To not want to be slagged off all the time because I was born in England?

[JustaNickname]

I've lived in Ireland nearly my whole life and my heritage is Irish essentially Both my parents were born in England when my grandparents went there to work when times were hard. My parents grew up in England, met each other, had me, moved to Ireland and had my sister etc. Even though my family tree would be Irish and my son was born here I'm not ashamed of having been born in England and I love it there and still have plenty of family there. My problem is that a lot of the people I know slag off the English all the time to the point I actually end up getting into heated discussions with them. Usually on FB over Football matches and such but sometimes in RL as well.

AIBU to expect that If you really hate the English that much and insistent on labeling every English person a C**T then maybe you shouldn't be such a hypocrite and Go to England, eat English food, watch English tv shows/films and support English football teams? I think i might actually be over sensitive but it honestly bothers me :(

I'm English but living in Wales. From what I understand, the Scots detest the English but like the Welsh, the Welsh like everybody except the English and the English don't like anybody.

It's all completely ridiculous. I actually love the fact that the UK is made up of different countries with different cultures. Only truly ignorant people and/or football 'fans' seem to have so little respect for anybody but mostly themselves, that they say such stupid and hurtful comments about where somebody comes from.

Ignore them, ignore anything they say as it's bound to be complete rubbish and probably not even an original thought from their heads. Walk away, whilst they're in mid-spout and don't give them another thought.

I am English living in Scotland. It's ok. There are loads of English people living up here and the entire Met police force seems to be made up of Glaswegians.

The only time I ever got any abuse was at work, funnily enough. I was told to 'go back from where you came from,' in a meeting. He was admonished though.

My usual response to stuff like this is: "Grow up, there's a big world out there with issues far more important than what happened in the past."

A few wines later and I may even go as far as to say: "Oh fuck off, you sold yourselves down the river and you hate yourselves for it."

That gets things going nicely

I am a Brit living in Germany. I have heard much worse things said about Germans by Brits than about Brits by Germans. Both annoy me, I just counter it all, one idiot at a time. I find it is almost always true that the ones with odd opinions are the ones who do not travel.

My Mum is English and lives (been here 40yrs) in Scotland but slags off Scotland and Scottish people all the time.

I used to work in London and everyone in my office called me Jock but it didn't really bother me.

doon my DH is born and bred Garvaghy Road! So he would have given them a fantastic opinion.
We got pulled over for speeding in Newcastle during the late 90s. The WPC almost pissed her pants with excitement and had every aspect of his identity checked. Then for no reason confiscated his passport. She was in such an anti terrorism frenzy that she didn't take down his speeding info. What a berk.

Try being Welsh, we seem to be fair game for everyone . At least I can call the race card now and it's got nothing to do with the colour of your skin.

The worst thing about being Welsh, is everyone thinking you're English

YANBU. In fact, you've made me think. Would it be a massive mistake, as an English family, to go to Eire for a holiday? That was our plan for the summer but I'm starting to have second thoughts if all we're going to get are insults or shoddy treatment....

I'm familiar with the Barnett formula,A1980.I think it only adds fuel to the fire to retort to such remarks,but that whole issue is another thread.

The hatred works both ways.There are bigoted twats everywhere sadly.
I've had anti Scottish remarks when I've been in England,on here, and from an English person living in Scotland.
My English dp has experienced some anti English bigotry here,but not all that much thankfully,in spite of being an upper class,public school educated Southerner,which one would think, would make him even more of a target.

I don't understand the ABE attitude,but then neighbouring nations usually are fierce rivals on the field,even when they aren't playing against each other.

I'm happy for England if they win.I don't go all out to support them because as mentioned I don't watch sports as a general rule.Though in certain games I'll 'support' France or Germany,because I love the countries,culture and people.

On MN I think the Americans get the hardest time.

On the ABE argument, I am not in any tiny bit English. I have family from Scotland, France and Italy, so would support them, and I would support Ireland as a fellow Celtic country.

I dont see why I should support England as I happen to live near to it?

Although I personally dont see why "England" competes in world championships of any kind. "England" is not a country, "UK" is.

I noticed this when I went to Ireland. Some of the old school types obviously intensly disliked you the minute you opened your mouth until one night I lost it with a woman in a pub/restaurant sat with her two children. My family party and I all have English accents though have Irish descent on my mothers side. My now ex husband was English born but 100% Irish on both sides like the OP - so my children are more Irish than me IYSWIM.
The womans son piped up 'Mammy arent English people rude?' (we were laughing and talking and with the audacity of doing so in an English accent ) to which she replied loudly and openly 'Yes they are darling - just ignore them - they make me sick too .

I actually got a round of applause as the blushing woman got up from her seat - hurled some more abuse and hurriedly left with her children.

Well that did for me I'm afraid and I marched over to her table and told her a few home truths - you could have heard a pin drop

Firstly I have not one English drop of blood in my body (my dads Italian).

Secondly I was probably related to and had more connections to the rural town we were in than the whole of the rest of the bloody pub there present(my family ran same farm there for over 10 generations - all of whom were buried 200 yds away in the local churchyard).

Thirdly my childrens great great grandfather on their dads side was the founder of the biggest trade union in the Republic of Eire and my great great grandfather on my mothers side was still remembered as a local hero from throwing one of two English soldiers trying to evict him from his land into a ditch and knocking the other one clean out with his rifle butt. He was apparently very lucky not to be executed but was instead imprisoned and eventually got his land back on partition.

Last but not least I told her even if I was English it was unbelievably ironic that she allowed her child to rudely label me/my party as rude purely on that basis which is of course racist - and it was in fact she that made me sick for raising her children by such terrible example.

Ohhh

Am looking forward to the "UK" football team.

I've been to Ireland lots of times. Had my car (English reg) keyed once in a car park. Apart from that I don't think I've encountered any blatant racism. My sister did once though and was really upset about it.

Sorry got a paragraph in wrong place (dont ask) This might make more sense !

I noticed this when I went to Ireland. Some of the old school types obviously intensly disliked you the minute you opened your mouth until one night I lost it with a woman in a pub/restaurant sat with her two children. My family party and I all have English accents though have Irish descent on my mothers side. My now ex husband was English born but 100% Irish on both sides like the OP - so my children are more Irish than me IYSWIM.

The womans son piped up 'Mammy arent English people rude?' (we were laughing and talking and with the audacity of doing so in an English accent ) to which she replied loudly and openly 'Yes they are darling - just ignore them - they make me sick too .

Well that did for me I'm afraid and I marched over to her table and told her a few home truths - you could have heard a pin drop

Firstly I have not one English drop of blood in my body (my dads Italian).

Secondly I was probably related to and had more connections to the rural town we were in than the whole of the rest of the bloody pub there present(my family ran same farm there for over 10 generations - all of whom were buried 200 yds away in the local churchyard).

Thirdly my childrens great great grandfather on their dads side was the founder of the biggest trade union in the Republic of Eire and my great great grandfather on my mothers side was still remembered as a local hero from throwing one of two English soldiers trying to evict him from his land into a ditch and knocking the other one clean out with his rifle butt. He was apparently very lucky not to be executed but was instead imprisoned and eventually got his land back on partition.

Last but not least I told her even if I was English it was unbelievably ironic that she allowed her child to rudely label me/my party as rude purely on that basis which is of course racist - and it was in fact she that made me sick for raising her children by such terrible example.

I actually got a round of applause as the blushing woman got up from her seat - hurled some more abuse and hurriedly left with her children.

Chil1234... see my post up thread, Ireland (Eireann if you want to say it as Gaeilge, not Eire) is for the most part a welcoming and friendly place and many english make their homes here with no racism that I've seen.

I've lived in 4 countries... the only one I was ever a victim of racism in was Germany.

I've heard different accounts. My friend moved to rural Ireland about 10 years ago and has had a wonderful time. That may just be luck or it may be that the Irish or more accepting of people with Liverpool accents, as most people from Liverpool are of Irish descent.

My sister lived in Dublin. Prior to that she had lots of Irish friends in Manchester and was expecting to have a wonderful time. She was frequently harassed in the streets and spat at for being gay.

So perhaps there is a reason why her gay Irish friends moved to Manchester.

I'm not sure my post makes sense. My sister was spat at in the streets in Dublin, not Manchester.

Our car was left alone in Ireland. It has a lot of Saltire stickers on it, though .

I am Welsh as far back as I know, but my mum although Welsh grew up in England and moved back here as a teenager. I was bullied all through school because I sounded like a English cunt apperently, that I should fuck off home, that I beay peoples grandparents, and laughed at and told I couldnt learn Welsh because English pigs were stupid I was also beaten up to pay me back.

I went to a English school at 15 and flinched when everyone ran over to hear my Welsh accent felt so happy when they started saying how beautifull it was I nearly cried. Op I understand racism is never ok.

England is a country. (to the poster who said it wasn't up thread).

Seems to me it's considered perfectly okay to be anti English, in a way that would be considered totally unacceptable if those comments were being made about any other country.

Am pissed off with people whining about how hard done by they were by England. All countries have behaved badly at one point or another.

The fact is that the ruling classes (irrespective of nationality) treated everyone else like shit. Go back a few years and being poor, or female wasn't so great, English or not. Think this is more of a class and gender issue, than anything else.

The people today who have been brought up to despise the English are no more oppressed than I am an oppressor. In fact, you could argue that the Scots have more rights than the English, given that they have their own govt and England does not. Until England gets its own govt, then it is the only oppressed nation in the UK

England is a country, but it is not a nation state.

I spent my school days trying my hardest to develop a Scottish accent in living in fear that my 'friends' would find out my mum and dad were English and scorn me constantly for it.

It's one of the main reasons I left Scotland.

It was refreshing to get to England and realise it's almost completely one sided and the English honestly don't realise how much the Scottish, Irish and Welsh hate them. Bless!

Hating eats away at the person who hates far more than it does the object of the hatred.

Hmm. Obviously the nasty, vicious racism that some people have experienced, spitting, bullying, not on. Please don't think that this is considered acceptable behaviour in Ireland. Some people are fuckwits. Friends living in London have been called pikeys, terrorists, etc. Obviously not normal.

You might hear a bit of the "800 years of suffering" stuff, but most people just say it to wind people up, I do it with my English friends, they'll call me a muck savage Paddy, etc. I'm from the country, it's the same with my Dublin friends. Slagging, it's the Irish national sport. Personally, I would avoid saying anything like that to people I don't know though, especially tourists, but some people think they're being funny and joking with tourists/people new to the country, when they're actually really crossing a line.

But, when it comes to sport, come on, the English are so smug in victory that - difficult history aside - it's almost physically impossible not to support anyone but England! My friend in Dublin told me that the reaction after the match yesterday was like we had won the Grand Slam ourselves.