My view on your opening ceremony

I'm Welsh, haven't got any connections to England whatsoever. I've never even been to London in all my life, and I'm 21! So I don't look at myself as 'British'. I recently read a quote by a top MP which he stated that 'British' is a way of extending English culture over England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - which I do agree with. But bare with me now!

I didn't have high expectations at all for the opening ceremony, most of people I know also felt the same, "oh England will make a fool of themselves cause they think they're 'special' when they're not." Anyway, that aside, when I watched it, I was STUNNED at how fantastic and epic the ceremony was.

I didn't expect people with different skin colors would be used. What I've been taught all my life is that the English are very stubborn and don't accept other cultures into their society. Heck, here's a fun fact for you to know while I'm at it, your English government banned the Welsh language from being spoken anywhere in Wales around a century ago. It was the Welsh Not period. Children would be punished if they said a word of Welsh in schools, and would have to wear a plank of wood around their neck with the words Welsh Not engraved into it. It was also banned from being spoken at homes, and this lasted many years. I still wonder everyday now and then how on earth am I still speaking the language on a daily basis.

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I just couldn't believe the fact that one of your themes was multiculturalism, that alone as changed the way I feel about England a lot. The industrial age history lesson sent shivers down my back, the soundtrack was top class, your Bond and Queen parachute scene was hilarious, and the the Mr Bean bit was genius for me. For the first time in my life, I would be happy to call myself a British person. And also for the first time, I can feel patriotism watching the games.

If my great great grandparents were alive today, they would never believe they're eyes watching the ceremony just down to the fact that it was multiculturalism. And I do understand why some of you are p****d off because the claim of multiculturalism was planned in order to boost the economy or something like that (sorry if I'm wrong, I don't understand politics that well). But anyway, that alone is what makes Britain special today in my opinion, is that we accept other cultures and do not feel threatened by them. Heck, I'm sure in a few decades the world will unite as one and will have one culture, and that's what will stop wars and reduce the differences between us all.

Sorry if this thread didn't have any structure or anything!

(edited 11 years ago)

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Reply 1

Stevo112

No offence mate, but you must be living on a very isolated welsh mountain top if it took an olympic opening ceremony to make you believe that England was actually a tolerant place!

Reply 2

Muscovite

Like it or not - Wales is not an independent country nor culture and almost certainly never will be. British culture is welsh culture - the Welsh have always been jealous of England but they shouldn't be as we have a shared heritage

Reply 3

Phantom Lord

Genuinely one of those threads where I can't tell if you're trolling or not.

Reply 4

Gilgamesh

Trolling or not, I'm glad at least because you actually liked it.

Reply 5

kunoichi

Original post by Muscovite

Not really :/

Reply 6

CJCymru

Not really mate, I actually live half an hour from Liverpool to be perfectly honest with you. I didn't say anything about tolerance, all I said was that I couldn't believe that Britain decided to celebrate multiculturalism. I know it's only an opening ceremony for the Olympics, but the ceremony is used to show the world how Britain prides itself with a billion people watching.

Reply 7

L i b

Original post by CJCymru

I'm Welsh, haven't got any connections to England whatsoever. I've never even been to London in all my life, and I'm 21! So I don't look at myself as 'British'.

Utter idiocy. Most people in the world probably haven't visited their national capital. That said, in the modern era, for you to be so poorly traveled is pretty shocking.

I recently read a quote by a top MP which he stated that 'British' is a way of extending English culture over England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - which I do agree with.

No you didn't.

Heck, here's a fun fact for you to know while I'm at it, your English government banned the Welsh language from being spoken anywhere in Wales around a century ago.

There's no such thing as the 'English government' and that is also a blatant lie.

It was also banned from being spoken at homes, and this lasted many years. I still wonder everyday now and then how on earth am I still speaking the language on a daily basis.

Perhaps because you're peddling utter nonsense?

Reply 8

CJCymru

Original post by Muscovite

that is rich mate, Welsh is one of the oldest languages still being spoken in the world. Welsh, Scotts and Irish descended from the Celts. The Celts first roamed in the land of what we call Britain today, then the Roman Empire came and claimed the land. Get your facts right, I can talk about this subject all night long.

Reply 9

Stevo112

Original post by CJCymru

and we celebrate multiculturalism because we are actually very tolerant these days :rolleyes:

Or are you truly a century behind the rest of the world (hence the mountain-top analogy)? If so you are forbidden to speak welsh and must wear a plank of wood around your neck by order of the queen of england. :rolleyes:

Reply 10

CJCymru

Original post by L i b

Utter idiocy. Most people in the world probably haven't visited their national capital. That said, in the modern era, for you to be so poorly traveled is pretty shocking.

No you didn't.

There's no such thing as the 'English government' and that is also a blatant lie.

Perhaps because you're peddling utter nonsense?

"Utter idiocy. Most people in the world probably haven't visited their national capital. That said, in the modern era, for you to be so poorly traveled is pretty shocking. "

Mate, I've been to Paris, Barcelona, Florida, California and Patagonia in Southern Patagonia because I had a reason to visit each one of them. I was meant to go to London a few years ago with my family, but I stayed home because of a job interview.

"No you didn't."

Yes I did, looking for the article for your now.

"There's no such thing as the 'English government' and that is also a blatant lie."

Sorry to break it to you, that's what the majority of people in Wales, Scotland and Ireland call the British government.

"Perhaps because you're peddling utter nonsense?"

Wikipedia article on the Welsh Not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Not

BBC article on it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/language_education.shtml

Now please be quiet unless you have anything more accurate or polite to say

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 11

Muscovite

Original post by CJCymru

yes you're right - but that only reinforces my point - you have a centuries old heritage but you're under the British government. What I'm saying is that whilst you should be jealous by rights of England; being as though English is the world language; and how when people think of Britain the first thing they think of is London and english accents; there isn't any reason to be as the UK is a unifying force :smile:

Also; your thread starter talked of an 'english government' - there is no such thing

Reply 12

Redolent

The way the OP was written you would think he's from the depths of the Cambodian rainforest or something.

You come from Wales. I know it's nice to have a national identity and all that, but Wales is basically the same as England culturally AND demographically. That is why they are able to integrate so smoothly as parts of the United Kingdom. The Welsh are not oppressed by the English, nor have they been at any time in our lifetimes or many years before.

Reply 13

Stevo112

Original post by CJCymru

I can't believe you linked us to the "welsh not" wiki page... Things like (among other things);

The reports also clearly show that the vast majority of education in Welsh Wales was still conducted in Welsh.

the Welsh "not" was used only in a minority of schools

There is no evidence that the secondary schools, in which instruction was almost universally in English, made use of the "not"

doesn't that sort of dilute your argument?

Reply 14

L i b

Original post by CJCymru

"There's no such thing as the 'English government' and that is also a blatant lie."

Sorry to break it to you, that's what the majority of people in Wales, Scotland and Ireland call the British government.

No they don't. I've lived in Scotland almost my entire life and never heard anyone call the British Government that - quite frankly, I'd think them an utter idiot if they did.

"Perhaps because you're peddling utter nonsense?"

Wikipedia article on the Welsh Not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Not

BBC article on it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/language_education.shtml

Now please be quiet unless you have anything more accurate or polite to say

Indeed, which completely contradicts what you said and what I objected to. You're a peculiar fellow, forming an argument around quoting sources which completely verify my claims.

The UK Government never at any time 'banned' the Welsh language. Any discouragement of it being spoken in Welsh schools was as a result of the policies of local school boards, headteachers and so forth. Sitting around blaming the English for everything is the very worst sort of petty racism that you can find in these Isles.

In recent times, the UK Government has in fact poured considerable amounts of money into the preservation of the Welsh language.

Reply 15

Jon of the North

I feel it is only a matter of time before the OP is made to feel sheepish.

Reply 16

Redolent

Original post by Stevo112

doesn't that sort of dilute your argument?

Not to mention the whole "mid 19th century" aspect. I don't think echoes of a tiny minority of schools' policies in the 1850s particularly shape the social landscape of modern Britain.

Pleased to see such kind words about the opening ceremony by the way OP, I enjoyed it too, but it's not just "English". In fact they put in quite a lot of effort to ensure people from all parts of the UK were included in it.

Reply 17

willbee

Wow, see I study in Wales, and you make it sound like a backward country where people don't know anything about the outside world. I assume you think the French wear berets all the time too? I think the OP is offensive to Welsh people, most of whom are not so bloody ignorant.

Did you know about Scotland wanting to become separate? Or are you seriously that clueless about your country? (And internationally, the UK is the country and NI, Scotland and England and Wales are considered more like states.) Trust me, I keep ticking them as countries and losing the game on sporcle. :frown:

Reply 18

Mockery

Wales is that British, it angers me that their flag isn't represented in the Union Jack.

Reply 19

CJCymru

Original post by Redolent

I seriously recommend you learning your own history before writing a daft comment like that. Why on earth do you think there are so many castles in Wales?? They were built because the English had been struggling for centuries to claim the land and control the people of Wales. I was taught this in bloody school.