Patriotism Vs Racism

Okay first things first, this is a longish post. A rant, but one that I encounter a lot and I get very passionate about. If you're going to comment, please read the entire post, rather than just the first two paragraphs.

Patriotism Vs Racism

Anyone else out there proud of their country? Proud to say "I'm ____ and proud." Well you're a racist. Proud of your country? The land you live in? Your culture and heritage? You're a racist.

Now, of course I don't mean this. I for one, as an English lad am extremely proud to say; 'Yeah, I'm English.' Sure, we have problems in this country, but what country doesn't? Now, I'm not turning this into an America vs Great Britain debate, but I have no issue in saying I am extremely patriotic. I love England, and am proud to be English.

This is where it get's frustrating. I'm not sure what the situation is in your country, (I am lead to believe that patriotism is encouraged in the States) but to put it simply, in England,

Patriotism is a crime.



Here, it is looked down upon. We live in such an overly-political correct country that it is forbidden to say you are a patriot.

So where does this stem from?

Ignorance? Do we just not want to experience diversity and other cultures? Of course not. As a traveller, I love being divirged into new cultures, so no, it's not an issue of being scared of new ideas. The problem with the British government, is that they have brainwashed our nation into believing that the love for your country, is exactly the same as the hate for certain races. There is subconscience link that leads people to believe, saying you're proud to be English, means you're proud to be white. Of course, then, there is an extremely thin line bordering between being patriotic, and racist.

The situation is so bad in Great Britian, that England is the only country in the United Kingdom that doesn't celebrate it's Patron's Saint Day. Although April 23rd is regarded as St George's day, it is rarely celebrated in England. You'll occasionally see someone wearing their England football shirt, to whom I applaud on making at least some effort, but that is the utmost display of patriotism on St George's day. The Irish however, know how to celebrate their St Patrick's day. With street parties, marches, live bands in the street and massive consumption of alcohol, the Irish really know how to celebrate their heritage. We English are so scared of being judged as racist, that we refuse to celebrate St George's day, and instead, the majority of English will particpate in the festivities of the Irish Patron Saint's day.

The problem lies with being judged. Although many of us beleive, we are simply being patriotic, we as a culture are scared of being deemed as racist. So rather than take the risk, we do nothing. It's instances like this that means the English culture is dying. We are one of the only cultures in the entire world that fears standing up for who we are, and being able to say, 'Hey, I am English and love this country. Let's celebrate.'



Let's take this example a little further. At university, we are allowed to set up little social groups. A method of bringing people together, with similar interests, to make friends.

At our university, there are 'Official university group for Indians,' Groups for 'Asians, Gamers, Lockpicks, Spanish, Northeners' and just about everything you could think of.

However, the second I begin to pledge the idea of 'Hey, there's a group for Spaniards, why don't we have an official group for the English?' to no surprise, that idea is turned down, as it is 'racist.' I am by no means suggesting forming a mini BNP group in my university, or parading the corridors with a Swastika printed on the St George's flag, I am simply just suggesting that it would be a good idea to meet other people.

So, what is the solution?

It's simple. Take pride in your country. Show it off. Wear your heart on your sleeve, and remember:

Patriotism isn't racism, and the love for your country doesn't mean the hate for other races.



As always, remember to check out BlogWave! Our comedy podcast full of blogging tips and SEO optimisation:  http://blogwave.net

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Rats Out
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I'm famous! CNN story on England's flight cancellations.

So sat in my hotel room watching CNN about the snow situation in England and I decided to Tweet the news reader, explaining that I was a 20 year old traveller that just wanted to be back home in England for Xmas.

Sure enough, sat here on blogger, browsing the net as you do, and CNN reports news about 'Europe experiencing huge flight delays and cancellations,' And explains about Heathrow and Gatwick runway closures.

Sure enough, he then says 'Steve from the UK Tweets that...' and reads out my situation.

Was pretty weird to hear myself being mentioned on national television.

Those who want my autographs let me know ;D

Rats Out!
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Things I've learned about France and the French

Ok guys so I've been here for two weeks to the day and basically just thought I'd give you a little update on how it's all going and what I've learnt about France and the people here in general.


Quick note; this isn't meant to offend anyone! Just pointing out my observations! And it'd be interesting to hear back from you guys whether the rest of France is like this, or whether it just applies to Strasbourg or the Alsace region!

Another quick note; As an Englishman, these seemed strange to me and the culture I grew up with. These may be relatively common for the rest of the world!

Ok so here we go:

- Everyone here smokes

- Relating to the point above, it's not uncommon to see people using a pipe to smoke

- Everyone cycles

- People who ride motorbikes/mopeds/Vespas are insane. Cutting up cars, speeding down pavements, and   EVERYTIME two people on a motorbike meet, they see who can wheelie the longest. I see this a LOT

- Here the French, similar to the Spanish, have a sort of Siesta, and most shops open around 8:00, but will close at midday and re-open at 14:00

- The people here seem to partially fit the stereotypical image of a French person. Seen a lot of berets and nearly everyone (whether it's just the students because is cheap,) eats baguettes

- It's expensive as hell. Some pubs ask for 7Euros for a whiskey, where as a single Whiskey in my home town is around £2.50, or 3.60Euros

- People drink half pints a lot more than pints

- Public transport is ALWAYS on time

- People are very helpful; approaching me and asking if I need help (An obvious student with a map out)

- Juice is extremely common, and it isn't as easy as I thought it would be buy regular, justaddwater style squash

- It's clean. Although graffiti still exists, it exists more as an art form than scribbled names. Litter isn't a problem here

- They LOVE their cheese here. So many varieties.

- A lot of people pay using cheques. Not sure if this is just England being different, but it is rare to find a place that still accepts cheques as a form of payment

- The French don't mind a beer, at 10am

- One of the most bizarre for me, when the 'green man' is displayed when crossing a road, it is not unusual for cars to still drive over the crossing, but simply wait for pedestrians to cross. The fact they can still drive with the green man there is what's a little foreign to me. This point is kinda hard to explain, but in England,   if the red man is showing. Pedestrians can't walk, and cars can drive. Here, if the green man is showing, cars can still drive, as long as they are no pedestrians.

- One for just as UK people, still not use to other side of the road driving. Although I don't drive, crossing a road is still daunting as I'm not used to looking to my right hand side first!



That's all I got at the moment! Just a bit of an update on the culture shock really. Love it here though so don't take this as a a 'Things I hate about France' post!

Like I said earlier, be interesting to see if anyone else agrees and whether this is the same throughout France, or just Strasbourg.
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