Also, blaming making it divisive on the wrong people here. Large numbers of people have bad intentions in that none of this would be happening if it weren't for the migration issue - it's not like it's the football. At the very least the flag is now political, in many contexts at least...
Also, the migration issue is real wherever you want to admit it or not.
Progressives are making it explicitly political. The actual act itself in question is literally just a flag on a lamp post.
We'll have to disagree. I've just come back from Grenada where the national colours are all over street furniture but I don't see it like that, this is far more towards the Ulster end of the spectrum. It's defined by being against people and things, not for.
If this is negative, then why is that? Why is it specifically white? Why can't black or asian people also identify with the english flag? Why is it ok for Grenada but not England?
It's not specifically white at all - but unfortunately if things keep on in this direction it might start to head that way. The people in Grenada aren't suddenly doing it for right wing political reasons. Symbols can mean different things in different contexts.
So, do you feel raise the colours is inherently exclusionary?
The campaign? Absolutely. If people want to put a giant England flag generally, no. I mean, if you were to superimpose where the flags are going up in Birmingham on an ethnicity map there would be a major correlation. Raise The Colours is backed by a load of Tommy Robinson types.
Can you explain why without using guilt by association? Or presumed motivations. Just the act itself.
The act itself is not happening in isolation though. People are putting the flags up and vandalising stuff *because of* all the migrant protests. This isn't a spontaneous display of positive patriotism. I'm not presuming the motivations, people are being very clear about why they're doing it.
Some people are. I would say to extrapolate that as a reading on the entire movement and everyone who supports it is a reach? Imagine if we did that with other causes. Gaza, for example, is it fair to label the Pro-Palestine movement antisemitic because some of its advocates are anti-Semitic?
I would guess that far more of the Raise The Flags enthusiasts have extreme views than pro Gaza campaigners are antisemitic, especially now that Gaza is now far more in the mainstream than it was. For quite some time I stayed quiet on Gaza because of the antisemitic behaviour of some online