Is supporting England embarrassing now?
For many the nation's flag has become a toxic symbol
Last summer the St George’s cross started to appear on lamp posts in towns and villages in England. The displays were inspired by the anti-immigrant group, Raise the Colours. They claim that they’re a “movement for unity and patriotism” but the flag hanging was seen by some as a representation of right wing nationalism, and that, at worst, it was intended to intimidate those not born on English shores.
Fast forward a year and the England football team find themselves riding high in the World Cup. Their dominant performance against Croatia has many dreaming that after 60 years football may finally be coming home.
Such a solid start would usually inspire a surge of flag wearing and waving, but in twelve short months the St George’s cross has taken on such new meaning that it’s given many pause about how to express their patriotism and pride.
I am one of those people. Previous tournaments have seen me, my car and the front window of my London flat draped in the St George’s cross. This year? Nothing.
My unease has parallels with what Chanťe Joesph explored in her viral Vogue essay Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now? I’ve taken the liberty of mirroring her headline for this letter because it so brilliantly captures how quickly cultural sands can shift. Joesph focused on the status of partnered heterosexual and single women, and noted that a TikTok comment which asked “Why does having a boyfriend feel Republican?” had captured the zeitgeist.
The same has happened to the St George’s cross. After being co-opted by Raise the Colours, Reform party leader Nigel Farage and the far right grifter and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson, many are left wondering: Why does the England flag feel fascist now?
Some are pushing back on that narrative and have found creative ways to show their patriotism while making clear that they’re not supporting nationalism.
The author Flo Finch blew up on TikTok after she customised a flag to make her politics clear. In a video that’s been viewed more than 800k times, she unveiled a flag that read “FOR FOOTBALL NOT FARAGE”.
Finch explained that she was inspired to customise the flag because she lives in what she described as a “racist part of Essex” that was a “Reform (party) stronghold”. She added: “But the football is on. And, like, how do I tell people, I’m not part of your club?”
In a follow up she said: “I didn’t want this fascist agenda to restrict me from celebrating the diversity within the World Cup. Celebrating the diversity that we have in England, and I wanted to make a stance to say, ‘I disagree with this, but I am still proud of the country that I come from’.”
The comments on her video proved that Finch wasn’t the only one with complex feelings about the flag…
And it’s left me thinking that maybe the only way to reclaim something that’s been twisted, is to spin it again.
What do you think the England flag represents now? Have flag displays changed your relationship to the St George’s cross? What do you think of Finch’s flag? Let me know in the comments.
Previously on highly flammable…
highly flammable is produced and written by me, Rachel Richardson
I’m a content creator, commentator and a consultant at Beginning, Middle and End
Say hello at rr@bmend.com
I can't speak to England as an American (though my grandmother was from Warrington—shout-out!), but there's been a lot of discourse in the US lately about not letting the right co-opt the US's 250th celebration, and I tend to agree. The World Cup has also been an unexpected blessing, giving many dismayed Americans the chance to see it from a new vantage point and appreciate our country in a way many of us hadn't in a long time. We can't let the ignorant members of our culture control our narrative; otherwise, it can quickly become the truth.