Wave your flag

      Have you ever had to put much thought into the streets in which you walk down on a daily basis?
Perhaps, like me, you are privileged or spoiled enough (which ever perspective you prefer) to be able to walk the streets of where you live and not have to worry about where you are. Here in Belfast, the reality is that in this "post- violent-conflict" society it is still important to recognize which street, neighborhood or pub you might find yourself in. Many of us living in America do not think much about the connotation of seeing an American flag hanging. Here, you may find yourself walking down a street plastered with British flags, red, white and blue curbs, and the emblems of prominent organizations or in an area that is green, white, and orange. To the typically tourist who is unfamiliar with the violent history here, these symbols might strike them as strange. The the locals, these are symbols that welcome them or ward them off to certain areas of the city.
   One night, while walking to yoga class with my roommate, and Dublin native, we walked down the street that I had been on a time or two. As we walked past a roundabout we entered into a part of the street, which I had not previously noted, demonstrated avid British pride. My roommate began to sweat as looked at me and muttered quietly under her breath, "Luiza I am not welcome here". Since she is from the Republic of Ireland and her accent is quite distinct, she was afraid that someone in the street might overhear her and recognize she was a Catholic in a protestant area. She was silent the whole walk, nervously speeding up her pace. I felt awful for taking my roommate down that road having been ignorant to the symbols that had been in front of me the whole time, but I will always be cognizant of where I am from here forward.
   Belfast may not be the "dangerous" city it once was, but it still remains (in many areas) a divided city. Some people live not phased by the divisions while it causes a deep sense of fear in others.

So the question remains: Is the flag a symbolic expression of identity and freedom or that which separates neighbors? 

"They use the flag to control us
Brainwash us to be their patrotic slaves
Programs our minds by controlling what we learn"
Red, White and Brainwashed: Anti-flag