Are the English xenophobic?

[monorail]

One of the more common insults I hear towards Gordon Brown is that he is Scottish. It maybe appropriate to say that he represents a Scottish constituency and therefore cannot truly represent England, but the way in which his nationality is seized on as a criticism seems a little unfair and unjust to me.

As a person who doesn't live in England anymore, it also appears to me that the English (not to generalise) can come across as quite xenophobic; most notably from the media.

I know this is NOT the case for the vast majority of English people, but it just got me thinking about all of the supposed "rivalries" between England and other nations in terms of politics or sport or whatever:

Australia, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, the United States, Argentina, Italy..........does "rivalry" go to far and turn to xenophobia?

What do we think?

[Paul]

Gordon Brown did however take an oath to always do his best for Scotland and to keep its interests permanently first in his mind - forsaking everything else, including his current job.

We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.

http://www.yellowswordfish.com/594/the-oath-of-the-unwelcome-prime-minister/
http://www.yellowswordfish.com/wp-content/images/2007/06/ID59401.jpg

[Pioneer]

I don't think any particular group of people are xenophobic, some people hold these views, and some of those people will be English. However, I'm English, but my family is renting a house out to Polish people, we're cool with foreigners.

[monorail]

I don't think any particular group of people are xenophobic, some people hold these views, and some of those people will be English. However, I'm English, but my family is renting a house out to Polish people, we're cool with foreigners.

I think the media is very xenophobic. There was an article on the Guardian's website that said there was a deep anti-American sentiment in this country......which MANY readers wrote and emailed to complain about.

[coruscant]

Xenophobia is quite prolific in the tabloid media but not in the broadsheet media, or the country as a whole, in my opinion.
Any rivalries with countries are friendly.

[Nicola Ophelia LaVey]

Gordon Brown did however take an oath to always do his best for Scotland and to keep its interests permanently first in his mind - forsaking everything else, including his current job.

We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.

http://www.yellowswordfish.com/594/the-oath-of-the-unwelcome-prime-minister/
http://www.yellowswordfish.com/wp-content/images/2007/06/ID59401.jpg

I think the problem here is that some people would want England to have it's own government just like Scotland has theirs...as well as the British government. Seems like that would solve this problem.

[Hamsterwaffle]

I'm not sure if the English are Xenophobic. But I suppose technically those who refer to themselves as English are xenophobic.

[Gotlieb Alexander]

I think the problem here is that some people would want England to have it's own government just like Scotland has theirs...as well as the British government. Seems like that would solve this problem.

I doubt it, when there was just Westminster and the English and Scots had equal parliamentary rights (although Scotland had more MPs per capita) the Scottish nationalists complained it wasn't fair and they needed their own parliament, so if we make it equal again I guess they'll complain again and they'll need two.

[EmmaGallen]

I think the media is very xenophobic. There was an article on the Guardian's website that said there was a deep anti-American sentiment in this country......which MANY readers wrote and emailed to complain about.

Do you count as beign xenophobic if there's jsut one particular nationality you dislike?

[monorail]

Do you count as beign xenophobic if there's jsut one particular nationality you dislike?

Yes, I do.

Forming a judgement of people on the basis of their nationality is prejudice.

I think it shows hints of xenophobia too.

[EmmaGallen]

I know it's prejuidice but I didn't think it'd count as xenophobia. But meh.

[SeanH]

We English have no need due to being better than everyone else. Some people just forget that fact. ;)

[Scott McAvoy-Hunnisett]

I would say so. I am a prime example:rolleyes:

[Hamsterwaffle]

We English have no need due to being better than everyone else. Some people just forget that fact. ;)

Don't be too harsh on everyone else. It's not that they're wicked or naturally bad. It's knowing their foreign, that's driving them mad.

[Liam Hannan]

I doubt it, when there was just Westminster and the English and Scots had equal parliamentary rights (although Scotland had more MPs per capita) the Scottish nationalists complained it wasn't fair and they needed their own parliament, so if we make it equal again I guess they'll complain again and they'll need two.

Is 4 hours of government a year for an entire nation "equal parliamentary rights"?

The reason we called for our own parliament is because Westminster was not doing a good enough job - being dominated almost entirely by international or English domestic business.

[make.me.smile]

I think we are actually not xenophobic at all. Some people in England are of course (as in any country) and quite a few are just stuck in the past, thus having a reason (however invalid and ridiculous it may be) to dislike someone because of their nationality. But when I'm walking around London I feel like we're the most welcoming and accepting nation in the world :D

[Hamsterwaffle]

A lot of people mistake friendly rivalry (meaning the French and the Germans) for Xenophobia.

[cig1705]

Yes, we're all a bunch of xenophobes who went around the world blowing it up and oppressing it (although it was only the English, albeit in the name of the UK, which did it) and who still hate foreigners with every bone in their body. Everyone in England is a complete and utter fascist xenophobe.

No, "the English" aren't xenophobes. Every country has at least one person who hates strangers or foreigners. Or, at least, if they are xenophobes, then every other national stereotype is equally valid, and to be honest I'd rather be a xenophobe than some other such stereotypes.

[kiran31992]

i dont think the english are naturally xenophobic
its just the crap that gets rammed down our throats by the media (cough daily mail cough) that can influence some people quite a lot

[ThatRadFreak]

i'm not xenophobic, but i don't think england should be run by someone who isn't english.

You're heart can never be truley in it, well i don't think it can, scotland will always be more important to him, end of.

i don't like gordon brown, but not because he's scottish, i just,
well, when i was younger, i remember there being a lot of stories about him messing up with the money or something, so i just don't see how he can run a country properly.
i'm probably wrong there though xD

[Paul]

i'm not xenophobic, but i don't think england should be run by someone who isn't english.

You're heart can never be truley in it, well i don't think it can, scotland will always be more important to him, end of.

i don't like gordon brown, but not because he's scottish, i just,
well, when i was younger, i remember there being a lot of stories about him messing up with the money or something, so i just don't see how he can run a country properly.
i'm probably wrong there though xD

You're probably thinking of him selling the gold off cheap.

And he signed this claim to always consider Scottish needs paramount.
http://www.alba.org.uk/devolution/claimofright.html
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Brown-blasted-for-39Scotland-first39.3494715.jp
http://no-pc.blogspot.com/2007/12/gordon-brown-scottish-claim-of-right.html

[Liam Hannan]

i'm not xenophobic, but i don't think england should be run by someone who isn't english.

You're heart can never be truley in it, well i don't think it can, scotland will always be more important to him, end of.


From our point of view?

If Scotland's most important to him he's got a funny way of showing it. As far as we're concerned he's screwing us over to get to be PM.

[Paul]

From our point of view?

If Scotland's most important to him he's got a funny way of showing it. As far as we're concerned he's screwing us over to get to be PM.

How? Simply by talking about how it is important to be British?