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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are you patriotic ?

184 replies

janet0001 · 05/01/2023 23:05

Do you feel patriotic ?

I do feel patriotic and I got laughed at and basically mocked when I said it.

I was quite upset about that - AIBU?

OP posts:
GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 05/01/2023 23:06

No, not in the sense most people mean.

I do want the best for this country (according to my opinion) and will do what I can to promote that.

i don’t feel a sense of blind loyalty because I don’t believe that’s a good thing.

MrsSkylerWhite · 05/01/2023 23:08

Depends what you mean by patriotic. Please expand.

BorisJohnsonsHair · 05/01/2023 23:09

I will support England in a football match but that's about as far as it goes.

Never seen the point in patriotism/nationalism. You can't help where you were born.

vodkaredbullgirl · 05/01/2023 23:10
Hmm
Fathercrossmas · 05/01/2023 23:11

I would have been when we were in the EU and maybe just maybe could be thought of as a leader in certain fields. Now we have lost all the top talent because of Brexit, our NHS is round the U bend, the royalty have turned into a take-a -break special issue, our government are a bunch of elitist money grabbing Charlestons. So nope. Not patriotic. I like tea though, which is possibly what stops me emigrating.

Ablababla · 05/01/2023 23:12

Brexit killed any feelings of patriotism I had. It was weaponised to screw people over basically.

TinySaltLick · 05/01/2023 23:12

There are some things I am proud of about this country - but also a lot of things I dislike or are ashamed about. I abosluely would not claim to be a patriot, with blind loyalty to this country just because I was born in it

My first reaction is that anyone claiming to be a patriot is probably blinkered at best, support the national team sure - shed a tear when someone wins a gold medal, but I feel more kinship with human kind than those arbitrarily bounded by a border

PacificallyRequested · 05/01/2023 23:14

For the UK, not at all.
For Scotland, a bit.

dudsville · 05/01/2023 23:15

I think everyone has a right to feel proud of where they come from. I think sporting events can be a way for some people to enjoy competition between countries. I think our differences are interesting and fun. But patriotism is weird i think. How do you go about expressing it ... what is it, loyalty or a belief that your country is better?

ProceedWithOptimism · 05/01/2023 23:16

Used to for Scotland. Now the SNP seem to despise women and girls, and want to actively put us in harms way, not so much.

Original poster
janet0001 · 05/01/2023 23:16

I didn't even expand but got mocked and I wondered if the word has really negative connotations

I guess I have never put it into words or fully thought these through, but I think it's generally these feelings
I love our country and I'm generally proud to be British
I love the different elements of the British culture today and think it has a lot to offer
I feel a loyalty to our country and a weird kind of protective instinct

(note: caveat I certainly don't think we're perfect by any stretch but I think you can still hold the above points and the flaws together and still feel patriotic)

OP posts:
Shampern · 05/01/2023 23:17

Only when I hear some Holst or Elgar music.

Ncgirlseriously · 05/01/2023 23:22

Not really, no. Especially post Brexit and with the Tories in charge.

I’d like the country to be improved, but I’m not particularly patriotic.

Crikeyalmighty · 05/01/2023 23:22

@Fathercrossmas I couldn't have put it better myself.

JamSandle · 05/01/2023 23:23

Yes I would say so. But not intensely fanatically so.

Ludo19 · 05/01/2023 23:26

I used to be proud to be Scottish and also proud to be British. Unfortunately wee Jimmy Crankie and her antics have made me not so proud of my Scottish roots.

CoorieInByTheFire · 05/01/2023 23:27

Yes I am, I love my country (Scotland).

user1471453601 · 05/01/2023 23:34

"Last refuse of a scroundal" as someone said.

And "if I had to choose between betraying my friend or my country, I hope I would choose my friend" as someone else said.

user1471453601 · 05/01/2023 23:35

Refuge, sorry.

Overandunderit · 05/01/2023 23:38

I want the best for my country and for us to succeed because it's where the people I love live e.g I voted against Brexit as I think our country is better in the EU but I have some friends who view that as unpatriotic.

The "two world wars one world cup Rule Britannia" brigade can get in the bin though.

daisyjgrey · 05/01/2023 23:39

No. I don't know anyone of my age who is anything other than a bit embarrassed to be English, especially when abroad.

TrishM80 · 05/01/2023 23:39

I think "patriotism" has caused enough damage, it led 17 million people to vote for the fraud that is Brexit.

watchfulwishes · 05/01/2023 23:39

Yes, in a way. Not strongly so and absolutely no sense we are better than any other country but I really do want the best for the UK and I really care about it.

I feel more and more that the Tories are enemies of the country.

Whatsshecalled · 05/01/2023 23:42

I used to be. I travelled extensively in my 20s and was really proud to be British, other countries saw us as a tolerant, progressive place and we had alot to be proud of, now we're such an embarrassment and I feel like the world is laughing at us. The Brexit vote in 2016 felt like a low point but we've somehow just kept getting worse and worse.

GilChesterton · 05/01/2023 23:43

I'm always sceptical of people saying they are proud to be whatever nationality they are, as if they have actually achieved something.

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