This is quite similar to what many republicans in the US are doing: making changes in support of their vision of white nationalism, then blaming the democrats, and even the non-whites, for it.
Very well said. I am thinking of Quebec, where I grew up, and where the desire to rewrite history has led to strict laws governing the use of languages other than French on public signs. For example, if a person posts a sign in a shop window, any words not in French must be in smaller type than the French. When the laws first came into effect, some shop owners simply covered over English words with tape. One day, I saw municipal workers using tape on what had been bilingual street signs. They claimed it was necessary in order to comply with Bill 101, the language law. So a street sign that read “rue Sherbrooke Street” would have the word “street” taped over. There was a lot of tape used in those years, less so now that the law’s been in force for decades.
I read about a Welsh word, “hiraeth”, which apparently means homesickness, a longing for a world that may never have quite existed. Perhaps these people are experiencing that, and don’t realize that what they’re longing for never really was.
Gosh that took me back. I remember Laugh Kookaburra(?) I don't know if that was the name. We even did "Tie me kangaroo down sport" 😱 One about not going to school today because it's raining. Another about sailing to the Carribbean. I can kind of hear tiny snatches of them. It's going to bug me for the rest of the day. Damnit.
Thé problem with flags and national identity is precisely the association with specific history. I personally don’t feel anything when I see countries like Norway Greece and Ukraine flying their flags all over the place because I am reminded that they were under the flag(s) of occupying powers recently or within living memory. The difficulty with the union flag is that pride in it is associated with a history of it being imposed on colonised subjects , often brutally (« the butchers apron « etc) .
In my school, we sang a song about how small the potatoes grew - which I later realised was about the Irish 'famine' . Later I learnt about the Bengal famine from my dad and the link between the two. Made me the anti imperialist Marxist from Romford I am today.
Great post: too many think that pupils are just empty boxes that can be filled with whatever content. But of course they aren't, and what they take from their education is not always what the educators intended. If I wanted to be provocative, I'd say: give them a solid nationalistic education, make them sing the hymn while raising the flag every morning: it may be a good way of making them sick of jingoism, nationalism, and the like for the rest of their life!
I remember Singing Together, the old radio being wheeled into the classroom. I remember The Keeper, and can hear it still. I am now a family historian and whenever I come across a keeper, I imagine he looks like the brooding long-haired man, printed in the dark blue of that issue of the song sheet. I also remember singing Kalinka. I hadn’t thought of it as cultural and multicultural education but of course, it was!
As for now, I really don’t know what kind of country people are imagining is under threat, only that they have been given some neatly packaged answers to the problem.
trump, farage, robinson et al see to all follow the mantra of "if i shout something loud enough people will believe it" they speak for a tiny minority that speak for themselves. they want to be back 100 plus years where the world was different. they are all image over content
I agree with what you say Billy, but must add: every community needs something to be proud of, and so i think, we need something to replace the Imperialist outlook that previous generations were very proud of. England has been around alot longer than the Empire, and our culture should reflect this, or would if we were not 99.999% urbanites.
Just off the top of my head: what is traditional dress for England? Like countries at Olympic opening ceremonies in their so called 'National' dress.
What really is the 'National' dish of England or at least what traditional food that is not fish n chips or roast would you reccomend to visitors?
We are the first industrial nation, and without much industry now, and that includes the most important one: agriculture.
Not just England, all the countries of the UK need something to be proud of that cheap food, clothes, and gadgets cannot replace.
Obviously flying the flags that represent our countries and communities should have no negative association, because we obviously need a National identity/our wider community. The National identity has been distilled using the ingredients of all the regions of this land and the ancient customs of each, when we might do well to save the heritage of these ancient customs and thier region's identities whilst looking beyond our recent identity of Empire. We share in our old customs and culture, with every other culture in this world as equals.
This is quite similar to what many republicans in the US are doing: making changes in support of their vision of white nationalism, then blaming the democrats, and even the non-whites, for it.
Great writing. I remember most of those songs too, great tunes but not exactly philosophical guidelines! Rock on, Billy!
Very well said. I am thinking of Quebec, where I grew up, and where the desire to rewrite history has led to strict laws governing the use of languages other than French on public signs. For example, if a person posts a sign in a shop window, any words not in French must be in smaller type than the French. When the laws first came into effect, some shop owners simply covered over English words with tape. One day, I saw municipal workers using tape on what had been bilingual street signs. They claimed it was necessary in order to comply with Bill 101, the language law. So a street sign that read “rue Sherbrooke Street” would have the word “street” taped over. There was a lot of tape used in those years, less so now that the law’s been in force for decades.
I read about a Welsh word, “hiraeth”, which apparently means homesickness, a longing for a world that may never have quite existed. Perhaps these people are experiencing that, and don’t realize that what they’re longing for never really was.
Yes, although hiraeth is a pleasant, gentle longing, rather than anything that would incite aggression.
I think every asylum seeker should be issued with a flag of St George to hang from their hotel window, just to muddy the waters.
Gosh that took me back. I remember Laugh Kookaburra(?) I don't know if that was the name. We even did "Tie me kangaroo down sport" 😱 One about not going to school today because it's raining. Another about sailing to the Carribbean. I can kind of hear tiny snatches of them. It's going to bug me for the rest of the day. Damnit.
Well said, that man.
The Fall memorably used that "British Grenadiers" line as well.
I remember singing Down in Demerara: 'There's was a man who had a horselem'. Also some spirituals, which sounded odd in our Surrey accents.
Thé problem with flags and national identity is precisely the association with specific history. I personally don’t feel anything when I see countries like Norway Greece and Ukraine flying their flags all over the place because I am reminded that they were under the flag(s) of occupying powers recently or within living memory. The difficulty with the union flag is that pride in it is associated with a history of it being imposed on colonised subjects , often brutally (« the butchers apron « etc) .
How did I reach this age and not know that the English and British flags are different?
In my school, we sang a song about how small the potatoes grew - which I later realised was about the Irish 'famine' . Later I learnt about the Bengal famine from my dad and the link between the two. Made me the anti imperialist Marxist from Romford I am today.
Great post: too many think that pupils are just empty boxes that can be filled with whatever content. But of course they aren't, and what they take from their education is not always what the educators intended. If I wanted to be provocative, I'd say: give them a solid nationalistic education, make them sing the hymn while raising the flag every morning: it may be a good way of making them sick of jingoism, nationalism, and the like for the rest of their life!
I remember Singing Together, the old radio being wheeled into the classroom. I remember The Keeper, and can hear it still. I am now a family historian and whenever I come across a keeper, I imagine he looks like the brooding long-haired man, printed in the dark blue of that issue of the song sheet. I also remember singing Kalinka. I hadn’t thought of it as cultural and multicultural education but of course, it was!
As for now, I really don’t know what kind of country people are imagining is under threat, only that they have been given some neatly packaged answers to the problem.
trump, farage, robinson et al see to all follow the mantra of "if i shout something loud enough people will believe it" they speak for a tiny minority that speak for themselves. they want to be back 100 plus years where the world was different. they are all image over content
I agree with what you say Billy, but must add: every community needs something to be proud of, and so i think, we need something to replace the Imperialist outlook that previous generations were very proud of. England has been around alot longer than the Empire, and our culture should reflect this, or would if we were not 99.999% urbanites.
Just off the top of my head: what is traditional dress for England? Like countries at Olympic opening ceremonies in their so called 'National' dress.
What really is the 'National' dish of England or at least what traditional food that is not fish n chips or roast would you reccomend to visitors?
We are the first industrial nation, and without much industry now, and that includes the most important one: agriculture.
Not just England, all the countries of the UK need something to be proud of that cheap food, clothes, and gadgets cannot replace.
Obviously flying the flags that represent our countries and communities should have no negative association, because we obviously need a National identity/our wider community. The National identity has been distilled using the ingredients of all the regions of this land and the ancient customs of each, when we might do well to save the heritage of these ancient customs and thier region's identities whilst looking beyond our recent identity of Empire. We share in our old customs and culture, with every other culture in this world as equals.
What a super, eloquent post. Thank you ❤️