Britons never will be slaves. Yeah. Right.
Oh. My. Goodness. If England was a boxer, Mark Steyn would have plummeted him almost to death with this column.
Just a teaser to get you to go read it:
"Thus, Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, already feels Ms Owers's ban is insufficient. The cross of St George, he explains, is offensive to Muslims because it was carried by English crusaders in the 11th century."
"So Mr Doyle wants England to find a new flag which "is not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with". How about we simply swap with the Yanks? Give Crusader Bush the cross of St George and England can have the Stars and Stripes? The stars would be the 50 shards of a pork scratching crushed underfoot by a Dudley council official, with 13 horizontal yellow streaks representing the prostrate backbones of the nation."
As you can see, part of Steyn's column is devoted to Doyle's concern over something that happened in the 11th Century. That's ten centuries ago.
Ten. Centuries. Ago. That's one thousand years ago. One. THOUSAND. Years. Ago.
I cannot understand for the life of me what has happened to this country, to all of Great Britain. When did you become so limp wristed? Why aren't you telling these few wankers to just shut up? I realize that you are not an 'in your face' type of society, and I respect that, but having to change your flag, because of what happened centuries ago is ludicrous.
Perhaps you need reminding of what a great country you used to be. So here are the lyrics of your song, Rule Britannia, by Thomas Augustine Arne, in 1740, a wonderful song that reflects what your country is supposed to be like, not quite like the reflection that is starting to appear:
RULE BRITANNIA
When Britain first at Heav'n's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain;
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:
Britons never will be slaves.
The nations not so blest as thee,
Shall in their turns to tyrants fall;
While thou shalt flourish, shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:
Britons never will be slaves.
Still mor majestic shalt thou rise,
More dreadful from each foreign stroke;
As the loud blast, loud blast that tears the skies,
Serves but to root thy native oak.
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:
Britons never will be slaves.
Thee haughty tyrants ne'er shall tame,
All their attempts to bend thee down
Will but arouse, arouse thy generous flame;
But work their woe, and thy renown.
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:
Britons never will be slaves.
The Muses, still with freedom found,
Shall to thy happy coast repair;
Blest Isle! With matchless beauty crowned,
And manly hearts to juide the fair.
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:
Britons never will be slaves.
The United Kingdom better get a grip on yourselves soon. Or your country as you know it, will disappear from view forever.
posted by Laura @ 10:10 AM
26 Comments:
so now we know why em whingeing and moaning muslims [ok so not all] are taking UK for a ride? the cross of st george is offensive eh? might as well remove the royal family altogether as they are of german descent, i mean ain't em gerry's tried to invade the whole of GB in 1939?
good grief. wake up the UK before i decide to re-settle in NZ instead.
sorry Alice, but i can't help it but think em canucks also complain about how the english were being a bunch of nasty wankers as they forced boatloads of scots to canada.. you know the rest.
but what the hey, that was 2/3 hundred years ago and you folks still have got a massive chip on yer shoulders? gee whiz. just like younger singaporeans who fobbed their gobs about how the brits made their grandparents suffer ... nah, shan't bore you then.
Alice. You have misread the English mind.
When we see crap ideas like this we simply ignore it. We laugh at it. Bollocks - it will never happen. They dare not even try.
HA. HA! I hope you are right, Birdy. I really do.
Letter b, I feel your pain.
Having an issue in one prison or one fire brigade over the English flag isn't really the end of civilisation. Obviously it's silly over-zealous PC values but nothing to panic about.
I think the English do have a different relationship in general to our symbols, especially our flag, than the Americans do. It seems that the Stars and Stripes is a unifying force of a young nation - and is shown in many schools, homes and public buildings. Yet many americans say they areItalian or Irish when some of their great great grandparents may have originated from Europe or elsewhere.
In UK - we don't feel the need to display such symbols as we don't need that unifying symbolism as much. The exception of course (and somehow sadly) it's an English football match or (far far worse) a far right wing rally.
As for getting upset for past grievances - maybe we should complain about the French (Normans), Italian (Romans), Scandinavian (Vikins) and German (Saxons etc) flags as they have all in the past have invaded these isles.
Get over it. It happened about 900 years ago or so, right? Get over it.
gaffauk - true but why may i ask how come the younger brits seem to not know the words to the national anthem and some insisting that they'd rather sing to "jerusalem"? isn't that a tad more militant in a christian sense? it's a mighty shame that some i know personally couldnt go beyond "long live our noble queen". what's disgraceful to me at least is that they choked on the word "queen".
what's more shameful is aussies and canucks - and me, the odd singaporean - know the words better.
as for the issue on why americans say they are irish, italian, czech, chinese yet so darn proud of being american is because they are comfortable straddling between two worlds. i know it's something that any brit or continental cannot grasp, but it is simply they are proud of their heritage and never forget what their greatgreatgreat...grandparents went through to become part of the land of the free.
i know 'cos i'm proud to be peranakan [chink/malay/indian/arab/thai/portuguese/brit] and at the same time erm, "english". which sadly my english mates thought it weird. ::shakes head in despair::
I'm glad England led the crusades - it had to be done! Those damnable Islamists were invading everywhere and chopping peoples heads off - or if not that - than making them pay that tax and agree to be treated like pieces of shit. The lefties whine about the damn Crusades so much - what about what came before the Crusades??!! Huh? What about WHY the Crusades had to be carried out?? Huh? Nothing from the lefties about THAT. God Bless England for leading those Crusades!! Hold your head up and be proud - it had to be done and noone else had the balls to do it. Ya did a damn fine job, too.
As for Americans identifying with their heritage - we are proud of it just as we are proud that our ancestors had the balls (or the good fortune of being kicked out of their own homeland) to come here and make America what it is today. We are most of us 'Heinz 57 Variety'. Meaning that in many cases one person can trace their ethnic heritage to many continents.
I am Irish, English, Scots and Dutch. My husband is Italian, Irish with a tad of Belgian thrown in somewhere back along the line.
That makes our kids Mostly Irish (!), English, Italian, Scots, Dutch, with a tad of Belgian. (We've got to thin out that Belgian blood as much as possible...)
Your National Anthem is quite beautiful. I have heard that it is rarely played - which is too bad.
i recall this remark made whilst at the local to an english twat, you could say that i was a tad cheeky:
twat: "What are you then?"
me: "i'm as english as you are"
twat: "you can't possibly be english"
me: "oh yeah? why not?"
twat: "you don't look english so you can't be english"
me: "right, so technically you can't be english too"
twat, becoming rather menacing: "what dya mean?"
me: "well, you had wave after wave of varied continental barbarians plunging and pillaging the entire island innit? oh btw with this attitude your displaying is very un-english, not to mention ungentlemanly.."
right so that's why the labour govt were refusing to compensate former POWs from Asia just because they are not British/English enough? and what is the latest news, 500 quid? WT effin F?
Yeah, Krip has told me that there weren't any really true Englishmen(women) cause of all the invaders.
So when you come right down to it, there isn't any true anythings...we all are mutts, I suppose.
that's why it gets me goat when some chinks insist on racial "purity" [hoho. ho], unsurprisingly wee islanders also in spite of the multiracial propaganda and such. and they see folk like me as a blight to an otherwise "perfect" yellow race and wouldn't think twice of subjecting us to jibes and such.
oh and they didn't like the idea of being descended from apes. and from africa.
Alice - the sap of the Pissed-off tree is rising in this country like never before. One day, not too far in the distance, people of England are going to awake from their Scottish Raj induced trance and declare themselves a nation - because we are not 'British' - we are English!!!...... - have a look at this http://www.toque.co.uk/witan/
Ahhhhhhhhh, bugger - just seen your hubby's site and realised he's in the Witanagemot club already, so you'll know about it as well ....... D'oh!!!!
Alfie, let me know when you start rising up...we Americans know all about rising up and starting revolutions. Heh.
I wish I could share the view that Brits will "simply laugh off this nonsense."
Thus far, Burger King caved to the Islamists.
Piglet is the next target.
Statue of a a pig somewhere being protested.
Maybe the Brits could learn a thing or two from the Aussies:
http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/#112914101299262507
Mike, I am always amazed when I hear or read that it couldn't happen here in the UK, as far as I can tell, it's already happening.
lol - oh dear the UK has been going to the dogs for the last century if you listen to the tabloid press.
Isn't this the popular press or MSM - the Right so vehemently hates saying that it distorts everything?
If you judge a country with hundreds of local councils by a few crackpot and occasional PC madness then you are clearly distorting the picture of a nation. (Of the US or Australian doesn't have any example of PC madness I suppose)
btw - the council over the silly Piglet ban was a right-wing Tory controlled council in Dudley. And Burger King is a private US company. Subway also caved in over it's French Chicken advert - I guess that means all Americans are now surrender monkeys to Political correctness?
I agree with you Gaffauk. There are silliness on both sides of the pond, by all parties. However, weak links in any chain can do damage to the rest of it.
p.s. Nothing to argue about on this one.
Alice - out of interest...what 5 things do you like about living in the UK, 5 things you don't. And maybe 5 things you like about the US and 5 things you don't?
Like (UK):
The beauty of the landscape and my husband is here.
The oldness and history of the land and my husband is here.
Most the time, the weather and my husband is here.
Traditions and my husband is here.
You get more days off a year for a holiday and my husband is here.
Don't like (UK):
Too many things too expensive.
Narrow roads.
Congestion.
Too many people.
Alot of the fashions.
Miss (USA):
Different foods.
Family.
Our way of driving.
Politics.
Way of life.
Don't miss (USA):
The heat/humidity where I come from.
I cannot say what I like or don't like about USA, because, it's my country and what I like or don't like really comes down to what I miss and what I don't miss. There are far more things that I miss (from time to time) than the ones I put down. And I couldn't think of anything else that I would consider missing than the humidity.
I agree with your comments on congestion, expense and overcrowding in UK.
For what it's worth my thoughts (gut-reactions)
UK (like)
* Secular tolerant views
* Humour
* History
* Landscape - particularly West Country
* Language
UK (dislike)
* Our initial shyness/reserved nature
* Grey overcast dull weather
* Our occasional moaning
* Out of date traditions (monarchy/house of Lords/2 party state etc)
* Traffic
US (like)
* Americans are more friendler
* American culture - film, tv, food
* American landscape and cities
* Californian/Florida weather
* American history
US (dislike)
* Would be nice if some americans were more appreciative of other countries histories and traditions
* 2nd amendment
* Most of Bush's policies
* American out of town sprawl
* American sports
Whereabouts in the US do you come from?
My father was in the military, so I traveled, not only all over the USA, but all over the world. However, my family roots are in the Deep South, and that's where I went to roost after my many travels.
Ah, so you don't like our right to bear arms. Well, that's a freedom that is held very dear to the majority of Americans.
I think Americans do appreciate many other countries' traditions, et al, mainly because many of our traditions are derived from other countries. In fact, our traditions are a mixture of many countries, naturally.
I find southern California/Florida weather (as is Hawaii's weather) rather boring. I prefer seasons.
I already figured you as not being a fan of Bush (that's pretty much a given).
I have come to enjoy your sports as well as our sports; however, the amount of monies given to both countries' sporting figures are more than they are worthy of.
Bwahahaha! I do believe England gets 1st prize for whinging.
As the US is top dog for the last century and now the only superpower - I guess that has made 'some' americans a tad arrogant. Maybe us Brits are just jealous because we are has-been empire builders. And although I like certain US TV exports - there does seem to be a lack of decent varied news in the States. It's a shame that more Americans don't travel outside the US.
I realise that the 2nd amendment is dear to most americans and although the founding fathers had a lot of wisdom - I happen to think the US is no longer the wild frontier that it was. But hey - it's your country.
I like seasons too - but I could do with some more sun. Apparently I heard yesterday from a friend who works for the National Grid that the UK is in for a bad winter.
As for sports - I don't like sports much generally. Football hooliganism over here is just ugly. When 'we' win that's good - but generally I find it all so hyped. I have been to a baseball match in New York city which I enjoyed - not because of the game (confusing) but it has a good atmosphere. I mention US sports because you guys seem overly-obssessed with it. Along with stocks and shares - it seems to make up much of your news.
Sorry to harp on - it is a great country as I hope my top 5 plus things show:) It's my favourite place to travel. I guess - now that you are living in UK - you can see all our foibles. Although Brits are whingers I think most us don't mind laughing at ourselves too - which is healthy.
Have you visited much of the UK?
I do find while you make fun of others, you are hardest on yourselves, rather endearing, I think.
While living here, I've been up into the Peak District, Wales, the Midland, around Birmingham along the Ashby Canals (the canals, which I absolutely loved going on), and of course all around the Kent area including London.
I had already visited Ireland (Dublin), and was so surprised to see palm trees when I was there.
Another thing I have noticed, and it's not meant to be derogatory, but the this country is very much a gossipy-type of country. I find that quite a hoot.
I think one of the main reasons why we, as Americans, don't travel as much outside our own country ~ or our news not concentrated so much outside our own borders (unless it pertains to Americans) is that we are such a large country that there is just so much going on just within our borders. I mean, I once lived in a county that was larger than the State of Connecticut, and it was just the third largest county in that particular State.
I mean, think about it. Your tv weather gives the weather for the whole of the UK, while our weather forecasts tend to give for just an area in that particular state that one would live in (unless you watch the weather for the whole country).
True - the States takes up a large part of inhabitable continent. Lucky for you that Napolean sold off the Louisiana purchase. Although vast and young it is varied country.
So far I've seen Boston, New York, Washington DC, Philadephia & other parts of Pennslvania, Maryland, North & South Carolina, Georgia (Savannah), Florida, New Orleans,Memphis, Chicago, Wisconsin (Madison), California including San Francisco & LA, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.
Best parts - New York City, San Francisco and Savannah
Still like to see - Seattle, Texas, Yellowstone, Santa Fe - and generally a coast to coast trip.
A lot of European countries are the size of some states. In the UK I would recommend the West Country (particularly Cornwall, Devon & Somerset), Hampshire for The New Forest, the Lake District, York & Chester.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home