On Friday, a friend joked that he didn't realise I was a BNP supporter when he saw an England flag on my car. It was a joke but also a reminder of how our national emblem was appropriated by racists during the 1970s and '80s.
Says Mark Easton of the BBC.
Excuse me, Mark, but do you actually remember the 1970s and (ugh - for a BBC type to write) '80s?
I do.
And I never even saw a St George's Flag.
Racist groups used the Union Flag as their emblem.
The BNP still does - flanked by the flags of Scotland, England and Wales.
Proceeding into the comments, we find the usual nonsense - our post-imperialist guilt (surely it was the BRITISH Empire - why don't the Scots and Welsh feel guilty?), and the reasons why the English are so disliked - arrogant swines, aren't we?
Fortunately, there were plenty of other comments pointing out that the flag of choice of racist groups in the past was the Union Flag. And that we should be able to wave the English flag. Predictably, one commenter pointed out that newcomers to Scotland and Wales feel more inclined to call themselves "Scottish" or "Welsh", but in England the term is "British".
Of course. That's because new arrivals in England have "British" stuffed down their throats.
Scotland and Wales have their own national governing bodies and the words "Scottish" and "Welsh" are well to the fore.
I think it really is time the UK broke up.
What is happening to the people of England is criminal - the manipulation to keep us under the Union cosh.
And Mark Easton - believe me, if I had any option I would not be contributing to your salary.
But in our wonderful free country, as you work for the BBC, I HAVE to.
No comments:
Post a Comment