Source: ForeignAffairs4
Source: The Conversation – UK – By John Byrom, Associate Dean, School of Management, University of Liverpool
Across England, flags are visible like never before. They are being hoisted on lamp-posts. Hastily painted representations of the St George’s flag, typically little more than a couple of red lines painted on an available white background, are popping up on mini-roundabouts and other surfaces.
For some, this impromptu flagging of England’s streets is a celebration of patriotism. For others, it’s a far-right, borderline-racist provocation. In 2012, a survey by the thinktank British Future found that around a quarter of the English consider their flag to be racist, presumably as a result of its appropriation by rightwing groups.
To be sure, debates about what flags mean have been around for years. The association of the English flag with a particular type of politics and thinking has certainly generated heat in the past.
One notable example occurred during 2014’s Rochester and Strood by-election, when Labour MP Emily Thornberry tweeted a photo of a house with St George’s flags and a white van, captioning it “Image from Rochester”. The post was widely criticised as Thornberry supposedly being snobbish towards precisely the type of voter Labour was seen to have lost touch with. She was forced to resign from the shadow cabinet.
But it’s not only in England where we see debates over flags and their political meanings. In the US, the Confederate flag is viewed by some as a racist symbol connected with slavery and the oppression of black Americans, while for others it remains a source of pride in the historical defiance of the southern states.
The territorial marking of communities through the flying of flags, or the painting of constituent colours on kerbs, has long been recognised as a visual manifestation of political divisions in Northern Ireland. And in Scotland, the Saltire – which, after the 2014 referendum, had come to be associated by many with the independence movement – has assumed new meanings as the country’s flag has proliferated in urban settings, mirroring events south of the border.
In a 2019 paper focusing on the social and spatial dimensions of flags and flag performances, my co-authors and I showed that we need to recognise that flags are complex signs open to multiple interpretations and meanings. In turn, these interpretations are affected by how, why and where a flag is being displayed. It also matters who or what organisation or movement is displaying the flag.
Of equal importance is the intended audience. Different people will interpret the same flag in various ways, according to their socio-political beliefs and perspectives. Any such interpretation can be influenced not only by the facts people have about a particular display but also by their assumptions, correct or otherwise.
There may be more than one interpretation of how a flag relates to the space around it – characterised by what is known as semiotic “slippage”.
A St George’s flag flying on an Anglican church tower, for example, projects a different meaning to one flown on an English municipal building in an area with a Reform-led council. Similarly, a flag painted on the face of an England football fan at an international fixture is attached to a different kind of emotion than one held by a Britain First supporter at a protest rally.
What’s more, an inability to recognise this semiotic nuance can inflame debate and entrench societal divisions. When we assume we all see the flag in the same way, we find it harder to tolerate different perspectives. This is evident in the current flag debate.
Certainly, it is not always possible to know the exact motivations of those hoisting flags. It’s also difficult to prosecute a convincing case to police their activities.
But what is clear is that no one benefits from a national moral panic about flags, other than those who wish to sow political and social division. Instead, it might be best to let people hang their flags, whatever their motivations, and have their moment of semiotic free speech.
In any case, as with many other contemporary concerns, the issue may soon fade into the background and be left, like the flags themselves, to hang in the breeze.
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John Byrom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. The nuance of flags – why one symbol can have many meanings – https://theconversation.com/the-nuance-of-flags-why-one-symbol-can-have-many-meanings-265253