What Is British?

reply to post by Amitsumikaboshi

just a note on the state of the British oral hygiene, just because we haven't all been brain washed to have a "Hollywood Smile" doesn't mean we don't look after our teeth

So true my friend. There are people with bad teeth in Britain, usually the politicians. You're right though about the white washed teeth, the "Hollywood smile" It really does look stupid in my opinion, it complements that beautiful fake tan as well We call them "plastics" in Britain, the plastic people.

O.k back on topic after my stupidity What is Britishness? I don't think anybody knows that answer. I don't think anybody cares to be honest with you.

All the home nations share a lot of banter, we all love too take the piss out of each other, but in reality, we're all very similar in nature. Personally I'd like a English Republic, one can only dream eh?

P.s, don't forgot to brush your teeth before you go to bed, and don't forgot to wash that fake tan off

[edit on 26uTuesday08/27/08 by paul76]

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[edit on 26-8-2008 by Gun Totin Gerbil]

'British' isn't a ethnic categorization . It just means you got a British passport (or elligble for one ) .

ive lived in Glsgow and ive lived in the south of england you know whats the difference Nothing and your going to come out with the wages are 3 times better in the south yeah they are but so is the cost of livng its all relative
or their is more oppertunities there isnt unless you got some seriouse money and if you got both parents stil and they are both working you aint got a chance

The English media doesnt cover whats going on in scotland because it to busy reporting on kids being shot in the steet in the suburbs of the south or stabbed and how elderly people are freezing to death in their homes or having their homes reposessed

i work with young offenders across the UK and you know what same problems same old excuses nothing they can do with their lot

public education system fails these kids on a regular basis but they dont do alot for themselves sometimes quite hapy to sit on the wlefare system

i come from a particulary rough part of south london wich when i live in glasgow reminded me of greenock the same traps for young people and i got out and traveled and found this out found out about my island and its people

if you want to be independant good luck to you and i dear say there are many people in england that will be happy once and for all you get what you want but for me i think we will all be less for it in the long run i love it in scotland i go back there as muchas i can but i follow the work and the current place for me to be is the north east because their drug problem and young crime rate is about what glasgows was in it s dark times in the 80s

just one thing when you eventualy get your independance you know what there gonna do throw you into another union the European union and then you wont have any form of control because it will all be in brussels i agree stay and the same will happen but dont think for an instant they wont


EDIT
im sorry if ive gone off topic please U2U if anyone wants carry on the discussion dont want to be accused of hijacking again i apologise

[edit on 26-8-2008 by Amitsumikaboshi]

What is being British?
Don't really know.
But after reading this thread one thing strikes me, we are not satisfied with other nationalities criticising us, we must persist in slagging each other off and concentrating on what divides us rather than what our strengths are and what should unite us.

Yeah, The Irish contingent, the Welsh and Scots have been treat pretty poorly at times by England and have unique charecteristics but come on, I live in North East England and I assure you no region in the UK has been # on, exploited and ran down by London and the powers that be than here, by successive governments and controlling bodies.

There are many distinctive parts to England with just as diverse a culture as Scotland or Wales and feel little identification with South East England and The Home Counties.

Some things we do share in common are a common ancestry, a unique sense of humour and a resolve which is unequalled anywhere else in the world.

As usual we concentrate on that which divides rather than that which unites.

I am not some jingoistic, blindly patriotic person who believes in following Queen and Country blindly, blind faith in anything get's you killed!
But I am a fiercely proud Englishman AND I am also a proud Britain who will defend the Union and it's people however, whenever.

I honestly believe that any break up and disintegration of The Union will be detrimental to all of us.

[edit on 26/8/08 by Freeborn]

reply to post by Freeborn


DUDE!! you linked the levellers!! I know Simon, used to go out with a mate of mine from Workington, Mary, seen them live loads, lol even drank with them.

You are right that we need to stop slagging each other off, or criticising each other, one Nation, a United Nation, Rule Britannia, god save queen and god bless freddie

What I like about living here is I can see Scotland over the solway coast, I can see the isle of man, and on a really clear day I can see Ireland. Confused me actually when I came over the NE, went to see some friends in stockton and have a night out, travelling back to newcastle the train was going north, yet the sea was going the wrong way, lol. I dont get out much, just the festivals

reply to post by woogleuk


Think I've seen The Levellers 9 times now at different venues varying from Glastonbury 94, www.belowtopsecret.com... to Middlesborough Town Hall a couple of times.
Unfortunately never had the pleasure of having a drink with them, next time I'm in Brighton I fully intend to go to The Metway for a drink and hopefully bump into them.

Whilst not being a Smoggie I'm from as close to Teesside you can possibly be without being one.
I know a lot of people from Stockton, Thornaby, Boro and Redcar.

Did a few festivals years ago, getting a bit long in the tooth for them now, but couple of mates of mine are insisting we do one next year, funny enough I have suggested Beautiful Days.

I am fortunate that I have a very active social life and have travelled the length and breadth of this island and met some fantastic people, no-one can party like us Brits, of that I am certain and I have come to the opinion that there is a common bond that unites us.
What exactly that is I find hard to express.
Yes, there is an amazing amount of regional and personal diversity, and this should be encouraged.
This is one of the great things about this great Nation of ours.

I dont know...i guess it was some imperial patriotic elitist sort of thing...id probably just say im scottish...but apart from that patriotism really isnt a good quality to have in the 21st century...

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984

Hi ImaginaryReality1984,

The writings of Raphael Holinshed - Chronicles: The History of England may help answer your question from a history standpoint. There's also Chronicles of Scotland and Ireland in that list as well. It's a very lengthy reading though. The linkage for reading online is pretty frustrating and you have to click forever to get to the good parts. The way I work around it, is by going down to where it says 'Download this ebook' click 'Main Site' right of where it says HTML (the first one in the list). Hope that makes sense.

Another interesting read is The History of Gog & Magog, The Champions of London by Robin Goodfellow

Originally posted by ImaginaryReality1984

Originally posted by 44soulslayer
Queen, Country and Jerusalem.

All else is filler.

Why is loving the queen British? I've lived here all my life and i hate the monarchy! Surely the most British thing would be freedom to think what you want? Which country are you referring to? Because britain isn't really one country.

Jerusalem i will completley skip over as an atheist. If you mean the song then again i can completely skip over that.

"Freedom to think" is definitely not a British concept; I would say that's more American or French based egalitarianism. Britishness entails submission to the monarchy, at least in gesture.

Jerusalem = William Blake's hymn.

Those are the things that define the "British" character. However in the end, it doesnt really matter whether we have a rigid system which you can judge people by.

In an increasingly global world, what is most important is how people self-identify. If you consider yourself British, then you are British, however vague the connotations of this.

Only thing i know about British is,.

Americans take drag's of there cigarette's.
British take fag's off there cigarette's.


Americans say brb jimbob..gotta go smoke a cigg..

British say by joe..brb got to go take a fag break lol

i always thought it's funny.
www.mymumblingthoughts.com...
some link about smoking lol

I feel sad? Smoke a fag. I'm really happy? Smoke a fag. Feeling confused? Smoke a fag. Raining outside? Smoke a fag. Just ate a meal? Smoke a fag. Driving to or from work? Smoke a fag. Driving anywhere? Smoke a fag. Listening to music? Smoke a fag. You see the trend.

still funny to me sorry

first time i heard some guy talking about smoking a fag.
i was like dude you can't go around saying that here..
we go rules here in America lol
you can't go killing people.

[edit on 28-8-2008 by beforetime]

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984


What is British?

First of all, what is Britain?

Britain is an economic, political and social extension of England! (Not to mention militaristic).

Therefore, being British is being a collaborative extension of Englishness - do what we do, only with a different accent.

Go on - please prove me wrong!!

If anything, it will be a learning experience! (I luv our British cousins)!!

Breifne

reply to post by Breifne


Not true.

The Union was formed at the behest of the Scottish, who first voted for the Union to take place after they bankrupted their country attempting to be a colonial power. I might add that the King on the throne of England at the time was a Scot.

In fact, some of the biggest proponents of Imperialism in British history have been Scottish.

The problem is that the English get the bad rep for it, because we're the biggest country in the Union, but the Socttish have always have had a very disproportionate amount of influence for their size.

The English also have this image of being conquerors, which is not entirely true. Histprically, Scotland has invaded and declared war on england kore times than vice versa and usually with the aid (or under the direction of) of those dastardly French and Spanish.

I might add that personally I view myself has ethnically Cornish, but I remain loyal to England seeing as we're part of the country. I don't seek or desire Cornish independance, although some recognition from central Government like they gave the Welsh and Scots would be nice.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by Breifne

 

Not true.

The Union was formed at the behest of the Scottish, who first voted for the Union to take place after they bankrupted their country attempting to be a colonial power. I might add that the King on the throne of England at the time was a Scot.

In fact, some of the biggest proponents of Imperialism in British history have been Scottish.

The problem is that the English get the bad rep for it, because we're the biggest country in the Union, but the Socttish have always have had a very disproportionate amount of influence for their size.

The English also have this image of being conquerors, which is not entirely true. Histprically, Scotland has invaded and declared war on england kore times than vice versa and usually with the aid (or under the direction of) of those dastardly French and Spanish.

I might add that personally I view myself has ethnically Cornish, but I remain loyal to England seeing as we're part of the country. I don't seek or desire Cornish independance, although some recognition from central Government like they gave the Welsh and Scots would be nice.

stumason...you like military things from what ive read of your posts....Would you say the black watch from scotland was *fundamental* to the growth of the British Empire...or were they not such a formidable force in the British army as im thinking? Hell i cant even remember iof it was the black watch...but im sure i remember there was a force in scotland that the british sent into hard situations...sorry if im not making much sense...its beer day...or night.. Cheers

I did a little search on word origins and found this

O.E. Bryttisc "of or relating to ancient Britons," from Bryttas "natives of ancient Britain" (see Briton). First record of British Isles is from 1621.

Briton
Anglo-Fr. Bretun, from L. Brittonem (nom. Britto, misspelled Brito in MSS) "a member of the tribe of the Britons," from *Britt-os, the Celtic name of the Celtic inhabitants of Britain and southern Scotland before the 5c. Anglo-Saxon invasion drove them into Wales, Cornwall, and a few other corners. In 4c. B.C.E. Gk. they are recorded as Prittanoi, which is said to mean "tattooed people." Only in historical use after O.E. period; revived when James I was proclaimed King of Great Britain in 1604, and made official at the union of England and Scotland in 1707.

I used www.etymonline.com as my source .

reply to post by Lethil


Yes, indeed! The Black Watch even fought against the Yanks in the War of Independance. They were there in almost every major conflict the British Empire had. That's not even mentioning the dozens of other Scottish regiments that have been raised and fought for the Empire.

The Black Watch is now a battalion in the Scottish Regiment after the recent shake-up, but has been around in one form or another since the 1600's. See also the 42nd Regiment of Foot (The Black Watch) for the original Regiment.

Originally posted by ImaginaryReality1984
This is a question which i think is ultimately flawed. Because even in old times a scot would consider him or herself quite different to an englishman, and vise versa. So how can you even have the idea of british?

Even if we seperate the groups and say, what is english? Can anyone truly answer this question without sitting in the past? Cultures have always changed, adapted and grown or failed. Now i'm all up for being allowed to fly the flag without someone saying it's offending them. However i have yet to understand what is British and i have lived here my entire life.

What is very worrying is that some people only think white people are British and yet this is wholy untrue and absolutely stupid. Endless flag waving, the idea of a British identity is stupid. Remember that throughout time, bad governments have always used nationalism for their own, usually devious ends.

I have always thought of 'being British' as a state of mind. Its a way of life. Think of this that are only in British places. Big red Bus, London cabs.

I consider myself English first and British Second. Dont forget people in The Falkland islands are British. And they are misles away!!

You dont have to be white, English, Scotish, Welsh, or Irish to be British. Its a state of mind.

So what does everyone here think, what is British?

Originally posted by beforetime
Only thing i know about British is,.

Americans take drag's of there cigarette's.
British take fag's off there cigarette's.

No, we actually call cigarettes fags, lol, but you are right, it is funny.

Originally posted by Niall197

Britain & Britishness simply won't be around in a generations time. There's very few identifiably British things north of the border now anyway, I can't remember the last time I saw the Union flag flying from a public building (Queen Mother's death ?), I haven't attended a public function in over 30 years where "God Save The Queen" was sung. Apart from the coinage & postage stamps you wouldn't even know we were part of Britain, really.

You obviously have never been to Ibrox then, you won't find anywhere in Britain with more Union Jacks flying than at Ibrox on matchday, or even in the ground of whatever team Rangers are playing on away days.

Fish n Chips - sorry I just couldn't resist as I'm a Brit living in Spain and, even after 5 years, I still miss fish n chips and it's usually my first meal when I go back for a visit.

Seriously - I haven't a clue what British is. I'm from the bit of Britain known as England but my grandad was Irish (southern), my great great grandparents were from France and Germany. My daughter holds a British passport but also a US birth certificate (courtesy of her father) and now she's at college in Spain. Does she think of herself as British, American or Spanish = none of the above. She considers herself a member of the human race and embraces all 3 of the cultures she's linked to via her bloodlines.

Britian has always had settlers from all over the world so we're really a pretty mixed bag of cultures so no one thing sticks out at me as to what it means to be British but......

I can smell those fish n chips again