Having being born in England but having parents from the West Indies I have always had a hybrid of cultures.
In some ways I consider myself an Englishman and yet there are some parts of the English culture, because they were never present in my household, are totally foreign to me.
As an ethnic person and an English person, I often try to ignore the ranting of random bigots and of course the BNP who try to make me feel as foreign as possible.
Maybe that's the problem with St. George's Day. Many immigrants and sons and daughters of immigrants would love to feel a part of the country but are often soured by the small minded and the plight of their parents.
With the cross of St. George having being seized by football hooligans and other thugs, many English people are scared of displaying their flag. It should be a symbol of pride but is now a symbol of fear. We need to emancipate the cross!
We are a nation built in the free labour of slavery and of the plundering of riches from other countries (sometimes known as 'The British Empire'). The legacy of this is that we have a multi-cultural, diverse and exciting society.
I think that this is what St. George's day should be about. Celebrating the country for what it is today.
Monday 23 April 2007
Scared of St. George's?
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The English – what are they?
It’s a good question because no one can give a straight answer. Unfortunately the people that usually do are on either end of the spectrum: either they are Daily Mail right wing nut jobs who think its ‘God’s country’, or they are ultra-left wing whingers who feel there is nothing in the country worth celebrating apart from, I don’t know, Tofu or something.
You are right to point out that the St. George’s cross has been used racists and hooligans (though I do feel the Union Jack has been their traditional badge of honour), but this culture has started to change. Look at the last few football competitions – English behaviour has been not that bad at all. Think of all the flags you could see flying around the country – were they all being flown by racists? I doubt it.
But I do think that you are right. St. George’ day should be about what England is today. And that is one of the most exciting multi-cultural countries in the world.
I’ll tell you a little story to highlight this.
England v Portugal in the last world cup. Unfortunately this fell on a day in which I had already agreed to go to my girlfriend’s Indian auntie’s birthday party in East London. But we thought we had time to get there and watch the match and then go to the party. Unfortunately the trains fucked up and we were marooned somewhere in East London – with me panicking because the match was about to kick off. We rushed out of the tube station to find the nearest pub, and luckily found one.
Inside were White, Black, and Asian (Sikh, Hindu, Muslim) supporters. All watching the match, wearing the England shirt, shouting obscenities at the Ref, supporting our players, castigating the Portuguese. I’ve never seen anything like it… this was multi-cultural England as I always hoped it would be. For the duration of that match we were all English. We were one. It was a great feeling.
A few more occasions like that would help solve many of this country’s inter-ethnic problems. Maybe St Georges day should this annual occasion.
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