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Anyone else here doesn't feel 'British'.

Okay I'll start off with saying, I'm born in London and I'm grateful, I've met so many different people from different backgrounds and it's a pleasure to live here, honestly very diverse, I don't think I'd get to meet as many people from anywhere else expect for here. Second of the UK is a great country to live in, good education, health care, people, etc. But I don't feel truly British, i tried to get into British stuff when I was younger, but I didn't truly get into it, now I'm growing up I'm starting to connect with my background more and more, the culture, music etc, though I have very different views to people from my country, and I prefer it britain, i don't feel British, I face myself asking, if there was ever another thing like World War 3, would I fight for Britain, I'm starting to disconnect with Britain tiny tiny bits day by day, anyone else feel like this or is just me?

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i'm somali and have lived in London since i was 3 (almost 20 now) and yeah i get what you mean about not feeling British. i feel more connected to my culture than the british one but that might be because i'm also a muslim but idk
Original post by Secretnerd123
i'm somali and have lived in London since i was 3 (almost 20 now) and yeah i get what you mean about not feeling British. i feel more connected to my culture than the british one but that might be because i'm also a muslim but idk


D you think you might feel more at home in Somalia, perhaps? Enjoying the educational, economic and cultural advantages it has to offer?
Reply 3
I wasn't born in this country but I do feel British. This country has provided me with so much, and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunities I have here. This country has forged great literature, films and music that I love. Hell, I've even grown to enjoy the cuisine. Furthermore I feel that my values roughly match those of British values. I'm proud to be a citizen of this country, and although I might never quite fully understand some things about this country I consider myself British.
Was born here, raised here and don't feel British in the slightest.

The first thing I did when I turned 18 was send my British passport back and got an Irish one instead.
Reply 5
What does it even mean to feel British or follow British values?

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Original post by orlrighty
D you think you might feel more at home in Somalia, perhaps? Enjoying the educational, economic and cultural advantages it has to offer?


Lol
Original post by Tpx
Posts like yours probably do make her feel that a bit


Don't be fatuous. It's a reasonable and logical question posed courteously. So keep your snide insinuations to yourself.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by mojojojo101
Was born here, raised here and don't feel British in the slightest.

The first thing I did when I turned 18 was send my British passport back and got an Irish one instead.


In which country do you live now?
Born and bred in England to Irish parents lived there till I was 14. Suffered all sorts of abuse when I was at school because of my Irish background, or at least that was used as a stick to beat me with by my bullies, Irish ****/IRA bastard/filthy mick/**** off back to Ireland pikey scum etc. I was getting that till they day I left pretty much.

Then I moved to Northern Ireland where my parents are from, and although the bullying stopped (which was nice) I was definitely seen as 'Englishman' and a 'Brit' people making jokes and comments about British rule in Ireland and how the English treated Irish people and how people like me where responsible for the famine and bloody sunday etc, a few p*ss off back to England comments blah blah but in all not so bad.

Basically I'm an English bastard in Ireland and an Irish bastard in England, pretty much till the day I die. I feel as though I have absolutely no nationality and therefore no sense loyalty to any particularly nation, understandably I think. I'm too British to be Irish (with my English accent) and too Irish to be British.

I try not to draw on what my nationality is too much because I know I'm never going to really have one, I recognise I'm a foreigner wherever I go essentially. Even filling out a form applying for courses is difficult because I don't know whether to state Irish or British most of the time, since I have no desire to be any of those said nationalities.

I don't cheer on Ireland or England in any sports either.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by orlrighty
In which country do you live now?


I still live here. I like where I live. I just don't describe my self British or believe I owe an unbreakable alliance to the British State or Crown.
Original post by mojojojo101
I still live here. I like where I live. I just don't describe my self British or believe I owe an unbreakable alliance to the British State or Crown.


But you feel a greater loyalty to the Irish state?
I was born in Paris, my family are French. So me, I suppose.
Original post by Pulse.
What does it even mean to feel British or follow British values?

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According to the government, 'democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs'.

Although David Starkey has a more entertaining definition, 'queuing, drunkenness, nostalgia, loving pets, self-loathing, wit and eccentricity'. Personally I'd add understatement, love of moaning and politeness to the list.
Reply 14
Original post by Swanbow
According to the government, 'democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs'.
This is a very bad definition because its totally generic and applies to basically every Western country. And yet feeling British is obviously not like feeling German.

Trying to define what it means to "feel" like you belong to a country is fairly pointless, since its totally ineffable (despite being very important). Its basically a sense of comfort you have when you feel you are "where you belong" and that the people around you are "like you" in some sense.

The basic problem with talk about "feeling British" is that there isnt really a strong British "feeling" - note that people in Scotland and Northern Ireland often dont feel at home in England, there are quite important differences. But England doesnt have a strong national identity of its own, so it has to cling to this "British" thing. Noone would say they "feel English, not British", but a lot of people would say they "feel Scottish/Irish, not British".

Also London is becoming a separate entity entirely - I think a lot of people there actually feel like Londoners first, and British second (particularly if they come from an immigrant background).
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by orlrighty
But you feel a greater loyalty to the Irish state?


I feel less antagonistic towards the Irish State, but not loyalty.

Changing my citizenship was also much easier than what I wanted to do (make myself stateless) as I was informed it would be a difficult and long process after which the British government would just ignore it anyway.
Original post by Swanbow
According to the government, 'democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs'.

Although David Starkey has a more entertaining definition, 'queuing, drunkenness, nostalgia, loving pets, self-loathing, wit and eccentricity'. Personally I'd add understatement, love of moaning and politeness to the list.


I'd say both those definitions are good for having a go at defining britishness - one of them is a good political definition, and the other is a good societal definition. sure, you could say other western nations share our political values, but oh well.
Original post by poohat
This is a very bad definition because its totally generic and applies to basically every Western country. And yet feeling British is obviously not like feeling German.

Trying to define what it means to "feel" like you belong to a country is fairly pointless, since its totally ineffable (despite being very important). Its basically a sense of comfort you have when you feel you are "where you belong" and that the people around you are "like you" in some sense.

The basic problem with talk about "feeling British" is that there isnt really a strong British "feeling" - note that people in Scotland and Northern Ireland often dont feel at home in England, there are quite important differences. But England doesnt have a strong national identity of its own, so it has to cling to this "British" thing. Noone would say they "feel English, not British", but a lot of people would say they "feel Scottish/Irish, not British".


I'd call it very generic and bland, but not necessarily 'bad'. Those things are all values held by the United Kingdom, but like you said it can easily apply to Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland ect.

I agree on your second point though. It is quite hard to describe what it is to belong to a national identity, especially as someone within it. However it is important to try answer it, to think about it and have discussions or else you are at risk of simply letting identity fade away.

British identity in Northern Ireland and Scotland has traditionally been linked with loyalism, although that is decreasing as sectarianism is becoming less relevant. Although a Scot might not feel at home in England, you'll be hard pressed to get them to say that it feels foreign. We are different, but there is an equal degree of similarity or sameness across the UK. It is just that Scotland has such a strong national identity that for a lot of people it takes precedence over a British identity. But I have to disagree on your last point, a lot of people say they are English, not British. In fact during a 'British Social Attitudes' survey in 2012 when English people were asked whether to define themselves as British or English, only 43% chose British. Anecdotally out of my friends a lot of them don't feel British, preferring to identify as English. I think England has a strong national identity, and many strong regional identities within it, however the concept of English identity has just become generified as British. And because of that sometimes English culture unfairly dominates our perception of British culture, especially internationally. But on the topic I feel that English identity is stronger amongst the working classes, whereas the middle classes prefer the British identity.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 18
My parents were born in Somalia, I was born elsewhere in Europe, moved to England when I was 10 and to be honest I really don't feel connected any of the 3 countries. None feel like "home" or somewhere I belong which can be difficult to swallow sometimes.

I guess on the flip side it makes moving around much easier since I'll always be "the foreigner".

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I have lived in Scotland my whole life it doesn't feel like home and I don't feel any sense of belonging. I nether feel "Scottish" nor "Brittish".

I don't think I'll ever feel any sense of belonging anywhere, since Scotland is my roots but I don't feel any pride or belonging in it, and I'm likely to feel even less belonging anywhere else I go because anywhere else I go I'll be a foreigner. We get all this "national heritage" and pride shoved down our throats but what does it even mean? What am I supposed to feel proud of? Maybe it's because many of the things we're supposed to be proud of I honestly don't like, can't get access to or believe to be a complete myth.

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