I don't usually like to comment heavily on so-called 'Culture War' issues; when referring to them I often just state the very normal viewpoint among Liberals that people should have a right to do as they would like so long as it doesn't harm others or their property, as well as the fact that no organisation has any right to dictate how a person should live. However, many of us have no doubt witnessed the so-called Raise the Colours movement, founded by Tommy Robinson and Andy Saxon - both known Neofascists - expressing the exact opposite in an attempt to create an inescapable, totalising feeling that they have mass support. It should come as no suprise that the Fascists of old did the exact same by draping their flag from every building so that it would appear there was no oppoisition to them, intimidating any questioners into silence. Because of this I feel it necessary to tell a story of community resistance to this that I have witnessed - partially because it provides a good template for the rest of us to follow, and partially because it is now more relevant than ever to try and have hope for Britain.
To start with some context, I travel to Cambridge quite often, and in doing so I often pass a small village on the very edge of South Cambridgeshire called Linton; the village is a Liberal stronghold, having elected a Liberal Democrat to it's District Council Seat very consistently. Slowly however, I began to notice in my travels a seeming change in attitude in the area; at first it wasn't anything massive, just a few St. George's at the roundabout nearby, but then they started travelling inwards towards the village, the smaller white roundabouts finding themselves sprayed with those characteristic red stripes. This wasn't a concern to me, I just saw it as a few disgruntled people making their grievances with immigration public even if it was in a rather antisocial way. Then it happened. One day there were flags strung high from almost every lightpost, and you could rell they were all brand new from the fresh square folding lines that were so easily caught in the sunlight. This scared me, not because I'm an immigrant - my family have lived in England since at least the 17th Century - but because I unequivocally support immigration, in other words, a traitor to my country. It was impossible for me to not worry what other views could these people could hold, the march on London where Elon Musk incited Civil War to a crowd of 150,000 was still fresh in my head, and there were so many flags that, in my mind at least, it simply couldn't have been the act of a single person overnight, this was a wave of mass opinion reflected in the decoration of a street, not a single corner left untouched by the red and white fabric of an angry Nation. Critical minds may argue I overreacted, but let me ask you again what context these flags were put up in, a show of patriotism or conformity? - I have to presume it's the latter as one house that used to proudly display a Portugese flag next to it's Union flag had decided that it was no longer acceptable to be a Portugese Brit and had replaced it's beautiful expression of heritage with yet another tired England flag.
Luckily, this isn't where the story ends, as a few weeks later the flags had been removed, I don't know if this was by the Council or not, but I actually somewhat doubt it as I noticed a small poster appear in the windows of many of the houses and gathering places in Linton, a Union flag with hands of many colours reaching across it's red stripes to meet in the middle. It was a show of solidarity, and it was acompanied by the following text:
WE CELEBRATE THE RICH TAPESTRY OF CULTURES, BACKGROUNDS AND STORIES THAT MAKE US WHO WE ARE.
WHETHER YOU'VE LIVED HERE FOR GENERATIONS OR HAVE ARRIVED SEEKING SAFETY OR NEW BEGINNINGS YOU'RE WELCOME.
TOGETHER WE THRIVE. TOGETHER WE BELONG.
Seeing this poster made me realise something, anyone could have put up those flags, but it took a whole community of people to come to put these posters up in the windows of their houses, a place where only a few people could ever have access. Seeing these made me feel genuinely proud to be British, it may seem trivial to say, but anyone can be British; the identity was formed out of a union of four Nations, England & Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and even people well beyond those Nations considered themselves Brits due to the way the Settler Colonies of the Empire had been created. As such it only makes sense that if someone can stop being British, they can just as easily become British too.
One of these posters by a bus stop, unfortunately I didn't think to get a higher quality photo at the time.
I think that's the root problem with English Nationalism, England must be seen as the superior Nation that created this great globe-spanning legacy. But I think that's the wrong way to approach things, it fundamentally treats the Empire in an almost romantic fashion, and to chase that is to consign ourself to history. We currently share a monarch with 14 other fully independent countries across the globe, this is a completely unique achievement in geopolitics which comes from a legacy of English dominance, but is no longer held together by that element, furthermore Commonwealth still inspires new non-Empire Nations to join, despite the only obligations on Member States being a commitment to democracy, another legacy of the brutal Empire evolving into a tool for global good. Even Hawaii, a US State that has never formally been under British control, uses the Union flag as part of it's own. To me Britishness is clearly not an expression of ethnicity or Nation, but of union, of putting aside differences for a common good. This is what patriotism should strive to be, not how many flags you wave, but of the solidarity we hold with our communities, and the actions we take to benefit them.
Sadly, the England flags would soon return again with another set of fresh creases, suggesting to me that someone had to sink some money in to replace the ones that had been taken down, and the posters that were in public places had been ripped away, but the ones in the windows remained, once again defying the message of conformity on the street, I don't know yet if this flag war will continue or not, and ultimately it doesn't truly matter; as it turns out, variants of these posters have also appeared in Bedminster, with the community there also electing to fight against the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. If we don't want the disastrous ultranationalism of Fascism to become acceptable, then we must call it out at every opportunity. The anecdote I have recounted should provide a template for communities to follow, and as such I've attached a recreation of the poster below for you to use in your own home, even if it may start with only you alone, humans are tribal, and followers will only come when there is a leader.
i HAVE DOWNLOADED THE FLAG. It seems that Musk is the instigator of the project who feeds the money to Robinson. to continue his right wing credentials that started in South Africa and was nurtured in the USA. A national campaign to show the tolerance of the British would not be a bad idea.It could start with the LIBDEMs
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