What are your bug-bears? I have one - why, if you are proud to be English, must you be racist or xenophobic?

Question

Please can I have a moan on your time and let off some steam?

Have you noticed something: You can be proud to be Welsh, Scottish or Irish - but not English. We can celebrate St. Patrick, St. David or Burns Night - but not St. George.

I was always taught to be proud of who I am but I am not supposed to be proud of being English, white, female and straight. Yet someone can be proud of being Scottish, black, female and a lesbian. Neither of us would be saying we are better than anyone else, just proud of who we are. Why is that wrong? And you can say that if you are proud of something, it is because it is better than the rest. However, if my daughter gets 5 spellings correct out of 10, I am proud of her - even though most of the others did better than her.

I take people as I find them. Everyone is an individual. I enjoy meeting people of different cultures (of whatever sort). I am proud to be English. Am I abnormal or is the world?

I speak French fluently and always learn hello, please and thank you for any country I go to. I also try to follow local customs (eg dressing appropriately when visiting religious places). I also think it is not wrong to ask questions of people to find out what makes them tick - but apparantly this can also be deemed racist - but why? The best way of beating racism is by finding out about other cultures.

Answer 1

Of course you can have a rant! I hope it helped. I think you are making an interesting point. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

I guess being English, white and straight is not very trendy. But you are right to be proud and to celebrate. I agree. It's great to be English. (Though I am Irish/Italian I live in England and I defend it if anyone runs it down)

England is a beautiful country and a free country. You are doing a good job and your daughter has a great mom.

Answer 2

don't base your feelings on what other people do or say. I'm American and have English/Scottish/Irish heritage. Know a lot of people like to pass judgment on powerful nations like ours but when you think of all that Britain and the US have done and continue to do as far as helping during the most terrible natural disasters around the globe it makes me proud of our people knowing that "individuals" in our countries can make a difference.
We don't need a day to celebrate, having inner serenity is better.
Besides you must have a day that England was founded that is recognized like we do our Independence Day. Just remember how hard your people had to fight to survive World War II and how brave they were during all the bombing. The British are known for keeping a stiff upper lip when the chips are down, so as we say out west here in the ole USA,
"buck up little buckaroo". Or in other words, don't let'em get you down.
And remember what Christopher Robin said to Pooh, "you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think". :)))
Go ahead and be proud, the English are hardy souls with conviction and merit. Take the high road and you can always be proud of yourself too;)

Answer 3

So much truth and it is painful to read.

You are not mad, it is the society which has forced us to carry around this white English guilt that is to blame.

I personally think that it is the white middle-class liberal elite who have to answer for the position that us English are in.

We show pride in our country and they call us bigots.
We criticise other countries/cultures and we are Imperialists.
We don't accept that our laws, culture, way of life, has to change to accommodate migrants then we are racist.

I blame the teachers, the lawyers, the middle-of-the-spectrum politicians, the weak media. But most of all I blame the apathy of the English. I want to stand up for my country but not in conjunction with the BNP, therefore I have nowhere to turn (politically), and the silent majority does not gain a voice.

Answer 4

Because the English (yes, I was born in England and still live here) have this superiority complex which they don't even realise they have. They are patronising to other races and countries (esp. Scotland, Ireland and Wales) and refuse to learn other languages. They believe themselves to be something great, even though there is no evidence to support it. They fully believe they will win the world cup, yet they are hopeless.
You are obviously a nice person. But you have to realise what the problem is!!!!

Answer 5

you arent abnormal not at all i'm white straight and scottish and i think i know where you are coming from the english do generally egt a bum deal alot of people when we have had the drunken sat night scottish/english discussion all boils down to footy hooligism the english are knwon works wide for this where the scottish are knwon for being happy drunks partying even when they lose. I hope this isnt sounding racist as it isnt meant to be my husband is english and so is my grandad on my dads side

Answer 6

It's not racist to be proud of who you are-- even if you are English! The English and Germans get a bad reputation for things like denigrating the black players in soccer. So, you can be proud of who you are, but you dont have to diss others who are of different descent.

Just be you...who cares.

Answer 7

The English do no longer imagine that that is racist to be happy with britain, or Britain. that is in simple terms that we save being instructed that that is racist to imagine in this way. And, of direction, a huge variety of the present authorities who save telling us this are easily Scottish. human beings will be proud to be Welsh or Scottish because those international locations are not any further so inundated with human beings from different international locations as England is. we are instructed we must have a multicultural society yet what this truly potential is that immigrant communities are break free close by English human beings. They stay parallel with us, they communicate their own languages (which fee fortunes to translate) save their own customs and religions (such as multi-marrying muslim adult males) and performance no pick to combine with us. in reality the guidelines of our usa inspire them no longer to. we are no longer allowed to question their existence, etc. because we should be "racist" we are instructed. Why? Why do not the authorities let us know about the upward thrust in crime via present day immigration? That 80% of mastercard cloning and fraud is commited through Bulgarians, that maximum hashish "factories" are run through chinese language and Koreans, that maximum human beings trafficking of females and little ones for prostitution is through adult males from jap Europe? Why is it racist to communicate and condemn this stuff? This authorities has inspired immigration contained in the wish that the immigrant inhabitants will be persuaded to vote for them contained in the subsequent election. and they probable will.

Answer 8

I am an American living in your country.
We all have skeletons of where we come from......

I absolutely love looking at the ancient-ness of this place and I do it without feeling any hate for its history.

All we can do as human beings is believe as we believe, be as good to on another as possible.

I get angry of all the diss'ing that goes on towards Americans. But at the end of the day, I just believe that I have to continue to be who I am and hope that people can be as open towards me as I to them.

Answer 9

Its the world, if it makes you happy then celebrate, your daughter is learning so that is cause to celebrate the English are nothing but inconsistent so that is something to celebrate too!! Too many killjoys around, ignore the lot of them and enjoy!!!

Answer 10

The world is nuts! There there do you feel better now? I know sometimes I just have to rant at these weirdos! Go have a nice cup and gather your self.Wish I could say it will be better but it won't.