'Eurasian red' doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Squirrel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Squirrel
So you think you are English
- Thread starter rik_uk3
- Start date
I accept that the logistics of being born in this country mean that I am vastly privileged in comparison to much of the Worlds population.
I cannot really alter that situation in any useful or meaningful way.
I just refuse to gloat about it.
I cannot really alter that situation in any useful or meaningful way.
I just refuse to gloat about it.
Mae angen rhywbeth Gymraeg yn eu bywydau - gadael iddynt credu eu bod yn arbennig (yn hytrach na anghenion arbennig!)
Can someone define what 21st century British means? Can you attribute a colour, a single language, a religion, a lifestyle to it? Who is a typical Briton?
And how it differed from 20th century British or 19th century etc. We are a constantly evolving island with many different cultures races religions and colours that do not always mix very well. Some folk may like the badge of British but I dont.
I am a Highlander, Caithnessian a "tea in a bowla" (local abuse from Dirdy Weekers) I think I am a mongrel of pictish/viking descent.
I do not class myself as British.
And how it differed from 20th century British or 19th century etc. We are a constantly evolving island with many different cultures races religions and colours that do not always mix very well. Some folk may like the badge of British but I dont.
I am a Highlander, Caithnessian a "tea in a bowla" (local abuse from Dirdy Weekers) I think I am a mongrel of pictish/viking descent.
I do not class myself as British.
Anyone with even a basic education knew that anyway.
And you know what - I couldn't give a monkey's. What does it matter?
It's people who see these divisions that cause the problems - pathetic little-Englanders. So what if you're English, Welsh, British or even Scottish, for that matter. We all live on this earth together. So that's what I'll stick with: an earthling (which sounds kind of funny, in a 1950's sci-fi kind of way).
And you know what - I couldn't give a monkey's. What does it matter?
It's people who see these divisions that cause the problems - pathetic little-Englanders. So what if you're English, Welsh, British or even Scottish, for that matter. We all live on this earth together. So that's what I'll stick with: an earthling (which sounds kind of funny, in a 1950's sci-fi kind of way).
Eric_Methven
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I'm just a human being from the planet Earth.
"What part of the planet Earth?" The part that is above the waves. Little else matters.
"What part of the planet Earth?" The part that is above the waves. Little else matters.
I am English. I was born in England, and this makes me English (regardless of who occupied the country before I was born). Not difficult really. The Government tell me I am British, and can't put English on a passport, but that is just their funny way of doing things!
Eric Methven.
Does that mean you would not fight for/support the country you were born in, or follow any national politics or national team sports at all? I'm just curious, that's all.
Eric Methven.
Does that mean you would not fight for/support the country you were born in, or follow any national politics or national team sports at all? I'm just curious, that's all.
Eric_Methven
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Follow national politics? Follow national team sports? No! All the political adgendas are already planned out regardless of what I think, and I don't give a stuff about sport.
Fight for my country? Been there, done that. (9 years in the army).
Apart from that, as long as nobody tries to mess with my friends or family, I say live and let live.
Eric
Fight for my country? Been there, done that. (9 years in the army).
Apart from that, as long as nobody tries to mess with my friends or family, I say live and let live.
Eric
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's comin yet for a' that
That man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brithers be for a' that.
Mr R. Burns.
It's comin yet for a' that
That man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brithers be for a' that.
Mr R. Burns.
There are no descendants of indigenous people anywhere in the British isles. The last true Britons were driven out or killed off by the last glacial period 12,000 years ago - a blink of an eye in the history of man. The whole country was covered by a sheet of ice hundreds of meters thick. There isn't a single man, woman or child in any part of these isles who can trace their descendants back further than that. When the ice melted, these islands were re-populated from all over the place, which means we are all descendants of immigrants, Scots, Welsh, Irish and English - all of us. We are a nation of mongrels.
In fact, this didnt happen just the once, but SEVEN times....
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Brit...umans-Before-the-Final-Settlement-37597.shtml
So you think you are English (Welsh/Scottish/Irish)? ...pahhhh.
In fact, this didnt happen just the once, but SEVEN times....
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Brit...umans-Before-the-Final-Settlement-37597.shtml
So you think you are English (Welsh/Scottish/Irish)? ...pahhhh.
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Yup, agree 100% with that.
I'm always a little bemused by people's idea of what 'patriotism' is - as if unswerving loyalty and agreement in any way proves your love of your country. Seems to me that it's the people who disagree and want better are the ones who really care.
'Patriots' and 'nationalists' are just blind fools. Doesn't mean they can't be right on occasion, but it's an 'accidental' right rather than an 'objective' right
resnikov
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I think I am English, as I was born in England but also consider myself British as England is part of Great Britain. Now to confuse matters I also consider myself to be Australian. I hold both British and Australian Citizenship (2 passports, how cool!). So really I am just a citizen of earth and happy with that.
Some posted about Africa and how we drew up countries with out looking at tribal areas. There is an intresting map of Australia which shows the tribals boundrys Clicky What makes the map really intresting is each tribe skills were very localised for the area they lived in, the costal tibes area were normaly long and thin along the coast, the tribes in the outback had very large areas as theres not that much out there.
Some posted about Africa and how we drew up countries with out looking at tribal areas. There is an intresting map of Australia which shows the tribals boundrys Clicky What makes the map really intresting is each tribe skills were very localised for the area they lived in, the costal tibes area were normaly long and thin along the coast, the tribes in the outback had very large areas as theres not that much out there.
I was born in Cape Town South Africa, to a Swiss father and SA mother. My grandparents on my mothers side were first generation SA from England. I think my grandfather on my fathers side was Austrian, and my grandmother on my father's side is Swiss.
When I turned 18, the Swiss consulate allowed me to adopt Swiss nationality - it's inherited from fathers. So I was SA and Swiss.
I went to live in Zurich, Switerland and stayed there for 6 years. I met my English (now) wife in France. I moved to England (Devon) and I am now British. (After 5 years of marriage I could apply to be "naturalised" as a Brit.) We've been married for 12 years and death will be the reason we part.
So how do I feel about being British? PROUD!
And then again, we're all just human beings. Our past and our heritage can't be changed, so we take pride in the bits we like and try play down or ignore the ugliness.
I believe that the world is becoming less territorial through the methods of communication we have and the relatively cheap and convenient travel we have. Though there will always be people more inclined to want a global view, and those who focus on what's local.
What a wonderful melting pot Earth is. Ever wondered if we were some science experiment?
When I turned 18, the Swiss consulate allowed me to adopt Swiss nationality - it's inherited from fathers. So I was SA and Swiss.
I went to live in Zurich, Switerland and stayed there for 6 years. I met my English (now) wife in France. I moved to England (Devon) and I am now British. (After 5 years of marriage I could apply to be "naturalised" as a Brit.) We've been married for 12 years and death will be the reason we part.
So how do I feel about being British? PROUD!
And then again, we're all just human beings. Our past and our heritage can't be changed, so we take pride in the bits we like and try play down or ignore the ugliness.
I believe that the world is becoming less territorial through the methods of communication we have and the relatively cheap and convenient travel we have. Though there will always be people more inclined to want a global view, and those who focus on what's local.
What a wonderful melting pot Earth is. Ever wondered if we were some science experiment?
Eric Methven
Thanks for the reply.
I was musing over the pro's and cons of not caring about the country of your birth, and being purely a citizen of the world, but perhaps your time in the army makes you slightly biased (only perhaps, as I don't know you).
Yesterday, I was getting very annoyed while listening to a story on the radio, about protesters 'placing a curse on a judge (in the Old Bailey, and trying to openly intimidate one of the jury, and no charges being brought against them. I think my time in the army brings with it a feeling that if one lives in a country, then one should at very least recognise the law (even if not agree with it), which these protesters did not. Maybe if I had no affinity to Britain, then I would not have cared less, which would be less stressful. As I said, I was simply musing over this concept yesterday, and considering the advantages or disadvantages it could bring
Out of interest, would it make any difference to you if you heard that a soldier had been killed on ops, if he were British, or from some African army? Of course, this may reflect more on your time in the Brit army, rather than any bond to the UK.
I had a quiet day yesterday, and plenty of time to have a good mental debate with myself lol
Thanks for the reply.
I was musing over the pro's and cons of not caring about the country of your birth, and being purely a citizen of the world, but perhaps your time in the army makes you slightly biased (only perhaps, as I don't know you).
Yesterday, I was getting very annoyed while listening to a story on the radio, about protesters 'placing a curse on a judge (in the Old Bailey, and trying to openly intimidate one of the jury, and no charges being brought against them. I think my time in the army brings with it a feeling that if one lives in a country, then one should at very least recognise the law (even if not agree with it), which these protesters did not. Maybe if I had no affinity to Britain, then I would not have cared less, which would be less stressful. As I said, I was simply musing over this concept yesterday, and considering the advantages or disadvantages it could bring
Out of interest, would it make any difference to you if you heard that a soldier had been killed on ops, if he were British, or from some African army? Of course, this may reflect more on your time in the Brit army, rather than any bond to the UK.
I had a quiet day yesterday, and plenty of time to have a good mental debate with myself lol
I have read that when the ice sheets receded, Britain was repopulated from people living in the Iberian peninsula - who may or may not have originally lived in Britain but were pushed south by the ice age.
You can tell a lot from Y chromsome genetics, which is passed down father to son. A lot of people in Britain have the 'Atlantic modal haplotype' which is believed to have originated from the people who first recolonised Britain from the Iberian refuge.
AMH is most common in men from Ireland, Wales and Scotland- especially the west. Cumbria too.
I had testing on my Y-DNA at the request of a genealogical society for my surname, and unsurprisingly it was very close to AMH (my paternal family being from Argyll/Strathclyde). Interestingly I discovered two Americans with my surname and near identical Y DNA. We undoubtedly have a common ancestor in a recent (a few centuries) time frame, though we don't know any details.
Getting your Y DNA tested is interesting, but I think there is still a lot of conjecture, and there is always the worry of the neo-nazi racists exploiting such studies for their own crazy ends. We're all Africans originally.
And of course, we share much DNA with other mammals, in particular apes. It's interesting that native peoples who regarded animals as their 'brothers' were in some respects, absolutely right. We are bound to nature by genetics, as well as intricate ecological relationships.
You can tell a lot from Y chromsome genetics, which is passed down father to son. A lot of people in Britain have the 'Atlantic modal haplotype' which is believed to have originated from the people who first recolonised Britain from the Iberian refuge.
AMH is most common in men from Ireland, Wales and Scotland- especially the west. Cumbria too.
I had testing on my Y-DNA at the request of a genealogical society for my surname, and unsurprisingly it was very close to AMH (my paternal family being from Argyll/Strathclyde). Interestingly I discovered two Americans with my surname and near identical Y DNA. We undoubtedly have a common ancestor in a recent (a few centuries) time frame, though we don't know any details.
Getting your Y DNA tested is interesting, but I think there is still a lot of conjecture, and there is always the worry of the neo-nazi racists exploiting such studies for their own crazy ends. We're all Africans originally.
And of course, we share much DNA with other mammals, in particular apes. It's interesting that native peoples who regarded animals as their 'brothers' were in some respects, absolutely right. We are bound to nature by genetics, as well as intricate ecological relationships.
I really don't understand the debate here. I was born in England, ergo I am English.
Any questions?
Any questions?
