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Post by ojiveojive on Mar 7, 2006 23:03:42 GMT
Traced the ancestors back to Dol in France in 1020 which I guess makes me european.
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Post by ambersalamander on Mar 8, 2006 13:04:14 GMT
But haven't you lived here all your life Mr Medibot?
What about your local heritage?
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pies
Stale bacon bap
Super Sexy Sutton
Posts: 230
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Post by pies on Mar 8, 2006 13:33:08 GMT
I think the English 'Identity' is linked with the history of England, a history where the English have gone all over the world conquering various nations and subjecting them to rule from London, whether they be our immediate neighbours, or countries on the other side of the world. Much of this sits uneasy with our current values of freedom and democracy. Remember it was just over 60 years ago we were fighting a war against probably the most nationalistic state ever, and we saw what hatred and destruction that bought about. For the Welsh, Irish and Scots, their national identity is the only thing which distingueshes (sp?) from the English dominated British state, one only has to look at the Basques and Catalans in Spain to know the importance of national identity for people under the rule of a traditional neighbouring state. It also because of the English-ness of the British state that in recent years national identity of the other parts of the UK have been promoted as it were. It's kind of like the USSR, which was Russian dominated. To counter this the other 14 republics were allowed their own national cultural groups, and communist parties, whilst there was no 'Russian' cultural groups or communist party. I like to think of myself as an Internationalist, but i am very proud of my English-ness at the same time (as i am of my Welsh heritage), i'm proud of the history of freedom, freethinking and liberty of this country, and all the good things this country has promoted, and the people who have sacrificed to keep those ideals and ideas alive. IMO Nationality is a state of being, and in a free society, people should be able to fly the flag if they want, or moan about it if they choose. It's called democracy
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Post by medibot on Mar 8, 2006 16:12:10 GMT
But haven't you lived here all your life Mr Medibot? What about your local heritage? Not saying i don't like that either, though other than the footy team there's not much of my local heritage to be proud of either, though obviously there is a certain attachment to London itself. Tis just that and the end of the day, i see myself more Welsh than anything else.
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Post by ambersalamander on Mar 9, 2006 12:29:55 GMT
Fair enough- that's your preference! I'm a quarter Jewish myself, but don't feel any attachment to it as my Jewish ancestor was someone I never met and by all accounts was a bit of a bastard.
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Post by medibot on Mar 9, 2006 20:04:06 GMT
Yeah, even if he wasn't a bastard, being Jewish to any extent only really works if you actually have any belief in the religion.
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Post by ambersalamander on Mar 10, 2006 10:07:02 GMT
No, Jewish as a nationality, not a religion. He was a Christian missionary!
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Post by medibot on Mar 10, 2006 11:14:22 GMT
Ah, was under the impression you were Jewish through your religion, considering the Jewish nation is actually a collective term for all Jewish people, rather than an actual country or state.
I've just confused myself now...
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pies
Stale bacon bap
Super Sexy Sutton
Posts: 230
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Post by pies on Mar 11, 2006 17:57:35 GMT
I to am a quarter Jewish. However my Granfather isn't in the least religous. There is a Jewish race, that's who the Nazi's went after anyhoos.
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Post by ambersalamander on Mar 14, 2006 13:20:29 GMT
Ah, was under the impression you were Jewish through your religion, considering the Jewish nation is actually a collective term for all Jewish people, rather than an actual country or state. I've just confused myself now... Eh? Who in my family did you think was a follower of Judaism?
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Post by medibot on Mar 14, 2006 15:56:00 GMT
I was talking generally, not about your family.
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Post by bonehead on Mar 20, 2006 6:51:32 GMT
Oh, practically everyone claims to be Irish, and most English people with one parent from somewhere else claim to be from that place, wherever it is. What's wrong with being English, anyway? Nothing at all. I use the internet to chat with lots of people from different nations, and they all insist they live in the best country in the world. Sometimes it's better to just sit back and gloat because you live in the best country in the world.
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