Can English people explain how they feel about this?

[Green215]

As an English person, do you hold resentment towards any country based on historical grievances like war, invasion, famine, colonialism etc? If so, which; if not, why?

The reason I ask is because I’ve always found it odd how the English tend to be the only people in the world who do not hold such grievances.

Irish people are always complaining about British colonialism; many Scots and Welsh likewise complain about England on a historical basis; Greeks and Turks complain about one another; Africans, Indians, Arabs etc complain about European colonialism and American invasions; China complains about Japanese atrocities and vice versa; Russia complains about German atrocities; post-Soviet states complain about Russian occupation; France and Germany complain about one another; America often complains about the Revolution; Canada complains about the War of 1812; Mexico and Latin American countries and Caribbean countries complain about American invasions or interference or colonialism; some Australians resent British rule etc.

But, rarely do English people demand reparations or sing “rebel songs” or complain about historical grievances. Why?

I could understand if maybe some English people resented Germany due to the two world balls or resented America for things like the Suez crisis and the funding of the IRA. And truth be told, I have come across some English people that are like that. But, they are very few compared to the other peoples I described.

I understand that this is sort of an academic question, but I wanted to come on this forum to ask ordinary English people how they felt and I hope you can give some honest answers rather than sarcastic responses or not answering the question properly.

You’re English. It’s yourself obviously. Mine did the same - one half to England and one half to Scotland.

No it wouldn’t be like that at all, not the same thing

Haters are gonna hate. I personally think they're all a bit jealous 💅🏻

It's exactly the same

Same! The way people live so far in the past baffles me!

Why let your ancestral past affect your future

The Romans, The Normans, The Vikings.

The Romans didn't have any interaction with the English whatsoever

There is still much hatred towards the Germans ?
Very prevalent.

And isnt rule Britannia about britains fighting off slavers ?

This.

Living

The aristocracy and the top landowners in England are descendants of the Normans.

No memory needed.

Well, they've had foreign soldiers on their soil at lot more recently than 1000 years ago, so that might influence feelings.

The Romans didn't invade England and the Vikings BECAME the English (in part)

The Normans were complete gits.

nit picking on the name there

Not one of the British army's most well thought out ideas. Although when the war started there no conscription and it would have encouraged volunteers.

The invaded the land that we now call England.

i see people are being very pedantic

I presume you are suggesting a different ethnicity for the people who lived in what is now England.

I think that's the thing - the English (and mainland Europe) spent a lot of time getting invaded by each other. We got quite good at it, then as technology improved we all branched out and invaded further afield.

Yes, the brits were very good at it, but the Portuguese, French, Spanish, Belgians, Dutch etc. all did rather a lot too.

Our oppression by foreign powers was just a much longer time ago than the countries on other continents that we invaded. We just developed the tech first to be able to do it - other countries were restricted to invading close enough neighbours but Europe invented ships and went out to find new places to conquer.

Although now I'm saying that - the crusades weren't exactly close to home.

I hate all nations and people equally.

Maybe because the English have never been colonised themselves?

Well of course. England being named after the Angles who arrived after the Romans

Urgh. Boring answer. We have.

@NotMyKidsThough Romans, Vikings, Normans….

But actually occupying and colonising aren’t the only way to upset a nation. Bombing them isn’t very nice either. Nor is invading countries they have treaties with, obliging them to fight and die.

England has grounds for grievance against quite a few countries as it happens, but we just don’t feel it, because we’re conditioned not to.

Definitely the Vikings ... coming over here, ruining the country with their shipbuilding skills and their red hair!

Sorry of course we were not English at that time but the Romans were predominantly in the area that is now known as England and I should have clarified that

To follow up on this, where is the English equivalent of this whitewashing of history (brainwashing with "patriotic history") in schools?

https://www.prwatch.org/news/2021/03/13701/rights-campaign-erase-americas-racist-roots

"Today's reactionaries are picking up the mantle of generations of Americans who have fought to ensure that white children are taught a version of America's past that is more hagiographic than historic", with examples cited including Oregon enacting a law in the 1920s that banned the use of any textbook in schools that "speaks slightingly of the founders", to Lynne Cheney launching a campaign in the 1990s against an effort to introduce new standards for teaching U.S. history which she found insufficiently "celebratory".