Why are we the only country who CAN NOT be patriotic or express their opinions?????

[EvesMama]

where i live there is uproaor about a local pub daring to display the england flag across the front/top of its building...told to take them out of charity shop windows etc..now on t.v this morning..some scottish people are filmed asying they HATE English and will be supporting trinidad and tobago in world cup...????

we cant so much as think anything like that..and now this close to home?, were both part of britain FGS

if that was and english guy/gal saying that ther'would be a whole heap of trouble?

again where i am from..crime in the surrounding towns is high and statistics show that a high % is caused by people our country have given asylum too, who we allow to live in our country who receive help from US and if anyone dare say they think it is unfair, we are racist?

i just cant get my head round it?
the world is going mad.

expecting some 'good' replys on this, but im sorry i just think some people take the P out of us because they know it'll be us in bother

yes but they are Scottish teams - in fact, both have been warned (recently and in the past) by UEFA about sectarian chanting

and the only people I see getting wound up here are the Scots

well, its actually a point i was trying to make

FOOTBALL is the cause of so much hatred

i hate football

blimey we really don't all get fierce and wound up nailpolish.
and the West of Scotland has some pretty serious issues to do with violence.
I agree that football brings out the worst, tho.
rangers/celtic stuff is a case in point. just an excuse/outlet for sectarian hatred

I can see though, that if you hate football, the whole world cup would be very annoying !

the OP seemed to be pretty wound up FIS and I dont think shes scottish

why does it mean so much to you? being english i mean, why are you so desperate for everyone to know you are english? i mean, how many flags, t shirts, towels, hats, buggies, cars, toys, sunglasses, cups, earrings, etc etc etc, can one person have with their national flag on it?

every possible household item covered in the st george flag is just a clever marketing plot NP, on the back of the world cup it sells well.

Surely if Scotland were in the world cup, the same items would be sold with the scottish flag on, are you saying you wouldnt but something? not even an eeny keyring??

its not just with the world cup though, its all the time

becomes a bit tiresome, esp. when on holiday

Let me give you a quote from an English man in my local paper today:-

"Personally, I have a simple system for spotting those who I will not get along with. They fly little red and white flags on their cars. Something to do with the "world cup". Would that be a tea drinking association, or some equally fascinating pastime" PMSL

Absolutely. It does tend to be everywhere.

I think that what upset me Nailpolish was the use of the word 'all' as in 'you all get so wound up'. I don't. I will probably manage to avoid almost all the matches - I will be pleased if we win but I almost certainly won't go out and get puking drunk and beat anyone up....I've been here for 41 years and I've managed to restrain myself up till now My parents don't. My brother doesn't give a monkey's t*ss either way. Most of my friends are not interested or might keep half an eye on it until something more important happens. My DH does a bit (within reason) but he's a West Ham fan so partly demented already.

I really hate generalisations when they tar everyone with the same brush. I remember getting really upset with a Welsh friend of mine when she told me that 'you all got really nationalistic' over the war in the Falklands!! Who's we??? I didn't. It makes it easier to hate or despise people if you can paint them with them same ugly colours.

Sorry some English people are unpleasant to you though.

Have to just add that I've seen more tartan shortbread tins and Scottish memorablia than I ever have red and white flags apart from during the WC.

fimbo please come and hold my hand

joelalie, you know i didnt mean 'all', its just a figure of speech

i have booked my holidays again in england this year, as it will be deserted as you will 'all' be over in germany or in the pub

honestly np, as tiredemma is saying is Scotland were in the world cup, you probably wouldn't move for little lads in Scotland kit and your flag all over the place - we have a few friends who are real hardcore football fans and they are Scottish. It's not just the English you know!

it is stupid NP, because there is no need for all this "my country is better than your country ner ner ner ner ner" bollocks, because every country has its own special values and beliefs in itself.

The original point is is it so wrong to feel patriotic? i feel that no it isnt, i would imagine that you feel very proud to be scottish. There is nothing wrong with what either of us think. My patriotism comes from the fact that I come from a beautiful country with lots of beautiful places and people, im sure that yours does too.

Where are you going doll? (did you get the job btw?).

You can get Haggis in my neck of the woods and Scottish cheddar in Morrisons, so its not too bad

NP & Fimbo hold hands swaying to Flower of Scotland.

fox, we will probably never find that out

and i dont think there is anything wrong with being patriotic, i just dont think, as weve said before, that this should be done with the "we are better than you cos we used to go and steal other countries and take their people for slaves cos we had big scary guns and boats"

its so sad

and the involvement of football as an excuse and alcohol as a fuel PISSES ME OFF

hold my hand cos i feel cornered here fimbo

the interview went well, i will probably hear by monday, thanks for asking

yes football as an excuse for violence is just plain abhorrent

Quite agree with you there NP. If that is the motivation that most people have to be patriotic.....which I don't think they do.

i would like to add also that a night with a scottish man was one of my most pleasurable experiences to date.

no, evesmama, I don't get any local gazette which lists all criminals along with their immigration status. it does list people convicted at the local court for speeding and such but certainly doesn't list their immigration status.

But even if your information is correct (and I am sure it isn't), you haven't told me why you think the assylum issue and some pub being told not to fly a flag are connected. I know that lots of people do think they're connected and that is my point entirely.

meanwhile, tenalady: now there's another thing. what nativity plays have been cancelled? would that be the one you read about in some city far away from you in the paper by any chance? have people been told to take down christmas trees or not send xmas cards in your town? this "politically correct" assault on british culture is a myth as far as I can see. But even if there were such an assualt, the tradition of xmas cards is only 100 years old or less. nativity plays aren't that old either. if we want to really embrace british culture, we should be performing mummers plays every year and celebrating winter solstice rather than xmas.

havent read the whole thread but just want to say that I fnd it appaling that people are being advised not to display england flags in wales/scotland/ireland because it make provoke attacks.

why is it ok to attack the english but no one else. You wouldnt be allowed to tell people to stop wearing muslim dress incase it incited hatred, so why is it ok in this instance.

Living in Cardiff I have to put up with this racism regularly and it gets me down, I have in the past been openly abused for being english. On the local radio this morning they were saying 'do you want us to talk about the football and 'the english'. Its tiresome. I am a geordie and proud to be english, let us get on with it and please stop the abuse

on that note emma, i was scarily obbsessed by a Halifax man once, had a very intense long distance relationship, and all because of his sexy manly accent and his fabulously rude phone manner/

halifax the place or halifax the bank (have visions of you on the phone to some dreadful mortgage advisor)?