4 ms·

You seem to refer to the UK from the position of an outsider, in which case you can't possibly understand what our constitution and monarchy mean to the majorit

by b800h 3y ago

You seem to refer to the UK from the position of an outsider, in which case you can't possibly understand what our constitution and monarchy mean to the majority of us. The UK system is sublime and built on subtlety and nuance. Unfortunately that means that people who don't fully understand it underestimate it. As is the case with your post, and is unfortunately true of some of our countrymen.

anigbrowl 3y ago
I live outside the UK now. I grew up nestled in Brittania's bosom and understand it rather better than you imagine. you can't possibly understand Even if I was an outsider, why not? Everyone has deep feelings about their own country, culture, history and so on. Don't you think it's a little silly to imagine a country is simply beyond understanding by anyone else? Certainly outsiders have a different relationship insofar as they didn't grow up listening to smack of leather-wrapped balls on cricket bats or [insert distinctive national trope here], but so what? Lacking experience of other cultures never deterred the British from opining about and sometimes taking them over during the age of exploration. If anything, their ability to understand the dynamics of other countries was a major factor in becoming an imperial power in the first place. UK system is sublime and built on subtlety and nuance That's just a flowery way to say you like how things have always worked and have a good grasp of unwritten rules. It's equally applicable to the Catholic church or Kalahari bush society. people who don't fully understand it underestimate it Americans think the same thing about their Constitution, and this has a lot to do with why the country nowadays lurches from one crisis to the next, failed to anticipate the possibility of a coup attempt 2 years ago, and still hasn't got to grips with it as a polity, despite having successfully prosecuted a number of people for sedition. I recall 10-15 years ago where when I first became convinced that the US had some serious structural problems and was headed toward acute domestic conflict, academic/legal friends would just go misty -eyed and say nice things about constitutional checks and balances and the wisdom of the founders. If had been sufficiently prescient or had a time machine to say 'by 2021 you'll have civil unrest all over the country and a mob of Donald Trump supporters will force their way into Congress to prevent the transfer of power' they would have laughed out loud or summoned an ambulance.
xk_id 3y ago
It’s astonishing how often english people foster the illusion that their culture escapes the scrutiny of outsiders. They seem to forget that its vehicle - the english language - is spoken universally around the world; so whenever english people speak, their potential audience is anybody else. Foreigners typically stay silent and don’t bother to engage, because british influence is negligible compared to america’s cultural imperialism; nevertheless, it’s not difficult to acquire an insight. Social media and the protracted brexit campaign made this easier than ever, because it encouraged the public to assert publicly and loudly their deepest convictions. It irreversibly undermined the artificial image of exceptionalism cultivated by the uk government in foreign relations. The reality of the English culture is neither private, nor a mistery to outsiders.
- stu432 3y ago
  And yet somehow the reality is a "mistery" to you. Language isn't culture. If it was you wouldn't have the sort of Chinese-gate tik-tok nonsense happening right now. Also English people do not make up the United Kingdom. Nor do they constitute the entirety of British influence. But that's a trivial matter to a world expert such as yourself, who can't even remain consistent in a baseless rant.
  - xk_id 3y ago
    > Also English people do not make up the United Kingdom. The distinction between English and British in my comment was intentional. The unique style of self-infatuation expressed in the parent comment is quintessentially English (white English, to be even more precise); not Scottish, Irish, or Welsh.
    - b800h 3y ago
      British people in "love their country" shocker! It might be less apparent online, but with my hand on my heart I can promise you that people from all the nations of the union share my conviction. It might not be universal, but we'll take our odd, sentimental, sometimes eccentric culture over a bland globalised republicanism any day, thanks.
basisword 3y ago
Support for the monarchy is at an all time low. Most people couldn’t care less about it.

by b800h 3y ago

anigbrowl 3y ago

I live outside the UK now. I grew up nestled in Brittania's bosom and understand it rather better than you imagine. you can't possibly understand Even if I was an outsider, why not? Everyone has deep feelings about their own country, culture, history and so on. Don't you think it's a little silly to imagine a country is simply beyond understanding by anyone else? Certainly outsiders have a different relationship insofar as they didn't grow up listening to smack of leather-wrapped balls on cricket bats or [insert distinctive national trope here], but so what? Lacking experience of other cultures never deterred the British from opining about and sometimes taking them over during the age of exploration. If anything, their ability to understand the dynamics of other countries was a major factor in becoming an imperial power in the first place. UK system is sublime and built on subtlety and nuance That's just a flowery way to say you like how things have always worked and have a good grasp of unwritten rules. It's equally applicable to the Catholic church or Kalahari bush society. people who don't fully understand it underestimate it Americans think the same thing about their Constitution, and this has a lot to do with why the country nowadays lurches from one crisis to the next, failed to anticipate the possibility of a coup attempt 2 years ago, and still hasn't got to grips with it as a polity, despite having successfully prosecuted a number of people for sedition. I recall 10-15 years ago where when I first became convinced that the US had some serious structural problems and was headed toward acute domestic conflict, academic/legal friends would just go misty -eyed and say nice things about constitutional checks and balances and the wisdom of the founders. If had been sufficiently prescient or had a time machine to say 'by 2021 you'll have civil unrest all over the country and a mob of Donald Trump supporters will force their way into Congress to prevent the transfer of power' they would have laughed out loud or summoned an ambulance.

xk_id 3y ago

It’s astonishing how often english people foster the illusion that their culture escapes the scrutiny of outsiders. They seem to forget that its vehicle - the english language - is spoken universally around the world; so whenever english people speak, their potential audience is anybody else. Foreigners typically stay silent and don’t bother to engage, because british influence is negligible compared to america’s cultural imperialism; nevertheless, it’s not difficult to acquire an insight. Social media and the protracted brexit campaign made this easier than ever, because it encouraged the public to assert publicly and loudly their deepest convictions. It irreversibly undermined the artificial image of exceptionalism cultivated by the uk government in foreign relations. The reality of the English culture is neither private, nor a mistery to outsiders.

stu432 3y ago
And yet somehow the reality is a "mistery" to you. Language isn't culture. If it was you wouldn't have the sort of Chinese-gate tik-tok nonsense happening right now. Also English people do not make up the United Kingdom. Nor do they constitute the entirety of British influence. But that's a trivial matter to a world expert such as yourself, who can't even remain consistent in a baseless rant.
- xk_id 3y ago
  > Also English people do not make up the United Kingdom. The distinction between English and British in my comment was intentional. The unique style of self-infatuation expressed in the parent comment is quintessentially English (white English, to be even more precise); not Scottish, Irish, or Welsh.
  - b800h 3y ago
    British people in "love their country" shocker! It might be less apparent online, but with my hand on my heart I can promise you that people from all the nations of the union share my conviction. It might not be universal, but we'll take our odd, sentimental, sometimes eccentric culture over a bland globalised republicanism any day, thanks.

basisword 3y ago

Support for the monarchy is at an all time low. Most people couldn’t care less about it.