Flags

[Gemini]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0m41z7y0j8o

This has made to TV news today.

Union Jack and England flags have appeared high up on lamp posts all along the mail street into and through our village and on the roundabout, and other parts of York.
Apparently these have appeared another towns also. None have been officially put up. York council originally said they had no plans to remove them but today they say they will.

At first sight they did look pretty, but they are not there to celebrate anything but as soem sort of far right racist or anti immigration thing.
I asked my neighbour (from Singapore) if she was comfortable with them and she didn't say much but looked as though she wasn't.

[Lizzie48]

Gem, Dutch flags are out here all the time, when children pass their exams etc, out goes the flag, for all the Royal birthdays etc, the flags fly, I have never heard of anyone being bothered with them, as yet!

[Oma]

We should be proud to fly our flag other countries are,
Yes, there is a fraction of the far right jumping on the band wagon but it's about time we started to view our country with pride.
Any force's household will be happy to fly them.
However painting the St George's cross on mini roundabouts I don't agree with, no flag from any nation should be walked upon or driven over it's disrespectful.

We have a Pakistani community here who were out with others putting flags up last week,
Our local news interviewed them and they all said the same they are proud to be here legally
It's the boat people everyone disagrees with even their community.
They have said if they are taken down they will just keep replacing them.

Sadly with all protests you get the Thug element that tarnish the rest.

[Gemini]

I agree with individuals rights to fly their flag( and my mum would have a Union Jack on her house at any opportunity!)

These flags mentioned in this article were not put up to celebrate anything, and were put up surreptitiously in public places at night.
It has 'coincided' with disgusting racial slurs graffitied on a Chinese restaurant.

I think York, and my village even more so, do not have as big a multi racial mix as some areas, and I feel this makes it hard for those who do feel targeted.
There aren't any communities as there near you Oma.

We live between two families who each have a member of another ethnic origin, but we are quite rare in what is a very 'white'area.

[Lizzie48]

Gem, 200+nationalities in this area!!!

Dutch society is currently home to over 200 different nationalities. Although Dutch is the national language, most people also speak English and often another foreign language, such as German or French.

[Oma]

We have a small Black community also although they are families not young men on their own and no one seems to bother them.
They mostly work in the hospitals and care homes.
They don't rely on benefits they work hard
Same with the Chinese I worked for a Chinese restaurant for many years, they look after their own,
Flags are flying wherever you go hear, on every fly over bridge and lamp posts , in people's gardens etc

[Daisy]

I'm with Oma - painting on/round potholes and drain covers isn't on. But we should view our country with pride, and our national flags should be flown with respect, which appears to be lacking towards the poor owners Gem's local Chinese restaurant.

There will always be people who behave "badly" whether they are legal or illegal immigrants (irrespective of nationality), British born or dual nationality etc. and don't respect our laws. I think the disrespectful people whoever they are and however they show disrespect should be sanctioned through the Courts, and the Court rulings should be in accordance with the Law. I know it's more complex than that, but the law should be upheld and be seen to be upheld.

When we've lived in houses in different parts of the country we have have lovely, friendly neighbours from all over the world. The only time I can recall any prejudice was when a business contact of my OH's found out he was Welsh and never spoke to him again. He hated the Welsh.

Lizzie, it must be very interesting to meet people from so many different nationalities. I think speaking the native language is important to integration, and I can't imagine living in a country without speaking the local language. I remember you saying you learned Dutch with the help of a friend, and children's books, and I think that is exactly how it should be.

[Lizzie48]

Daisy, not everyone tries to speak the language, where I do the coffee translators are often called in to do the translating, or, what I find very annoying, is, the parents bring their children in to translate for them! That is getting the poor children involved in all of their problems.

Many years ago, it must be 53, we met an English lady on the boat, she was going to visit a cousin in the UK. She married a Dutch man, I think a captain on a ship, anyway, we stayed in touch and I visited her often in Haarlem, she flatly refused to speak Dutch, at all, she had lived here 40 years and I know she could understand it, but, no, if anyone wanted to speak to her it would be in her language. She had to move into a home in the end, she couldn't speak to the others, was isolated and so lonely.

[Daisy]

Lizzie, it's such a pity when people can't (or won't) learn the language of the country they're living in. It's very isolating, and unless there are exceptional circumstance, I also think it's unreasonable to expect other people to to have to go out of their way to translate all the time.

When some British friends of ours went to live in France they worked very hard to learn the language, and when one of them needed medical treatment they swatted up on the medical terms they needed to use, even though the doctor spoke good English. After many years they know any French person would recognise their accents as English, but they have a circle of both French and English friends.

[Oma]

MIL spoke no English when she moved here, she learned very quickly otherwise she would have been very lonely and isolated,
She has no German accent at all,

[Daisy]

Oma, that's a real credit to her. We have a German neighbour and although her English is faultless and she worked as a bi-lingual secretary, she has a trace of a German accent. I think it must be very difficult to lose an accent in a different language, but I also think a lot of non-native English speakers' accents are attractive. There's a Polish lady in our dog training group and I love to hear her speaking, especially to her dog.

[Plantaholic]

I love to hear accents, my OH was from Birmingham, he didn’t have much of a Brummy accent apart from the strong ‘g’s’