Eastside and Proud
Being proud of where you live is an admirable trait, all told. Not in the sort of nationalistic ferver that is whipped up during global sporting tournaments, but proud in the way that you care what happens to your environment and the people that live there.
Even if the “Kingstanding [etc] and Proud” signs spotted around the city do veer a little to close to factionalism, they’re well intended. But as kpmarek says over on Flickr, don’t you think these signs give off a little bit of a mixed message?
I hate the way the police give up in some areas, signs like “if you leave anything on show, expect it to go” in car parks may as well say “we can’t be bothered. criminals, do what you like”. To mix up one of these white flags of crime with an “Eastside and Proud” message, isn’t it saying, just a bit:
“We’re the boys from Eastside, we’ll nick your stuff.”
A bit further down the road on Floodgate Street we have ‘Digbeth and proud’, which tells us to ‘Remove all valuables from your car’. Okay then.