UK/GB/England Day

[Skashion]

Ok, that's enough common sense - I'll let the foaming little Englanders reclaim the thread now.

Isn't it funny how the people who seem to love this country the most fucked off and left it? You have JULES, SmudgedJ, Nimrod, who love this country so much they couldn't wait to get away.

 

[Damocles]

[bigimg]http://i.imgur.com/FP9QC.png[/bigimg]

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

Ok, that's enough common sense - I'll let the foaming little Englanders reclaim the thread now.

Isn't it funny how the people who seem to love this country the most fucked off and left it? You have JULES, SmudgedJ, Nimrod, who love this country so much they couldn't wait to get away.

Doesn't that sort of not make them Little Englanders though? I have met little Englanders and going to Wales is abroad to them

 

[BlueHammer85]

Yes i think it should be celebrated... we should all get drunk and attack the latest wave of immigrants coming here and taking are jobs, we should kick there faces in. ENGERLAND TILL I DIE !

 

[Skashion]

I notice that I've been becoming much more patriotic towards England and the UK over the last couple of years. It's a strange thing really because politically I'm on the left of Marx, but my mothers side is a highly decorated military family with medals ranging up to the MBE and the GC and military lineage stretching back a few hundred years. Maybe all of that indoctrination is finally paying off, I used to be quite opposed to the idea of patriotism but I've reclassified it in my brain I suppose.

I now see my own brand of patriotism as a pretty harmless and somewhat enjoyable celebration of the history of England and of UK rather than some insidious "gateway drug" to nationalism. I've travelled pretty extensively and see no harm in celebrating the achievements of our country in the same manner as many others do.

I don't think the UK is the greatest country in the world and I actually don't think that such a judgement could be made of any country. I do however think that it's a nice place to live. It's a comparatively liberal country where violent crime has consistently fell for decades. We're tolerant and polite as a people, we have national healthcare and benefits available to those who need them. We have an almost unmatched cultural heritage in literature, in music and the arts. We have pushed humanity forward through our innovation and invention and have an excellent scientific history and culture. I personally feel that some parts of our country are beautiful and due to our climate, we have very few dangerous animals or insects. There are sites of historical interest and significance almost everywhere you look.

My point here is that as a country we do have positive points and I don't feel it arrogant or uncouth to point these out every now and again, so we can just take a step back for a day and think about the nice things that we can enjoy in our country and the positive things that we have achieved historically for such a tiny island plonked in the North Atlantic.

I don't follow Christianity so when Easter rolls around I just ignore it and let those who want to celebrate it do so. Same with Yom Kippur and Ramadan. Or non-religious celebrations like Pride Week. We have this tolerance towards the freedom for people to be able to celebrate whatever they want yet in a post-fascist Europe, doing so for one's country is looked at with a mite of distrust. I understand why this is, I just think that there is room for a sensible celebration of the achievements of our own ancestors.

We unite as City fans once or twice a week; a uniting of people who follow a sports club from Manchester and some of whom feel that it represents them or their community. We do the same for the England national team or Team GB at the Olympics. I'm not sure why one day a year outside of St George's Day, a holiday used to commemorate only the English Patron Saint, we cannot have a day where we remember the achievements of the entire UK as a whole.

We can remember the achievements of the UK without being shackled or guided by them

I too admire a lot about British history and especially cultural and technological achievement. This nation has punched far above its weight in the world in both. I also think it's a pretty good place to live when it comes down to it. If I left I would miss a hell of a lot about it. However, I don't see that as patriotism really. I don't have an inbuilt bias which is making me proud of the achievements but shy away from the wrongdoing. Objectively there is much to admire and much to condemn. That you admire the admirable does not make you patriotic. Well, it doesn't make me patriotic anyway.<br /><br />-- Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:13 pm --<br /><br />

Doesn't that sort of not make them Little Englanders though? I have met little Englanders and going to Wales is abroad to them

Indeed, they're not Little Englanders. They're ex-pat tits.

 

[nijinsky's fetlocks]

Ok, that's enough common sense - I'll let the foaming little Englanders reclaim the thread now.

Isn't it funny how the people who seem to love this country the most fucked off and left it? You have JULES, SmudgedJ, Nimrod, who love this country so much they couldn't wait to get away.

I did point out the humorous irony that the patriotism of certain folk does seem to increase exponentially the further they move away from their motherland earlier, but it was an observation that didn't go down very well with the Bluemoon
migrants, nor did my highlighting the fact that many of them are also anti-immigration.
They tend to get defensive and upset when faced with their own hypocrisy, so I won't mention it again, because I hate upsetting people.

 

[pominoz]

Ok, that's enough common sense - I'll let the foaming little Englanders reclaim the thread now.

Isn't it funny how the people who seem to love this country the most fucked off and left it? You have JULES, SmudgedJ, Nimrod, who love this country so much they couldn't wait to get away.

I did point out the humorous irony that the patriotism of certain folk does seem to increase exponentially the further they move away from their motherland earlier, but it was an observation that didn't go down very well with the Bluemoon
migrants, nor did my highlighting the fact that many of them are also anti-immigration.
They tend to get defensive and upset when faced with their own hypocrisy, so I won't mention it again, because I hate upsetting people.

So glad i did not make it onto that list. As for you not upsetting people, you crack me up :)

 

[pee dubya]

Why don't we just have a World day? Everyone gets drunk (or acceptable local equivalent).

 

[Damocles]

I too admire a lot about British history and especially cultural and technological achievement. This nation has punched far above its weight in the world in both. I also think it's a pretty good place to live when it comes down to it. If I left I would miss a hell of a lot about it. However, I don't see that as patriotism really. I don't have an inbuilt bias which is making me proud of the achievements but shy away from the wrongdoing. Objectively there is much to admire and much to condemn. That you admire the admirable does not make you patriotic. Well, it doesn't make me patriotic anyway.

I sort of agree. Whilst I enjoy the culture and heritage of China, having a Chinese strain in my family, it isn't "mine" so to speak so don't feel as attached to it.

It's a bit like whereas I might admire the football of Barcelona, I would feel more pride towards it if it was played by City, a team of my own community so to speak.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't celebrate anything, I just take the day off, get paid and do what takes me fancy, normally fuck all wherever possible!

By doing that, you sir are celebrating in the most quintessentially English manner. This is what we should all do.