The Woodcutter

I think this would have to be your own opinion to which you are entitled. As I was born in Singapore to British parents - does this make me Singaporean? I think not!

(Admittedly it does impress Singaporean customs everytime I pass through.)

emelems

Does it really matter?? In the grand scheme of things?? What you class yourself as, from, now being?? What colour shirt you put on?

At the end of the day (as my Nan used to tell me frequently).. we all breathe the same air and we all sit under the same sky... classing yourself as "being from" doesnt mean jack..

Live and let live

Em x

Grayling

Then we would have nothing to discuss....or a chance to try and be clever or funny

Notts_bloke

If you read my post properly I was responding to the point regarding what constitutes a 'genuine' immigrant.

In fact the Normans, Saxons and Danes all predate "Great Britain".

Hutch

I'm from Ethiopia - like everyone else on the planet.

kporte

and have all melted together to make up the inhabitants that exist there. the point being that in this day and age, all this is bollocks.
if you take up citizenship of a country, you have every right to say you come from that country, or to choose not to. if you bring something to the table, you are as legitimate as anyone else, here, the uk or anywhere.

Notts_bloke

Which was exactly the point I was making.

kporte

and i was agreeing with

Notts_bloke

We rock!

kporte

you may, i just wobble a bit

Tableland

Quite right. While not saying anyone on here necessarily thinks this - and I stress that point to avoid this thread going off on a tangent - I can't help but see a certain hypocrisy, at least in generic terms. In the UK it is a common complaint about bloody foreigners not integrating and not wanting to get into the British way of life, and they are often criticised for keeping their own traditions and languages and supporting their own national teams in sport, and so on.

Meanwhile, the exact opposite values apparently apply to the English who are supposed to go to a foreign country and retain their own colloquialisms and loyalties and support their own team, even though they have emigrated and are supposed to be integrating into the new nation.

This hypocrisy is of course natural and predictable, which is why I agree with what you say - forget about it and if someone from Lahore living in Bradford wants to support Pakistan and speak Urdu all the time fine, and if not fine, and if someone from Plymouth living in Perth wants to support Australia and uses some Aussie phrases then fine, and if not fine.