United Kingdom - Justify Your Existence

[Flake]

Get over it man.

Our parents had a fight, your dad lost.

Now we live in 2012.

[Partisan]

Get over it man.

Our parents had a fight, your dad lost.

Now we live in 2012.

Get over what exactly ? I was just partaking in an ongoing conversation, calmly stating what I see to be true with no sign of anger whatsoever, in fact stating more the once along the lines that we as Germans ( myself thereby being included) are infact are "over it" ^^ and living in the year 2012 is the exact point of everything I said concerning this particular topic. I do get the impression that you just skimmed through my comments just picking up stuff like "Germans" "Second World War" "UK" and so on and so forth, without reading them entirely which led to your statement, which is kind of generic and unrelated to be honest.

and just to stay in my usual role as a total smart ass .....my father and even his father had nothing to do with the War

and now I should stop as this defend of mine as usual will lead to more shit flying into my general direction ( cause every attempt of clarification and or justification, even more so if its combined with some negative remarks, seems to cause even greater havoc on the internet these days)

[Kolbenito]

That would imply that these countries what ?.

You asked the question and I answered in a nutshell. Of course virtually everyone alive at the time benefited from the end of the war and fall of one of the most destructive regimes in human history, in that sense everyone is a winner.

The UK sucessfuly defended their shores and played a critical role in the fall of the Nazi forces and the end of the war in Europe. Naturally people are going to look on that generation and all that they achieved with admiration. In the U.S. that generation is often used symbolically for what Americans can accomplish, sort of a standard to live up to. That is the basic answer to why it comes up all the time which seems to be what you are asking. Spitfires, Mustangs and Corsairs are beautiful machines... more excuses to talk about it.

@Beer American beer warm is nasty, ice cold or pass. When I visited Australia most of the "Bitters" were really good but served cold. Warm beer sounds like an aquired taste.

[Partisan]

You asked the question and I gave you the answer in a nutshell. Of course virtually everyone alive at the time benefited from the end of the war and fall of one of the most destructive regimes in human history, in that sense everyone is a winner. Kinda goes without saying.

The UK sucessfuly defended their shores and played a critical role in the fall of the Nazi forces and the end of the war in Europe. Naturally people are going to look on that generation and all that they achieved with admiration. In the U.S. that generation is often used symbolically for what Americans can accomplish, sort of a standard to live up to. That is the basic answer to the question

That still doesnt change the fact that a) the UK media has a special way of using the Second World War that is very specific to them and b) there are other countries that fought the battle against Nazi forces and reconquered their whole country ( aka the Polishfor example, they even had two enemies they had to drive out their land more or less, and they had to go through many struggles for that aka being treated like shit by the Soviet forces even as an ally) and they dont tackle this in the way the British media does so you answer as good as it may seem to you is either incomplete and/or shallow (this sounds rude but I guess that is the right word)

look in the end what I am just saying here (and that not only goes to you) - and I think you would find a citizen of the UK or two that would aknowledge this - is that the UK media has a very special way to deal/tackle and use the images of the second World War that is completely different than the rest of the European countries that were involved in this conflict. And honestly I dont get why this allready created such a fuzz, its not even meant in any offensive manor its just ...well it is true folks .... and in the end that was what the OP was asking for "what is distinctive for the UK"... that particular dealings is very much a UK thing .

[Kolbenito]

So every time it is brought up they are supposed to mention everyone?

I'm American btw, we take credit for everything in the movies lol.

[tobbA]

I guess there's not much national pride from Swedes about the second world war concidering that all we did was let the nazis through our country so they could get into Norway...

[TASmith]

Um, so without getting into WWII, let me just repeat a previous question - favorite brand names? Favorite stores, great deals? Favorite foods?

Also, here's a more practical question. So, I'm probably going to take more students to London, if not this spring, then someday. So, what's the best pub food in London, and what should we order?

[Black Spot]

Marmite. They'll either love it or hate it. I love the stuff.

[Kamber Parrk]

Oh, Hey!

"The Daily Mail."

It's a Bat-Shit crazy tabloid. And, as an American, I only have access to its on-line incarnation.

But, I get a charge out of seeing my culture filtered through this and other more serious British news items.

[Kamber Parrk]

Solely talked about European countries here.

My bad! Focused on the "World" aspect of WWII.

Related: despite the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that killed over 2000 Americans in about 20 minutes, the brutal jungle warfare, and us nuking them, the Japanese and Americans also seem to be "over it."

[haljarrett]

our weather is absolutely hideous. the summer was grey and raining pretty much consistently - maybe we got a couple of days of sunshine.currently we are heading into at least 5 more months of rain and cold.and you wonder why we drink so much lol

england is actually really green and covered in plants

a lot of us would love to leave but cant afford it/ arent qualified!

the brits are on the whole,being honest about it, not happy. maybe this is just the modern worlds effect on everyone, but we really love knocking each other down a peg or three about more or less anything, which leads us to be world leader in taking the pi**

we are jealous of america and australia - you guys have so much space, whereas we are stuck on a tiny rock with no land, which has forced house prices to an unattainable level for most people,also, basically weve had our day and it kinda sucks watching the rest of the world move on up while all we can do is reminisce.

on the plus side, weve created great music, fryups and can be pretty stylish from time to time when we arent staggering around vomiting on ourselves!and the inventions mentioned earlier - there are some bright people here thats for sure...

im pretty sure profanities hurled at someone in a nasty british or scottish accent sounds more evil than anyone elses in the world, on the flip side we can sound more debonair than anyone else as well so its swings and roundabouts!

as with probably anywhere else, whether life is heaven or hell comes down to how much money you have a lot of the time. people on here from different backgrounds will have had vastly different lives depending on the wealth of their parents...

sorry if i touched anyones nerves - i want to love my country, but weve lost community spirit, all in the name of furthering the individual, and i think thats our biggest problem!

but hey.....we do make a mean cup of tea

[haljarrett]

if there is anyone here who wants to either adopt or marry me (whichever is more suitable) and hails from somewhere sunny but not war torn, that would be just peachy.seriously.serious offer here.nowhere near joking.

[Velocity Kendall]

our weather is absolutely hideous. the summer was grey and raining pretty much consistently - maybe we got a couple of days of sunshine.currently we are heading into at least 5 more months of rain and cold.and you wonder why we drink so much lol

england is actually really green and covered in plants

a lot of us would love to leave but cant afford it/ arent qualified!

the brits are on the whole,being honest about it, not happy. maybe this is just the modern worlds effect on everyone, but we really love knocking each other down a peg or three about more or less anything, which leads us to be world leader in taking the pi**

we are jealous of america and australia - you guys have so much space, whereas we are stuck on a tiny rock with no land, which has forced house prices to an unattainable level for most people,also, basically weve had our day and it kinda sucks watching the rest of the world move on up while all we can do is reminisce.

on the plus side, weve created great music, fryups and can be pretty stylish from time to time when we arent staggering around vomiting on ourselves!and the inventions mentioned earlier - there are some bright people here thats for sure...

im pretty sure profanities hurled at someone in a nasty british or scottish accent sounds more evil than anyone elses in the world, on the flip side we can sound more debonair than anyone else as well so its swings and roundabouts!

as with probably anywhere else, whether life is heaven or hell comes down to how much money you have a lot of the time. people on here from different backgrounds will have had vastly different lives depending on the wealth of their parents...

sorry if i touched anyones nerves - i want to love my country, but weve lost community spirit, all in the name of furthering the individual, and i think thats our biggest problem!

but hey.....we do make a mean cup of tea

i agree with you but i dont think we've really lost anything too important, except a huge empire we ruled over in a pretty illegal and brutal way which made us very rich, and the blitz spirit, which was created by saturation bombing of our cities. there never was a golden time, and the house price thing is no where near as bad as the blitz.

[jpacer]

Granted, my only experience of the UK is Northern Ireland, but one thing I noticed when I was there is they seem to have a growing craving for Indian food. I must say, fries (chips) dipped in curry is delicious!

Also, I loved how you could just buy a bag of pancakes at the convenient store. Oh, and chocolate covered rice cakes...

[nofu]

I'm just gonna put this here.
"...and every European nation I missed ...LIBERATED!" "Of course virtually everyone alive at the time benefited from the end of the war..." Just to say that half of the Europe did not in fact find it very 'liberating' or 'beneficial' being made part of the USSR for 50 years or so. A lot of the countries actually got cataclysmically screwed over.

[haljarrett]

i agree with you but i dont think we've really lost anything too important, except a huge empire we ruled over in a pretty illegal and brutal way which made us very rich, and the blitz spirit, which was created by saturation bombing of our cities. there never was a golden time, and the house price thing is no where near as bad as the blitz.

i guess, all the more reason for people to come together and show one another a bit of love these days! must admit i thought i was going to get flamed for my little rant but the response hs been quite positive probably because we love complaining haha!

other little facts : we are (depending on the source) between the worlds 2nd-5th biggest arms producer, and almost all of us are unaware if it!

in other countries you might ask a girl out on a date, see where it goes - in the uk this is considered awkward and stalkerish, whereas getting drunk out your mind and pulling the nearest woman possible is perfectly acceptable... we are a really,really odd little bunch,im still trying to figure us out

oh, went to japan a little while ago, came back feeling like i live in a nation of barbarians, although if you look back in history,maybe im right!

oo, its a very small social group, even so, watch out for travelllers - the movie snatch was not exaggerating

[Velocity Kendall]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19834975

Hi 5!

[haljarrett]

lol, i used to work with a guy who didnt wash his hands after taking a dump, im not overly hygienic myself but theres a line to cross you know? used to watch him afterwards to see him touch the phone, the newspaper and so on, knowing that pretty much everything in the working environment would have some sort of trace of shi* on it...those were dark days

[mozchops]

lol, i used to work with a guy who didnt wash his hands after taking a dump, im not overly hygienic myself but theres a line to cross you know? used to watch him afterwards to see him touch the phone, the newspaper and so on, knowing that pretty much everything in the working environment would have some sort of trace of shi* on it...those were dark days

I used to know a guy that would covertly sneak a bicycle pump into the communal toilets, and (I have other witnesses to corroborate such illicit doings) if he thought no-one was within earshot, you would hear him thwisting away.
Sorry, off topic....

[Aly Fell]

Ahhh... this thread has dissolved into toilet humour! How 'Carry on...!' Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor would be proud of how British this has become.

[TASmith]

What the hell is thwisting? And can I get a recommendation on London pub food?

[Aly Fell]

If you're after specific London pubs TA, you might try the UK thread too. I can recommend you a couple in Manchester, but that'll probably be useless to you...

[Velocity Kendall]

Londons a little place, couple of shops, 1 pub, serves pies.
Oh no wait its a giant metropolis with every kind of food imaginable. I get the impression you think the UK is about 5 feet long and everyone knows the queen.

[bcarman]

Londons a little place, couple of shops, 1 pub, serves pies.
Oh no wait its a giant metropolis with every kind of food imaginable. I get the impression you think the UK is about 5 feet long and everyone knows the queen.

Well she posts on here doesn't she?

[AvP]

Don't go to a chain pub, and go for Pie and Mash or Sausages and Mash!

[Vermis]

Granted, my only experience of the UK is Northern Ireland, but one thing I noticed when I was there is they seem to have a growing craving for Indian food. I must say, fries (chips) dipped in curry is delicious!

Real curry or chip shop 'curry'? Nothing wrong with the latter on the right occassion, though.

Even out here in the sticks you'll find wee chinese takeaways everywhere - the next village over has two - but imagine my surprise when an indian takeaway opened in the same village about a year ago. Not that I'm complaining, though. The second nearest is about 15 miles away. Not unreachable, but when you just happen to fancy a bit of lamb madras of an evening...

[Psychotime]

Granted, my only experience of the UK is Northern Ireland, but one thing I noticed when I was there is they seem to have a growing craving for Indian food. I must say, fries (chips) dipped in curry is delicious!

You can never go wrong with good curry.

[haljarrett]

I used to know a guy that would covertly sneak a bicycle pump into the communal toilets, and (I have other witnesses to corroborate such illicit doings) if he thought no-one was within earshot, you would hear him thwisting away.
Sorry, off topic....

I think you will find this sort of thing is about as british as it gets, so really, its dead on topic!
i was going to ask exactly what you thought he was doing with it, but then i thought, it could only be like 2 things so, why lower the tone?

also, I would love if the op bases his talk to his students around this sort of thing "the british are self admitted perverts, its considered de riguer to take unusual sex toys into public lavatories, none of them wash their hands after defecating, and they just will not let world war 2 go!"

[TASmith]

What could anyone possibly do with a bicycle pump!?

[Black Spot]

You had to ask https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wa...ient=firefox-a