NLS "bans" the Saltire

The Lithgae Jambo · NLS "bans" the Saltire

When I see stories like this in the Daily Wail about the St George's cross or Union Jack, the explanation usually bears no relation to the accompanying headline that is worded to designed to stir up racist tension. I'm therefore rather concerned to see Christine Grahame employing the same tactics about a policy within the NLS.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/l...-saltires-please--they.5394201.jp

Morph

I would be concerned Jambo, but then i read that it was three flags and a tartan chair. It iwas a shared workspace. I wouldnt like it if my workspace had pictures of dogs or cats or something all over it i think its a bit selfish.

However this should not be turned into a 'racist issue' more for the truer story of man puts too much on desk!

must have been a slow news day Smile

The Lithgae Jambo

magister ludi

I think it would have been more appropriate if Ms Millers email had expressed her concerns in more neutral terms. She is apparently Director of Customer Services yet she appears to me to have come across as tactless and cack-handed.

If she believes that draping workstations with flags and the like is inappropriate or unprofessional ( and I'm inclined to think it probably is this context), then her response needs to be appropriate and professional.

This is not a "saltire issue", this is is management issue. Whether Ms Miller lacks the necessary skill, experience and sensitivity, or whether she or someone else has other issues is something that her employers ought to address.

chicmac

She seemed genuinely bewildered at the anger displayed by those phoning in. Reminiscent of the shocked look on MPs faces on THAT Questiontime.

One suspects another example of the attempted Ubrainwashing of political/cultural undergraduates which seems to have taken place in Scotland in the past decade.

voiceofourown

I agree that draping your workstation with personal effects, whatever they may be, is irksome and national paraphernalia seems particularly gauche.
However, Annabel Goldie's claim that it is the fault of the SNP for politicising our national flags is risible.
Is she really saying that Ms Miller's policy was motivated by political concerns?
That's certainly NOT what her comments indicated.

Celtic Indian

Racist ??? Racist against who exactly ? One again this is a perfect example of the term "racist" being misused,which actaully dillutes the true meaning of the word !

William_Cleland

What a farce, people who thought banning the Union Flag from Tynecastle was acceptable and who wanted the police to arrest people for singing the Hokey Cokey at an Old Firm game now are shocked to find that the modern PC agenda can also be applied to them.

Loved this quote in The Scotsman:-

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland...as-enthusiasm-flagging.5394201.jp

Academic Peter Lynch, who wrote a history of nationalism in Scotland, said: "This tells you that some people are a bit uneasy about the saltire as a symbol, but I find it hard to see why. It is not like the union flag, which has connotations of Northern Ireland and the Democratic Unionist Party. The saltire doesn't come with that sort of baggage."

Almost comic that somebody who studies nationalism on an academic basis actually doesn't seem to be able to grasp that that the aggressive flaunting of national symbols is often about drawing a line between who belongs and who doesn't in a manner deliberately designed to make people who don't neatly fit the mould of the nationalism in question feel unwelcome and that depending entirely on the context any national symbol can be potentially problematic. It's their flag that's bad, not our one is a level of analysis I would expect to see in the Daily Star rather than The Scotsman.

Corby Boy

William, interesting Avatar. Can't say I have ever seen such a thing! May be from a Rangers or a doctored image? (-:

William_Cleland

Scotland supporters at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

We're representing Britain and we're gaunny do or die,
England cannae dae it 'cos they didnae qualify!

As Andy Cameron put it in 1978, back in the days of the real Tartan Army made up of genuine football supporters rather than politically motivated "foot soldiers".

Corby Boy

Thanks for the insight.

Andy 'Mr Rangers' Cameron!

Agree with you on the fact that fitba supporters shouldn't be politically motivated, but that's not the real world unfortunately. Celtic and Rangers would just be merely Sunday league sides if that were the case!

In the 70's and 80's the England support were awash with Union flags, don't see too many now anymore. This too reflects the reality today.

Alasdair

why would somebody supporting England or Scotland (or NI or Wales for that matter) wave the UJ? It's not a GB team regardless of the fact that they are constituent parts of GB ... I'd contend it's more of a political arguement to wave the UJ for these teams than it is to wave their national flags, therefore, on the basis of flag waving I'd contend that football has become less politicised, so, nah :p

Aventinian

William_Cleland

Just in case there are any lingering doubts about the authenticity of my avatar check out this youtube clip at 0:30:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udokPOQB_n0

Luke P

Holebender

Not because they thought they were British but because they thought England and Britain were the same thing and the Union Flag was their flag.

I well remember, as a young boy, my English cousins being astonished to learn that Scotland was part of Britain too. They honestly thought Britain meant England.