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Their cultural decline seems to have definitely accelerated recently. Even 10-15 years ago it seemed like there was so much more British influence in the media,
by joegibbs 7mo ago
Their cultural decline seems to have definitely accelerated recently. Even 10-15 years ago it seemed like there was so much more British influence in the media, a lot more films and television set in Britain. It seems like the London Olympics were a kind of last hurrah. Even here in Australia which has always historically had more British influence than anywhere else it's receded - there's very little focus on their internal politics, much more on the politics and culture of the United States, even more than you'd expect given the population difference.
- eucyclos 7mo agoThe genteel class turning on jk Rowling was definitely a Waterloo moment in British cultural strength.
- heavyset_go 7mo agoIt's deliberate isolationism, the same isolationism that drove Brexit
- NoMoreNicksLeft 7mo agoThere are two kinds of "isolationism". In the first, the person becomes a hermit refusing to interact with anyone. In the second, a cult grabs hold of the person and isolates them from their families and loved ones so they can brainfuck them. And, I suspect this has happened to the UK. England doesn't want to be a land for the English, because to do so would make them racist. They have strength in their diversity. Blah blah blah. And the English can't be allowed to talk with anyone else or they might realize how fucked-in-the-head all that nonsense is. They are under the spell of a cult, not as individuals, but collectively. And that cult won't be done with them until it's taken everything from them and coerced them to sign a "billion year contract". And to top it off, you're blaming it on them.
- joe_mamba 7mo ago[flagged]
- DeathArrow 7mo agoAm I reading these views on HN? I had to check, it seems yes. :)
- philipallstar 7mo agoDiversity of views and expertise seems like a good thing.
- dTal 7mo agoBut not diversity of race, apparently.
- philipallstar 7mo agoThat's neither here nor there. Just get the best people. Or are you against the current racial makeup of the earnings of the top NBA players?
- dTal 7mo agoIn case it wasn't clear, my comment was sarcastic. To be absolutely clear, I don't agree with racial discrimination. So that we don't talk past each other, here is a summary of my perspective of the discussion so far: NoMoreNicksLeft dropped an unhinged rant about "England for the English", including a clearly sarcastic and mocking reference to "They have strength in their diversity". joe_mamba chimed in with "diversity is bad", and added that Germany has the same "issue". DeathArrow expressed incredulity at witnessing open racial segregationism on HN. You replied to DeathArrow with "diversity of opinions is good". It was unclear whether you were defending the expression of segregationism on HN, or disagreeing with the premise of it. In any case you didn't signal that you recognized the extreme irony. I attempted to point out the irony with as few words as possible, and apparently failed to communicate well enough.
- notahacker 7mo agoDon't mistake Brits' general disinterest in engaging with foreigners whose perspective on the UK begins and ends with lecturing us on "England for the English" with us not being able to talk with anybody else...
- NoMoreNicksLeft 7mo agoOh look! It's the Monty Python "Ahm not dead yet" skit, out in the wild...
- bouncycastle 7mo agoit's ironic though, that you wrote your comment in English.
- moring 7mo agoThat is only historic influence, though. Britain does not control the English language and cannot exert any further influence through it.
- lukan 7mo agoWell, Monthy Python does still reach some people, but apart from that it is fading away it seems ..
- bouncycastle 7mo agoIt has profound foundational influence that continues to this day. Also, England doesn't need to do anything to ensure that influence of English culture is maintained in the US either. For as long as we still speak the English language, English culture will continue to live "rent free" in our heads, and that's not going away anytime soon. This is often cited as a "soft power".
- aquariusDue 7mo agoYeah, but whose English?
- munksbeer 7mo agoI think you meant, "but whom's English"
- estebank 7mo agoThe lingua franca has changed before...