"The British Isles" - wikipedia

thetourist · 01-05-2006 2:33pm #1

Please partake in an online survey of feelings about the term "The British Isles" for wikipedia. Information on the term/area etc can be found by searching on wikipedia. There has been some debate on that page reguarding just what percentage of irish people have a dificulty with the term and we are trying to do a survey about it - please make your vote and try to get as many others to vote tool; the more votes the better the result.

Edit: Naturally this survey will only mean something if everyone who takes part is from the republic of ireland or has some relationship to it .... thank you for your comments. .... and please dont let the argument spoil your day

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 01-05-2006 2:35pm

*puts a curse on thetourist*

Banphrionsa · 01-05-2006 2:40pm

The colonial mentality is hard to shake after 700 years.

Blisterman · 01-05-2006 2:40pm

Who cares if it's called the British Isles.
The Indian Ocean is called that, despite touching many countries. and noone has a problem with that.

Guy:Incognito · 01-05-2006 2:48pm

The english dont give out abotu the irsih sea. We're part of the british isles, not great britain, it's two different things and it's doing us no harm.

Big Ears · 01-05-2006 2:53pm

The British Isles is a geographical term like Scandinavia and we happen to be inside the British Isles..................they have the Irish Sea beside them , so who really cares anyway .

DOLEMAN · 01-05-2006 2:58pm

Competition Time

Find Ireland on this page - http://www.yrigfp.com/countries.asp

Winner gets to feel angry...

mike65 · 01-05-2006 2:58pm

AH sensible replies shock!

edit> burn down Pizza Hut! (well, do that anyway!)

Mike.

WhiteWashMan · 01-05-2006 3:01pm

i have no problem with west britain being part of the british isles.

and i bet those people in the scilly isles are all stupid too...

smashey · 01-05-2006 3:03pm

I have a problem with it. This goes back to when I was working overseas and tried to explain to a local that I am not British. She duly informed me that we were part of the British Isles. After a brief argument, she accepted my explanation that the British Isles were named by the British and that they tended not to care for my ancestor's feelings back in those days.

Flex · 01-05-2006 3:05pm

I have a problem with that term. Ireland is not a 'British Isle' and these islands are not the 'Isles of the British' either. The British arnt the only race/people who inhabit this archipeligo, the Irish do aswel. They should be referred to as the 'British and Irish Isles' or Ireland and its offshore islands detached from the Irish mainland should have its own geographical designation as the 'Irish Isles'. Why not call the Iberian Peninsula the Spanish Peninsula? Makes as much sense as putting Ireland under the geographical term in question.

Flex · 01-05-2006 3:06pm

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i have no problem with west britain being part of the british isles.

and i bet those people in the scilly isles are all stupid too...

West Britain? Do you mean Wales?

darkman2 · 01-05-2006 3:07pm

thetourist wrote:

Please partake in an online survey of feelings about the term "The British Isles" for wikipedia. Information on the term/area etc can be found by searching on wikipedia. There has been some debate on that page reguarding just what percentage of irish people have a dificulty with the term and we are trying to do a survey about it - please make your vote and try to get as many others to vote tool; the more votes the better the result.

Edit: Naturally this survey will only mean something if everyone who takes part is from the republic of ireland or has some relationship to it .... thank you for your comments. .... and please dont let the argument spoil your day

Of course the term 'British Isles' is ONLY used by the British and often it come across as antagonistic when its not really meant to be. Of course the name should be scrapped as its implying a geopolitical context which is inappropriate.

Dont be at yourself · 01-05-2006 3:07pm

Jesus, people have very little to be complain about if they're getting upset over the name of a chain of islands.

They're called the British Isles, it doesnt mean we swear allegience to the queen or anything. It's just a name.

Pompey Magnus · 01-05-2006 3:09pm

DOLEMAN wrote:

Competition Time

Find Ireland on this page - http://www.yrigfp.com/countries.asp

Winner gets to feel angry...

Well to be fair they don't include Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or the Vatican City State either so we won't be alone in feeling indignant.

darkman2 · 01-05-2006 3:10pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Jesus, people have very little to be complain about if they're getting upset over the name of a chain of islands.

They're called the British Isles, it doesnt mean we swear allegience to the queen or anything. It's just a name.

Only the British refer to it as that. Isnt that strange?:rolleyes:

aidan_walsh · 01-05-2006 3:11pm

/me bursts into a rousing chorus of "A Nation Once Again"

DOLEMAN · 01-05-2006 3:14pm

Depeche_Mode wrote:

Well to be fair they don't include Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or the Vatican City State either so we won't be alone in feeling indignant.

Wrong!

Look under United Kingdom...

aidan_walsh · 01-05-2006 3:15pm

darkman2 wrote:

Only the British refer to it as that. Isnt that strange?:rolleyes:

Cartographers, too.

darkman2 · 01-05-2006 3:15pm

aidan_walsh wrote:

Cartographers, too.

Yeah British Cartographers. I have a world map from the US and it dosnt say BIs:)

aidan_walsh · 01-05-2006 3:16pm

DOLEMAN wrote:

Wrong!

Look under United Kingdom...

I don't see Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or the Vatican City State listed under United Kingdom...

Dont be at yourself · 01-05-2006 3:18pm

darkman2 wrote:

Only the British refer to it as that. Isnt that strange?:rolleyes:

No they don't, I've been across the world and heard people refer to them as the British Isles. What else have you heard them refered to as?

What I find strange is that the Irish seem to be the only population in the world who get their knickers in a twist about even the slightest hint of this kind of thing, even when (or perhaps because of) their knowledge of Irish history comes from the Micheal Collins movie and Dubliners songs.

To me, personally, I couldn't give a flying **** what the islands are refered to as. I dont see it as an affront to my freedoms, I dont think that it's the build-up to a beach landing by the brits in Dublin Bay, it makes absolutely no difference to me. Move on.

p.pete · 01-05-2006 3:18pm

Depeche_Mode wrote:

Well to be fair they don't include Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or the Vatican City State either so we won't be alone in feeling indignant.

We are included, you just didn't find it

Pompey Magnus · 01-05-2006 3:21pm

DOLEMAN wrote:

Wrong!

Look under United Kingdom...

:eek:

Never even thought of looking there...

Flex · 01-05-2006 3:25pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

No they don't, I've been across the world and heard people refer to them as the British Isles. What else have you heard them refered to as?

What I find strange is that the Irish seem to be the only population in the world who get their knickers in a twist about even the slightest hint of this kind of thing, even when (or perhaps because of) their knowledge of Irish history comes from the Micheal Collins movie and Dubliners songs.

To me, personally, I couldn't give a flying **** what the islands are refered to as. I dont see it as an affront to my freedoms, I dont think that it's the build-up to a beach landing by the brits in Dublin Bay, it makes absolutely no difference to me. Move on.

Hypothethical situation. If Poland was referred to as being part of some geographic designation like 'The Germanic Plains' or 'Greater Germany' and some Poles didnt like this term, what would you think?

New_Departure06 · 01-05-2006 3:25pm

I resent Ireland being termed a "British isle". Let them use the term for Britain, the Isle of Man, and the islands that are part of Scotland, England, Wales and the dependencies of the UK.

darkman2 · 01-05-2006 3:32pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

No they don't, I've been across the world and heard people refer to them as the British Isles. What else have you heard them refered to as?

What I find strange is that the Irish seem to be the only population in the world who get their knickers in a twist about even the slightest hint of this kind of thing, even when (or perhaps because of) their knowledge of Irish history comes from the Micheal Collins movie and Dubliners songs.

To me, personally, I couldn't give a flying **** what the islands are refered to as. I dont see it as an affront to my freedoms, I dont think that it's the build-up to a beach landing by the brits in Dublin Bay, it makes absolutely no difference to me. Move on.

The point is we have absolutely nothing to do with the UK politically and therefore we should, as the only soveriegn nation in these islands (if you include the UK as a union of nations), be consulted at least on what we refer our side of the fence to. Its really just a pot shot from the brits, this BIs thing. I dont care either way, im just explaining the practicalities.

Dont be at yourself · 01-05-2006 3:34pm

Hypothethical situation. If Poland was referred to as being part of some geographic designation like 'The Germanic Plains' or 'Greater Germany' and some Poles didnt like this term, what would you think?

Well, if the "Germanic Plains" was a term that has been used far and wide for centuries to describe a geographical location, I'd have no problem with it whatsoever.

Actually hey, are you going fight for the oppressed peoples of the Americas? I mean, how can they put up with those US bastards trying to claim the rest of the continents too!

Dont be at yourself · 01-05-2006 3:38pm

The point is we have absolutely nothing to do with the UK politically and therefore we should, as the only soveriegn nation in these islands (if you include the UK as a union of nations), be consulted at least on what we refer our side of the fence to. Its really just a pot shot from the brits, this BIs thing. I dont care either way, im just explaining the practicalities.

Right, who should the Irish government get on the phone to to correct this injustice? Face it, the reason that you see the islands refered to as the British Islands is not because of some sort of imperialistic scheme hatched by the British government - it's because that's what people across the world have referred to the islands as for hundreds of years. Do you suggest that we write letters to all of these people and tell them not to, because it somehow, vaguelly, oppresses you?

Guy:Incognito · 01-05-2006 3:41pm

Right, lets form an army to go over and free the canadians from the tyranny of america and stop them being included in the term north america.

"what, what do you mean no one cares"? "but the irish, they get so annoyed about these pointless things"?

darkman2 · 01-05-2006 3:42pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Right, who should the Irish government get on the phone to to correct this injustice? Face it, the reason that you see the islands refered to as the British Islands is not because of some sort of imperialistic scheme hatched by the British government - it's because that's what people across the world have referred to the islands as for hundreds of years. Do you suggest that we write letters to all of these people and tell them not to, because it somehow, vaguelly, oppresses you?

Ok your actually annoying me. Please read my posts. I said I dont care either way and yet your talking to me in a condescending manner. It dosnt 'oppress me'. Dont be so stupid. I said I was explaining the 'practicalities' and inaccuracies of refering to our country as being part of a foreign block in a geopolitical sense.

"The British Isles" - wikipedia

How do you feel about the term "The British Isles" 65 votes

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