Which is not surprising since she is a big LGBT+ supporter.
https://metro.co.uk/2017/05/31/what-laura-dodsworth-learned-about-masculinity-from-photographing-100-penises-6674591/
Posted on 03/02/2024 8:40:08 AM PST by Twotone
At the start of World War II, the invading Wehrmacht made swift progress through France and by 14 June 1940, they had occupied Paris. They wasted no time in raising their military flag on the Eiffel tower and the swastika above the Palace of Versailles. Naturally, such triumphant use of these flags was highly symbolic.
Versailles had been the venue both for the Proclamation of the German Empire (Deutsche Reichsgründung) in January 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War, and, on 28 June 1919, it had been where the Treaty which bore its name was to conclude the First World War. Hitler and many of his compatriots saw Versailles as the place where the ‘humiliation’ which the Allies had inflicted on Germany had been finally sealed. The Eiffel Tower sat proudly at the centre of the city which a jubilant June 1940 German newsreel described as ‘the birthplace of democracy and liberalism’. By imposing these potent symbols upon venues of crucial significance to French culture, the Third Reich was able to state with unequivocal confidence ‘you native French are now under our control, and you must submit to our will’.
It was not until 25 August 1944, when allied forces finally liberated Paris from the Nazis and from Pétain’s Vichy ‘puppet’ government that the subjugation ended, and the Tricolour was allowed to fly alongside the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes: flags which had been banned for some four years. When General Charles De Gaulle returned from exile in London shortly thereafter, one of his first duties was to honour the French dead at the tomb of the unknown solider; a solemn ceremony conducted beneath a vast French flag, hung from under the Arc de Triomphe. So too, during his passages through the city that month, whether in open topped car along the Rue de Rivoli or marching down the Champs Elysée to attend a Te Deum at Notre Dame, his way was lined with exultant crowds and always with red, white and blue.
The significance people attribute to flags and similar emblems persists to this day and in this country. They matter deeply and are not simply quaint expressions of patriotism, as they are sometimes portrayed. Their importance to all people is not confined to historical record and Pathé newsreels, and to mistake this universality can lead to all sorts of problems, from the relatively trivial, (like Emily Thornberry’s 2014 ‘resignation’ as Shadow Attorney General for her display of characteristic bombast and snobbery over a St George flag in Rochester) to the signal failure to tackle the shocking increase in the application of the swastika to many Jewish businesses, cemeteries, schools and elsewhere, especially since 7 October 2023.
Vexillology derives its name from the vexillium, the square standard, which was carried into battle – and fiercely protected – by the legions and other military units of Rome’s Empire. In other words, the word which we use to describe the study of flags has its root in military conquest and domination. And, of course, with flags and symbols often come slogans. The Romans reminded citizens and the vanquished in whose name its army acted using ‘SPQR’ (‘Senatus Populusque Romanus’ or ‘The Senate and People of Rome’) while in Hitler’s Germany the spread eagle and swastika often appeared with the words of the SS motto ‘Meine Ehre Heißt Treue’ or ‘My honour means loyalty’.
On 8 October 2023, the first of a continuing series of weekly marches took place in the streets of London. On that march people carried Palestinian flags and handmade placards and chanted words which are, by now, so familiar to the native people of this country, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’. There were also sporadic outbreaks of flag waving in parts of the Metropolis by people who appeared eager to take to the streets to express their joy at what had happened in Israel the day before. It is important to hold in mind the timing of that first march. It came the day after members of Hamas, and supporters, entered Israel by road and air and killed 1,269 mostly unarmed civilians and maimed, raped and kidnapped others. It came before Israel had fired a single shot in anger. It came with countless Palestinian flags and slogans of ‘intifada’, ‘jihad’, and ‘ceasefire’. The chant ‘From the river to the sea’ has also featured prominently, implying as it does a call for an end to the Israeli state. That scene has been repeated on the streets of London since: thousands of people on the march, every weekend for over four months, about a war being fought over 2,000 miles away.
Throughout the capital during that time, in areas with large Muslim populations Palestinian flags have begun to appear hung from lampposts. In some streets in parts of Tower Hamlets, every streetlight has a Palestinian flag. Police have been asked to investigate numerous examples of antisemitic hate speech and intimidation with no apparent practical impact on the rising number of attacks.
Perhaps in that context, it is unsurprising that police permitted the words ‘From the river to the sea, Palestina [sic] will be free’ to be projected onto the Palace of Westminster at the totemic Elizabeth Tower, while, in its shadow, in the chamber of the House of Commons, Members of Parliament acted out a pantomime debate about whether they should ‘call for’ an immediate ceasefire, a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds or a humanitarian pause in Israel. No one really believed that the UK Parliament (which has failed its people in so many ways) could exert any real influence over the domestic policy of Israel. That state will want to finish the job it started before it stops, as the Allies did.
The futility of Thursday’s Commons debate was ironically matched by the chaotic scenes that accompanied it. One can imagine a voice in a newsreel jubilantly declare how ridiculous this other ‘birthplace of democracy’ appeared. But while our elected representatives uselessly distracted themselves and each other in earnest high dudgeon, the words of the slogan rolled on in ten-metre-tall letters above their heads: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestina will be free’. All this was in the capital of a country where, in certain areas, the Palestinian flag appears at windows, on streetlights, and daubed on walls. Emily Thornberry, once again Shadow Attorney General appears to have nothing to say about Palestinian flags and is still in her job.
It can begin to feel like a step along the road to a Michel Houellebecq dystopian future, especially if you are a British Jew. For today, the Union Jack flies from the flagpole above the Palace of Westminster but sometimes if you want to know who is the conqueror and who is the conquered you can get a clue from which slogans are spoken and which flags are flying.
https://twitter.com/JustLuai/status/1760721345451532703
*Pétain’s Vichy ‘puppet’ government that the subjugation ended*
War ends-Should he have been taken out as a collaborator?
Using flags as a symbol of conquest is why we see the rainbow flag displayed.
You beat me to it.
Which is not surprising since she is a big LGBT+ supporter.
https://metro.co.uk/2017/05/31/what-laura-dodsworth-learned-about-masculinity-from-photographing-100-penises-6674591/
Obombo did say
Too soon - too far
Wasn’t an easy takeover
Gogobombo usa
MaGogobombo nato - un - Vatican
Rev 13
Too soon - too far
Napolean
Hitler
Obombo
Bidend
Gog gong usa
MaGog gong nato / un - Vatican
Rev 13
Look up!
Wow the writer managed to get to to the lede after only six paragraphs. A new record.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.