life is not fair – imagination is..

Imagine, if you will, that you had served your country in the U.S. military for 22 years, and viewed yourself as a patriot. To this end, you have tattooed on your arm a small image of the Stars and Stripes and the words “U.S. Army’. When preparing to retire from the army, you then decide to join the police. How would you feel if you found yourself turned down for the job, because you are told your tattoo of the national flag could be seen as “racist”?

Fortunately for Americans, such a scenario could never happen in the near future. Yet for British soldier Sgt. Ivan Ivanovic, his patriotic tattoo prevented him from joining a police force in the north of England. Because Ivanovic has a two-inch Union Jack flag tattooed on his arm with the words “British Army”, he was not even considered for employment by Cumbria Constabulary. He said: “I can’t see why anyone would think that the flag of the country might be seen as racist.”

Sergeant Ivanovic had served Queen and Country in the first Gulf War, in Kosovo and in Iraq, yet the national symbol of the country he served was deemed “racist”. Ivanovic should not have been surprised. Since May 1997, Britain’s Labour government has been undermining almost every aspect of British heritage in a misguided drive to foist its leftist policies of “multiculturalism” onto an unwilling public.

When in 2002 Derek Stone stood as the Conservative candidate for mayoral elections in the London borough of Lewisham, his posters bore a Union Jack. For this act, he was condemned by his opponents as “racist”.

A precursor of the Union Jack first appeared on April 12, 1606, when James I (formerly James VI of Scotland) was king. This flag incorporated the Saltire or cross of St Andrew (Scotland’s patron saint) and the cross of Saint George, patron saint of England. The modern design of the Union Jack – which also includes the cross of Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was drawn up in 1801 by the College of Arms, to celebrate the “Act of Union” officially unifying Scotland and England.

Wales has its own language (my Welsh father did not learn English till he was seven) yet was not regarded as a separate country when the first Union flag was created. Wales had been incorporated into the union by two acts passed in 1536 and 1542, and was not included in the design of the Union Jack.

How did a flag which symbolically represents “unification” become associated with racism? A report on racial and inter-religious disturbances in Britain, which took place in northern England in 2001, stated: “The Union Jack, the flag that ‘represents’ Britain is seen as a racist flag the symbol of colonialism and the BNP… Ordinary people can no longer display the flag without being labelled right wing racists.”

It is true that in the 1970s the far-right (and racist) group called the National Front adopted the Union Jack as its political logotype. The British National Party (BNP) also briefly adopted the flag. The Union Jack has been a symbol of national identity for 200 years – and continues to be a visible sign of Britishness, despite the attempts by extreme nationalists to hijack it.

In 2003, one British supporter of multiculturalism tried to reintroduce a revamped version of the Union flag where black lines were added to the design, to represent the non-white citizens of Britain. This individual, Nigel Turner, said: “If I flew the union jack from a flagpole in my garden, many people would see it as a racist statement.” The issue of Britain’s flag being viewed as racist seems to be a notion beloved by multiculturalists and leftists.

In the 1990s, I designed publicity for an art exhibition in the London Borough of Hackney. The work was by young black artists. One item was a massive screen print of the Union Jack in red ink. It was comprised entirely of the names of black people who had contributed to British culture, from Olaudah Equiano and Mary Seacole to contemporary athletes, broadcasters, writers and actors. My layout, intended to be placed on Hackney council’s magazine, featured this artwork sized down to only an inch and a half wide. When the magazine was published, there was a hole in the design. I rang the council, and was told the Union flag image had been removed, as it was seen as “racist”.

The report on the northern England riots of 2001, where Muslims and white British fought running battles in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley observed that: “as others have noted in relation to the 1998 (soccer) World Cup the St George’s flag was felt to represent a multi-ethnic Britain, whereas the Union Jack is associated with colonialism and white racism. The obvious irony of course is the St George’s flag’s older historical symbolism of the crusades, of an earlier conflict between Christian Europe and Islam. Yet British Muslims readily took it up as a symbol of a component of their identity, as a symbol of their belonging within and support for England.”

St George Flag

The St George’s flag, national flag of England since the 13th century, has not escaped controversy. For many people living in England, irrespective of race, it is seen as a national flag when England competes in a sporting contest. In June 2006 a senior officer in North Wales Police warned during the soccer World Cup that flags of St George would lead to racism and violence. He felt that Welsh citizens would be offended if they saw the St George’s flag displayed on vehicles.

In Hounslow, west London, the local council had previously displayed the Palestinian flag on its civic center, but decided in February 2005 to refuse to allow the flag of St George, as it was deemed “socially divisive”. A motion to hoist this flag on St George’s Day (April 23) was almost unanimously defeated by council members.

When in 2006 Jackie Meldrum, Labour-supporting deputy council leader of Lambeth Council in south London, commented that the St George’s flag was a symbol of “multiculturalism”, she received racist hate mail. One letter read: “Cllr Meldrum you are an anti-white, racist shit. I hope every member of your family dies as slowly as Britain has been dying from your poisonous anti-white propaganda and I know millions of others would agree. Long live Britain!”

Though Lambeth Council’s Labour spokespeople believe the St George’s flag is a sign of multi-ethnic values, the Liberal Democrat borough council of Pendle, Lancashire, believes that the same flag is “racist”. Matthew Carter works as a refuse collector for the council, and as he has dreadlocks, he uses a bandana to tie back his hair when he works. Mr Carter, who is black and comes from Barbados, had been using a St George flag for this purpose. In June this year, Mr Carter was banned from wearing the St George flag. He said: “I received a verbal warning. They told me the St George’s Cross was not allowed to be seen on any clothing we wear because it could be considered offensive and racist.”

Anne Owers is Britain’s Chief Inspector of Prisons. In 2005 she wrote in a report that officers in Wakefield jail in Yorkshire had been seen wearing St George tie-pins. These items were in support of a cancer charity. Owers claimed that such symbols should not be worn, as they could be “misinterpreted” as a racist symbol.

For some fanatical Muslims, the sight of a St George’s cross is a sign of the Crusades. During the 2006 World Cup, a chain of pubs banned any displays of the flag, following threats by extremists linked to the outlawed group Al-Muhajiroun. Cable company NTL and the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency also banned the flag.

‘flag-burning

In June this year, Islamists connected with Al-Muhajiroun burned handmade St George’s flags at Regents Park Mosque. They were protesting at the knighthood that was given to author Salman Rushdie. Other protesters carried placards stating “God Curse the Queen.”

http://www.westernresistance.com/