AIBU to wonder if anti-English feeling is mostly about sport

[Batsratscatsgnats]

If you support anyone but England in football or other sports do you dislike English people generally or is it just in sports?

Wow, what an attitude! I live in NZ and I know the results of the two rugby games mentioned because they were reported here. We hear all the results of Australian sport, and most of us think "good on them". I imagine people like you are the reason why some people don't like the English.

I’m English. Was up in Scotland a few years ago, in a shop, guy behind the till called me foreign 🤣

I have been told by Scottish people that they hate the English because the English hate them, but I've never met an English person who expressed hatred towards the Scots; quite the opposite, usually.

Have you ever been abroad

Yes and it is well known. I really want to have a holiday in Scotland but it is exactly this that puts me off.

I'd love to pack the car with books, walking boots and the dog and drive north to stay in some remote place for a week!

I actually think you are touching on something relevant here. In general, the further south you go the less people will small talk and the more they keep to themselves. I think both types of people think they are being polite, but obviously if you are used to a bit of chat, the quiet people come off as rude/uppity.

I vividly remember my friend from Aberdeen being affronted that the cashier in Boots at King’s Cross had straight up ignored her small talk and said she must be having a bad day, rather than assume she was trying to do her job efficiently.

I also think the media has a huge part to play. It has improved over time, but still Scotland remains an afterthought. Even things like the general election being called for the first fortnight in July, when anyone with school age children will be on holiday in Scotland, just shows the establishment’s lack of understanding.

I couldn't give a stuff who hates us because it's just jealousy.

You will be fine. What do you think is going to happen?

Absolutely nothing, I will be perfectly safe.

But it isn't nice to go somewhere you onow you're not really welcome is it?

I have English friends and family. Without exception, they use phrases like "we do X in England", refer to English food, talk about English TV etc, when referring to British issues. It's as if they have no idea that the UK is more than just England

God Save The King is played as national song for English teams, but it's the UK national anthem, not just English

Stuff like this is irritating for those of us who aren't English. If you're English, you may not understand / acknowledge this, but it's definitely an issue

As a holiday maker, I think you would be welcome. Perhaps not so much on NC500, which has become too popular for its own good

I’m English but live in Scotland. Everyone I know up here doesn’t really watch the national news as such, though. They get their news from STV and will watch stuff on BBC Scotland, and watch mostly Scottish football content. Sometimes I find it easy to forget England exists living up here.

I find the English hatred is worse in Glasgow. And the SNP’s divisive politics have really stirred it all up. It’s almost sectarian. Horrible. I’d hope all decent, ordinary Scots would be embarrassed and disgusted by this behaviour.

There is a long long history of being oppressed and treated as second class by the english government, the suppression of my
language and dismissive attitude of the english press. so it’s complicated. I don’t have anything against individual english people, as long as they are nice people that’s all that matters to me. But The English as a whole and the history means I do dislike the english media, government and air of superiority which many have. People like nigel farage refering to welsh as a foreign language for instance. The way when Wales had different rules during covid, Mark drakeford was repeatedly quizzed on why he had deviated from the English rules as If England is the default, No one asked Boris why he deviated from Welsh rules. The way many English people will use English and british interchangeably as if they are the same thing etc etc.

exhibit a. 😆
Its not jealousy, its irritation at your superiority complex.

It’s not just sports. Also applies to Eurovision 🤣

I think some of the problem is self deprecation not translating well. 3 lions as a song is a classic example, that song is all about constant disappointment and fruitless optimism but that's never how it's quoted by anti England fans. I also think other countries are rightly proud of the talent in their teams and it's not taken in the same way. We do have some of the world's best players in Kane, Bellingham, even Pickford. I'm not sure why it's not ok for us to be proud of that. When the French talk about Doue and Mbappe , I think well yes they are fantastic players you should be proud of them 🤷🏼‍♀️

But we all hate Farage, and tbh a lot of questions were asked about the decisions Boris made, there were also lots of comparisons to decisions made by other prime ministers. The history I get, but does it really require taking out on a sports team in the current day? It's like hating the Germans because of WW2, interestingly it's the Farage mob that holds those kinds of views

My mum applied for a teaching job in the very far North of Scotland and got a letter back saying they didn't want Sassenachs. Literally using that word. It upset my mum a lot because she is Scottish but moved down with her parents as a child so went to teacher training college in London etc. So they wouldn't have known she was Scottish but it's still a shotty thing to write in a letter to someone just looking for a job. And she remembered it like 30 years later.
A lot of Welsh miners originally came from England as lots of people moved there when the industry got started, settled there and their children would have considered themselves Welsh. Now you wouldn't say "mens voice choirs are actually part English" as that's nonsensical. And likewise, because we are a small island, people have moved around more than anyone wants to admit. Half of England have Welsh blood, half of Wales have English blood. Its not that I have a problem with talking about the bad things the British empire did, or the bad things England did. Or taking responsibility for that. But, when it's reduced down to English bad empire makers, Welsh/Scottish oppressed victims it doesn't make sense given the amount of movement that happened. Xenophobias always stupid. But, it's even more stupid when people are trying to draw clear distinctions between the population of the UK (culture yes, the cultures are different and that's worth preserving).
The Tudors were Welsh. James I/James VI was Scottish and the lowland Scots oppressed the highland Scots. And rich Scotish people tried to have their own empire pre the Act of Union (Darren Gap) and were as enthusiastic participants in slave owning and empire building as the English.

The biggest issue really was class. Yes, the Scottish and Welsh ordinary people got treated badly as th British empire grew in power. So did the English peasant class/working class.

A lot of the Highland landowners were members of the Scottish aristocracy though. They would have considered themselves Scottish, any descendants of theirs that hadn't moved would almost certainly call themselves Scottish. They would have viewed themselves as very different to the crofter that were being displaced. But that's not really a nationality thing. It's a class thing. Yes, some of the landowners had estates in England and Scotland. And some of them were just England. But a lot of the land clearances was done by posh Scottish people and a lot of those people still own the land so...

And this is the problem. Why don’t you have local channels to follow sports so the rest of the country can watch the usual tv shows instead of having them disrupted every time England plays. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friendly game either, the schedule is still changed so we all have to watch it even though there are numerous channels it could be broadcast on. I can imagine the English reaction if this was done when Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland played.

You'll have been choking on it at full time 🤣🤣🤣🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿!!

It just makes you look like you’ve got a massive chip on your shoulder that’s all.

As for Brexit, my London borough heavily voted remain. What do you want to take from that?

Anyway, England won.

Like a previous poster said; the Empire has created lots of bad feeling in the world.

And as others have pointed out. That was the British empire and the Welsh and Scottish played a big part in it too.

Ok an Australian perspective here. I find the way the English teams talk about themselves is insufferable. I have zero interest in soccer or cricket, but when England is over here for the ashes, I desperately want Australia to win. I hate the way the English talk about themselves “we have brought the best over.” “we have the right mentality.” And don’t get me started on your “moral victories.” Then there’s the endless whingeing about the heat, the pitch, the crowd the list goes on. Each year it pops up on my feeds.
Having said that all this if it comes down to England or the USA. I may have to swallow my pride….