The original reason the 'flag and football shirt' ban came into question was actually because the police thought it would reduce violence.
But as you said, small minded people instantly shouting 'it's the immigrants!!!'
The irony is my British-Asian friend was badly beaten up during a match in Euro 2008 by a group of lads shouting BNP, all because he was wearing an England shirt.
Even if they did do that, It wouldn't happen.. It's Started in Croydon because 3/4 of our population are Illegal Immigrants.
I'm there is going to be quite a bit of Racism coming on throughout the year. ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE!!
3/4 of the population are illegal aliens (obviously non-white, most likely dirty Muslims in the eyes of nasty little racists) yet 70% of Croydon's population is white?
I live on a street that is largely Asian at my end and Caribbean at the other, I'd still have thought 50% of the street is white though. I feel absolutely safe walking about at night where I live. The only race of people I do fear where I live is the pikey, always flag waving, always white and always trying to off load anything they can into the back of their transit pickup, they stole somebody's garden knomes recently!
A couple of streets away you get into the predominately white area full of the typical 'they took our jobs' EDL/BNP/NF flag waving scum. If the majority white population actually tried giving others a chance you'd find they're mostly perfectly nice people a lot of whom speak better English than you and are about as interested in blowing you up as claiming your benefits. It's the legal immigrants working and paying their taxes that allow the white benefit club to sit outside the local all day.
If you persecute your minorities then of course they're not going to like you, if you beat a dog with a stick do you not expect it to bite? This ridiculous 'patriotism' is a much bigger threat to our country than Muslim extremism. The simple folk have turned from being the school bully to trying to orchestrate genocide, of course they're too stupid to succeed but cause a lot of damage in the process.
Are you saying that being patriotic is a precursor to persecution?
From your post, it seems like you're saying that if I wear an England shirt, hang a St Georges Cross out of my window or put one of those annoying flags on my car, that I might as well just join the BNP and go out p**i-bashing. Nor do I understand how you compare patriotism of ones country to religious extremism.
There's nothing wrong with being patriotic. I'm guessing you're one of those chaps who thinks St Georges Day shouldn't be a public holiday...
I'll be proudly wearing my England shirt come June.
I don't think he's saying that "being patriotic is a precursor to persecution". Rather, his point appears to be that patriotism is used by people as an excuse for ethnic and/or religious persecution; frankly I can't argue with that, because a lot of people do claim that their bigotry is just a form of "being patriotic".
In Australia not too long ago, we had some riots down in good old Sydney, apparently all dressed up as some twisted form of patriotic nationalism. That sort of garbage isn't patriotism: it's national shame.
Not by any means, however sadly it has become an acceptable front for race hate groups, a couple of the facebook groups that I feel rather embarrassed to know people in:
'...It's funny how our flag offends you but our benefits don't!!!...'
First three lines of the description:
'For the sake of England,
Underdog of Europe,
Can we bring back some pride? BNP'll'
431,244 members!
'if england shirts get banned in pubs so should turbans + head scarves !!'
126,376 members!
It's funny how the groups focus on making racist jibes that have no relevance to the story they are trying to blow out of proportion. I won't be wearing an England shirt this summer because I don't want to be associated with the 563,743 people who either believe in neo-Nazi racial extremism or who were stupid enough to be duped into voting for them.
"I've been dreaming of a time when
To be English is not to be baneful
To be standing by the flag not feeling
Shameful, racist or partial"
Irish Blood English Heart - Morrissey summing it up perfectly.
There is nothing wrong with wearing an England shirt, I don't see one and immediately think 'BNP Tosspot', I just think ‘England Fan’ Question, you see a man walking down the street, he is wearing a Scotland shirt. What do you think?