Happy St George's Day, everyone!

Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park.
You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames--
That old river poet that never, ever ends.
Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in,
And keep the tower from tumbling.

This has to be one of the most uneventful days in the English calendar.

ENGERLUND
ENGERLUND
ENGERLUND NA NA
ENGURLUND

God save the Queen

#BELIEVE

Random question; does anyone else feel 'ashamed' about St Georges day or being English etc?

For me, St G and ENGERLUND just conjures up images of fat skinheads with bulldog tattoos, and I would never tell anyone I was English. If anyone asks, Im British. I have a few England footie shirts from a few years back, but I just cant wear them anymore without feeling embarrassed. I would never dream of wearing or displaying a St G cross.

The typical 'English' man: Fat, balding, gold sov ring, likes the England band at the footie, drives a Zafira or Focus, doesnt like them lot coming over 'ere and stealing our jobs.

Falsey wrote:Random question; does anyone else feel 'ashamed' about St Georges day or being English etc?

For me, St G and ENGERLUND just conjures up images of fat skinheads with bulldog tattoos, and I would never tell anyone I was English. If anyone asks, Im British. I have a few England footie shirts from a few years back, but I just cant wear them anymore without feeling embarrassed. I would never dream of wearing or displaying a St G cross.

The typical 'English' man: Fat, balding, gold sov ring, likes the England band at the footie, drives a Zafira or Focus, doesnt like them lot coming over 'ere and stealing our jobs.

Well your post reveals a lot about you, rather any notion of what English nationalism may or may not be. Personally, I think it's a travesty that anyone who celebrates 'Englishness' is immediately sneered at, if not accused of outright racism. Being proud of your country, wanting to celebrate all that's good about it is not some cardinal sin and it's not - as far as I know - against the law.

At a time when Scottish nationalism is rampant, as is Welsh nationalism, why is it such a social no-no to speak out for English nationalism? Why is Scottish nationalism, for instance, just fine and dandy, but English nationalism definitely not?

Cal wrote:

Falsey wrote:Random question; does anyone else feel 'ashamed' about St Georges day or being English etc?

For me, St G and ENGERLUND just conjures up images of fat skinheads with bulldog tattoos, and I would never tell anyone I was English. If anyone asks, Im British. I have a few England footie shirts from a few years back, but I just cant wear them anymore without feeling embarrassed. I would never dream of wearing or displaying a St G cross.

The typical 'English' man: Fat, balding, gold sov ring, likes the England band at the footie, drives a Zafira or Focus, doesnt like them lot coming over 'ere and stealing our jobs.

Well your post reveals a lot about you, rather any notion of what English nationalism may or may not be. Personally, I think it's a travesty that anyone who celebrates 'Englishness' is immediately sneered at, if not accused of outright racism. Being proud of your country, wanting to celebrate all that's good about it is not some cardinal sin and it's not - as far as I know - against the law.

At a time when Scottish nationalism is rampant, as is Welsh nationalism, why is it such a social no-no to speak out for English nationalism? Why is Scottish nationalism, for instance, just fine and dandy, but English nationalism definitely not?

I didnt say anything about it being illegal or a cardinal sin - that speaks a lot about you

I just dont feel I have a lot to be proud of about being 'English'. (Full disclosure, my blood is 50% English, 50% Welsh).

I personally feel as though the image of a proud Englishman has been tarnished beyond repair by shameful ultra nationalists and self unaware idiots. And thats before we get started on what a weird thing it is to be a patriot anyway - you cant control where you were born, after all.

Can I ask what it is that you feel proud of about being English?

Falsey wrote:Random question; does anyone else feel 'ashamed' about St Georges day or being English etc?

For me, St G and ENGERLUND just conjures up images of fat skinheads with bulldog tattoos, and I would never tell anyone I was English. If anyone asks, Im British. I have a few England footie shirts from a few years back, but I just cant wear them anymore without feeling embarrassed. I would never dream of wearing or displaying a St G cross.

The typical 'English' man: Fat, balding, gold sov ring, likes the England band at the footie, drives a Zafira or Focus, doesnt like them lot coming over 'ere and stealing our jobs.

I don't feel ashamed or anything of the sort, but I see no reason to be "proud" of being English. I am happy to be English, I like living here and most of the people are ok, but pride? I had zero choice in where I was born and so it seems odd to have pride over an accident of birth.

I have no idea why people get so patriotic over St George though. I am not a Christian so I don't care about Saints and St George never even visited England so see no reason to give a gooseberry fool about him.

Of course my views would change if they ever decided to make St George's day a bank holiday....

Falsey wrote:

Cal wrote:

Falsey wrote:Random question; does anyone else feel 'ashamed' about St Georges day or being English etc?

For me, St G and ENGERLUND just conjures up images of fat skinheads with bulldog tattoos, and I would never tell anyone I was English. If anyone asks, Im British. I have a few England footie shirts from a few years back, but I just cant wear them anymore without feeling embarrassed. I would never dream of wearing or displaying a St G cross.

The typical 'English' man: Fat, balding, gold sov ring, likes the England band at the footie, drives a Zafira or Focus, doesnt like them lot coming over 'ere and stealing our jobs.

Well your post reveals a lot about you, rather any notion of what English nationalism may or may not be. Personally, I think it's a travesty that anyone who celebrates 'Englishness' is immediately sneered at, if not accused of outright racism. Being proud of your country, wanting to celebrate all that's good about it is not some cardinal sin and it's not - as far as I know - against the law.

At a time when Scottish nationalism is rampant, as is Welsh nationalism, why is it such a social no-no to speak out for English nationalism? Why is Scottish nationalism, for instance, just fine and dandy, but English nationalism definitely not?

I didnt say anything about it being illegal or a cardinal sin - that speaks a lot about you

I just dont feel I have a lot to be proud of about being 'English'. (Full disclosure, my blood is 50% English, 50% Welsh).

I personally feel as though the image of a proud Englishman has been tarnished beyond repair by shameful ultra nationalists and self unaware idiots. And thats before we get started on what a weird thing it is to be a patriot anyway - you cant control where you were born, after all.

Can I ask what it is that you feel proud of about being English?

Just the 'Englishness' of it. Nothing to do with race or even patriotism. I love England's history and I've always been quietly happy that I was born an Englishman. I agree that English nationalism has been tarnished by morons, but that doesn't invalidate being proud of your country and wanting to celebrate it's heritage.

It's a shame that these days English nationalism is not permitted to speak its name at a time when both Scottish and Welsh nationalism are spoken about almost daily without a second thought and yet when we stop and analyse what is being spoken about we understand that both Scottish and Welsh nationalism are actually the politics of division. As far as I'm aware English nationalism is quite the opposite: a celebration of our role within the United Kingdom, just one part of a greater nation, and a wish to keep it so.

Enjoy your day off, mainlanders.

Today isn't a day to speak about Scottish or Welsh nationalism. Why did you feel the need to bring up the Scots or the Welsh, Cal, when their national days are nowhere near this time of year? St. David's Day has already been and St. Andrew's Day isn't until November. Nobody else was talking about them, and there's absolutely no need, or point, in comparing the countries.

EDIT: Don't think St. George's Day is a national holiday, is it? Certainly haven't seen anyone lounging about in central London today.

EDIT THE SECOND: Is there a patron saint of Northern Ireland, or do they just fall in line with Paddy's Day?

Oh.

I have no idea why anyone would be ashamed about St George's Day (non-event that it is) or being English.
If you feel that the image of an English person has been tarnished by shameful ultra nationalists and self unaware idiots then you need to get out of the country more and don't always believe what the media tell you.
From when I went abroad most peoples view of the English were of very polite people who drunk lots of tea. Although for a lot of foreign people British=English=British.

(Full disclosure, my blood is 50% English, 50% Welsh so I feel more British, but then more English than Welsh)

So... where's the dragon?

See? Some of the replies in here is testament as to why English people don't celebrate St. George's Day. They're afraid to be tarnished by the same brush of the stereotypical 'thug' description. I'm not fat, bald, no tattoo, no rings/ ear rings, don't drive any of those cars or white van, and not racist. But it's great to be labeled in that category.

I'm English.

Hyperion wrote:I have no idea why anyone would be ashamed about St George's Day (non-event that it is) or being English.
If you feel that the image of an English person has been tarnished by shameful ultra nationalists and self unaware idiots then you need to get out of the country more and don't always believe what the media tell you.

From when I went abroad most peoples view of the English were of very polite people who drunk lots of tea. Although for a lot of foreign people British=English=British.

(Full disclosure, my blood is 50% English, 50% Welsh so I feel more British, but then more English than Welsh)

I was practically treated as royalty when I was in America. They sure love the English (even if half of them thought I was Australian).

Cal wrote:

Hyperion wrote:I have no idea why anyone would be ashamed about St George's Day (non-event that it is) or being English.
If you feel that the image of an English person has been tarnished by shameful ultra nationalists and self unaware idiots then you need to get out of the country more and don't always believe what the media tell you.

From when I went abroad most peoples view of the English were of very polite people who drunk lots of tea. Although for a lot of foreign people British=English=British.

(Full disclosure, my blood is 50% English, 50% Welsh so I feel more British, but then more English than Welsh)

I was practically treated as royalty when I was in America. They sure love the English (even if half of them thought I was Australian).

Really? I found that I got more love for being purely Scottish than I did when I revealed my half-breed nature in Texas, D.C. and the north-east. I guess it depends where you go and who you meet.

EDIT: There's also an inherent - and hilarious - irony in an Englishman being treated like royalty by Americans.