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???

I think that VE 'day' is different in many European countries because of what they went through during WW2. Many of them were liberated from the Nazi regime,

The Netherlands have Liberation Day - May 5th

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Day_(Netherlands)

Other countries have days when they were liberated. I doubt they have street parties to celebrate 75 years later (I could be wrong) - but maybe they have more commerative events to remember the horrors of occupation.

Seems I am wrong

In the Netherlands

May 4th en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_of_the_Dead

Remembering the dead
May 5th - festivals and parades to remember Liberation.

Interesting

Again - from the Netherlands

www.4en5mei.nl/english/5-may

We celebrate the absence of war, the restoration of the constitutional state after the Second World War and the fact that it enables us to live in freedom. Festivities are held throughout the Netherlands over the course of the day.
Fifth of May Lecture

The national celebration of Liberation Day begins with the Fifth of May Lecture. The Fifth of May Lecture marks the start of our national celebration of Liberation Day and serves as a source of inspiration for the debate with regard to freedom. Each year, the National Committee for 4 and 5 May invites an inspiring speaker to hold the Fifth of May Lecture. The lecture provides a moment of reflection on the vulnerability of freedom within the Netherlands but also elsewhere.

At 14 Liberation Festivals held throughout the country, we celebrate both our liberation and the freedom we currently enjoy, but we also pay attention to the presence or absence of freedom in the rest of the world. After all, freedom is not always a given for everyone.

At the Liberation Festivals, young people are reminded not to take their freedom for granted. Collectively, the 14 festivals that take place on 5 May have grown to become the largest single-day cultural event in the Netherlands, with no fewer than a million visitors in the peak years.

They can fuck the fuck off with this. They've ruined my life with this lockdown and I'm not fucking waving a fucking Union Jack and being cheery

All very well for those in posh detached houses. Are they forgetting most Brits live in small-medium narrow victorian terraced houses with tiny/no front gardens?! No doubt dreamed up by the same out of touch Etonions who got us into this mess.

Not RTFT because it’s very long and I can imagine a bit of a bun fight - sorry.

This is not normally my sort of thing, but I will be joining in with the sing song (despite my awful voice) because Dame Vera Lynn actually lives up the road and I think it will be nice for her to hear the village singing her song.

Are they forgetting most Brits live in small-medium narrow victorian terraced houses with tiny/no front gardens?

Link to some evidence for that ?
I would be very surprised to see that most people in the country live in narrow Victorian terraced houses.

Quite a lot of Londoners do.

Plus if you're looking at which individual country's actions was most responsible for the Allied win it was Russia, hands down. Maybe we should all sing their national anthem/Go West on ve day. I might suggest it on the local Facebook group.

@DrinkVeneer, in my ignorance I only find out recently that 30 million Russians died in 2WW, staggering number. Approx 450,000 UK lives were lost in comparison.

@DrinkVeneer, I just checked wiki and see I got my figure a bit wrong, it says between 20-27 million, still a staggering number.

The little ones’ school is doing VE Day-related lessons from Weds onwards so there’s no way we can sneak out of doing stuff.
DD is a bossy little joiner in too so I’m completely fucked.

Quite a lot of Londoners do

Believe it or not, the majority of the population doesn’t live in
London.

Well, that of course is very true

There’s two German families on my street so we don’t mention the war.

Won't be joining in with any of this. But I suspect Johnson will make some sort of speech to announce the end/phasing out of lockdown with an emphasis on British people defeating the nazis so can face down this virus. Don't know when I got so cynical.

Quite a lot of Londoners do.

News flash.

Despite what the National Media think, the overwhelming majority of people don't live in London

Ruffle crow. I live in a city

We have no houses as you describe.

"I just don't get why people feel compelled to do something for fear of Facebook wrath"
Me neither. It just shows how some have no independence of thought but then I don't get why everyone wants to share their lives on Facebook and have 'pretend' friends either.

@cologne4711
You are responsible for your own thoughts and feelings. If anyone feels fear at the thought of someone else expressing "wrath" on Facebook for your not joining in with something then they really need to have therapy to increase their self-assertedness and confidence.

"People just don't get it do they? If all your neighbours are outside your house celebrating, you cannot avoid it unless you live in a very big house with a very long drive!"
The response was about feeling compelled to join in though and you can avoid taking part if you don't want to.
Yes, you probably can't avoid hearing the celebration that war was over in Europe (just as you probably can't avoid hearing the Thursday night clap for NHS and Key Workers). I don't think it is too much for you to put up with hearing a special commemoration every 25 years though.

If you don't want to partake then just don't.

There’s two German families on my street so we don’t mention the war

Love this.

Apparently a third of the UK population live in semis, which surprises me (city dweller).

In any case: Fuck That Shit.

because all the selfish old cunts voted Brexit ALL of them didn't, yes more older people did but not all of them. This age stereotyping is so divisive. People are people with varying views whatever their age. If VE day celebrations were celebrating 75 years of peace I would join in but I guess there will be Union Jacks all over the place and a Rule Brittania vibe. I am getting quite old but they can fuck off with that.

If everyone was doing this in our road, it would be very noticeable if someone didn't. I still wouldn't be doing it though. I've never been a person who worries much about what other people think.

Luckily I live amongst like minded people and as far as I know nothing is happening here, despite a poster in our local news leaflet. I'm pretty sure the German family opposite will be quite glad of that!

I think there is the right time and right place for something like this... it should be moved out of respect to the nearly 30,000 who have died.

I just it weird that it's all over the media talking about how on earth children can go back to school and keep their distance... yet it's OK for the adults to be out in the street with others, because we know without fail that some people will mix.

And the prize for bigot of the thread goes to... @theincredible

Mandatory group singing and flag waving is Not British. Or anybody- ish. It may be North Korean. Although I suspect people in North Korea don't like being ordered to be patriotic either.
Genuine and spontaneous outpourings of happiness are British. And anybody-ish.

Haven't rtft but does anyone remember anything happening for the 50th anniversary? I was living in Scotland then and can't recall anything about it!

I can respect the need to remember but forced fun of the parties and red white and blue decorations... Nah. Not for me. Can't connect with it at all.