Thursday 6 October 2005

CNN has no clue. I'm shocked.

Slow news day? CNN asks, Is it time for England to change its national flag?:

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British prison officers who wore a St. George's Cross tie-pin have been ticked off by the jails watchdog over concerns about the symbol's racist connotations.
The pins showing the English flag -- which has often raised hackles due to its connection with the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries -- could be "misconstrued," Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said in a section on race in a report on a jail in the northern English city of Wakefield.
Sigh. Where to start?

  1. First and most obviously, the Cross Of St. George isn't the flag of Britain. It's the English flag (inasmuch as England could even be said to have a flag -- see next point.)
  2. England isn't a nation, so CNN's silly Quickvote just shows someone's ignorance. It would be like asking if California should change its national flag. Huh? The "nation" is the UK (or properly The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). Our flag is the Union Flag (shown to the right), not the CoSG.
  3. There are some in England who misuse the CoSG as a racist symbol. These people have no concept of the Crusades and if you asked them what happened almost 1000 years ago would probably give you a funny look, smash the top of their pint glass, and mash the jagged edges into your face "for being clever."
Hat tip: Mailgeek. Thanks to 3dflags.com.

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