Happy St Georges Day

swiller

Good to see people celebrating in london.  Perhaps people just trying to cross the road.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1782790234557530292

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manicguitarist

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

ESBlonde

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

We’re never t allowed to be proud of our parents and grandparents who established peace and set us on the course of liberalism.

fretmeister

Shakespeare's day would be a better choice.

Absolutely huge influence on language and culture not only here but across the world and has the feature of actually being English.

robgilmo

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

Because it usually ends in fighting? I dont get it either, why arnt people out on the streets organising stuff and having a laugh?

Sporky

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

Because celebration is itself jolly un-English.

Celebrating Englishness is probably the absolute antithesis of Englishness. 

bluecat

St  George must have been a half decent bloke, he never complained when we pinched his flag.
I do agree, Happy St George's Day.

bluecat

And I am Jewish.

RiftAmps

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

A quick Google search of 'British War Crimes' might help answer that one

Petepassion

I'm proud of my friends and family because I know what great people they are and I love them. I can't feel the same way about a mass of folk I don't know. There's been some amazing stuff that has come from England, but also some proper dire shit too.
   It just seems a bit too far reaching for me. "I love England...well, yeah but not the rapists, the paedophiles, the thieves, the corrupt politicians", etc, etc. 
   Maybe to be proud of a particular person or group, but a whole country?

fretmeister

Pride in an accident of birth is a bit weird.

It's not even like pride in a team that took hard work to get into, and could get dropped at any point. Pride in anything that is outside of the control or even small influence of the individual is a very strange concept. I personally don't feel guilty about horrible things Englishmen did 500 years ago so I don't feel any pride for the good things they did either. I can be appalled at the horrible things and pleased about the good things, but being pleased is not the same as pride.

Still - I take this view:




But with a very healthy pinch of the incomparable Mr Pratchett:

Sporky

ESBlonde said:

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

We’re never t allowed to be proud of our parents and grandparents who established peace and set us on the course of liberalism.

You can't even say you're English any more or they put you in prison, right? 

sev112

Why does the media and “people” apply wholly inappropriate stereotypes on this day, but to do so to anyone of any group whatsoever in any other situation is considered inappropriate .

shoddy journalism and people’s views

CHRISB50

Who is fighting who in the video in the OP? 

Both lots look to be ‘wearing’ George crosses. 

Apart from being morons, why are they fighting each other? Any context? 

Offset

ESBlonde said:

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

We’re never t allowed to be proud of our parents and grandparents who established peace and set us on the course of liberalism.

Well... not necessarily.  I'm extremely proud of my Dad, who fought in WW2, and my Grandad, who fought in WW1 (and at great personal cost like so many others).

I can't stand these oafs who drape themselvs in the FOSG and pretend it makes them the very essence of what it is to be  English.  By the same token, I can't stand other people in this country who decry and belittle any outward signs of pride or allegiance to our nation.  Other countries revel in their nationality - we should be able to as well, but unfortunately the aforementioned oafs seem to have appropriated an admirable sentiment.

Wankers.

fretmeister

Sporky said:

ESBlonde said:

manicguitarist said:

Why do people loathe any celebration of Englishness?

We’re never t allowed to be proud of our parents and grandparents who established peace and set us on the course of liberalism.

You can't even say you're English any more or they put you in prison, right? 

Worse than that - you get sentenced to Transportation and forced to be another nationality!
I read it on the Britain First website!

fretmeister

There is of course a very real problem with the image though. 

This is a real tweet by Paul Golding of Britain First, and it does nothing but open up anyone waving or wearing the English Flag outside of a sporting event to absolute ridicule:




It's this sort of crap that ruins it for anyone who wants to use it in an appropriate way. Flags are an indication of togetherness / loyalty etc etc and when absolute melts like Golding do this sort of thing it lumps together all people flying it and causes suspicion as there is no way of telling which type of flag waver a person is.

That flag has a serious image problem and I can't see that being fixed any time soon.

Offset

fretmeister said:

That flag has a serious image problem and I can't see that being fixed any time soon.

I think you're correct.  It's heading the same way as the Confederate flag in the US.

robgilmo

fretmeister said:

There is of course a very real problem with the image though. 

This is a real tweet by Paul Golding of Britain First, and it does nothing but open up anyone waving or wearing the English Flag outside of a sporting event to absolute ridicule:




It's this sort of crap that ruins it for anyone who wants to use it in an appropriate way. Flags are an indication of togetherness / loyalty etc etc and when absolute melts like Golding do this sort of thing it lumps together all people flying it and causes suspicion as there is no way of telling which type of flag waver a person is.

That flag has a serious image problem and I can't see that being fixed any time soon.

There is a big difference between far right skin heads chanting about muslim ray guns and waving an English flag and a bunch of families having a street party with the same flags, anyone can see that, people just need to shake this notion off and get on with celebrating.

Offset

robgilmo said:

There is a big difference between far right skin heads chanting about muslim ray guns and waving an English flag and a bunch of families having a street party with the same flags, anyone can see that, people just need to shake this notion off and get on with celebrating.

I wish you were right, but I fear you're not.

mrkb

fretmeister said:

There is of course a very real problem with the image though. 

This is a real tweet by Paul Golding of Britain First, and it does nothing but open up anyone waving or wearing the English Flag outside of a sporting event to absolute ridicule:




It's this sort of crap that ruins it for anyone who wants to use it in an appropriate way. Flags are an indication of togetherness / loyalty etc etc and when absolute melts like Golding do this sort of thing it lumps together all people flying it and causes suspicion as there is no way of telling which type of flag waver a person is.

That flag has a serious image problem and I can't see that being fixed any time soon.

Would he really follow a bloke with long hair in a dress ??? Or are they marching him off to prison?