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CantaloupeSwing discovered 4 months ago- I must admit, I've never been clear what the government means by "Britishness". I had a conversation about this some time ago with someone who was advocating the idea of national holiday to celebrate Britishness. The condensed version went something like this: Her: I think it's a great idea to celebrate Britishness. Me: Um...but what does it mean? Her: I don't know. It's different for everyone. Me: But if you don't know what it is then how do you know its a great idea ? Her (getting stroppy now): Well you should ask some of the people who are saying they feel like a foreigner in their own country. (Ahhh...so now we're getting to the crux of the matter). And then the conversation moved predictably onto a misinformed rant about Muslims, Eastern Europeans, immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees; each group being an ill-defined notion of what they really are with little or no distinction made between them. The terms invariably used inter-changebly. So at least now I'm beginning to understand. This whole Britishness idea isn't just about celebrating our commononalities and similarities (whatever they may be), our kooky little quirks and tastes (varied as they are). It's not just about what makes us cohesive as a nation (assuming we really are). It's also about what divides and separates us. How true Britons can be made to feel as though they are taking back ownership of 'their' nation by sticking two fingers up at those others, at the ones who don't belong, the ones who shouldn't be here. See, these conversations about "Britishness" always end up being about something more subversive. There's always something else bubbling underneath. This is what I don't like. The subject quickly moves on to expressions of resentment. You get the usual comments like "they only come here to sponge off the state" and variations of "they're taking our jobs." I always wonder which one people are most angry about: working or not working. Then there's the usual "I feel like a foreigner in my own country" (as mentioned above). It's got kind of tedious. The ever popular refrain fueled by ludicrous tabloid stories: "I Felt Like A Foreigner In My Own Kitchen: I opened the fridge, moved the milk and blow me if there wasn't a muslim/immigrant hiding behind the cheese!" I've digressed from the original topic. But my point is that I think, for many people, this is about more than just celebrating the nebulous notion of "Britishness".
