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Reply 20
Original post by Swanbow
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.


Whoa whoa whoa. We got northerners here too, get rid of politeness and we got a winner:tongue:

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I don't know what it means to be or feel british. I do really like this country though, so there's that. I do feel british but I'm not sure why I consider myself so.
Does anyone really feel "British". People probably feel English/Scottish etc before they feel British.
Original post by Adipoptosis
I was born in Paris, my family are French. So me, I suppose.


same :biggrin:
I would never identify as being a Brit. I am English. Britain = England and Wales, GB = England, Wales and Scotland, I'm not from Wales or Scotland and have only been to Wales once, to a holiday park. So I would say I'm English and would never identify as British.

I mean, when people on the TV do 'British' impressions, and they talk about drinking tea and whatever, they're actually just speaking about the English....
Haven't been allowed to feel British so no. If you're not white you won't ever be classed as British. Funny enough I don't think this is a problem in America.

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Original post by Powpowpowpowpow
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.


Are you a non-white living in Scotland? You must be a rare breed.

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Reply 27
Original post by beyknowles
I would never identify as being a Brit. I am English. Britain = England and Wales, GB = England, Wales and Scotland, I'm not from Wales or Scotland and have only been to Wales once, to a holiday park. So I would say I'm English and would never identify as British.

I mean, when people on the TV do 'British' impressions, and they talk about drinking tea and whatever, they're actually just speaking about the English....


Only the southern English really

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What does 'feeling' British mean?

Surely being British and a part of this great union means embracing the values of liberal-democracy, enjoying the privileges offered by the institutions, adhering to the responsibilities such privilege brings, upholding the laws of the land, charitably giving back to general-society to show appreciation no matter how small or in what way, and being able to feel comfortable enough to call this land your home and be proud of it (even with all it's faults) whichever cultural identity one identifies with.

If you can't do that, you aren't really British. Just another economic migrant and malcontent looking to benefit off the back of others and the system.
Original post by uberteknik
What does 'feeling' British mean?

Surely being British and a part of this great union means embracing the values of liberal-democracy, enjoying the privileges offered by the institutions, adhering to the responsibilities such privilege brings, upholding the laws of the land, charitably giving back to general-society to show appreciation no matter how small or in what way, and being able to feel comfortable enough to call this land your home and be proud of it (even with all it's faults) whichever cultural identity one identifies with.

If you can't do that, you aren't really British. Just another economic migrant and malcontent looking to benefit off the back of others and the system.


Lets be honest here British culture is drink at the pub and getting into a fist fight then doing a few lines before going to get a kebab. Stop making it sound like the garden of Eden lol. What you wrote is like a sales pitch to dragons den for a product.

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Have never understood British people's fascination with the need to "feel British." Having been born here and lived here my whole life I too am "British" and very loyal to this country, but sincerely wish we lived in a world where far less importance was attached to identifying by a patch of land.
Reply 31
Original post by BeachClub
Have never understood British people's fascination with the need to "feel British." Having been born here and lived here my whole life I too am "British" and very loyal to this country, but sincerely wish we lived in a world where far less importance was attached to identifying by a patch of land.


I was born and raised in Grimsby, that's about as English as it gets, but I don't assign myself to any patch of land

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Original post by Rugar Rell
Lets be honest here British culture is drink at the pub and getting into a fist fight then doing a few lines before going to get a kebab. Stop making it sound like the garden of Eden lol. What you wrote is like a sales pitch to dragons den for a product.

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Let's be honest here, you pick on the glass half-empty pessimistic side of life which is rather sad.

Why should I not be proud? I could say British is the best language, literature, science, arts and music on this planet, a rich historical tapestry with a legacy that stretches across the planet, jam, cream and scones in a country tea-room, picnics in the summer, Ascot, the Grand National, Wimbledon, Rugby, Henley Regatta, Glyndebourne, Sunday roast at home with the family, Bonfire Night, Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, Greenwich Meridian, Parliament, Magna Carter, Museums, NHS, the only unarmed police of all the major economies in the world along with Norway and Iceland, perhaps the most respected armed forces in the world.....that is only the start.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by uberteknik
Let's be honest here, you pick on the glass half-empty pessimistic side of life which is rather sad.

Why should I not be proud? I could say British is the best language, literature, science, arts and music on this planet, a rich historical tapestry with a legacy that stretches across the planet, jam, cream and scones in a country tea-room, picnics in the summer, Ascot, the Grand National, Wimbledon, Rugby, Henley Regatta, Glyndebourne, Sunday roast at home with the family, Bonfire Night, Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, Greenwich Meridian, Parliament, Magna Carter, NHS, the only unarmed police of all the major economies in the world along with Norway and Iceland, perhaps the most respected armed forces in the world.....that is only the start.


why should you be proud? you didn't do anything
Original post by og.east
why should you be proud? you didn't do anything
I don't need to ask for yours or anyone else's permission to be proud. The fact that I have a choice is enough reason.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by D.n.A
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?


I know the feeling. I was born in Luton. My parents are English. I live near Cambridge, and I go to university in Plymouth. I know I shouldn't hate the UK.

But I've always had an affinity for the US. I stopped supporting England in the soccer, and in the world cup, supported Suarez' goal, did the whole "hand on heart" stuff when the US anthem came on. I willed the USMNT on and on... they have something in their sports teams that England doesn't...and it's called heart.

Britain's a nice place and this exchange year to ISU has helped me gain a new found appreciation of the things I just took for granted, like the NHS. But I don't feel 'British'. I kind of want to emigrate to the US when I'm older, to be honest...I love the United States too much. I love Denver and Salt Lake City too much. I love the American west too much...but alas, I have to return to the UK when all is said and done, to get my degree from Plymouth...and go through the legal channels. The thought of leaving in June makes me feel very sad.

However, even before my exchange year, my friends, probably only half in jest, called me like, "an American born in the wrong country" :') :') Which is true...I basically didn't come across any culture shock...it was as if I have returned home...it just...feels...right....My American friends are a little shocked, since I tear apart every stereotype they have of British people. I've never had a crumpet, I don't drink tea (coffee, for me), am a committed republican, I like (American) football...etc etc,...
Original post by uberteknik
I don't need to ask for yours or anyone else's permission to be proud. The fact that I have a choice is enough reason.


...but you didn't do anything
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?


yes, in fact i'd like to move there someday, somalia is becoming better and better. the media makes it look WAY worse than it actually is believe me
Original post by og.east
...but you didn't do anything
That's a rather big assumption for someone you know absolutely nothing whatsoever about.
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.

Bear in mind that not many of those countries developed those ideas independently.

Arguably the Netherlands, Switzerland, and perhaps the Nordic countries did.

France developed something similar but more nationalist and militarist; it also never really settled down.

Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, etc. adopted these values after the application of force.

Eastern Europe, Taiwan, etc. joined the winning side after the Cold War, again not native values.

US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand are all British-root countries.

Now sure there's an 'attitude to life' that is still different in Germany or Spain but this is much less of a difference from the UK than going to a theocratic country like Egypt or an explicitly ethno-nationalist country like the PRC. Britain is in the awkward position of having shaped the world so much to its own wishes that it is no longer as distinct as it used to be, while not itself remaining the most powerful country. It's become a follower that is following an image of itself projected onto someone else. The sense of distinct own identity in the face of its near-universal imitation probably only still exists in the US.
(edited 9 years ago)

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