The Flag Ninjas

If you are here, it is because you want help organizing your local community to remove the aggressive flags that decorate your lampposts.

We have taken down over 500 flags in our little town and the flaggers seem to have given up because we are now using the niftiest flag-removing device that was invented by a team in Brighton. We took down 75 flags in an hour and a half one night! It’s cheap and easy to make, it uses carpet tape on an extending pole (no ladder required!), and it can reach flags on lampposts up to 10m high - which is about 30ft. You can find all the details here.

De-Flagging Safety Tips

1. De-flagging teams

Work in groups of 3 minimum and stay together. The roles are:

1. 2 to operate the Brighton Strangler
2. 1 to film ANY kind of interaction from (potential) aggressors / suspicious vehicles hanging around. (Video is a very powerful – but not guaranteed – protection from more-than-verbal aggression). Take a back-pack containing carpet tape and to quickly hide and carry flags.

2. Planning

• Make a flag map of where all flags are.
• Consider circulating an online flag reporting mechanism to local residents, to keep track of new ones.
• Plan which flags are targeted for each de-flagging session, and keep to the plan.

3. Timing

Early hours 2am–5am are safest. They attract less attention, therefore less aggression; and enable quick, quiet, efficient work. Avoid nights when there are likely to be intoxicated people on the streets (for example early hours Saturday and Sunday, after Friday and Saturday night).

We do not recommend day-time or evening missions. You will inevitably encounter aggressors, making it risky. Thanks from passing supporters can be encouraging but doesn’t make it worth the hassle or danger.

4. Exit plan / parking

Think about where you park, and have enough vehicles to get everyone home safe.

• Have an exit plan which will work if you get seriously disturbed in the middle of de-flagging.
• For parking, less street lighting and less overlooked by houses is better.
• Consider parking somewhere along the middle of your planned route, for easier access at any point.
• Pre-plan who will get into which vehicle.

5. Reporting

• Set up a WhatsApp chat for the operation to keep in touch as a group; and for everyone to report when home safe.
• Share / document video of disturbances internally so that everyone becomes familiar with repeat aggressors.
• Report any more than minor aggression to the police (with video evidence). Police prefer the report to come from the direct victim if possible.

6. Never carry anything that could be considered to be a weapon

7. Don’t engage in conversation with angry residents or flaggers

• This is the difficult bit, but we really recommend that if you are approached by any aggressive or abusive people that you completely ignore them and DO NOT engage with them. You are more likely to get into trouble if you answer back. Remember that this isn’t the opportunity to change their opinions.