Waving the Flag: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Flags have caught my attention this week, with one reason being that the Shropshire Council, in the United Kingdom, has banned the flying of the nation’s flag, the ‘Union Jack,” thus refusing its citizens, in the words of the late John Wayne, to be, “old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness, flag-waving patriots.”
How strange, when what they have particularly objected to is the flying of the flag, as they consider it “provocative at a time when national tensions over immigration are running high.” What a load of old codswallop! It must be just another example of the ‘woke’ element of local body politicians venturing into a realm that is drawing a very long bow from their remit.
They are just one of more than 10,000 Local Authorities, Town and Parish Councils, examples of democracy at its intrusive and profligate worst. In fact, local authorities spent GBP 91.8 billion, from a public purse of GBP 450 billion, in 2023-24. These apotheoses of service and virtue receive annual allowances dependent upon responsibilities which range from GBP 7,000 pa to GBP 40,000 plus expenses, while their mayors are paid between GBP 63,000 and GBP 170,000 per annum plus expenses.
But it’s okay, apparently, to have Palestinian flags waved in your face, when, accompanied by disruption to travel and free movement, chanting, bullhorns, wearing balaclavas and masks, nothing is more likely to ‘turn off’ support, no matter how humanitarian. Such protests are not an avenue of ‘freedom of expression,’ but of intimidation, and in the manner of civilised democracy, totally amoral.
Al Jazeera’s Feyzi Ismail, a lecturer in Global Policy and Activism at the University of London, active in Anti-War and Trade Union movements, takes issue with the UK’s need to ‘suppress’ protests, writing that it is “an affront to civil liberties... reliant upon perception of risk rather than actual harm.” The Public Order Acts, which seek to limit the possibility of disruption to the general public and their freedom of movement, “have a chilling effect” on those with a right to protest.
However, it’s not suppression, it’s care and concern about the disruptions to the tens of thousands who just want to get to work, go home, or go ‘out?’ Ismail was referring specifically to a Palestinian protest that sought to be antagonistic, provocative, and ensuring media coverage, by assembling adjacent to the Central Synagogue on London’s Portland Street. You could not be more confrontational, could you? And it was notable that the BBC HQ was also adjacent, meaning cameras, microphones and media, which is cynically exploitative, isn’t it? Maybe their inspiration for belligerent protest aligns with Palestine leader Yasser Arafat’s vision that the flag should wave “until it flies in Jerusalem,” rather than the implied dignity of prominent Gazan spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khousa, that “Palestine is where echoes of the past resonate with hopes for the future,” which demonstrates far more respect for the process of finding peace, particularly after decades of confrontation have brought only frustration.
Protests of confrontation, chanting, bellringing, trumpeting, drumming, and disruption achieve nothing for their cause, because ‘normal,’ ‘ordinary’ folk don’t want to be ‘told’ what to do, but to be engaged with, and make their own decisions, in their own time. Aggressive protests, however, tend to be a vehicle for those who have their own agenda, who feign empathy, while having ulterior motives. These individuals are the loudest, most confrontational, while the television cameras are about, and who are always there for soundbites and interviews. You know them... and their all too familiar faces.
It’s only last week too that major cities within the UK were subject to demonstrations by flag-waving Iranians protesting the UK’s involvement in supporting America against their homeland. The only problem being that the UK is not ‘involved,’ and only Iran is raining death and destruction on anyone they can reach with their missiles. It’s not Oman, not the UAE, not Qatar, not Bahrain, not Saudi Arabia, not Kuwait, and for sure, no-one in Europe or the UK! Patriots, loyalists, and enthusiasts demonstrate their allegiances by flying the flag with dignity and respect. Those who fly their flag from behind a mask are malicious Trojan horses.

Ray Petersen The writer is a media consultant