To be deeply disappointed in John Cleese

[drspouse]

I have no idea if this is typical but he just tweeted that London isn't an English city any more
What is it then pray tell? What's not English about it??

should we all be responsible for the sins of our fathers?

So current generations should suffer for the sins of their forebears then, got it.

Not necessarily. But there's the law of cause and effect and you can't escape it. It's natural law. Where you are in time is a very large result of all the actions and decisions and experiences of your ancestors. Sometimes that means having to live with the consequences of shit you personally had nothing to do with.

There was a very good documentary on children of former Nazi generals which exemplified this. None of them escaped the consequences of their parents and Grand-parents choices, despite it not being fair at all.

Isn't that what motivates so many of us to do the best we can/be the best we can for our own families? So they can avoid having to bear the shitty consequences of our actions?

Complaining that it isn't fair that Britain is reaping some of the 'bad' or 'undesirable' effects of more than a hundreds years worth of aggressive colonialism and cultural exportation (the homogeneity mentioned before) with all of the so called good 'the wealth and plenty' is juvenile thinking. You really expect there to be no long term negative effects from that? There are definately good long term effects. Effects we all enjoy. So how do you suppose to filter out all the negative ones?

Of course it's an English city it's in England and of course most people living in it speak English!
It's true it is also a city with a rich, diverse population isn't that a good thing?

I recorded that Catherine I was curious about their predicament. I'll be watching it next time DH is home. Lots of food for thought, I would imagine.

How far back does the ‘blood’ need to be? You do realise that excludes most of the royal family?

Oh dear, that's not me, DH, or either of the DCs then. Oops.
But that's OK because if we are both Not True English then it doesn't matter that we got married as we don't have True English Blood, and it doesn't matter that our DCs are Not True English either.

Well on my mums side some of them went to Scotland, mated with the locals, and made their way back south.

Now others were from Newcastle - which, if they are to be believed, was its own country for a while. Oh dearie me.

I agree Catherine and it’s not about feeling guilty but just accepting that these are the consequences of hundreds of years of colonisation. You can’t have a record like Britain has and not have consequences. It’s just the way it is.

I don't think there's any such thing, probably never has been. We are an island after all. That and too many invaders over the centuries. So even before the word 'multiculture' was coined we were 'infected' with the blood of forriners - or were the self same forrin individuals.

I lived in London during the 90's and early 00's and I had loads of jobs/houseshares where I was the only brit, so there's that.
Also, whenever I hear foreigners making massive generalisations about English people, based on what they have witnessed in London, I can't help but comment especially when they say 'you British are so friendly /unfriendly' to a Hungarian person .
I love London so much and I miss the diversity.

True English blood for all their talk of the days of yore these precious little Englanders always seem to know so little about them.

They are the ones that think st George was from hackney marshes...

should we all be responsible for the sins of our fathers?

I don't see the first world cancelling third world debt because it was the previous generation which caused it. Of course political decisions will have consequences beyond the generation who made those decisions.

English is born of parents who were born in England who have TRUE English blood in their veins.

Stuff like that will be the death of the UK. Tragic.

I don't see the first world cancelling third world debt because it was the previous generation which caused it. That's been happening since the 1990s

Then Jubillee 2000, G7, G8 summits, HIPCS etc.

Not sure how effective it is, but it is happening!

English is born of parents who were born in England who have TRUE English blood in their veins

I concurr. Judging by the amount of illegitimate bastards born throughout the Empire to Fathers or mothers who were English, I say let's finally bring them all home. That would include most of the family on my Mother's Jamaican side for starters.

I think it’s really cheeky for people to have an issue with those from former colonies living here. The empire fucked up those countries, made them learn English, learn British history etc. It wasn’t even very long ago that some countries gained independence, my own In-laws were raised when their country was still under British control.

It’s really not surprising that people from those countries would like to make a life here and would feel some connection to the uk.

Why would you be disappointed in a privileged white man being an arse? Surely you’re used to it by now?

Why would you be disappointed in a privileged white man being an arse? Surely you’re used to it by now?

That's a racist statement in itself. Racism can work both ways.

TRUE English blood

There is no such thing. Also even if your parents and their parents were born in England, they still could have family members who were born in other countries. Me and my parents were born in England, but you couldn't say I have """true English blood""" if you believe in such a thing as I've definitely been "tainted" by some Welsh and German, among a few more distant ones. What counts as a true English blooded person?

blue that really isn't a racist statement at all. Nor is it sexist. The power lies with privileged white men.

I don't actually agree that he's being an arse, in fact, but Bertrand isn't being racist.

racism doesn't work both ways because there is a power imbalance.

YABU. Are you surprised? He’s always been a prick

Show me any city truly of it's own nation

Tokyo. Beijing. Bangkok. Mexico City. Seoul. Dublin. Istanbul. Many more examples that are unmistakably of their nation. Plenty of expats live there, but not a huge amount and mostly for work purposes (i.e not immigrants so not considered the same as locals and will generally move away once their work contract ends)

Tbh tho London will still be an English city as long as people from the countryside move there for work purposes. Find a lot of people in London are just English af and it amuses me.

Why the heck would I want to live in London if it were just like any other major global city? Englishness should be a selling point, imo, how can diversity be any good if it just becomes full of self-proclaimed “global citizens” that are pretty much just rich white people that like ethnic food and have time and money to travel to exotic destinations? Oh, rich white people and their cheap imported labor too. Can’t do without that....

Ok not racist but it’s a very sweeping statement, there are very privileged men of all colours.