What is British Culture?

reply to post by woodwardjnr


Ah, please accept my apologies then! You're actually older then I! I tend to hear this complaint from younger peeps, mainly the "Blair generation" that went through school since 1997..

I doubt there is no coincidence in this...

Patriotism isn't about flag waiving, but being aware of and being proud of your country. To be willing to work to make it a better place and to want it's inhabitants to do well.

The Labour policy of social engineering is in direct contrast to this. They brought in millions of immigrants due to a belief that British people aren't worth anything, they engineered society so they could mold it into something new, without regard to the great stuff that was already here.

When I was in scool, (left in 1998), there was great amount of awareness amongst me and my peers as to what being British (or any nation therein) was about and where we came from.

Compare this to my youngest brother who left school in 2007 and it is shocking. He could barely tell you who was PM, let alone any history of this nation.

He is one of the "lets get smashed and break something/someone" generation. A sad waste of a young life, let down by the system.

Compare this to my youngest brother who left school in 2007 and it is shocking. He could barely tell you who was PM, let alone any history of this nation.

He is one of the "lets get smashed and break something/someone" generation. A sad waste of a young life, let down by the system.

Hasn't there always been a get smashed and break something/someone culture. when I was in my late teens I never went drinking in my local town for fear of getting smashed in by some mindless yokel. I think we were one of the 1st towns to install CCTV for drunken violence at the weekends.

I find it hard criticising the young, knowing full well I was no angel myself. maybe your brother will grow out of it, at least he's got an older brother to look out for him and be his role model.

reply to post by woodwardjnr


Maybe I should have qualified my steatement a bit more. Granted, I was no angel either and yes, young people are going to be a certain amount of trouble ..

What I meant was, that's all he and his mates want to do. They have no desire to work as "the system" looks after them, they get their "jobseekers", despite not actually seeking jobs, then spend it all on drink and drugs on the weekend.

This generation is different from the past as it seems they believe society owes them something, but that they don't have to do anything ijn return. They have no desires to work hard and progress through life normally, they all expect either cushy, well paid jobs (despite having flunked their exams) or to become rappers or football stars.

I am afraid he is a lost cause. I took him in when he was 16 afetr my dad turfed him out (he is that bad). After 4 months, I got shot of him myself.

He just takes, takes and takes, with no regard to how it affects others. I even came home one morning from a night shift to find he had a party still in full swing.

Needless to say, I decked him in front of his mates and promptly ejected them all into the cold morning air. Found out later on that they had eaten my food, drank my drink and smoked my smoke.

I wasn't the proverbial bunny!

What is sad is that from birth he has had kidney trouble and received a transplant kidney at age 6. He is endgaering his life with his current lifestyle, doesn't take his meds and I find this a further slap in the face to society from him and his ilk because someone else could have benefited from that kidney and appreciated it.

Originally posted by ukmadmax
British culture in 2010 ?

Single parents with multiple children by multiple fathers.
Drunkeness and drug abuse.
Being not willing to work, as the state pays more for you to stay at home.
Crass , yob behaviour as the norm.
Talking like you were born and raised in Jamaica.
Shall I go on ?

All bollocks. Maybe this applies to London but go up North and you'll see this isn't necessarily the case.

The single parents things might be true in some cases - but may i suggest you stop reading the Daily mail and step outside.

Drunkeness - Not really, if you go into a pub and say there's 30 people drinking, i bet only 1 or 2 are drunk.

Drug abuse - well that depends on what you think abuse is. A few students smoking a couple of spliffs? Or maybe some stupid moron who mixes drink and Drugs.

Being not willing to work. What a load of bollocks. Most people want to work.

Crass, yob like behaviour. Yeah maybe that's the counterpoint, to snobby, judgemental attitudes.

Talking like you were born in Jamaica. Seriously if you tried that in my home town, you'd be laughed out of it.

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reply to post by stumason


I not gonna pretend that I can understand whats going on with brother, but I do understand decking him after somking your smoke. My brother would know it would be more than his lifes worth

British culture. Well i'm feeling quite lyrical so this could become a bit of an essay:

Being away from the UK for any length of time gives you a perspective that you just can't get from being there. It's like the smell of your house. You can't smell it until you come back after a long trip. I've been in Canada for a while now, and despite it being a country of white people who speak English, the two countries have noticeable cultural differences.

British culture is rooted in politeness. I realise at saying this that certain people in the UK will immediately cry "not any more there isn't, bloody chavs" etc. but that is by and large a false assumption. Sure there is a visible minority of rude, offensive youngsters (and oldsters) but they are only so noticeable because they stick out so much. We are a well-mannered, patient people. We say please and thank you constantly, and often when other countries would deem needlessly. But we say it, because that's how we've been bought up. If that's not our culture i don't know what is. Another thing; Queuing. Out here in Canada i've noticed a lot of people press the traffic light button, then if nothing happens, sigh a bit and press it again. I see this on a daily basis. I press it, stand there and wait. I'm inclined to believe that most people from Britain would do this. We sit or stand there patiently and wait. You don't really understand this until you leave the country.

Another thing i've noticed about our culture is the self-effacing nature. There's a beer advert on tv over here at the moment, in which a booming voice declares all that is great about Canada and how it's the best back yard in the world and how all canadians are born adventurers. Now whilst i'm not reputing that they may be, i can't help but think that this advert would never be broadcast at home. We are more at home with gently ripping the piss out of ourselves. I don't think this should be under-estimated. All our successful comedy characters are losers; Brent, Partridge, Basil Fawlty even Meldrew. We might well secretly think that we're the best, but we'd never be as overt in stating this as other countries. I think this is to our credit.

Obviously the most visible element of our culture is the drinking culture. I'm not bothered about that. We've always been a nation of binge drinking. This is no new thing. Look at the size of our beer cans. The people out here were amazed at how much beer i drank. They don't seem to go for the "One more? Oh go on then" philosophy that we have at home. Like it or not, it is an integral part of our culture. I'd go so far as to say that it IS our culture.

In danger of rambling now (another great British past-time!) so i'll be curt. Football - away days, drinking, spontaneous singing en-masse in public situations is something that i love. A rich history of literature and arts. A vibrant comedy history. David Attenborough, Test Matches, milky builders tea, plates of meat for breakfast. Carveries on a sunday. Music; the greatest nation in the world for most types of music. America invented rock & roll, we perfected it. Americans invented hip-hop, we turned it into grime. Whether it's to your taste or not you can't deny that it involves a lot of talent. Drum & bass is British. Heavy Metal is British. Rave culture. Giving people stupid nicknames. Our countryside; not as dramatic as others but containing some intrinsic beauty that you just can't eloquate effectively. Country pubs. November 5th. The celebration of failure; Rorke's Drift, charge of the light brigade.

We do have a culture. A defined and definite culture, but maybe you don't fully appreciate the extent of it until you leave it for a while.

reply to post by CRB86


Well done old bean, that was a very good post summing us up quite nicely!

Ah, queing,, An intrisically British passtime that other people just don't get! In fact, I had a practical encounter with one such "johnny foreigner" to whom queing was an obviously alien concept recently.

I was in MacD's with the missus, grabbing a bite to eat after we had just gone to the Hospital for her 20 week scan (She's currently Keith Chegwin) and I was politlely waiting behind some schoolgrils for my turn at the counter.

Once these girls had finished, out of no where popped this pakistani chap who jumped in front of me and was then served by the other (foreign) person behind the till.

Needless to say, I tapped him on the shoulder and politely reminded him that there was a queue. He did try to defend his actions and, strangely enough, so did the McD's employee, despite her knowing full well he had jumped in.

After he had finished his protestations, I reminded him again, perhaps more curtly this time, that there was a queue and perhaps he should reconsider his position.

Again he protested, but I just gave him a stare, breathed in long and deep, after which he suddenly recanted and he moved out the way. Must have been the look I had in my eye.

Oddly enough, it really got my back up. I can stand being called all the names under the sun and it won't bother me, I can be shafted by various companies as I get passed from pillar and post on the phone and I will perserver.

But god forbid anyone should try and jump a queue that I am in, as it really makes my blood boil! I have been arrested before getting into a fight in queue after someone pushed in at a swimming pool many years ago and that is the only time I have had a brush with the fuzz.

Take pride in British culture.

Stop believing the Brit-Bashing rubbish pelting your senses every moment of every day. It's garbage, just like the Anti-American propaganda so prevalent in the MSM.

I mean, hell, grab hold of something, right? There's an ongoing assault on sovereignty worldwide — as the Global Union flexes its grip on our asses, we have to make a decision: Will we go quietly into the night as we are ASSIMILATED into one homogenous mess of one government, one law, one economy, one currency, under no god; or do we ASSERT our CULTURAL IDENTITY and stand up as sovereign nations with cultural distinction?

For Godsake, look at the fekking ground upon which you trod — The fekking Romans were there, that's in you, the Vikings raided your islands and their blood is in you, as well! Britain ruled the whole fekking world, didn't it?

Yeah, you can draw strength from the past, it's called PRIDE. It's called NATIONALISM.

A green light is flashing on an FBI monitor somewhere, OMG, someone on the Internet said

NATIONALISM

— Doc Velocity





[edit on 4/5/2010 by Doc Velocity]