I'm middle class, white Anglo Saxon, English speaking and exceedingly handsome. I received, as my birthright, free education, affordable health care for life, a full complement of legal and political rights, and every likelihood that the state will act to protect and preserve those rights. Each one of us who is able to say anything similar, is among the luckiest people ever to have lived.

How can anyone in this situation consider themselves oppressed?


Shaw was Irish by the way.

Laughed at the bit about getting the Irish out of Liverpool

Would make moving to Tenerife a bit easier if that was the case!

Quality.

Great poem
With regards to the British thing, calling ourselves English isn't P.C. IIRC, look on all official forms for jobs or for government purposes that ask for your nationality, there is no English, or even Welsh, Scottish or Irish, only British (unless someone wants to make a specific distinction for language purposes etc).
As for the English national anthem, according to a book I recently read "Land of hope and glory", Jerusalem" and "Swing low sweet chariot" have all been commonly used as unofficial nation anthems.

I do dislike the attitude people take to the English, tarring us all with the same brush. When I was over in Dublin last year many people (especially landlords) were quite unpleasant, in the manner in which they talked to me and how long it took to get served compared to other...My gf who is Welsh had no such problems...

I enjoy being English, I enjoy the feeling of being patriotic, taking part in St. George's day, etc. On the other hand, I also love living in Wales. I've not been far, but Wales has got some of the best landscapes I have ever seen. I went to Scotland last year and loved the scenery and the food. And I will always want to go back to Ireland, to see where my great-great-granddad was born and lived before he moved to England.

I love being English, but I love being British too

You've obviously got excellent taste then


Not going to disagree with that either

Im Scottish If I was born in England id be English none of this british rubbish

I was with you right up until that point. Have you been paying attention recently?

RE: the nationality thing - the odd thing is, if I have my ancient history right, the Britons came over from what is now France and the Angles came over from, well, Denmark/Germany ish. So neither The English nor the British (nee Britons), which ever you claim to be, are 'native'. What I would suggest is that being English is cultural, just as much as being Scottish or Welsh is. It's not what we look like or the simple coincidence of where we are born that defines us within the conglomeration that is Britain. It's when we open or mouths or our mannerisms or how we dress or even what we eat or drink that defines whether we're English, Welsh, Irish or Scottish.

Jon

prove it

thats what I meant ,basically if you can trace your family tree back to before 1066 then you might be English after that it's a melting pot .
p.s. I love it here in Spain

I'm English and proud.

Proud English Clicky


Edit - I really should do more than skim-read threads in future Sorry all.

Ditto.

pat each others backs for not saying "british and proud" jolly well said there chaps, tally ho

See that's being a little stereotypical, even if I do flay my umbrella and shout "onward!" as I step out my front door most mornings