EDL (English Defence League)

[Finnegan]

I like soft cheese.

You're a female English teacher. You fit the bill by default.

I bet Germaine Greer's your hero.

[Koke]

and anyone who doesn't want a mosque on their road or anymore imigrunts is a knucle dragging nazi

We live in a capitalist society. If someone wants to build a mosque, temple or synagogue, they are allowed to - assuming planning permissions are granted. They are private properties, and you can't deny anyone building buildings where they see fit. Otherwise it becomes one rule for some and another rule for others.

[FoxyPV]

Finners (but true)

English national identity was built around the empire and being a superpower but since that has floundered with hilarious consequences, the english national identity has grown harder and harder to define. As previously said the NF and BNP ****s who wave the COSG make it a lot harder for anyone who is patriotic to be so without automatically drawing comparisons to these eejits.

Integration rather than immigration is the problem. It's trying to get all to fit into this mysogynistic, decadent, profit driven culture that we all love so much without alienating people.

Raising questions about immigration does not make you a racist, but the manner in which you do may.

BTW what is wrong with having a mosque on your street? Would it matter if it were a synagogue or a church? It's a place of worship ffs.

[FoxyPV]

You're a female English teacher. You fit the bill by default.

I bet Germaine Greer's your hero.

Andrea Dworkin's mine. GG is a fooking pussy

[Guest Bilo]

So does this.......

I'm sure the likes of Ihab Slimane and Shahara Islam are smiling down on the EDL for their actions towards Muslims.

[AoWW]

You're a female English teacher. You fit the bill by default.

I bet Germaine Greer's your hero.

No I'm not, I don't teach English any more (I'm just naturally pedantic!). And I don't read the Guardian.

And I can't stand Germaine Greer.

*sulks*

[Chairman of the Bored]

Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind. ~ Albert Einstein, The World As I See It, 1934

[Bellend Sebastian]

Is that a semi sensible post i spy?

Sorry about that

[The Year Of The Fox]

And what are you doing personally to help restore our lost sense of national pride?

Unlike most people my age, I know what the 23rd April is. I've known since I was a kid. I work for a start. Thats probably more than what half on here do

[FoxyPV]

Unlike most people my age, I know what the 23rd April is. I've known since I was a kid. I work for a start. Thats probably more than what half on here do

Wise up.

[Flynny]

I was wandering past the protest Saturday thinking: What's so great around England? Seems to me it's barely worth defending if this is the calibre of people.

If the EDL are what being English is all about then I guess I should emigrate.

[Dr The Singh]

Theres been many reasons as to why we've lost our sense of national pride. PC, the nanny state, the benefits system to name but a few have all caused this.

PC- The English/British (hate the word British) have become scared to show patritoism in case we offend immigrants. Its important to remember that immigrants are just that. Visitors (for want of a better word) to OUR country.

Nanny State- Health and Safety deeming for example, it too dangerous to hang a COSG flag up on 23rd April. Yet mysteriously, Devali lights may appear when appropriate.

The Benefits System- Too many chavs making careers from drug dealing, sperm donating, and living the easy life giving them no reason to get off their backsides to work, giving them no sense of pride nor belonging.

The list is endless.

All down to the Government. Bring back national service

Are they, most immigrants in Britian are British Nationals, ie have British Passports!!

I honeslty don't think the 'people' are scared to show patriotism incase they offend, it's more those 'officials' in government and councils that have no real life experience with either the 'people' or ethnics that have this notion. 'Ethnics' generally have no issue with patriotism, when we were kids we celebrated St Georges day at school and participated in the street parades, what's bewildering is that we all celebrate xmas (not the birth of jesus, just eh festivities) which is something my folks inherited from migrating here and yet St Georges day celebrations have just vanished!!

The point about Divali lights etc is that those people actually make an effort to celebrate divali, or Eid, or Vaisakhi, the government or the state allows free expression of all faiths, if the xritians or those english can't be arsed doing a parade etc then whose fault is that?? It's really funny how st paddys day is celebrated more then St goerges!!

Unfortunately flag waving etc is associated with far right groups, and yet my boy during the wolrd cup would be wearing a flag would be looked down and tutted by our white counterparts, WTF is that all about. The sense of Britishness is seen by alot of British society to be one associated with the whites, we need to move on from that, integration is the key to the future of Britain!!

[Houdini Logic]

Unlike most people my age, I know what the 23rd April is. I've known since I was a kid. I work for a start. Thats probably more than what half on here do

If you haven't got a clue how to contribute to whatever national pride is, then how are any immigrants supposed to know?

[Guest Bilo]

I was wandering past the protest Saturday thinking: What's so great around England? Seems to me it's barely worth defending if this is the calibre of people.

If the EDL are what being English is all about then I guess I should emigrate.

Exactly.

The majority of them have absolutely no idea that Englishness is as much if not more about tolerance, mutual respect and decency as it is about pride in itself.

They almost certainly don't know that we were among the first industrialised nations to abolish slavery.

They definitely won't know about the thousands of Indian soldiers, many of which were Muslims, who fought against fascism during WWII despite their country never being consulted about being declared at war.

This country may not have a perfect record in racism and multiculturalism, but it's certainly a damned sight better than many similarly prominent nations and that's what we should take pride in, not some jingoistic, fvck em all view of being English that these idiots seem to think holds true.

The sad fact is that national pride to them is not about celebrating our diversity and the countless benefits that have come from it, it's about hankering after a homogenous England that never really existed anyway, getting pissed in random cities and shouting INGERLUND a lot.

[rabbid]

So that makes pissing in the streets of Leicester OK does it?

did I write that boy?

[Trav Le Bleu]

Being English:

Basically, you have LESS right to be here than Italians, who were here before you (Romans)... besides which, most Northern English were conquered by Vikings and mingled with Scandanavian blood. Then the southern Vikings, the Normans (Viking/Celt/Frankish hybrids) took over the country and impossed their rule on the nation and yet more mingled the bloodlines. There has always been a fair bit of mingling with the original British people (Welsh, Scots, Irish) to further remove any sense of Englishness, but then during the 17th to early 19th centuries the British Empire (predominantly led by the English) swept over the world, enslaving people of many different nationalities, colours and creeds, and in many cases, bringing them back to England, where of course they had families. (In defenceof the English, they were one of the first countries to see the error of our ways in doing this - but they still did it.)

In simple fact, to be English is to be a mongrel breed.

And what is wrong with that? Mongrel breeds are the most hardy and prolific of their kind, and the English have certainly been that. Maybe that is where the strength comes from? Diversity, not singularity?

You'll have noticed I have referred to the English as "you", not "we". I was born in England, both my parents were, but beyond that it starts going Ireland, Scotland, Scotland, Ireland... if I were to take it back further, who knows where it ends? Could be I'm closer related to Julius Caesar than Alfred the Great. Does this mean that I'm not English? When I see these prats (EDL and associated groups) I feel like I'm not. I'm definitely British. I'm definitely Eurpoean, but more than that I am a citizen of the world.

[Chairman of the Bored]

Interesting read:

http://projectsheffield.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/edl-fail-to-make-progress-in-leicester/

[Alexikokopops]

Unlike most people my age, I know what the 23rd April is. I've known since I was a kid. I work for a start. Thats probably more than what half on here do

Roy Orbison's birthday?

[Chairman of the Bored]

Being English:

Basically, you have LESS right to be here than Italians, who were here before you (Romans)... besides which, most Northern English were conquered by Vikings and mingled with Scandanavian blood. Then the southern Vikings, the Normans (Viking/Celt/Frankish hybrids) took over the country and impossed their rule on the nation and yet more mingled the bloodlines. There has always been a fair bit of mingling with the original British people (Welsh, Scots, Irish) to further remove any sense of Englishness, but then during the 17th to early 19th centuries the British Empire (predominantly led by the English) swept over the world, enslaving people of many different nationalities, colours and creeds, and in many cases, bringing them back to England, where of course they had families. (In defenceof the English, they were one of the first countries to see the error of our ways in doing this - but they still did it.)

In simple fact, to be English is to be a mongrel breed.

And what is wrong with that? Mongrel breeds are the most hardy and prolific of their kind, and the English have certainly been that. Maybe that is where the strength comes from? Diversity, not singularity?

You'll have noticed I have referred to the English as "you", not "we". I was born in England, both my parents were, but beyond that it starts going Ireland, Scotland, Scotland, Ireland... if I were to take it back further, who knows where it ends? Could be I'm closer related to Julius Caesar than Alfred the Great. Does this mean that I'm not English? When I see these prats (EDL and associated groups) I feel like I'm not. I'm definitely British. I'm definitely Eurpoean, but more than that I am a citizen of the world.

Excellent post.

Pretty much sums up where I come at this. At the end of the day we are all of the human race. One day (maybe not for sometime yet), mankind will understand this and be able to live together as one. Until such a time, how can we encourage all to fly behind the flag of togetherness (and I'm addressing this at EVERYONE, not just "English" people)? Discussion, negotiation and understanding are three things that might help. I fear, however, that all races will need to lose their Gods, (I lost mine ages ago, I'm an atheist), their flags of convenience, their moral proclamations of "this land is my land" and their exploitative capitalist economic systems before we can truly begin to shape a collective, safe and sustainable future.

Hope I'm not sounding too much like John Lennon here, but you know it make sense.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Excellent post.

Pretty much sums up where I come at this. At the end of the day we are all of the human race. One day (maybe not for sometime yet), mankind will understand this and be able to live together as one. Until such a time, how can we encourage all to fly behind the flag of togetherness (and I'm addressing this at EVERYONE, not just "English" people)? Discussion, negotiation and understanding are three things that might help. I fear, however, that all races will need to lose their Gods, (I lost mine ages ago, I'm an atheist), their flags of convenience, their moral proclamations of "this land is my land" and their exploitative capitalist economic systems before we can truly begin to shape a collective, safe and sustainable future.

Hope I'm not sounding too much like John Lennon here, but you know it make sense.

Halfway through that post Imagine came up into my mind, so your last line made me smile

[The Year Of The Fox]

If you haven't got a clue how to contribute to whatever national pride is, then how are any immigrants supposed to know?

I speak my own language in my own country. Just as I try to speak Spanish when I go on holiday.

I respect the religion of the country I'm in.

To name but two.

(i know this is naff all to do with pride, I mean, how do you show pride? How does any citizen of any country show pride?

[The Year Of The Fox]

Are they, most immigrants in Britian are British Nationals, ie have British Passports!!

I honeslty don't think the 'people' are scared to show patriotism incase they offend, it's more those 'officials' in government and councils that have no real life experience with either the 'people' or ethnics that have this notion. 'Ethnics' generally have no issue with patriotism, when we were kids we celebrated St Georges day at school and participated in the street parades, what's bewildering is that we all celebrate xmas (not the birth of jesus, just eh festivities) which is something my folks inherited from migrating here and yet St Georges day celebrations have just vanished!!

The point about Divali lights etc is that those people actually make an effort to celebrate divali, or Eid, or Vaisakhi, the government or the state allows free expression of all faiths, if the xritians or those english can't be arsed doing a parade etc then whose fault is that?? It's really funny how st paddys day is celebrated more then St goerges!!Unfortunately flag waving etc is associated with far right groups, and yet my boy during the wolrd cup would be wearing a flag would be looked down and tutted by our white counterparts, WTF is that all about. The sense of Britishness is seen by alot of British society to be one associated with the whites, we need to move on from that, integration is the key to the future of Britain!!

Not skipping by the reast of your points, (most of which I agree with) but I'm very very glad St George's Day isn't anything like the paddys day. I do not want it to be over commercialised and branded like theirs is. Incicdentally the people who celebrate St Patricks day and aren't Irish are the worst types of unpatriotic tits imaginable- IE mainly students. I'm quite an eductaed lad but I'm bloody glad I didn't go uni surrounded by those types of people

[Fosse Boy]

Being English:

Basically, you have LESS right to be here than Italians, who were here before you (Romans)... besides which, most Northern English were conquered by Vikings and mingled with Scandanavian blood.

Apparently the clever old Vikings nicked our best blonde women and took them back with them, while "accidentally" leaving their native gingers over here. Selective breeding at its finest.

[Raj]

Is City Center safe now?

[Trav Le Bleu]

Apparently the clever old Vikings nicked our best blonde women and took them back with them, while "accidentally" leaving their native gingers over here. Selective breeding at its finest.

Nowt wrong with redheads. Besides, they settled here.

Oadby, Ratby, Sileby - basically anything ending in 'by' - all Viking names.