Flags / Banderes

 

[CATALAN/ENGLISH] El tristor d’aquesta foto i aquesta bandera.

És la plaça central del meu poble natal. Fa anys un bullici de gent sortint a fer la compra, anant a fer un te, parant per a xerrar-se. Ara han fet una placeta nova, grisa i trista, amb alguna gent passant els malsons amb una botella a la mà, i altres esperant que obren el banc d’aliments. Fins fa poc, mai hi havia una bandera aquí. I ara, per què?

Rebobinem en el temps. Als anys 1970s-1980s jo no recordo haver vist gairebé mai ni banderes britàniques (el Union Jack) ni banderes angleses (com aquesta, la de Sant Jordi) en espais públics ni privats a Anglaterra.

Bandera d'Anglaterra (la de Sant Jordi)

Bandera del Regne Unit/Gran Bretaña (té un nom, el Union Jack)

Ni es posaven banderes a les comissaris de policia, ni correus, ni l’ajuntament, pel que jo recordo, ni molt menys a les places, parcs, o espais privats – cotxes, jardins, la roba.... Potser a Londres a llocs com el Parlament o el Palau de la Reina, sí, però com que no hi anava, pos, no ho sé. De fet, les úniques vegades que recordo haver vist la bandera de Sant Jordi en aquells anys, era sempre en mà d’una colla de skinheads feixistes. O desfilant per les ciutats, o pegant a minories etniques a les noticies, o barallant-se amb altres grups a les platges els dies de festa nacional.

Era així, per bé o per mal, la bandera anglesa anava sempre lligat a partits com el Frent Nacional (feixistes) o altres grups d’ultres i hooligans. La bandera britànica, encara la podries veure a la tele en algun activitat esportiu però a pocs llocs més. Per què? A l’escola, un professor de confiança, i anti-bandera, ens deia que només els països fràgils i insegurs tenen necessitat de fer ostentació dels símbols nacionals – banderes, desfilades de tancs, himnes nacionals a totes hores etc. Amb això ens volia dir que Anglaterra era un país que havia superat això. Tenia raó? No ho sé, però evidentment per qualsevol jove mínimament d'esquerres, veient qui portava la bandera, ja teniem clar el que representava per natros i d'evitar qualsevol persona que la portava.

El fet és que després dels anys de la Thatcher: misèria i grisor per a la majoria de la població, vam arribar als anys 1990s, amb el Britpop, els Spice Girls, el futbol a tope de moda amb l’invent del Premier League i Sky TV, polítics joves i ‘enrotllats’ etc., i  la gent volia festa i rauxa (anglesa). Es va començar a celebrar tot lo British, tot lo English, amb un orgull descarat que jo no havia vist en la vida, com si el país volia renéixer després de la Thatcher. A més el capitalisme més salvatge va generar molts diners a Londres, al City, en mans d’uns joves que ho havien de gastar (mentre la gent més allà del voltants de Londres vivien com podien, o baixaven a Londres a buscar feina). La bandera britànica estava arreu, damunt dels Minis, als vestits dels Spice Girls, a la venta dels supermercats per a decorar els jardins fent barbacoes en la pluja. També, van començar a aparèixer la bandera anglesa sobretot relacionat amb el futbol, ja que tornava a estar de moda, amb uns estadis nets i segurs, i preus desorbitats, després de anys d’hooliganisme, violència i desgracies.

Però per uns quants amb memòria, com jo, per molt que deien que s’havia ‘reclamat’ la bandera, pensàvem (1) per a que? i (2) estaven segurs que l'havien reclamat? Vull dir, a partir de la tercera cervesa, l’alegria del futbol i festa fàcilment tornava a ser un entorn de racisme, violència i superioritat envers els altres països etc., amb la bandera a la mà. Cal tornar a reviure per enessim cop la historia (esbiaixada i blanca) dels anglesos i nedar en un tsunami de nostàlgia, banderes, símbols, i Britannia Rules The Waves un altre cop? No podem acceptar a ser un país més i anar fent?

Bé, passen uns anys més i al principi del nou mil·lenni, tornen a pujar partits d’ultra dreta, modernitzant el Frent Nacional d’abans. Deixen els caps rapats i Doc Martens darrere, i comencen un nou discurs populista més modern, aprofitant el Proud to be British/English que estava de moda, i rascant sempre el tema dels europeus i animant la gent a sortir de la UE si volen mantenir l’essència del que és ser British etc. I tot això sota les banderes, aprofitant que ara eren mainstream. Després vindria Farage i cia i el Brexit. El seu populisme i racisme (i corrupció) s’amagava bé baix les banderes i el missatge de 'orgullos de ser anglès' sovint evolucionava cap a 'Anglaterra per als anglesos'.

Un altre 'anècdota' que explica per què, en la meva opinió, la bandera anglesa segueix tenint connotacions dolentes. Tradicionalment no s'ha celebrat mai el Dia de Sant Jordi a Anglaterra, malgrat ser el patron del país. En part per lo que he dit abans, no calia tanta ostentació de banderes i 'orgull de país' fa uns anys. Però des de fa uns anys, els fatxes han començat a moure fitxa i fer una mena de dia de 'celebració de ser anglès'. L'any passat va sortir a les noticies que els grups d'ultradreta (relacionat amb grups d'hooligans i partits fatxes com Britain First etc.) van fer una marxa 'de celebració' a Londres. Alguns anaven vestits de Sant Jordi, tots amb les banderes ben altres, i entre cantics contra els immigrants, cervesa i cocaïna a dojo, van acabar amb aldarulls lluitant contra la policia. Bonica celebració!

Poc a poc, s'ha anat venent el conte (i cada cop més) de que no ets orgullós del teu país o respectuós amb els milers de Brits que han mort en guerres, si no admires la bandera. Fa uns anys (10, 15?) es va començar a posar banderetes arreu, i banderes grans als parcs públics, jardins comunitaris, monuments, sovint cuidat per grups locals de gent patriota. Tothom té un iaio o oncle que ha mort en alguna guerra, que menys podem fer per ells, pobres, que tenir una bandera al mig de la plaça?

I així, al mig del meu poble natal, s’ha posat aquesta. I si per algun motiu la treuen, hi hauria una protesta de les grosses (“aquests wokes tornen a atacar-nos!”).

Mentrestant, el poble ha passat de tenir un supermercat d'una cadena amb valors socials, dos bancs, una oficina de correus, un mercat gran i viu on venia gent de tota la provincia a comprar, botigues diverses de comerç local, etc, a ser un poble sense res –  hi queden dos cases de fer apostes, una botiga d’alcohol barat, botigues de vapadors, i un banc d’aliments – i una bandera. Els governs i mitjans saben molt bé a que juguen. Primer la bandera, després un plat calent a taula.

Per no parlar de lo que representa aquesta bandera per a la gent que ha nascut fora d’Anglaterra, en països on el imperi britànic només va anar a saquejar. Aquesta gent que fa 2 o 3 generacions que viuen a Anglaterra, quan veuen onejar la bandera, saben quin entorn els espera i saben que no han d’aixecar la veu. Una forma de recordar-los quin és el seu lloc en la societat. Mira, fa escaig un mes, gent ‘normal’, simplement 'orgullosos de ser anglesos', del poble meu van anar a intentar fotre foc a un hotel ple de immigrants i treballadors locals. Van portar banderes amb ells.

2          PD: dos punts personals

*  ”Però si a tu t’hem vist amb la bandera catalana, Brian.”  Pos, sí. Però cada lloc és un mon diferent i cada símbol representa alguna cosa diferent allà on ets. En certs contexts, no tinc problema en portar banderes; reconec que com a símbol de la lluita per a que Catalunya pugui exercir els seus drets, endavant. La bandera és un altre element de la cultura i societat catalana i com a tal simbolitza allò que demanem, poder decidir si volem ser un estat o no. Però en el context britànic que he explicat, té un significat molt fosc o trist, plena de connotacions dolentes i, per a mi, és totalment innecessari que torni a onejar.

**  ”Però si t’hem vist posar la bandera de Sant Jordi a casa pel futbol, Brian.”   És cert, Em va costar, però la vida és per a viure-la i, si per passar-ho bé, i fer un element d'humor i de xalera post-ironic amb els amics i família A CASA, ho puc fer amb l'ajut d'una bandera que m’ha costat 50 cèntims (de rebaixes) al supermercat un cop cada 4 anys, OK, endavant. Ara que els xiquets s’han fet grans, fins i tot deixaré de fer això ja que el futbol no m’interessa gens. 

---

[ENGLISH] A few words on the sadness epitomized in this photo and this miserable-looking flag.

The photo was taken in the summer (2024) in the central square of my hometown. A small market town with a population of about 12,000 in the north of England. When I still lived there, the square would have been alive with shoppers, dog-walkers, people stopping for a chat, locals on their way to have a tea or coffee. But times have changed. The square was recently renovated and the result of the huge investment made is this uninviting grey concrete area where nowadays you are more likely to see someone looking for hope in a bottle of wine, sleeping on a bench while they come down off drugs, or waiting for the food bank to open. The other difference is that when I was younger, we never had a flag raised in the middle of the town – so, why now?

First of all, for non-Brits, remember that in England we use two flags: the Union Jack, a mixture of red, white and blue, horizontal and vertical crosses, representing Great Britain or the United Kingdom. And the English flag, the red cross of Saint George on a white background.

OK, let’s start. Back in the 1970s and 1980s when I was growing up in England, I can’t remember seeing either British or English flags in public or private spaces. I don’t remember seeing a flag outside police stations, post offices, or town halls like we see here in Catalonia, let alone in public spaces like parks or private places like people’s gardens or on the back of their car. I suppose there must have been flags in London at the Parliament or Buckingham Palace but as I never went there, who knows? In fact, the only times I do remember seeing the English flag in those days, it was in the hands of gangs of racist skinheads.

Yes, back then the English flag was strongly linked to far-right racist parties like the National Front and the accompanying groups of skinheads and football hooligans who went on their marches. The Union Jack, or British flag, was perhaps more socially accepted and you’d see it at some sporting events but it wasn’t omnipresent either. Why was there a lack of flags back then? Why was it left to be picked up by these small, but violent and noisy, groups of racists? In school, one of my more left-wing-leaning teachers told us that only countries who were not sure of themselves, who were fragile, felt the need to make a very public ostentation of their national symbols, like flags and anthems, or have huge military parades to celebrate their National Day and so on. He was saying that England, and the UK, didn’t suffer from this need to prove itself and this was why the general public and the authorities didn’t need to fly flags – but racists trying to stoke division would use it as their symbol. Was he right?

If we move past the 1980s and the horror years of Margaret Thatcher, which represented little more than hardship and social problems for most of the country, when we got to the 1990s it was as if the country breathed a sigh of relief and woke up again. The phenomenon of BritPop, the Spice Girls, English football back in fashion thanks to the invention of the extremely commercial Premier League and the arrival of Sky TV, a new wave of young and ‘hip’ politicians back in power… it was as if the country wanted to party once more. On top of that, the radical capitalism of the late 1980s and 1990s led to some people in London (in the financial district known as the City) with too much money to spend while the rest of the country looked on, or went down to London in the search of work, but still wanted to join in with the fun. Part of this fun was an emergence of a “Britain is back”, “Proud to be British” feeling which led to the Union Jack flag suddenly, and surprisingly (for me), appearing everywhere. On the roofs of Mini cars, on the Spice Girls’ dresses, Oasis’ guitars and so on. Sold cheaply in supermarkets to decorate the garden for the summer barbecues and parties. It was suddenly cool to fly the flag. The English flag also moved into the mainstream, above all connected to football. The modernisation and commercialisation of football in the 1990s meant people flooded back into the stadiums after years of violence and trouble, and money was spent on club shirts, over-priced tickets and flags.

But for some of us who remember the use of the flag by the far-right in the 1970s, even though we were now told that the flag had been ‘reclaimed’, we still had our doubts. Why are we bringing it out again? Are we sure it’s been reclaimed and revamped into something cool? I mean, after three beers, the mood around much of this patriotic flag-waving could swiftly change from fun back to racism, xenophobia, and this feeling that England is best again. Did, or do, we really need to immerse ourselves in a celebratory revival of a one-sided view of British colonialist and war-mongering history again, swept along in a tsunami of nostalgia, flags and other national symbols and stereotypes, to the soundtrack of “Britannia Rules the Waves” once again? Can’t we just decide to be ‘just another country’ like all the others in Europe and concentrate on making it a better place to live in?

Moving forward a few years. As we entered the 21^st century, far-right parties once again raised their ugly heads in more modern versions of the National Front in England. Leaving their shaved heads and Doc Marten boots behind, they offered a new racist front, more acceptable on the surface, with new political arguments but still based on cheap populism, fear and hate. As I see it, they also took advantage of the “Proud to be British/English” boom to sell their message of hate (a message that any newcomers, especially with darker skins, will change what it is to be British etc.) under an English flag. Anti-European voices also became louder and louder leading eventually to Nigel Farage and his friends’ campaign to get the UK out of Europe via the Brexit referendum. This decision was a victory for populism and racism.

Another moment in recent history also feeds into this connection I feel between the English flag and racist groups. Saint George’s Day has rarely been celebrated in England as far as I remember, despite George being the patron saint. This lack of celebration is probably due to the lack of a need to insist on our national symbols, as I said above. However, recently things have started to change and small groups of violent flag-waving men (a mixture of hooligans, voters of far-right parties like Britain First and so on) do now try and ‘celebrate’ or, more often, cause trouble. Earlier this year a group, with some even dressed up as Saint George and all waving the flag, marched through the centre of London, probably off their heads on alcohol and drugs, and singing anti-immigration chants. It finished up as a riot with these ‘patriots’ fighting the police. What a celebration!

The spread of the flag hasn’t stopped with just these openly racist groups, though. Slowly but surely, the message we pick up is that you are not proud of your country or have no respect for the thousands of English and British citizens who have died fighting wars unless you fly the flag. Some years ago (10 or 15?), flags started to appear everywhere – public squares, parks, shop windows, gardens, war memorials, car stickers… Everyone in England has a grandfather or uncle or great-grandfather who fought in a war – surely it’s the least we can do, to raise a huge flag in the centre of town?

And that’s where we are today. Although when I was younger, we didn’t need flags and other national symbols everywhere to honour our forefathers, it seems like it has now become an essential addition to every public space. And don’t question it, unless you want to be insulted and labelled a “non-patriotic woke fool”!  

Meanwhile, my hometown has gone from being a small but lively town with a relatively ethical and social supermarket, two banks, a post office, a huge market attracting shoppers from all around the county, and a wide range of small family-run shops to being a dead town with two betting shops, a cheap-alcohol shop, a vapers shop and a food bank – and a flag. Our governments and the press know full well what they are doing. First, the flag - we’ll talk about jobs and social welfare another day.

Another point to mention regarding this recent obsession with flags is just what it means to people born outside of England, or whose parents came from abroad, from countries the British Empire took over and ransacked. Maybe they’ve been living in England for two or three generations but when they see people obsessed with the flag, they must share my feelings and remember the same things I do. They know what it means, who waves it the most, and that it is a subtle way of reminding them what their place is in society. A final example - this summer, during the anti-immigrant riots, some of these “we’re just normal people, proud to be English” from my hometown tried to burn down a hotel full of immigrants (and local people working as staff) a few miles away from my family home. And they were all waving flags.

Postscript: two personal points.

“But, we’ve seen you with the Catalan flag, Brian”

 True, you have. As far as I’m concerned, though, symbols like flags can represent different things and different feelings. In a certain context, such as the Catalan one, I feel fine raising a flag as a symbol of Catalan culture and the demand for the Catalans to be able to exercise their right to decide on their future. The English flag, on the other hand, holds darker connotations for me and I’d be pleased to see it off the streets and back in the drawer as I cannot see its symbolism changing in the near future.

“But we’ve seen you with an English flag at home too when the football was on, Brian”

 Also true. I wasn’t completely comfortable with it, but at the end of the day, we have to enjoy ourselves and if we can have a bit of family fun and make jokes with friends by decorating the house (our private house) with a couple of reduced-price flags bought for 50 pence at the supermarket once every four years, then so be it. Now our kids are older, though, even this will probably come to an end as football means very little to me and the ‘fun’ of watching a match together with a pizza has almost gone.