eatstatic

Why? Was the kids spelling as bad as yours?

Professional Princess

Things get more lenient as the years go by.

Mum remembers the days where you could leave your door open.

I remember the days where I could safely play outside as a child without fear of abduction.

But what I dont understand is if I stood in Central London saying 'Kill all Muslims and non believers of Christiananity' and then proceeded to burn a flag other than a British one, I would be charged for inciting racial hatred.

Yet extremists do that regularly and have burnt our Union Jack and that evil one handed git has preached hatred against our countrymen and said our soldiers should die.

In fact I am watching BBC1 now and witnessing racism against the British in a way that would get us prosecuted should we do the same.

Gone to the dogs - I don't know, moved with the times for better or worse - maybe.

But one sided and unbalanced against certain culture and tradition including our own, definitely.

As a woman married to an Arab man that does not practice his religion and nor has he ever done, I am not being racist, just realistic.

Give power back to parents, teachers, policemen and teach respect for everyone of all cultures and tradition.

Tolerate one another and our beliefs and make the law something to respect and have faith in again.

Then perhaps we could have more faith in the country we live in.

I am so proud to be British, but am the first to admit that changes are needed - and fast.

tracey.d

[QUOTE=pompeywill] bring back the birch

:scared: you sound just like my husband. That was one of his favourite sayings when he was on his high horse. Forgot he was a little s**t when he was a kid

Tracey

Professional Princess

[QUOTE=tracey.d]
Actually I could do with a birch to play games with.

You can never find one when you need it.

Storini

UK & Oz govt's over the years have operated very different immigration policies. UK seems to have taken the view that "people are wealth" and allowed, let's face it, virtually unrestricted immigration: even recently it's allowed all the Eastern European EU ewcomers in, e.g. the fabled "Polish plumber". Oz, on the other hand, has rigorously imposed and, because of its remote location, been able to apply a strigent skills-based immigration policy. All Oz parties and people have been agreed on this, unlike the UK where Labour has seen an advantage in allowing "its kind of people" in by the back door.

Well, what's the net result. To be fair, incomers are generally ambitious and keen. This doesn't actually make them popular with the existing residents. For example, the UK Ugandan Asians started off running corner shops, but the next generation are doctors, lawyers, accountants.

So free immigration=change, distruption, prosperity.
Restricted immigration=stability, stagnation, decline.

Your choice?

blossom

Well done Merlot for another very interesting post. Tis a pity some people only reply to threads with the intention of being aggressive.

Karma on its way to you.

Blossom

renth

Srebrenica safe haven? or how about how the world responded to Rwanda - or rather, not responded.

ABCDiamond

The media has a lot to answer for.

MrsDagboy

So you think that the next generation of skilled migration aren't also doctors, lawyers, accountants etc?

And do you think that the only people that have ever been let into Australia are skilled migrants?

renth

Exactly,

Just beacuse the Aussies are famous for their mandatory detention of illegal immigrants doesn't mean that Australia hasn't taken refugees in their hundreds of thousands.

Geordie George

Hi M,

I must admit, I was in two minds about even reading this thread. But it's been interesting!

So far, most of the responses seem to have been of the 'Britain is fine', rather than the 'Britain went to the dogs years ago' type. I think that's interesting in itself as, ordinarily, I would expect more of the latter type of response to this kind of question. I think this suggests that recent events have made people rethink the state of Britain and what it means to be British. To answer your question, I think that people would respond as a previous generation did when faced with a situation that demands a certain response. Although it's important to note that the nature of war has changed and I'm not sure what impact that would have.

I think that the British response to the London bombings is universally saying that there is a British culture (with all it's wonderful subcultures) that we value and together we will protect it. We're very, very lucky in that we live in a society which allows us to express differences in how we would choose do that.

I don't know that Britain is somehow less British than in previous years. Advancing years mean you look back at past events with those rose tinted specs on and acquire selective memory - things always seem simpler with the benefit of time.

With specific regard to Australia, I think that Aus and the UK are much of a muchness in the grand scheme of things. What I earn, what things cost, whether I spend my weekends inside or outside are fairly arbitrary; freedom of speech is, to me, priceless (if that doesn't sound too much like a credit card ad!). People all too often lose sight of the bigger picture and I think, for many, that will have come sharply into focus recently.

Play a little Pomp and Circumstance and wave a flag for me.

GG

pompeywill

[QUOTE=tracey.d] I suppose we all had our moments as kids, but the threat of the cane when I was at school generally kept us in order.
I dont remember anyone telling teachers to f*** off like the kids do today.

The good kids are suffering because of the limp wristed left wingers who run the education system refuse to accept the fact changes need to be made before Britain really does 'go to the dogs'.

pompeywill

Picking through posts picking out spelling mistakes is a bit pathetic dont you think?

I may have educational problems for all you know, therefore your comments would be very insensitive.

Bix

[QUOTE=pompeywill]Bring back corporal punishment in schools, then bring back the birch for those unruly teenagers, then bring back national service for those who are still anti-social and if that dont work .....hang 'em.[QUOTE]


.....and if that don't work send them to live with Eatstatic

anya4oz

Merlot

What an interesting post! To find out how the UK became the place it is today, I guess you have to look at what's happened to the country over the last 50 years. For those who are interested, here's some of my favorite recommended reading:


'Hope & Glory: Britain 1900-2000', by Peter Clarke (one of the Penguin 'History of Britain' series)

Of particular relevance is Clarke's description of the 10 years after WW2. Despite winning the war, the UK owed millions to the US, rationing persisted for years, and the years 1945 to about 1960 were ones of misery and deprivation for many (while, conversely, Germany started to prosper, and the US continued its boom). The feeling of 'being the underdog' that those years engendered in the UK led to an attitude of self-hatred; this, coupled with the fears about Nuclear armaments, led to the radical, free-thinking 1960s, with people drowning their sorrows in 'never-never' spending & credit card debts. This sharply contrasts with the earlier years of the century, where the vision of 'Empire' was still strong & the Brits felt a sense of pride (albeit often jingoistic & misplaced).


'London 1945: Life in the Debris of War' by Maureen Waller.

1945 was a pivotal year, encompassing as it did the comradeship of war and the disillusionment of peace (which did not deliver the 'good times' that people expected). Reading this one, I could really see where the seeds of the present day apathy, lack of confidence & disillusionment had been sown. One interesting fact that emerged was that the Luftwaffe deliberately bombed the John Lewis department store on Oxford St, to attack Brit morale. Fascinating, but rather harrowing reading, in many ways.


'The Strange Death of Tory England' by Geoffrey Wheatcroft.

Wheatcroft expounds the theory that the UK's rot set in with the Tory party in 1963, when Sir Alec Douglas-Home succeeded Macmillan, and Iain Macleod, with all his bolshy guns blazing, changed the Tory party forever.

Some really fascinating reading there, IMO...

Cheers,
Anya.