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.

That’s because “the English” haven’t been repressed by a foreign aggressor for nearly a millennia. So who are we supposed to resent?

We do like loathing the French though and like the fact that the feeling is entirely mutual. That’s in the English dna though right. (I’m English - my actual dna is 90% Celtic).

I don’t and it’s an interesting question. When I’ve been to countries and have had people say things due to me being English - an example is Ireland, I loved it there and the people were kind and funny but there was often anti-British sentiment from those same people - I’ve often thought that it’s just a matter of birth. If they were born where I was and vice versa we’d be playing each other’s role.

Education in England was often criticised because it doesn’t always talk about what we are responsible for doing to other countries, and that’s not wrong, but also it doesn’t tend to demonize what other countries did to us too. And when it does, it’s not so much about the country, but about their regime at the time. For example, not ‘Germans’, but ‘Hitler and the Nazi regime.’ Or at the very least not Germany now, I was taught (and this seems so sad given Brexit) that we were in the European Union as, collectively, ‘never again.’

I think often English people feel that we are intrinsically in the wrong, even though the current generation usually has nothing to do with the past atrocities. Whereas it seems other countries are sometimes taught about what was done to them. But, as I said, we’re all just a product of where we were born and what we heard (and saw and experienced) growing up.

Also - if England are knocked out of a sporting tournament, I always default to our neighbours if they were still in it. It was a shock when I was young to hear the vitriol in the reverse scenario. I know I was naive and uneducated as to why, but still.

I am really "English" if it is is being judged by the standard of generations back centuries exclusively born here (although anyone born here is, or if they're not can become so)

No. Our foes are now our friends and it shows the utter stupidity of war. The odd mutual jibes between us and eg the French in no way constitute hatred.

We just don't tend to do this. There's a distinct fascination and admiration for french/roman/scandi culture and heritage. Having a French name or viking genetics is seen as a positive. People will say the Romans knew how to build roads. Native Brits aren't traditionally a something for nothing culture hoping to cash in on something that happened centuries ago. I always find it odd that people who blame Britain for the ills in their homeland are weirdly keen to move here.

I actually have a slight grudge against Henry 8th as I’m an English Catholic and have been made an outsider in my own home*

*tongue in cheek

I think geography is really interesting with this - my Nana had a vague idea that the French were sending us bad weather. The TV would always say ‘blowing in from the Continent’ and she thought it was the French. Actually where she lived it would be the Belgians or Dutch but had to explain it was just weather systems rather than mischievous Europeans standing with big fans.

On the other hand, my Mum’s generation of East Anglian relatives LOVED Americans as it was post war and the military bases would still throw amazing parties for local children with loads of sweets, cakes and toys.

I do wonder if the Japanese was a big one if you had a relative captured - the same Nana really told me off for having a Japanese doll as a child as her favourite brother had been a POW and had an awful time. She was always the gentlest soul generally so really stuck with me. Much more anti Japan than Germany as a result.

My grandad hated the Japanese but he did fight in ww2 against them.

personally, no.

i did once meet an Irish guy who hated all English people. It was a bit odd, especially as we were both volunteering in Ghana at the time.

Weren't the English mostly doing the exploiting, as opposed to being exploited?
I'll be honest and say that I've definitely met English folk who are anti-Scottish, thankfully they're not the majority though.

No I don’t think so.
my grandparents were very suspicious of Japanese and had all known men who had suffered or died in Japanese POW camps.
but I don’t hate any other country or nationality.
of course I think the French are grumpy peasants and Americans are ignorant idiots devoid of class, but, y’know, in an affectionate way.

my Nana had a vague idea that the French were sending us bad weather. The TV would always say ‘blowing in from the Continent’ and she thought it was the French

Currently settling DD and silently ugly laughing at this

Huh?
Canadians complain about the war of 1812?

Never have I heard this.
Canadian of many many decades here!

We weren’t colonised in WW11 or invaded.

I don’t think about it at all. The decisions made in the past were not mine therefore any mistakes or injustices from the past are nothing to do with me. Being from a working class background I hold more resentment towards those in this country who do whatever they can to preserve wealth gained from the toil of poor people and perpetuating inequality.

This

I'm far too busy being ashamed of being English to worry about someone else's wrongdoings.

To be fair (I'm English) when it comes to the potato famine of the 1840s-1850s the Irish have a point about how the English government and landowners treated them at the time. Just read the historical facts and it's there. It may be a long time ago but it massively explains Irish/Anglo history ever since, demographics, and a lot more.

Yes to self-awareness! Also, the understanding that if we were born in each other’s shoes, we would be saying the exact same things as the other.

The English are historically the oppressors, not the oppressed. Of course they don't hold grudges.

I'm Welsh and I certainly don't hold a grudge against actual English people at all, because that's just ridiculous xenophobia and the people alive today weren't involved in the historical abuse my (and many, many other) people suffered at the hands of their ancestors. But if I'm thinking about history, geography, politics etc then it's never far from my mind how England annexed my country and tried to destroy its language.

That’s actually never occurred to me but you’re spot on - lots of Brits take pride in their ‘Roman nose’ or ‘Viking name’. My name is an Anglified version of a German name, presumably from the Saxon invasion. Happy days!

OToH, Germany is a very good example of successful reconciliation and moving on in a way that is both contrite and transparent, and fully set out guidelines and checks to ensure never again, and made amends in the limited ways available.

england has never educated itself, examined its behaviours, understood them or their causes or had a national conversation about the negatives of them.
Many English people are proud of the raping and pillaging; others shrug their shoulders, even more know nothing about it.

very different approaches

My FIL hated Germans. He was captured at Dunkirk in WW2 and spent 4 years in a German POW camp.

No, history is history. We do have a good sense of humour too. Went to theatre yesterday to see German comedian Henning Wehn and he made jokes at our expense and we all laughed because we “get” irony. What happened in the past is in the past.

No - I don't hate any other country. I have criticisms but isn't that just normal. We are just nice people!!

Of course we have. We do nothing but self loathe and ‘be educated’ by our Celtic neighbours. Nothing will ever be enough for you - we could have a day of mass flagellation to atone for our treatment of Ireland, and even after that we would all be told we are uneducated and have no remorse for the past.

Because it’s not really about that, it’s about certain countries that are unable to let go of grudges for whatever reason. Moral superiority perhaps?

It’s really because we haven’t been at the pointy end of the stick for maybe a thousand years. England is a very old, very stable country.

Part of the reason I love it. It’s (mostly) unbelievably calm.