Why do I find an anti-English thread on after hours on a weekly basis?

Laguna · 08-10-2005 02:48AM #1

I'm getting really sick and tired of coming on to boards to read some @rsehole or another ranting on about

"Why are the english *****?"

"Why do English people pronounce shindizzle like this?"

"Why are English people ignorant of my culture"

As the son of two Irish parents born and bred in the UK, I was called a Paddy up until the age of 17 when I moved here to be called, lo and behold, an English **** as I practically stepped off the boat. I've become so disenchanted with the popular consensus of Irish thought on immigration, government that I can't believe I actually herald from this country, how can so many of you be so small minded?. I'm well aware that there is a lot of people in Ireland and subsequently Boards.ie users that think like me, that are open minded and able to discuss issues on an adult level, I'm also aware that there is a high number of people in Ireland and subsequently members on Boards.ie who will show their primitive intellect by replying to this thread as "**** off back to England" etc. which will only prove my point..

I abhor racism of all kinds, that includes racist inference and the incitement of racial hatred and YES that's what these threads do. What do the posters think they achieve by posting them and subsequently trying to justify them?.

YES, EVERYONE IS AWARE AT THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THE BRITISH EMPIRE CAUSED MANY (YES, MANY. NOT JUST IRELAND, BUT INDIA, ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS, EARLY AMERICA, AFRICA ETC.) NATIONS OF THE WORLD BUT YOU HAVE TO GET OVER THIS, IRELAND HAS BEEN IT'S OWN STATE SINCE THE TWENTIES OR HAVE YOU YET TO BE INFORMED.

Yes, some English people in the past have caused heinous crimes and so have Irish people, why don't you start ranting about the Catholic chuch and the condoning of the sanctioned rapes of the children by "Christian" brothers who ruined so many lives, the wonderful Nuns who caused pain and suffering in schools and laundries and workhouses?. Do we not rant about this on here because it's a little close to home?, a little to close to the fact that these people were.......... Irish?

Just drop these insipid thoughts that come into your perverse heads, the ones where you think you're doing a service for Ireland by taking a snipe/moaning/whinging about the English. Welcome to 2005.

jcoote · 08-10-2005 02:53AM

your fighting a losing battle

its just bred into irish people to hate the british

i see where your coming from but its just a part of culture and fair enough its 2005 but people aren't changing i this one...

Scarinae · 08-10-2005 03:02AM

Many call it nationalism. However, I always thought that nationalism was pride of your own country, not hatred of another. It is pretty stupid and twisted I have always thought... I just think people need to let go, it is racism whether they want to believe it or not, and they are fuelling it with their ignorant commnts. I'm not talking about the Internet here, but often when I've heard people make anti-British comments I have asked them about it and you know what? Usually when you scratch a bit beneath the surface they actually don't have any reason to hate the British, they just spew out all this crap they have heard from other people. Get over it, think for yourself, and we would all be a lot happier

jrey1981 · 08-10-2005 03:05AM

Interesting that Laguna mentioned some of the places that were part of the British Empire...I have two Iranian friends who left with their parents during the Revolution and they say that they sometimes wish Iran had been taken over during the Empire as it would be a better place than it is at the moment - ie a functioning democracy making the best of its past, as India is doing for example.

Rb · 08-10-2005 03:07AM

It's strange actually, Irish people(at least in Dublin) seem to welcome all different races&cultures into the country (asian,african,indian etc) EXCEPT for the British.Considering Britain have accepted so many Irish immigrants in previous years you'd think people would realize "hey, these people aren't our enemies" but yet you've still so many Irish people who hate the Brits just for what happened in the past.
It's 2005, people need to put the past behind them but I can't see it happening any time soon.

AARRRGH · 08-10-2005 03:54AM

Where are these anti-English threads? I certainly don't see them.

Sure, the Boards.ie folk like to bitch about lots of things, but they bitch about Dell computers/Irish Broadband/their job/their girlfriend/etc just as much as they bitch about England.

You are just noticing the England bitching.

Laguna · 08-10-2005 03:58AM

There's two threads in the after hours forum this week alone. The "Why can't the English pronounce Doherty" thread and the delightful "Why are the english so ignorant of our culture".

AARRRGH · 08-10-2005 04:09AM

Well, the English do have problem pronouncing Doherty.

Not sure if the English are ignorant of our culture (at least, when compared to other countries.)

However, you cannot blame Irish people for having ill feelings against the English. It was literally beaten into us.

Laguna · 08-10-2005 04:11AM

So you're condoning what people say on here about the English?. Fair enough.

AARRRGH · 08-10-2005 04:15AM

Laguna wrote:

So you're condoning what people say on here about the English?. Fair enough.

Well, personally, I know the current generation have nothing to do with what went on in the past, so I harbor no ill will towards the English.

I do however understand people who are angry regarding our history though.

StupidLikeAFox · 08-10-2005 04:25AM

Unfortunately thats life. Your giving out about the irish attitude towards english, love it or hate it, thats the way it is. You wouldnt find it in your homeland, go figure. Or else go out and change it somehow. Bitching on the internet wont change a thing.

Laguna · 08-10-2005 04:26AM

But that's acknowledgement and acceptance of the behaviour of Irish people who continue to keep this ill blood alive between English and Irish people.

If you can understand the people who act with racist comments etc. towards English people, would you also understand if the British government had decided in the wake of repetitive bombings of London by the IRA in the 1970's onwards, to drop bombs on Dublin?. The IRA targeted civilian targets in London, they killed men, women and children, yet some people over here think this is a great laugh, throwing fund raisers, singing along to IRA songs AND THEN have the cheek to come on television after events such as 9/11 and the London bombings and offer condolences.

The way the Irish government has lobbied the release of the IRA men in colombia is a clear a sign as any that this government fully endorses the IRA brand of terrorism.

AARRRGH · 08-10-2005 04:28AM

Laguna wrote:

The way the Irish government has lobbied the release of the IRA men in colombia is a clear a sign as any that this government fully endorses the IRA brand of terrorism.

That's a very extreme way of looking at it.

Maybe they were just doing what they are supposed to do as our government: look out for irish people.

Laguna · 08-10-2005 04:28AM

ColHol wrote:

Unfortunately thats life. Your giving out about the irish attitude towards english, love it or hate it, thats the way it is. You wouldnt find it in your homeland, go figure. Or else go out and change it somehow. Bitching on the internet wont change a thing.

Bitching on the internet?, is this how you refer to someone calling for an end to racist threads and comments?, bitching?, well by your "that's the way it is" statement you're quite blatantly one of the aforementioned condoners of this racist behaviour.

AARRRGH · 08-10-2005 04:33AM

Laguna wrote:

Bitching on the internet?, is this how you refer to someone calling for an end to racist threads and comments?, bitching?, well by your "that's the way it is" statement you're quite blatantly one of the aforementioned condoners of this racist behaviour.

You really do have a George Bush style black-and-white way of looking at things: you're either with me or against me.

Most things are in the grey area, you know?

StupidLikeAFox · 08-10-2005 04:36AM

Laguna wrote:

you're quite blatantly one of the aforementioned condoners of this racist behaviour.

pfffft clearly :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

As i said, bitching on the internet wont change a thing. People start a thread, big ****in deal. are you trying to change peoples mentality or trying to change whats said on this internet website?

Laguna · 08-10-2005 04:38AM

I'm trying to understand these peoples motivations, what they aim to achieve by saying/posting these things?, is it wrong for me to be upset by racism?

Laguna · 08-10-2005 04:41AM

dublindude wrote:

You really do have a George Bush style black-and-white way of looking at things: you're either with me or against me.

Most things are in the grey area, you know?

Is racism really a "grey area" these days?

StupidLikeAFox · 08-10-2005 04:45AM

Laguna wrote:

I'm trying to understand these peoples motivations, what they aim to achieve by saying/posting these things?, is it wrong for me to be upset by racism?

Of course not, but at the same time accept that there are racists out there, you're gonna come across them here and there, such is life

Kernel · 08-10-2005 04:51AM

The reason why is that most of the country of Ireland still hate the English.

billy the squid · 08-10-2005 04:54AM

had you used the "report post" button on the posts you found objectionable, then something might have happened. now there are three threads about anti-english sentiment. did you think of that?

biko · 08-10-2005 04:57AM

Laguna wrote:

Is racism really a "grey area" these days?

It sure is. How many times has someone said "I'm not a racist, but..." or "I like foreigners but we can't let them all in" or "Paki shops are great, they are open at Christmas" or something along those lines? That would be percieved as rasicm but some but not by others, hence "grey area".
I for one like English people, usually well-mannered and generally good craic. It's just that British politics rubs me the wrong way, just like American politics. I even have English friends

As a matter of fact I have Arab and black friends too.

biko · 08-10-2005 04:59AM

Sure the Dubs are half-English anyway!

*runs for cover behind the fridge*

Kernel · 08-10-2005 05:23AM

biko wrote:

Sure the Dubs are half-English anyway!
*runs for cover behind the fridge*

Sure... and everyone from Galway and the west are from the sunken Spanish Armada.....
:rolleyes:

biko · 08-10-2005 05:45AM

Si, senor! That's why the "Galway girl" has "hair of black and eyes of blue".

The Sweeper · 08-10-2005 09:51AM

dublindude wrote:

However, you cannot blame Irish people for having ill feelings against the English. It was literally beaten into us.

That's really terrible for you dublindude - have you reported your assault to the Gardai? Did you get a description of who did it? Can you remember? Have you been to hospital? Are you okay?

...oh, what? It wasn't actually literally beaten into you personally?

...so have you ever actually been beaten up by an English person who's trying to oppress you, or is your logic really just the self-indulgent glory of vicarious resentment of something that happened to people you never knew?

Hagar · 08-10-2005 10:21AM

This is Boards.ie - note the ie bit.

The English don't have to come here to be resented, they're resented everywhere they go.

The Welsh and the Scots aren't too keen on you either.
The English are even resented in England, by the people from their ex-Colonies.

If every nation you ever meet resents you maybe it's you and not the whole world that's at fault.
Maybe you should stand back and take a good long look at yourselves as a race.

BTW "resented" was the least offensive word I could think of, but then you probably already knew that. You is plural, not you personally.

gandalf · 08-10-2005 10:24AM

Well if people want to manifest their inferiority by being abusive to another race, I think we should pity them.

Pepe LeFrits · 08-10-2005 10:27AM

Hagar wrote:

This is Boards.ie - note the ie bit.

The English don't have to come here to be resented, they're resented everywhere they go.

The Welsh and the Scots aren't too keen on you either.
The English are even resented in England, by the people from their ex-Colonies.

If every nation you ever meet resents you maybe it's you and not the whole world that's at fault.
Maybe you should stand back and take a good long look at yourselves as a race.

BTW "resented" was the least offensive word I could think of, but then you probably already knew that. You is plural, not you personally.

Correction: Certain Welsh and certain Scots aren't too keen on the English, and certain people in every nation resent the English. You get a few bad apples wherever you go.

Hagar · 08-10-2005 10:28AM

gandalf wrote:

Well if people want to manifest their inferiority by being abusive to another race, I think we should pity them.

I must assume by this you mean the English as they are arguably the most racist, condecsending and class concious country I have ever come across.

gandalf · 08-10-2005 10:32AM

Its a general comment covering all who think like this :rolleyes:

Why do I find an anti-English thread on after hours on a weekly basis?

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