23/11/2025
The debate over flags has become strangely loud lately, as if fabric on a pole has the power to determine who belongs and who doesn’t.
Speaking as someone of mixed race, I’ve found it hard to take any of it too seriously, and certainly don’t take offence from people hoisting flags as a symbol to assert their Englishness- as if those of colour, migrants and others who’ve proudly made England their home, are any less.
Symbolism only carries the weight we give it, and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from years of overt racism ( since Brexit), covert digs and the occasional demand that I “go home” to a place I apparently belong to more than I do here, it’s that some noise simply isn’t worth amplifying.
I’ve ignored worse, and I don’t say that flippantly. There’s a strange resilience that grows from being told you don’t quite fit here or there, as if identity were a postcode. After a while, you realise that engaging with every provocation only feeds it. Sometimes the best response to stupidity is to starve it of attention.
Which brings me to St George’s flag. If people want to fly it, I’m hardly going to lose sleep over it. In fact, I take it to be in solidarity with Palestine and rather fitting, considering St George was Palestinian. He fought alongside the Romans, yet never once set foot on British soil albeit the Romans did- invading Britain in boats, landing on the beaches of Dover. Without them, you wouldn’t have Christianity let alone the crosses you carry so proudly, defending the zionists whose forefathers rejected Jesus(peace be upon him) and demanded his crucification.
The irony is rich, don’t you think?
This is a reminder that history is always more complex than the slogans people weaponise today.
And that’s really the point. We have far more urgent, substantive issues to pour our energy into than arguing over symbols that have been misused, misunderstood and stretched far beyond their original stories. The world is full of real crises that demand courage, clarity and compassion. More importantly, we need honest dialogues, transparency and tolerance. Not silencing voices, stifling freedom of expression or not allowing discourse that identifies honestly the ailments in our society, so we could find the cure.
If we channelled even a fraction of the passion spent bickering over flags into tackling injustice, inequality, or conflict we’d all be better for it.
Let the hype die on its own. Some fires burn out quicker when you don’t fan them.
