Thread by @swardley

The flag debate in a nutshell -> "it is much easier to have a distracting row about flags than be held accountable for such 'patriotic' acts as cutting the army to its smallest size in 165 years or offering NHS staff a 1% pay rise" - mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/t…

I do love the wider discussion of little Englanders becoming tired of being called little Englanders ... I thought everyone was being very polite, very British by not using the word fascists to describe this subculture. Well, if they insist.

Oh, and the appeal to a sense of duty -there are many forms of duty. There is our duty of care to others, there is our duty to a set of rules that describe a behavioural norm (i.e. honour) and there is our duty to an authority and its symbols (i.e. subservience) ...

... our "little Englanders" or more apt "little englanders" show no duty of care to others, given the constant use of manipulation and lies in politics then honour isn't there either ... it's just subservience to authority and the symbols of. The flag debate makes sense.

So, in pursuit of a better term than "little englanders", it has to include that demand to be subservient to symbols rather than a duty of care to others. I think "fascist poodle" adequately captures the idea. That's my new term for "little englanders" ... anyway ...

... naming aside, let us get to the appaling NHS pay rise, decline of our armed forces, excessive waste of Government ... a long list. We can let this subculture of fascist poodles bark at their flags as long as the remaining Brits get some action on the real issues.

But then that's the point of the whole announcement ... to avoid scrutiny and action on the real issues by filling the airwaves with fascist poodles barking at symbols. Pity, Britain was once Great and this is just ... Sad.

They really shouldn't have replaced Theresa May, she was an outstanding leader compared to what is happening today. Theresa actually led rather than just played to the gallery. Sad indeed.

X : You're not very patriotic.
Me : The opposite. Patriotism is a willingness to defend your collectives cherished values, in the UK that means reasoned debate, care for others, inclusion and democracy. Patriotism is not barking at a symbol just because master told you to.

X : You're not very tolerant of other viewpoints.
Me : Quite the opposite. However, tolerance requires intolerance of intolerance. I think I've been civil to these fascist poodles for far too long already. This distraction play when there are real issues at hand is too much.

X : I thought you were in favour of brexit?
Me : I am and it is wrong to associate this with brexit. Those that I know in favour of brexit are not fascist poodles but we do have this subculture, this vociferous group of little englanders that are. They are a problem ...

... and it is wrong to listen to them, to embolden them, to play to that "nationalist" gallery, to emphasise symbols like flags.

UK is not alone in arseholes playing to arseholes ... take France and 2nd vaccine blackmail threats, that is despicable - theguardian.com/society/2021/m…

Which is why we need to de-emphasise their voices and get to the issues at hand. They will bark at flags, bark about patriotism, bark about duty but we should throw the bone into a bottomless pit and say "fetch".