Are you English?

Question

If you live in England and you are white and of Northern European extraction i bet you think you are! If you had your Genes analysed most of you would find out you were actually made up of Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Southern European, Native Indian etc due to population movements over the last thousand years. This has been proved using a sample of English people.

Once you accept this the whole concept of Englishness is thrown on its head! As it racial tension!

The point is the argument that England is losing its identity when hardly any of us are 100 % english anyway. therefore we have no right to slate so called foreigners for coming here (as long as they contribute to our economy of course!)

akar - so why answer?

Paddy B - Im not ranting mate i was just wondering what people think. sorry if that offends, at least im contributing with some intelligent thoughts. Sorry for breathing!

Im no left wing tree hugger thanks!

Some interesting points of view. I suppose whats relevant is the last few hundred years.

I dont really want a high proportion of 'foreignors' in England but i say live and let live. However English people should have more rights than immigrants absolutely and the limits on the numbers of immigrants should be more rigid and set to a more acceptable leval. We should have a points system like Australia do perhaps.

Answer 1

So...Bedhead...what is your question?

Answer 2

I'm not English. I'm Irish. May not be relevant to your question but anyway!.. There was a study done in one of the universities in Dublin about DNA analysis to see if the Irish are decendants of the Celts as Ireland is known as a Celtic country. Alot of Irish are not according to the DNA scientific proof. Along the West coasts of Europe, like Ireland, parts of France and Portugal, the genetics are very similar. The native Irish have been native to this country for at least 6000 years, but since the Celts, Vikings and the British, alot of people here now are decended from them. Cool stuff. At the end of the day, we are all human no matter what colour, creed or what ever beliefs we have. It's what's inside that counts!

Answer 3

I understand your point, but you are forgetting the natural divides that happen when the land shifts about. Britain was once linked to France, but became naturally divided. The people stuck on the island bred with each other over and over, they 'became' British. The Irish became Irish, the cuban's cuban etc. etc. Of course they still have other genetic elements in them, our DNA code is only 1% different than that of an ape. I guess if your family have existed on a small island for long enough, you feel that it is your 'home'.

I do not agree with racism on any level, but I do appreciate that we are only 1% different from apes and that we are animals, as such, the instinct to own a territory that we belong to and feel safe in is, I am afraid, natural. The natural desire to guard our borders from anyone that is not in our 'tribe', that being the people who found the territory or took the territory in the first place, is, as I said, natural. Nothing wrong with meeting others at borders to exchange stuff, but it is natural to feel threatened if the border is not adhered to on sll sides.

What you want is a civilized human race, so do most people, we are just not ready for it, we are not advanced enough yet. All it would take for humans to revert back to survival tactics is hardship, that aint so far off either. The human race is due to go backwards, not forwards I am afraid.

Answer 4

Your confusing migration of recent history to long term migration that happened thousands of years ago.

You have to go back THOUSANDS of years to justify your point.

I'm English, with heritage originating in Wales, and further back some (on one side) from France.

You point is essentially baseless, it is not a clash of Genes that has caused the problems, it is a clash of cultures....those immigrants who do not accept this countries culture and traditions are the cause of the problem, that combined with differing moral sets and attitudes.

The two minorities who have caused us problems are immigrants from the sub-asian and african continent (+carribean). ie. Black and Asians. If none of them had come here this country would be a lot more peaceful and unified place.

All you left-wingers PC tree-hugger wont agree with that, but it's the basic truth and everyone knows it. Solution to our problem. Forced repatriation.

Answer 5

My family can be traced back over a 1000 years. Our coat of arms was the inspiration for the Prince Of Wales coat of arms and yet before that 1000 years we came from mainland Europe. If you go back far enough then we are all Africans. I suppose I feel English, but looking at the state of the place and it's effect on the world, I don't like to advertise it.

Answer 6

I think you'll find that with a lot of coutries but I am English, I was born here, my parents are both English, their parents are English, their parents are English. Sure if you go back a few hundred years you will find that you come from all over the place but as I said that goes for most places.

Americans for instance, how many are true Americans. It's the native American/Indian who are the true Americans, everyone else has moved over to there.

Answer 7

Her Majesty Elizabeth II is of the Germanic family Sax-Coburg-Mountbatten-Goltha. Doesn't sound Middle Eastern or Slavic or Italian to me. The House of Windsor Native Indian extraction? Write a letter to Buckingham Palace telling the Queen she isn't really "English" and see what happens! I dare you.

Answer 8

my family are all english and weve done family history for my mums side and we can go back hundreds of years and they are all still english. I dont know that far back for my dads side of the family but at least the last few generations have all been english. I dont know where im from originally but it would be so long ago that it hardly counts. If you went back that far for everyone you would probably find most people werent actually from wherever they thought.

Answer 9

I know my dads side of the family originates from Denmark. I was born in England so class myself as English but if I wanted to get technical, I would look up my family tree.

Answer 10

I'm English and have never had a problem with anyone from another country living here, who am I to judge, my grandparents on my moms side were Italian, on my fathers side they were Scottish and Irish, my great-great grandparents on my fathers side were French, I'm only English because I was born here, my blood line is another matter.

Answer 11

our ancient roots, i agree, come from all over the place.

In more recent history our culture and actions defined us as English. Nothing remains constant and our way of doing things has changed, as has most the World.
The fact that traditional English values have modified and adapted to incorporate non traditional English cultures is something to admire not to be afraid of. Cripes we're not the only country to do so!

After all, we are all human ;)

(except George Bush and Michael Jackson)