John Hume once famously said that “you can’t eat a flag.” What he meant was simple. Real politics is about living standards, about social and economic development. It is not about waving bits of cloth at one another.
It was a typically understated way of cutting through decades of symbolism, ritual and identity politics to get to the substance of people’s lives. And yet, here we are again, arguing about flags.
The immediate context is the renewed controversy around the Ulster Banner and whether it should continue to represent Northern Ireland at sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games. Unionist anger has been predictable and, in many cases, tone deaf to the arguments of the other side. Some reactions have been framed almost entirely in terms of loss and cultural erosion, with little realisation why others might experience this symbol differently.
For many within unionism, the Ulster Banner is simply “our flag.” It is wrapped in memory and continuity. What, they ask, could possibly be wrong with that. The problem is not that the flag exists. The problem is that it can’t represent a whole, equal society.
The immediate context is the renewed controversy around the Ulster Banner and whether it should continue to represent Northern Ireland at sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games. Unionist anger has been predictable and, in many cases, tone deaf to the arguments of the other side. Some reactions have been framed almost entirely in terms of loss and cultural erosion, with little realisation why others might experience this symbol differently.
For many within unionism, the Ulster Banner is simply “our flag.” It is wrapped in memory and continuity. What, they ask, could possibly be wrong with that. The problem is not that the flag exists. The problem is that it can’t represent a whole, equal society.
Continue @ IBP,
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