| « EU Quote of the Day 25/06/07 | Bully Boys Bury Bad News on Stadium » |
SDLP Just As Bitter as Sinn Fein
... and their youth wing is equally petty.
Sorry, I've been in Lanzarote for 2 weeks so I've missed this gem. Apparently the SDLP youth (yes, they have one) leader has kicked up a bit of a stink (see also the BBC report) over Ulster's new Ikea store. What could possibly be bad about a cheap furniture shop? Economic concerns about smaller local retailers? Maybe environmental concerns? It must be something to do with employment practices.
[Image: GFDL 1.2]
Well no, it's something much more important. You see the artist's impression of the new store featured both the Union Flag and Northern Ireland flag alongside the Swedish flag. Those imperialist bastards! Ikea, like many other multinationals, make it a policy to fly the flag of their home country (Sweden) alongside the local national and, where applicable, regional flag outside their stores.
Thankfully, the SDLP youth wing have valiantly challenged this and saved us from the unthinkable: Northern Ireland being treated like the rest of the world. Ikea have thankfully stepped in and informed us that this is just how artist's impressions are done. A spokesman said "Ikea would like to reassure customers and co-workers that when the Belfast store opens towards the end of the year only the Swedish flag will feature on the outside of the building."
Well done SDLP Youth. Now we're left with the embarrassing situation that the only fag Ikea will fly at their store is a foreign flag. Well I for one will be refusing to buy furniture there until such time as they review this ridiculous decision and, at the very least, remove the Swedish flag. Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against Sweden, but I've a general interest in vexilology (and heraldry) and it's a matter of courtesy that when flying a foreign flag in a country that the local national flag is flown alongside, at the same height or higher. Anything less is insulting.
Trackback address for this post
12 comments
I would like to have the Ulster address for Sinn Fein \. I met Mr. Adams recently and I would like to send something to him.
Thank You
Joe Flood
Toluca Lake
California
conflict's over apparently.Best way to get Gerry's Ulster address is to type "Gerry Adams Donegal Holiday Villa" into google.
It's usually the national flag of the country in which the store is actually located, not the national flag of a neighbouring country or of some aspirational state which only exists in the wet dreams of a local minority.
Does the fact that the butcher's apron doesn't fly outside McDonalds stop any of us from going in and sampling some of the finest cuisine on the planet??
You live in Ireland. There will be a lot of free staters travelling up to use the store in the coming months. The last thing they want to see is the butchers apron flying up there with the Stormont Rag. They are bringing money into the Northern economy, and we don't wish to bite the hand that feeds us now, do we??
There is no flag of N.Ireland.
The flag that you think is the N.Ireland flag is called the reformed Ulster flag or Ulster banner. It was last used before 1972 and was stopped after the Sunningdale agreement.
The TRI colour if you had actually bothered to look up its meaning, intends to bring both side of the community together. the green for Irish nationalist, the Orange for the unionist and the orange order and the white in the middle to symbolise peace and the bringing together of the two.
Most protestant unionist people in N.Ireland actually think that that there is nothing wrong with the reformed Ulster flag.
It is not official so in future look up the facts.
what flag do you actually think intends to show peace and harmony I wonder.
I know what the tricolour claims to represent, I don't need to look it up. Sure the Union Jack represents Ireland too, doesn't it?
Dan,
I can bite my tongue at the flying of the tricolour on hotels in Donegal, I wouldn't mind the same courtesy being returned.
the tri colour is more epresentative of all the people of ireland than the pathetic union jack or the ulster banner,
Comment feed for this postLeave a comment
