What fresh hell is this? National VE day

[wetpants]

This has popped up on my local FB page, villagers are all up for it too. Apparently it’s a nationwide incentive??

The thing is, most front gardens are tiny or non existent here. There’s no way you could be 2m away from your next door. Also these villagers who are up for this are the same people who few weeks ago cried about a lone bloke sitting on a crass verge, well away from any pedestrians. How is this any different?

I’m not British (have lived here a long time though) so maybe I’m just not getting the fervent VE day misty eyeness

And don’t get me started on 9pm nationwide singalong WHO comes up with these things???

@Mummyoflittledragon I hate tea and I'm not keen on scones. Would prefer Kaffee und Kuchen.

Patriotism is up there with armed robbery for some people on MN it seems

Coerced behaviour is rarely tolerated by MN

Surely you can avoid it by just staying inside? Which you should be doing anyway?

Okay it’s a bit of noise, but only for a few hours on a bank holiday afternoon. You’d expect there to be noise anyway.

I think stopping the Nazis is a cause for celebration!

Well if you left 15 years ago you will remember the street parties with the golden Jubileee right

I don't remember any street parties for this. I remember some talk about them but didn't see any in the wild or hear of anyone I knew being involved in any. Ditto for the Diamond Jubilee. Silver was 2 years before I was born so can't speak to that.

I don't remember anything about 50 year anniversary of VE day either although DH says there were flypasts where he lived.

George Orwell's essay on Patriotism and Nationalism is the standard work on this topic. We do not jump out of bed and sing God Save The Queen five times before breakfast. It is not our way.

To some the Union Jack has become a symbol of nationalism and fear as has the English flag and to add to that some on here (not targeting any single poster I promise) would happily force encourage people to take part its just not a great look IMO

Dickheads like Mark Collett have tainted patriotism for me. They make it clear that to them, Jews aren't real Brits and neither are people who aren't white.

I like England. It's my home. But I'm uncomfortable with calling myself patriotic because of people like the Patriotic Alternative - I'd link them here but not sure the mods would be OK with it.

Auridon4life if it's stopping the Nazis you're celebrating then why the union jack theme?

China, France, Russia and America all played a major role in defeating the Axis powers in WW2, and obviously citizens of lots of invaded countries such as Poland continued to resist at the cost of their own lives and those of their families.

The jingoism wrapped up as patriotism is so mindless.

Well the good news is that you can exercise your right not to participate. We don’t live in a fascist dictatorship.

Oh wait, the irony, we have that freedom because of those who fought during WW2...

The celebrations at the time were because the war had (supposedly) ended. Troops would be finally coming home. Bombings would stop. Kids like my dad were months away from call up age. Rationing might even stop soon. People could go to sleep in their own beds without being dragged out in the middle of the night to shelter in the underground (which terrified my mum). There wouldn’t be the fear any more.

you might be able to hire a hall and have your party there, and invite those who want to celebrate with you, rather than forcing the issue on your street

Kind of goes against the concept of a street party. People need something to cheer them up and it’s one day. If you can put up with seven weeks of lockdown, surely you can endure a few hours of people enjoying themselves?

They will probably know about Auschwitz, but probably even then just not realise how big it was.

My DD2 went there some time ago now as part of a school trip. She said that all thought it was so unbelivlably sad that it could happen and whats more to the point she said that thy all thought it was so awfull that it could not have happened .. untill they saw the place where it did!

Some of her class mates did have a few counselling sessions after that and a lady came round who was a survivor of Auswitchz, she it seems, was treated like royalty all of them listened to the exprensces she told of in abslute silence.

This is why we need Euros/world cups, to channel this bullshit.

Learn the diference between patriotism and nationalism, people. It will serve you well.

re patriotism versus rightwing hate groups
as with Brexit & people saying "we fought for our freedom" ignoring that in both the ww1 & ww2 people from the than "British Empire" volunteered & fought & died fighting on "our" side for the UK & Empire & got imprisoned or tortured or starved & also those who escaped the Nazis & fled to UK & fought (I always think of the Airforce in this - I worked alongside a ww2 pilot from Poland)
If we welcome & remember them as well & the end of the war & start of the peace -in a sense it should be the bringing together of all us against Corona & our hope of victory & return to normal lives.
As long is there is no pressure or judgement I don't have a problem - unfortunately there are always some who do judge.

I am uncomfortable with this kind of celebration during a pandemic, when hundreds of people are still dying everyday. There’s a cognitive dissonance about it that I can’t quite swallow. It’s like trying to paper over the cracks in a wall in the hope that no one notices.

I don't think this 'street party' will be happening in my street thank god.
When will we stop glorifying war?
Seems massively inappropriate in the midst of a pandemic, and another reason for the rest of the world to mock us.

I really don’t understand the mentality that because terrible things are happening in the world it’s inappropriate for anyone to do anything that makes them happy or gives them joy. When did the human race become so masochistic?

What happened to “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die”?

@terrigrey, VE day is victory for europe, the rest of europe have celebrations, commemorating the collapse of Nazism.
have you just posted with reading the thread?