To be so ashamed of my country and being British?

[KenDodd]

For so many reasons recently. I feel so, so sad about what has happened to our country.

YANBU to feel that way
YABU to feel that way

Yes, lots of other countries counting care homes. The figures are high because, despite being given a huge heads-up, our government was complacent and mid-managed the situation.

government’s decisions

Yes I agree with the OP. I have lived and worked in a few different countries. I currently live in Australia. My working environment is so much better. Me and dh get paid nearly twice what we would in the UK. It feels so much safer. People are pleasanter. Health service is great. Things aren't perfect here, but it is a hell of alot better than in the UK. I love going back to the UK for holidays but there is no way I could bring my family back.

It is sad. I went back to my old University town and my heart bled. We were literally walking on stamped in rubbish. It was so dirty and grimy. There is list of things that I could mention that have got worse or always have been shit. But contrast between past and present made a strong impression on me.

Also the UK reported in the media abroad is toe curling.

@chocolatedeficitdisorder "I would be ashamed to be part of a country that put their xenophobia above the well being of the union"

That's the problem with politics today. Everybody assuming that a person voted the way they did based on one sole issue and these people always seem to identify the most vile issue and accuse them of that. It doesn't seem to occur to them that there are a myriad of issues as to why people voted to leave the EU; yes, some may be xenophobic but the vast majority of others may have had other valid reasons as to why they thought that leaving the EU and the UK standing on its own two feet would bring benefit to the country. Whether you agree with them or not.

And before you accuse me of being one of those in England who are xenophobic and who voted to leave - you'd be wrong on both accounts. I'm Scottish and I didn't vote to leave. I just have the ability to understand that firstly, people vote on issues in a certain way based on a wide variety of reasons, reasons that perhaps aren't apparent to me initially and secondly, people have the right to vote whichever way they like without the insult of xenophobia (or racist or selfish or whatever the mass insult of the time is) thrown at them. We do live in a democracy and we have the freedom to vote whichever way we please.

If it's so awful presumably you will be emigrating as soon as you are able?

While I think I agree with the general principle, I dislike this attitude. It's not that easy to emigrate anymore. Our right to free movement in the EU is up in the air, and other countries are very hard to get into. Plus, we reserve the right to complain about our government, doesn't mean we have to pack up and move, thankfully.

And to add to that @chocolatedeficitdisorder; almost 40% of Scots voted to leave the EU also. So I take it 40% of Scottish people are xenophobic?

You are looking at other countries with the benefit of distance. We are one of the most liberal countries on the planet, and yes that includes countries within Europe who also have their racists, chauvantists, homophobes and general bigots. Voting for a centre right government does not make everyone fascists. You'll get your chance to vote again in the next five years, maximum - there may even be a credible opposition to vote for by then, who knows? Incidentally, Scotland speak of independence from the UK and it's heavily romanticised as a chance for them to gain their liberty and have autonomy; the UK votes to be independent from the EU and are branded geriatric fascists, ill educated, moronic etc. This virtue signalling, hand wringing is pretty boring. There are plenty of worse OK places in the world to live!

I think you have to be a bit self-important to feel ashamed, tbh. Clearly you think we should be out at the front, setting the best of examples to the rest of the world. This country is certainly not doing that, but hopefully it has the sense to think it can learn from others, improve its response accordingly and collaborate better in future, rather than thinking it’s the rest of the world/Europe holding it back, or spend its time whingeing that things are not as it would like them to be and it’s now too ashamed to show its face.

very sweeping statements there. not everyone who lives here is narrow minded, egotistical and a bully of Chinese people.

Sweeping statement as it may be, but that is fast becoming the stereotypical Brit. Not helped by Brexit. And although we know stereotypes don't apply to everyone, it is currently the majority outlook as has been proved with the results of the last few elections.

I think I preferred it when the worst we had to face was being called wihingeing poms! Then it was easier to just have a conversation without moaning.

I have worked in international teams for years. They all question their government’s.
Very much so. I'm trying to think if I can imagine a German thread saying "I'm ashamed of my country and being German", though. I can't imagine an adult writing that, mainly as it is usually pretty far right-wing Germans who claim to be proud of being German. Pride in nationality is not widely seen as positive here.

@mama but not all are so until all the data is compared like for like and population , population density and many other factors taken into account its way too early for comparisons but that would t be good for headline news would it

Proppedupinbed we feel exactly the same about Australia as you do about the UK. For us, our earning potential is far, far higher here and we have a fantastic work life balance and overall quality of life. Admittedly, we don't live in a polluted, overcrowded city.

I think it shows that the grass isn't always greener and people want different things. I completely agree that the experience of living in different countries helps to bring a balanced perspective and enables you to understand what's important to you.

Very much so. I'm trying to think if I can imagine a German thread saying "I'm ashamed of my country and being German", though. I can't imagine an adult writing that, mainly as it is usually pretty far right-wing Germans who claim to be proud of being German. Pride in nationality is not widely seen as positive here

Actually you may have hit on something. A very small but vocal handful of people who wave flags and claim to be "proud" to be British are far right nutters. Maybe there is a slight sense of not wanting to be associated with them that makes people maintain they are "ashamed" or "not proud"? Just musing really, don't expect an answer.
Anybody nobody is wrong to be proud or ashamed or neutral really.

MamaKarma - I rather like the idea of politicians being 'scrub finished' Perhaps keep Boris in full hazmat gear indefinitely?

I travel a fair bit, have lived abroad and enjoy learning about new cultures. I always make an effort to be atypically British! How very cosmopolitan of you. So you're a 'traveller' not a tourist.

@BonnesVacances I dont think it's a typical stereotype of English people that we bully chinese people

using stereotypes btw does not assist your argument - if anything it makes you come across as narrow minded

@KenDodd
Nope we were never Cool Brittania, thanks to Tony Blair we were a laughing stock. Not helped by the riciculous making the Queen joinn in at the arena.
Weapons of mass distruction??

@bonnes I know lots of people from various countries and none of them think all Brits are like this , they realise that there are many different views and people as in every other country
Do you think all French or German people are the same ?

YAWN

There is a monumental difference in being patriotic and being inward looking hard right racist.
Both are dressed up as being "Proud of my Country"
They are very very different. In the 80s the Union Jack was highjacked as the emblem of the racist bigots

NoMorePoliticsPlease: I didn’t think inward looking, hard right racists actually were proud of their country, though - too many immigrants.

You must be very young and inexperienced to hate your country. Which one is it by the way. What are your reasons. Where are your facts.

I have travelled extensively and find that people are much the same wherever I go. We all share a common humanity.

How old are you.

I just don't know what a bad job would look like

It would look like having to choose which patients to save because your healthcare system can't cope.

It would look like finding care homes abandoned of staff with dead and dying patients inside.

It would look like having your Country's leader encourage everyone to ingest disinfectant and asking people to rise up against State lockdowns whilst casually reporting rising death figures as a great job.

It would look like telling your nation (about a fifth of the world's population) to stay indoors, risking being beaten if they leave, but not giving them any help or support to get food or clean water.

It would look like using the pandemic to further power grab and easing your nation into more autocratic rules which aren't time barred and can last forever now.

Could we have done better? Of course, there are few nations could say they have done it perfectly. Have we done such a bad job our people are really suffering just now and we should be ashamed to be British? Absolutely not. If you feel so bad, perhaps start planning your exit.

I didn’t think inward looking, hard right racists actually were proud of their country, though - too many immigrants.
The far right-wingers in my part of Germany who talk about pride in being German are not talking about pride in being part of modern German society.

If Germans talk about being ashamed to be German, the immediate assumption is that they are talking about being ashamed of the atrocities of WW2. Put very simply, why be ashamed of something less, when that's what you could be ashamed of?

I don’t understand why so many posters are telling the OP to leave the U.K. just because she’s admitted to be ashamed of her country. We are allowed to question what is going on and we are allowed to be dissatisfied, upset, ashamed or even downright outraged without having to ‘move abroad’ because we feel that way. Equally we don’t have to rave about our own country and how fantastic it is and how ‘we won the war’...obviously single-handedly. Nor does it help to know other countries are not fairing well either in this pandemic....so we should feel grateful that we are not at the bottom of the heap? That kind of comparison doesn’t help anything.