Flag it!
Not all flags are made equal it seems. According to some, protest and foreign flags are acceptable but flying your nation's flag - well, that makes you far-right and dangerous.
According to a report in the BBC and elsewhere, displaying the Union Jack or flag of St George means you are someone from the far-right; overly nationalistic; and conservative. You’ve read that correctly - British people flying British flags are dangerous; such an action is beyond the pale supposedly.
It’s a confusing picture I have to admit, because British people waving British flags are acceptable when said flag has been set on fire. Strangely too, waving communist flags, pride flags, jihadist flags, Palestinian flags and many others are also of no concern whatsoever.
The appearance of so many Union Jacks and English flags has sent council workers into an unprecedented flurry of removal and cleaning. These councils must have been ignoring all the other flags flying, and the graffiti marks, so as to bank their energy for this critical moment - a moment to push back assertively against the far-right. In fact, they are so focused on removing the flag of St George that they continue to miss all the Palestinian flags and antisemitic graffiti.
The context is the recent appearance of thousands of Union Jack and St George flags across England - a mix of pride in the nation but also a visible expression of frustration at a government many see as not putting the national interest first.
A frequent accusation of the United Kingdom’s Labour government is it’s two tiered approach to issues and citizens. This issue with flags only cements this two-tiered reality. Fly your nation’s flag and you are labeled a dangerous far-right conservative. Fly a foreign flag or better still, burn your nation’s flag, you are a hero. If you write messages calling for violent intifada (excuse the tautology) or death to your nation, you will be celebrated. But express views on biological reality or the culture of life, you risk a visit from the police or prison.
It really is that absurd!
But the absurdity and double standards can be explained by a term returning in popularity - oikophobia - meaning to reject one’s own culture or national identity. Sir Roger Scruton, a wonderful writer and thinker whose books fill my shelves, used it often. The etymology is from the Greek for house (οἶκος) and fear (φόβος); fear of one’s own home/culture/nation.
While those experiencing oikophobia greedily embrace the fruits of Western society such as iPhones, Uber Eats, and Nikes, they disdain the pluralistic and liberal underpinnings of Western society. They use fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and association, to gather and cry for the destruction of said rights. They outright reject the Judeo-Christian values which ground so much of what they take for granted, including that all people are made in the image of God and are equal. Instead they romantically embrace foreign political ideologies and religions that do not hold such beliefs, instead forming alliances based on power or affiliation.
Somewhat to be expected, those experiencing oikophobia will tear down and burn their own nation’s flag. Yet confusingly and gleefully, they embrace the flags of nations that are despotic, theocratic, or failed. Yet so much of this is only performative as such oikophobes would never dream of leaving the comforts of home for the reality of foreign hardship.
While performative, it does remain destructive and therein lies a key observation - not content with simply expressing their own national disdain, they must also attack and undermine those who express pride in their nation. It is a clash of cultures, and for the United Kingdom a clash that may well become more literal than figurative!
Heading quickly over the Atlantic, the US has it’s own flag controversary with trans activists placing a large trans flag in Yosemite Park. Aside from the moral arrogance of doing so, nothing is more ironic than activists saying “we are natural and normal” while hoisting a synthetic flag to hide the beauty of nature!
Oikophobia...certainly seeing same all over. I deplore tge flags of hate that are flying.
A friend has a petition going forward to fly the Suffrage colours on 19 September as our parliament certainly does not respect women nor our being the first country to gain women's voting rights.
It’s not a new phenomenon. Waving the St George or Union Jack was as socially unacceptable in the 90s, for same said reasons, as it seems to be now. For decades the country has struggled to articulate a clear picture of what it means to be British, while simultaneously denying the good in anything the country has ever done or achieved. So interesting to finally see some push back.