Flags at the Big Day Out

While i’m reluctant to dredge up the flag issue again, i thought i’d post some related pictures of last week’s Big Day Out.

Despite organisers suggesting festival goers leave their flags at home, many people ignored the request in Sydney last week.

I got the impression those sporting the flag were doing so in what they considered a rebellious act. I find it strange that young folks at an alternative music festival now consider it rebellious to be onside with John Howard, the NSW Premier and god knows how many talkback shock jocks. What strange times we live in.

Some people were a little more subtle with their flag waving or went with the other Aussie colours of green and gold. They seemed to have the right attitude.

Then there were quite a number of people wearing shirts like this fella, or the more agressive, "If you don’t like it f*ck off".

Then of course there’s rabble rouser Mike Skinner who was evidently proud of his Union Jack and t-shirt stating ‘I love Flags’.

Hopefully now the Big Day Out’s almost wrapped up we can put this stupid issue to bed.

Then we can move onto more important flag related matters like getting the British flag off of ours.

18 Comments

  1. I think people who wear flags look downright silly, but if they are harmless then I guess it doesn’t matter. But I get really angry with idiots who wear t-shirts saying “Love It leave It”. Who can love it for a start. I agree Dan, why the bloody Union Jack? Plus you don’t love a flag, you hopefully uphold values you believe in, equality, freedom, tolerance, respect. Things that are becoming harder to find in our great land at the moment.

  2. Somehow I dont think many of those people would see that irony Dan..
    Drunk Girls selling flags outside “f$%k the Big Day Out and buy one of our flags”

  3. If only these aggressive bogan-type guys were down with immigrants, homosexuality, and the environment, you know, really embraced these issues, things would a lot cooler round here.

  4. its hilarious that the guy in the love it or leave it t shirt was wearing it to BDO.
    Who was his slogan intended for?
    All the non skips who you see down the front of a Wolfmother show?

  5. Wearing a flag immediately decreases your sexual attractiveness by massive amounts.
    I question these peoples reasons for it exactly as well. They forget its a stolen country….

  6. erm, yellow lipstick? More cringe than the “If you don’t love it, LEAVE” shirt.
    With regards to the Union Jack on the flag, there’s some kiwis with the same sentiment, although I appreciate reasons from both sides.

  7. ‘If you don’t love it, leave it’
    Hmm, perhaps he was talking about himself?
    Now girls, don’t rush the exits, leave in an orderly fashion …

  8. Interesting that all the above “patriots” are quite unattractive. How typical of people with little going for them to cling to their national identity as a means of defining themselves.
    Harsh? True IMO.

  9. “I find it strange that young folks at an alternative music festival now consider it rebellious to be onside with John Howard, the NSW Premier and god knows how many talkback shock jocks. What strange times we live in.
    Well said Mr. Boud!

  10. My little brther arrived at my house to pick up his BDO ticket wearing the Australian Flag in these places:
    Hat
    Tattooed on face, arms, chest
    Cape
    Boxer Shorts
    Shorts
    Shoelaces
    I was so shocked. I asked him what the hell he needed to be decked out like that for – his response “they told me I couldn’t, so I did.”
    Scary huh. I told him I’d kick his ass if he caused any trouble in the ‘name of the flag’.

  11. yeah they should remove the union jack flag off the ozzie one and replace it with a WELSH DRAGON one… far prettier!!!
    flag wearing is so ugly… immediate turn off… and if I see another bloody southern cross tattoo… jeeeez

  12. See, because I’ve been away for all this while, I find the whole flag-waving issue really weird and alien. But I guess there’s always that flabby racist underbelly … in bad ringer singlets and the guise of patriotism, it seems.
    I can understand why the organisers tried to ban the flag – it’s not a sporting event, and it’s an international line-up, so why the need for a flag? But obviously it just incited people to ‘rebel’ – because kids can be silly and thoughtless, all the while giving rise to those with their own agenda of being nobs.
    Those ‘don’t love it, leave’ slogans smack of a Nationalist Front and is something to be scared shitless of, if you ask me.
    Anyhooo, neat photos, Dan!

  13. Nice post Dan. I was at the Green Park last night which I think was having a bit of a de facto Mardi Gras lauch party. There was a guy there with a pink version of the Australian flag: you can read this any way you like, but I’m going to see it was cutely subversive.
    I don’t think this issue is going away though, and more importantly, I actually don’t think it should.

  14. Nothing against these photos- they’re quite good. It’s kind of interesting to see what the most stupid people at the Big Day Out looked like. Here’s a message for them:
    Dear people who wore Australian flags at The Syd. BDO… “BECAUSE THEY TOLD ME NOT TO”
    You are silly little puppets. Is your picture here? Hope you download it and keep it- you’ll laugh at it one day when you know more about how things work.
    At the BDO you did exactly what the super rich tabloid owners, super rich shock jocks, and completely clueless politicians TOLD YOU TO DO.
    Sydney has been dumbed down by its hysterical and irresponsible media and it apparently has the dumbest punters as a result.
    The BDO flag issue was all about crowd safety. The organizers wanted no chances of fights in the crowd and therefore no crowd surges. Because they wanted no more BDO deaths. The last death was caused by meatheads in the crowd suddenly shoving and jumping around when Limp Biskit came on.
    It can happen easily. All it takes is a few idiots.
    Last year at the BDO there were idiots picking fights in the crowd with the flag as their colors.
    Wearing the Australian flag to the BDO in 2007 meant that you were saying its OK to do that and that you didnt give a shit for crowd safety. And you were ready to see another girl crushed to death.
    But you didnt think about that because you just listened to the shock jocks and tabloids who base their business on winding up little puppets like you.
    To everyone who wore a flag – there’s no other way to put it – you were the lowest IQ dumbfucks in the crowd.
    You know as much about a good rock concert as John ‘geek’ Howard does. And ‘ bumbling’ Morris Iemma. Iemma’s solution was to threaten to ‘ban the Big Day Out’. Hey Morris that’s a real good idea!
    So you meatheads who wore the flag support Morris and this kind of thinking eh?
    Here’s a suggestion-
    Why don’t you just FK OFF and go to a John Howard or Morris Iemma party meeting next time instead of Australia’s best rock show?
    Why don’t you stay at home and just listen to Alan Jones cranked up loud instead? You dont deserve to share space with music fans at the BDO.
    Except maybe in a big roped off section just for flag dummies under a big sign that says “WE ARE ALL TABLOID PUPPETS” “BEHOLD SYDNEY’S DUMBEST”.
    Ask yourselves this question- Do you know what ‘MANIPULATED’ means? ……Yes it’s a big word with lots of letters that you dont recognize isnt it?
    You’d better keep your own flags handy to rush down to Cronulla for the next “Community BBQ”. Your memory is obviously so short youll be there in a flash right?
    Dont worry – Alan Jones will let you know when its on and what to do.
    In Melbourne- which is Australia’s ROCK CAPITAL – and Adelaide, Perth, etc. no one in the BDO crowds could care less about the flag bullshit like the Howard/Iemma/Jones puppets at the Sydney BDO.
    If you want the defintion of stupidity- just look at the flag dummies posted on this site! Talk about blonde!
    What are you protesting about? The right to step on people in a crowd crush?
    Thank God I dont live in Fuckwit Ville. Otherwise known as Sydney.
    Egards, Paul Wave.

  15. Man, I’ve never heard so much whinging in my life. I think you guys who are moaning about flag wearers etc should really find something better to do…The fact that some people love to wear the flag or get southern cross tattoos is great, australia is great – hence the reason for such a strong sense of national pride.
    Do you want to be someone who spends their time on the internet bitching about what other people are wearing or someone who is proud to be australian?
    I know what i prefer!!!

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