Fly The Flag - Page 3

WillowTheWhisp · 05-07-2007, 21:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The British national anthem is a dirge and has no relevance today.

I've often wished we had something better - "Jerusalem" would be good, or even "There'll Always be an England" for the devolutionary minded.

cashman · 05-07-2007, 21:54

it probably has more relavance to football fans.

WillowTheWhisp · 05-07-2007, 22:41

I thought they sang "You'll never walk alone."

cashman · 05-07-2007, 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I thought they sang "You'll never walk alone."

thats scousers, God save our Team is most others.

WillowTheWhisp · 05-07-2007, 22:47

You see. There you go. I've just proved I'm totally football ignorant.

jambutty · 05-07-2007, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanaccy

I do understand that the far right stole the flag in the 70s, and I can see why people of my generation have a difficulty differentiating between patriotism and nationalism(in it's worst case).

However this has not stopped numerous organisations and bands trying to reclaim the flag which is something I applaud.

I personally do prefer the Flag of St George rather than the Union Flag but this has more to with aesthetics than politics.

Patriotism and nationalism?

Same thing isn’t it? According to my dictionary it is.

jambutty · 05-07-2007, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I've often wished we had something better - "Jerusalem" would be good, or even "There'll Always be an England" for the devolutionary minded.

If we are to have a new national anthem it should be a rousing march.

Colonel Bogey springs to mind then we can have alternate words when we want to show our displeasure at the way the country is being governed.

Much like the Yanks have with the Stars And Stripes Forever.
Be kind to your web-footed friends,
For a duck may be somebody's mother,
Be kind to your friends in the swamp
Where the weather is always damp,
You may think that this is the end.
Well, it is!

mani · 06-07-2007, 01:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle

No I won't and you know full well that wasn't my point. If everyone was flying the flag (as they do during sporting events) there is no question, however, when there are a few stray flags flying outside people's houses that does often give the impression that it's BNP.

but see as an asian thats the problem. for far too long have good folk bowed down and backed down to the bnp, c18 and so forth, in the hope that if they do fly the flag they'll get viewed as racists. but if every other house in uk flew the flag b it st george or the welsh dragon or the union jack then your setting a precedant. your saying i'm british and eventually that mentality will change. just like it took 10 yrs for the bnp to claim the flag it may take 10 more yrs to claim it back. i really enjoy the fact that when i finish work and i pop over to a fried chicken shop owned by asians that it has an england/union jack flag. b it for financial or other reasons it feels good. a few years ago i went up to a meet-up with other users of an asian website - it was glorious weather and i went with my england shirt. and i was surpised that in a group of about 50 lads 30 of them decided to wear england shirts too!

the thing is wiht the asian community there's alot more england/british flag flying-wannabe's than they'd like to admit to. but there needs to be that step, that door to be opened where it becomes common enough to have pride in the flag by not just the bnp but the good folk of the uk. then it'll come by. when i go to the JJB soccerdome you see enough guys wearin gerrard/rooney/beckham england tops and in 10 yrs time if there is that change taking place then why wont they when they're married, kids, have their own home fly the flag too?

growing up in the 80's i used to hate the sight of the union jack in shops, cars and on jackets etc. i would automatically associate them with being racists and BNP. now obviously that association for me is long over and done with. but there's still people who have that association and it wont be broken until the sight is common for them to realise its not the flag its the people flyin the flag that matter and those people are not hte right wing kind.

this whole protocol reminds me of when diana died and the royals thought that htey have to go by the rules and eventually realised thru much persuation that the rules have changed, unofficially and thats what they should follow. there should ALWAYS be a union jack outside every town hall up and down the country. there should be one outside every police station, hospital, major landmark, park, govt building and any other place.

i'm jealous when i went to the usa and they had usa flags all over. its not that the americans are more patriotic to their country than the brits - its just that they can show it and so should we.

MITZY · 06-07-2007, 07:06

we fly St. George flag all year round not because we are members of BNP but because we are English

WillowTheWhisp · 06-07-2007, 07:13

When we went to Tunisia it seemed like everyone was flying the flag there too. They even had it on roundabouts. And I love the way some Americans have one outside their homes.

It's about time these silly rules about us only being allowed to fly ours on certain days were got rid of. Maybe the BNP managed to take over our flag because they flouted the rules about when it can and can't be flown whilst the law abiding citizens were obedient and didn't break the rules.

garinda · 06-07-2007, 08:19

Great post Mani.

Karma on it's way.

Gayle · 06-07-2007, 08:41

Excellent post Mani, karma on its way.

I think you're right - what happened was that the councils and government and official bodies got scared that they were offending Asians and others by flying the national flag, so they stopped flying it. This in turn meant that the only people who did fly it were the ones who couldn't care less about offending other people.

However, the people who were thought to be offended by it weren't and so we now have the position that it is they who are making the effort to prove that they weren't offended in the first place.

Hope all that makes sense.

The way to solve the problem, is as you say, get all the official buildings to start flying the flag and the rest will follow. If the town halls, police stations, public places all had flags flying, like they do in America and other countries, there wouldn't be this perceived image of it.

Wynonie Harris · 06-07-2007, 09:34

Great post, Mani. Karma duly despatched.

It seems Gordon Brown thinks the same!

Gordon Brown flies Union flag all year long | Uk News | News | Telegraph

Gayle · 06-07-2007, 09:37

So Wynonie, all that stick that you and Garinda gave me the other night - seems I'm not alone in the perception that the flag has been hijacked by extremists.

This direct quote from the article -

But while in other countries, such as France and the United States, the national flag is regarded as a source of pride, in recent years the Union flag has all too often become the preserve of political extremists, a symbol of discord rather than harmony," said the department.

I will expect an apology, forthwith!

Wynonie Harris · 06-07-2007, 09:46

OK, Gayle, fair point. sorry.