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Is Britain still great?


NurembergVillan

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We don't have the pride that the USA, Canadians, Germans, French people have.. It's like we constantly have to tell ourselves we're amazing as a group, but never do.

 

 

the trouble was in the Uk is for years we let racist parties like the BNP , EDL and Labour kidnap the flag and thus its nearly always automatically associated with negative connotations

 

Fly the flag on your property in America you are a patriot , fly the flag on your lawn in the UK and you are a little Englander or a bigot 

 

Personally I don't want flags flying on everyone's lawn , but I'd still like to see a bit of patriotism from time to time  .. you only have to look at something like 2012  and VT's left brigade spent the whole time fuming into their quinoa about how the Queens Jubilee costs 36p a person and how the Olympics were a waste of money ,whilst the rest of the world pretty much looked on with envy at those events  ...

 

 

If Labour had been in parliment during the Olypmics, I'm sure the Tories would have said the same - point scoring and all that :)

 

But I do agree, just gotta not be that guy mr Tony :D

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I'm going to tread very carefully here because I absolutely do not want to cause any kind of offence.
 
In general I think Great Britain is a great place to be. One area of concern I have is when I read/hear about these area's such as Leicester, Bradford, Sheffield etc where the main race (or will be the main race in x years) is of Asian (or other none 'white British') decent . I just wonder where this is going, if the traditional white Britsh people are being outnumbered in big towns and cities by large populations from elsewhere... are we heading towards some kind of cival war at some point in the future? There is afair amount of tension in certain area's, what about in 10 or 20 years time?
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Patriotism is overrated.  To be proud of your geographical heritage is nonsensical.

 

Great Britain is a great place to be/live, regardless of where you were born.  We are at the pinnacle of human development as a species, and Britain is one of the best places in the world to live it.  We have the best technological development in the world, we have the best state health service in the world, and we have a welfare state which, while heavily abused by many, is among the best in the world.

 

Our streets are relatively free from crime and disease, we are among the richest nations on the planet.  We have a rich culture of history and art, and a beautiful, green land that is the envy of the world.

 

Yet the British people are a bunch of miserable horse vaginas.

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I'm going to tread very carefully here because I absolutely do not want to cause any kind of offence.
 
In general I think Great Britain is a great place to be. One area of concern I have is when I read/hear about these area's such as Leicester, Bradford, Sheffield etc where the main race (or will be the main race in x years) is of Asian (or other none 'white British') decent . I just wonder where this is going, if the traditional white Britsh people are being outnumbered in big towns and cities by large populations from elsewhere... are we heading towards some kind of cival war at some point in the future? There is afair amount of tension in certain area's, what about in 10 or 20 years time?

 

 

I also share a concern in regard to this situation...

 

We have seen ethic problems in so many countries now and I fear you are correct that Britain might be subject to a similar problem in the future.

 

If I have the right opportunity that presents I will leave the UK hopefully at some point.

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I wouldn't worry too much about pop culture. In reality (no pun intended), a programme like the X Factor gets lots of puff and publicity, but is still very much a minority thing. I honestly have no idea what the format of X factor is, I know Simon Cowell is involved but I wouldn't know the name of any competitor or judge on it - or even whether its currently on!

 

That doesn't make me a snob, according to the official figures, that makes me one of the 88% of people that don't watch it. I'm also one of the 98.5% (ninety eight point five!) that don't watch Big Brother.

 

If you choose to socialise by going to town centre pubs and clubs late at night, if you read a tabloid newspaper, watch pop culture tv and use social media that is dominated by the young and inexperienced then you are going to get that as a major influence in your view of Britain.

 

** in my day** For me, as a slightly senior person, if people today think Britain is violent or crappy, they clearly didn't grow up in the 1970's with a ready supply of candles for the power cuts, a fear of football violence on a routine basis and police that would regularly give you a kicking because of where you lived.

 

It's not perfect, but it's ok by me. We've still got this ridiculous royal family that the reactionary UKIP types think make us the envy of the world when it's actually just outdated kitsch liked by out dated kitsch loving tourists.

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There are some great things about this country and I just say that the British proles are truly heroic in their defiance of the preachings of the plutocracy and sensibilities of the middle-classes.

 

As we all know, it is almost a duty to moan, but it is considered beyond the pale to actually go and complain to the man, so the only coping strategy is to just be as awkward as possible.

 

Who hasn't complained in pub and been given their ticket or threatened by 'security'?

 

Go into any supermarket and the atmosphere of down-trodden, resentful surliness, is a glory to behold.

 

To witness it at its very best you have wonder into some American-owned franchise, where the staff have been through the indoctrination process, but just lack the motivation to make their pre-scripted welcomes anywhere near believable and are usually accompanied by the sort curled-lip contempt, which kind of negates the greeting.

 

McDonald's is usually a pretty good experience in a low-key sort of way but for the full theatrics of hostility, resentment, and creative awkwardness, you have to visit one of those overpriced burger and cocktail chains, where the web-site promises you that their staff will offer anything from grief counselling to hilarious repartee, to accompany your twenty-quid burger and chips. 

 

The staff greet you with that look, which says something like, 'I might be earning minimum-wage on a zero-hours contract but I decide, how long you wait for your courses, and in which order they arrive'.

 

And then after handing over your two-hundred quid (the cocktails are expensive) you feel so guilty for putting them to so much trouble and looking so grumpy when they kept getting it wrong, you over-tip them, and then look for a web-site where you complain about how bad it was.

 

It makes you proud to be British.

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There are some great things about this country and I just say that the British proles are truly heroic in their defiance of the preachings of the plutocracy and sensibilities of the middle-classes.

 

As we all know, it is almost a duty to moan, but it is considered beyond the pale to actually go and complain to the man, so the only coping strategy is to just be as awkward as possible.

 

Who hasn't complained in pub and been given their ticket or threatened by 'security'?

 

Go into any supermarket and the atmosphere of down-trodden, resentful surliness, is a glory to behold.

 

To witness it at its very best you have wonder into some American-owned franchise, where the staff have been through the indoctrination process, but just lack the motivation to make their pre-scripted welcomes anywhere near believable and are usually accompanied by the sort curled-lip contempt, which kind of negates the greeting.

 

McDonald's is usually a pretty good experience in a low-key sort of way but for the full theatrics of hostility, resentment, and creative awkwardness, you have to visit one of those overpriced burger and cocktail chains, where the web-site promises you that their staff will offer anything from grief counselling to hilarious repartee, to accompany your twenty-quid burger and chips. 

 

The staff greet you with that look, which says something like, 'I might be earning minimum-wage on a zero-hours contract but I decide, how long you wait for your courses, and in which order they arrive'.

 

And then after handing over your two-hundred quid (the cocktails are expensive) you feel so guilty for putting them to so much trouble and looking so grumpy when they kept getting it wrong, you over-tip them, and then look for a web-site where you complain about how bad it was.

 

It makes you proud to be British.

 

That's the thing isn't it .. How was your meal  ..Oh Lovely thanks 

 

then go home and slag them off on Tripadvsior  , when anything could have so easily been put right on the spot

 

I make a point of only giving good reviews ( in the instances where I do  ) if it hadn't been perfect I would have done something about it at the time  ... always politely and always reasonably  , one thing i cant stand is people that scream and shout in public in a bid to show how important they are , i recall some woman on the BA flight the other month shouting and screaming at the cabin staff because she had been put in seat 2B and she wanted 3A  and then went on about how she has a BA Gold card and how she will never fly with them again   ...  what does it achieve other than making her look a bell end , she still spent the flight in seat 2B and it still had nothing to do with the cabin crew who don't even arrange the seating

 

I'll defend the fast food chains here as well , tbh I find the staff in them are quite friendly and helpful ..probably because 99% of them aren't British and thus are working because they "want to" and not because it's just a job to get beer and fags money innit ... sometimes I admit I get a tad annoyed that the Polish woman at Subway wants to know how my day has been and my plans for the weekend , but ultimately she's just making small talk and trying to make her job more interesting / go quicker  ,in much the same way your Barber and your taxi driver always used to

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Britain itself is a good country, but the people on the whole are not as friendly as other countries in my opinion.

I'd agree with that. I think in large parts of Europe they have that cafe culture where they all pop along and can sit outside with their mates, have a casual beer or coffee because the weather is generally decent, just generally get along. Over here we sort of have to make the best of what we've got when we can, and too many end up bingeing and turn out to be utter cocks. Of course it's hard not to make sweeping generalisations when it comes to topics like this though.

One thing I've noticed is on game shows just how little general knowledge the kids just out of education/uni have. They can just google rather than having to learn facts at school. I have this argument with my brother who is a history teacher and he says there's no need to actually teach them events or dates in our history any more. It's all just analysis and repeated essay writing. I don't know why anyone would be a history teacher and not want to share all of what's happened to make Britain and the rest of the world what it is.

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Britain itself is a good country, but the people on the whole are not as friendly as other countries in my opinion.

depends where you go tbf  .. Up North they are a bit set in their ways and the jukebox will turn off and silence greets any stranger walking in a pub but down in the friendly South you'll get a better reception

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Britain itself is a good country, but the people on the whole are not as friendly as other countries in my opinion.

depends where you go tbf .. Up North they are a bit set in their ways and the jukebox will turn off and silence greets any stranger walking in a pub but down in the friendly South you'll get a better reception

You're joking right? From my experience people in the Midlands and the North are a lot more friendlier than people from the South. In particular London.

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Britain itself is a good country, but the people on the whole are not as friendly as other countries in my opinion.

I'd agree with that. I think in large parts of Europe they have that cafe culture where they all pop along and can sit outside with their mates, have a casual beer or coffee because the weather is generally decent, just generally get along. Over here we sort of have to make the best of what we've got when we can, and too many end up bingeing and turn out to be utter cocks. Of course it's hard not to make sweeping generalisations when it comes to topics like this though.

One thing I've noticed is on game shows just how little general knowledge the kids just out of education/uni have. They can just google rather than having to learn facts at school. I have this argument with my brother who is a history teacher and he says there's no need to actually teach them events or dates in our history any more. It's all just analysis and repeated essay writing. I don't know why anyone would be a history teacher and not want to share all of what's happened to make Britain and the rest of the world what it is.

 

 

the other year after I'd been trekking in Morocco I had a few hours to kill so went with my driver to a cafe and we had coffee and cake together  , he knew everything about the UK , politics , football , events , you name it he kinda had an idea , not just UK either events all around the world  .. said when he was at school(or college or something)  they basically had a few hours in class each  week where they read newspapers , watched world news etc so that they were familiar with world events  ... and then you see UK surveys where 1/5 of teenagers thought Winston Churchill was a fictional character 

 

Now I'm sure it's very important for a UK school child to be able to learn parrot fashion from a text book , but I cant help but think they would be better served learning about world events in this way  ... I love it when my kids sit and watch the news and then ask questions , though not when they ask complex stuff that I can't answer !!

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Britain itself is a good country, but the people on the whole are not as friendly as other countries in my opinion.

depends where you go tbf .. Up North they are a bit set in their ways and the jukebox will turn off and silence greets any stranger walking in a pub but down in the friendly South you'll get a better reception

You're joking right? From my experience people in the Midlands and the North are a lot more friendlier than people from the South. In particular London.

 

well everyone in London is a tourist or a Northerner coming down because they heard the streets are paved with gold so you've confirmed my point :P

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** in my day** For me, as a slightly senior person, if people today think Britain is violent or crappy, they clearly didn't grow up in the 1970's with a ready supply of candles for the power cuts, a fear of football violence on a routine basis and police that would regularly give you a kicking because of where you lived.

 

 

 

This, this and this again.   As I said earlier, everything harks back to one of two things. It's either nostalgia for a time which didn't exist (people are reminiscing about the carefree days of their youth without realising that they had no idea of the wider problems which existed back then) or people complaining that global phenomenons are somehow unique to the UK.  The iPad quote from earlier for example. How short sighted was that? 

 

Out of curiosity when was the best time in this country?  The 40s with it's global war?  The 50s with it's extreme austerity? The 60s with it's racism, misogyny and threat of global nuclear war?  The 70s with it's never ending trade disputes? The 80s with it's rampant individualism and football hooliganism? The 90s with, well, I guess there is an argument that the ten (ish) years between the Berlin wall falling and the 9/11 attacks was pretty good but whatever...

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** in my day** For me, as a slightly senior person, if people today think Britain is violent or crappy, they clearly didn't grow up in the 1970's with a ready supply of candles for the power cuts, a fear of football violence on a routine basis and police that would regularly give you a kicking because of where you lived.

 

 

 

This, this and this again.   As I said earlier, everything harks back to one of two things. It's either nostalgia for a time which didn't exist (people are reminiscing about the carefree days of their youth without realising that they had no idea of the wider problems which existed back then) or people complaining that global phenomenons are somehow unique to the UK.  The iPad quote from earlier for example. How short sighted was that? 

 

Out of curiosity when was the best time in this country?  The 40s with it's global war?  The 50s with it's extreme austerity? The 60s with it's racism, misogyny and threat of global nuclear war?  The 70s with it's never ending trade disputes? The 80s with it's rampant individualism and football hooliganism? The 90s with, well, I guess there is an argument that the ten (ish) years between the Berlin wall falling and the 9/11 attacks was pretty good but whatever...

 

 

was saying the other day to a friend about how we used to go up the park on our own after school and play football , delivered our paper rounds  without an armed parent escort  , even went trick or treating on our own  ..... and all because the world was a much safer place

 

luckily for me I was born in the 70's before the catholic church and the BBC  I guess :)

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I'm going to tread very carefully here because I absolutely do not want to cause any kind of offence.

In general I think Great Britain is a great place to be. One area of concern I have is when I read/hear about these area's such as Leicester, Bradford, Sheffield etc where the main race (or will be the main race in x years) is of Asian (or other none 'white British') decent . I just wonder where this is going, if the traditional white Britsh people are being outnumbered in big towns and cities by large populations from elsewhere... are we heading towards some kind of cival war at some point in the future? There is afair amount of tension in certain area's, what about in 10 or 20 years time?

I would say this sounds more extreme than it really us. A lot of the traditional non 'White British' that make up these numbers are born and bred in this country. They identify themselves as British.

In addition to this big City's are still very much segregated in areas. Asians or non British will all be packed in to smaller generally inner city areas where the surrounding area's are generally White British. They are not about to feel alienated in their own country let alone resort to war over it.

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