There’s been a steady rise in cases in some parts of England where raising the St George’s flag has become synonymous with hostility towards immigrants. That’s why it’s considered as a cause of ‘alarm and distress’, at least in this case. Especially given the background of this guy who’s been doing it.

So this isn’t just a case of an overreaction to a harmless act of national pride (which is what some might come away with if they didn’t read the article or know the context).

It’s a shame that the flag has become a proxy for racism. Not least because a lot of people put up the flag purely out of pride and with no malicious subtext.

But you can usually tell the areas where there’s a racist undertone because they have a ridiculous number of flags up.

Edit: fixed some typos.

The article says (even though, weirdly, between the lines) that the man had been spewing out anti-immigrant rhetoric and told that the flags are there to show that foreign-born people are not welcome on his island.

It’s not surprising that flags put by a person saying “I am putting these up as a form of showing the middle finger” are interpreted as being a form of showing the middle finger. Or in other words, causing alarm and distress.

Somewhere between the UK and US is the most politically perfect country. It must be