other than a show of hate. Sad state of affairs, really, however you feel about it.
For the man who tore down a Palestinian flag in Tower Hamlets, London, sparking a massive road rage fight, click HERE.
