How British are You?

partyguinness

Wibbs wrote: »

"Scum" is a bit rich dontcha think? The vast majority of the men and women on the ground are doing what they see as their duty and looking after their mates(like soldiers always have). The wider political stuff passes most of them by. If you're a working class kid from Huddersfield brought up on the jingoism you'll likely buy into it. It's all to easy to think you wouldn't but the main reason you don't is purely because of an accident of birth. Do I abhor what's going on over there? Hell yes. Do I think they should eff off out of it? Yes but put the UN peacekeepers in properly. Do I think the guys on the ground are scum? No. Just as I don't label the Taliban similarly.


We're very similar that way. Same with any interview with some famous type "please please tell us you love the UK/Ireland. Even better if you've rellies here".

Yea lots of mentions of Belfast alright. Even Cork. "The paddies fecked it up"

Oh I agree...we are bad alright..."tell me about your great-aunt who flew over Ireland"...but they are worse here! The difference I find is that, say RTE, will mention a link but the BBC will blatantly try to claim all credit. Some outlets cannot give Ireland any credit.

I recently saw an article about Saoirse Ronan which praised her to the high heavens. Now, and this is no joke, in a double page article there was not one single mention of her being Irish. She was referred to as "New York born actress". The author just could not bring himself to say Irish actress. Quite petty.

Even Ronan Keating is "London based singer..." for some reason that did not exercise me as much...:D

Yeah it was the shoddy rivets forged by the Paddies in Belfast and the sinister rogue ice berg that attacked the ship without warning. Lots of mentions about Belfast alright and the last stop being "Queenstown" which clearly was the kiss of death.

You would not think it but the ship was registered and sailed out of Liverpool (although it never actually docked there).

problemchimp

I don't feel British in any way, no more than I feel Austrian or Tunisian.

fasttalkerchat

AEDIC wrote: »

'Possibly decades ago they were just dumb kids who didn't know any better but I think that every soldier who went into Iraq went there knowing what was happening there and prepared to kill. I know of one guy who served in Belfast in the 70's and said that he knew what they were doing was wrong but accepted it as necessary to "keep his country safe". That sort of person is the lowest of the low IMO.'

What you are describing there is every soldier in every army there ever was.... including the Irish Republican one...I dont see the point you are trying to make with that.

That was in response to Wibbs' argument that "the guys on the ground buy into jingoism and are ignorant to politics and and believe they are just looking after their mates/doing their duty".
Most (but not all) Irish republican's went out with an aim and were politically motivated. They were not there to get off the dole or for an adventure. They did not knowingly seek to cause harm to innocent people.

There are exceptions to this. There are "republicans" who made profit. There are "republicans" who killed innocents or failed to safeguard innocent civilians. There are "republicans" who had no real political motivation or interest in the finer details of strategy.

who the fug

If I ever met one of these Brits I would be able to answer the question.

ejmaztec

partyguinness wrote: »

Oh I agree...we are bad alright..."tell me about your great-aunt who flew over Ireland"...but they are worse here! The difference I find is that, say RTE, will mention a link but the BBC will blatantly try to claim all credit. Some outlets cannot give Ireland any credit.

I recently saw an article about Saoirse Ronan which praised her to the high heavens. Now, and this is no joke, in a double page article there was not one single mention of her being Irish. She was referred to as "New York born actress". The author just could not bring himself to say Irish actress. Quite petty.

Even Ronan Keating is "London based singer..." for some reason that did not exercise me as much...:D

Yeah it was the shoddy rivets forged by the Paddies in Belfast and the sinister rogue ice berg that attacked the ship without warning. Lots of mentions about Belfast alright and the last stop being "Queenstown" which clearly was the kiss of death.

You would not think it but the ship was registered and sailed out of Liverpool (although it never actually docked there).

In one of the 48000 Titanic documentaries that's been on 24 hours a day for an eternity, I heard one guy say that the shoddy rivets and steel story was a myth, and that it was a one in a million fluke that the iceberg sliced the ship open.

CamperMan

I really dislike the British, not just the people, but the country, the government, the monarchy, etc. etc...

and unfortunately I was born in the UK and certainly not proud of it...

who the fug

CamperMan wrote: »

I really dislike the British, not just the people, but the country, the government, the monarchy, etc. etc...

and unfortunately I was born in the UK and certainly not proud of it...

Ed Miliband is on the Boards

CamperMan

who the fug wrote: »

Ed Miliband is on the Boards

who the frig is Ed Milliband?

just googled him..

ye.. I also dislike that nob

who the fug

CamperMan wrote: »

who the frig is Ed Milliband?

The above Sums him up.

ejmaztec

CamperMan wrote: »

who the frig is Ed Milliband?

just googled him..

ye.. I also dislike that nob

He wouldn't be regarded as truly British, being as his old man was an immigrant from Belgium, and his mother was Polish.

mike65

ejmaztec wrote: »

He wouldn't be regarded as truly British, being as his old man was an immigrant from Belgium, and his mother was Polish.

Booo! Why isn't he Irish/Spanish/German/French/Danish? Boooo!

LordSutch

CamperMan wrote: »

I really dislike the British, not just the people, but the country, the government, the monarchy, etc. etc...

and unfortunately I was born in the UK and certainly not proud of it...

So out of the sixty million+ people who inhabit Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales you dislike them all, you dislike their countries/regions too, you dislike the Westminster government + the devolved governments/assemblies, monarchy, etc etc etc too . . .

Wow, that's a whole lotta disliking against a lotta people, which sounds kinda strange to me specially considering the fact that you were born (somewhere in the United Kingdom). I wonder have you traveled much around the UK, or did you just stay withing the confines of your estate?

steddyeddy

Im not British so not British at all really. Even if I was it wouldnt define who I was one hundred per cent. I am Irish but theres a lot more to me than that.

partyguinness

CamperMan wrote: »

I really dislike the British, not just the people, but the country, the government, the monarchy, etc. etc...

and unfortunately I was born in the UK and certainly not proud of it...

I really dislike Official Britain (BBC, media, Sky, Premier League etc) which I find quite detached from the people on the street. I find the people quite pleasant to be honest and can't fault them.

With I find sad here is the complete lack of soul. There is absolutely no buzz or craic. Everything is dreary and mundane. It's like a hallow shell. Every high street is the same, with the exact same shops, buildings and no landmarks to distinguish it from the next city. Everything is a chain.

Hilariously after the last election, David Cameron bemoaned how every place the looked the same and something must be done to stop it. Just shows how often he gets out of London!

Unfortunately, many Irish city centres have gone the same way.

Official Britain (and I emphasis official) is obsessed with the past and recreating the past. Every 2nd programme is about antiques, recreating Victorian farms, Edwardian life etc etc. I find the country is lost and does not know where it is going and seems to want to shut itself off from Europe for no particular reason except pure stubborness.

This is not me having a go or Brit bashing just for the sake of it, it's just my observations. There are plenty of problems in Ireland and the way of life that I have problems with.

ejmaztec

mike65 wrote: »

Booo! Why isn't he Irish/Spanish/German/French/Danish? Boooo!

He's swept all of those under the carpet.

AEDIC

CamperMan wrote: »

I really dislike the British, not just the people, but the country, the government, the monarchy, etc. etc...

and unfortunately I was born in the UK and certainly not proud of it...

You are of course entitled to that opinion and I wouldnt try and argue against it... but I am genuinely interested in your reasons for such a sweeping statement.

Personally I cant feel that.... I dont particularly like some English, Welsh or Scottish people but certainly cant say I dislike them all, because I dont know them all.... and I can say with certainty that most of them had nothing at all to do with whatever reason you might have for disliking them all.

Cavehill Red

Happy Monday wrote: »

Extraordinary rendition at Shannon Airport anyone?

Conducted by a foreign power. Despicable, yes. But it was not the doing of this nation.

Happy Monday wrote: »

Bush and Blair have both been guests of this nation.

One is not culpable for the sins of one's guests.

Happy Monday wrote: »

As for drunken yobs refer to March 17 or any weekend in this country!

Indeed. But we have the good grace to keep it to ourselves and not export it abroad.

Cavehill Red

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I guess the more personal the insults become, the more desperate the poster is.

It seems you have no answers, Fred. No surprise there.

KeithAFC

Fratton Fred wrote: »

eirigi are scum.

Especially when they claim to talk for the working class. They don't speak for all the working class in Ulster. They should realise that.

Cavehill Red

KeithAFC wrote: »

Especially when they claim to talk for the working class. They don't speak for all the working class in Ulster. They should realise that.

I'm glad we have you here, the true voice of the working class in Ulster (all 9 counties of it presumably), to put the record straight, Keith.

LordSutch

partyguinness wrote: »

With I find sad here is the complete lack of soul. There is absolutely no buzz or craic. Everything is dreary and mundane. It's like a hallow shell. Every high street is the same, with the exact same shops, buildings and no landmarks to distinguish it from the next city. Everything is a chain.

(just one tiny example for you) I was in Edinburgh for the fringe festival a few years ago, loads of buzz & craic!

KeithAFC

Cavehill Red wrote: »

I'm glad we have you here, the true voice of the working class in Ulster (all 9 counties of it presumably), to put the record straight, Keith.

I don't claim to speak for any working class in Ulster. Some do though and that is the amazing arrogance of some like éirígí.

AEDIC

Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy Monday
As for drunken yobs refer to March 17 or any weekend in this country!

Indeed. But we have the good grace to keep it to ourselves and not export it abroad


Then it appears you are very fortunate not to have had the 'pleasure' of either Santa Ponsa or many of the main cities in Australia for example... because it exists...

ejmaztec

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Indeed. But we have the good grace to keep it to ourselves and not export it abroad.

There are quite a few folks in Sydney for example, on the piss in their GAA shirts, embarrassing the crap out of their more respectable countrymen, and giving the Irish in general a bad name.

Cavehill Red

ejmaztec wrote: »

There are quite a few folks in Sydney for example, on the piss in their GAA shirts, embarrassing the crap out of their more respectable countrymen, and giving the Irish in general a bad name.

Yes, and not just Sydney. I recall it years ago in San Francisco, and I'm sure it happens in many other places besides. But other nations can be rowdy too and raucous with drink taken. It matters little to the locals who disturbs them.
However, there is a difference between what we might term low-level anti-social behaviour and the sort of activities - public brawling, public sex, rioting - that attract arrest and prosecution, and merely being a loud drunken dick.
The Irish may often be loud and drunk and piss off some locals in all manner of places, but they don't brawl and riot and f uck in public and get themselves arrested for it like the British do.

Jorah

Cavehill Red you really are an idiotic bigot.


And oh so typically bitter.

AEDIC

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Yes, and not just Sydney. I recall it years ago in San Francisco, and I'm sure it happens in many other places besides. But other nations can be rowdy too and raucous with drink taken. It matters little to the locals who disturbs them.
However, there is a difference between what we might term low-level anti-social behaviour and the sort of activities - public brawling, public sex, rioting - that attract arrest and prosecution, and merely being a loud drunken dick.
The Irish may often be loud and drunk and piss off some locals in all manner of places, but they don't brawl and riot and f uck in public and get themselves arrested for it as much as the British do.

fyp

LordSutch

Cavehill Red wrote: »

The Irish may often be loud and drunk and piss off some locals in all manner of places, but they don't brawl and riot and f uck in public and get themselves arrested for it like the British do.

Ahmm, suggest you travel, read more, the Irish 'can be' just as bad, or worse.

Cavehill Red

LordSutch wrote: »

Ahmm, suggest you travel, read more, the Irish 'can be' just as bad, or worse.

I've been to nearly 100 different countries.
People fail to see the distinction I'm making. Fewer than 300 Irish citizens were arrested abroad in 2011, only a fraction of whom were guilty of the sort of antisocial behaviour we are discussing. That isn't just not as much as the British, it's a tiny fraction thereof.

seanmc1980

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Yes, and not just Sydney. I recall it years ago in San Francisco, and I'm sure it happens in many other places besides. But other nations can be rowdy too and raucous with drink taken. It matters little to the locals who disturbs them.
However, there is a difference between what we might term low-level anti-social behaviour and the sort of activities - public brawling, public sex, rioting - that attract arrest and prosecution, and merely being a loud drunken dick.
The Irish may often be loud and drunk and piss off some locals in all manner of places, but they don't brawl and riot and f uck in public and get themselves arrested for it like the British do.

so you admit Irish can be idiotic drunk fools when abroad but we don’t have a riot at a football match so were better then the british??? Get over yourself. I’ve travelled all over the world and I can tell you Irish and English have the exact same rep. drunkin fools. But that’s as usual the minority of both countries they just give everyone else a bad name