Nationality

[tintin]

[s]Precious wrote on 22:09, 9th Mar 2004:
Lived all my life in England except for time studying here, one Scottish grandfather, the rest of my family are from Derbyshire like Tintin's (by the way, Tintin, which part? Mine are from Buxton.)

My Grandfather was from Dore; we lived in Buxton for a couple of years.

[p1neapplekitten]

My parents are from Hong Kong, but i was born and brought up in Glasgow. However, I see myself as Chinese, probably coz Glasgow is such a racist shit hole.

[KateBush]

Is something that really needs to be addressed. I was at a pub in Anstruther on sunday watching the old firm game and the abuse that was being hurled at the black celtic players was quite literally shocking.

As a Scot, I find it really upsetting that people give us a bad name in this way. If it's not sectarianism then it's racism. when are people going to get a grip? And Tintin--the thread only asked about nationality, not your whole bloody family history and genealogy, man, sheesh! Stop rambling, man!

[romantic]

european would be my first answer, then scottish with bristish not getting a look in.

[Cain]

my passport says british, i was born in england but moved back to scotland when i was 4. all my family come from Scotland, specifically Glasgow, but i'm a proper north east boy.

Bottom line: scottish, but if its official, british

AB3 4 life!

[Tinlegs the elder]

A friend and I were discussing this the other day. He was very happy after Saturday's rugby match and he said his team beat the British. The conversation started when I pointed out that Irish team were playing the English and not a team made up of the other countries.

I class myself as Scottish, then British, although I put British on forms. He classes himself as Irish (although from Northern Ireland) and does not view himself as British at all. To him English=British, but British does not equal Welsh, Scottish or (Northern) Irish. His argument is that as Britons originally lived in the modern area of England (I'm trying really hard to be careful what I say here) and those who lived elsewhere were Celts or another race, but NOT Britons, hence to him the English are British. My argument is that it is the British Isles so we are all British. Anyone who has a good counter argument to his, I would be glad to hear it...

[Chain Mailer]

His argument is that as Britons originally lived in the modern area of England (I'm trying really hard to be careful what I say here) and those who lived elsewhere were Celts or another race, but NOT Britons, hence to him the English are British.
Well if you're gonna get historically technical there is no such thing as a brit! (or english, scot etc.) because the 'British Isles'/ 'UK' whatever has been invaded soooooo many times by peeps in europe (vikings, romans, normans/french etc.) that you can't really be a pure bred anything! (I know this is nitpiking, but hey!)


[hr]
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious

[Cosmo's Moon]

Scottish through and through.

[quarterstaff]

on documentation -

country of birth - Scotland
nationality - British

in life -

Scottish and British and European


though, most people who study IR will try to tell you that scotland isnt a country - how odd.

[Eliot Wilson]

Most people who study IR wouldn't know their arses from their elbows unless Magnus Ranstorp explained it in terms of geopolitics and used the word 'hegemon'.

[hr]Bill and Ted beat the Grim Reaper at Twister

Bill: "You played very well, Death, especially with your totally heavy Death robes."

Death: "Don't patronise me."

[AlenWatters]

Well the religion of IR tells us that the United Kingdom is a sovereign state, and that Scotland can still call itself a country..this causs me great pain cos every time I look at my passport Im being described as something I am not.

Im Scottish and hold all that being Scottish is dear. I dont feel any kinship with any idea of what Britishness seems to be, and that Britishness is usually manifested as Englishness which is why so many people have a problem with it.

I know there are holes all over my argument but hey..

And to the person that said Glasgow is a racist shitehole, I know you are from there and have a right to call it that, for indeed it is as racist as anywhere else, but a shitehole it is not. I mean, sorry for being pedantic but what constitutes a shitehole?

[little englander]

[s]Chain Mailer wrote on 11:18, 10th Mar 2004:
[i]His argument is that as Britons originally lived in the modern area of England (I'm trying really hard to be careful what I say here) and those who lived elsewhere were Celts or another race, but NOT Britons, hence to him the English are British.
Well if you're gonna get historically technical there is no such thing as a brit! (or english, scot etc.) because the 'British Isles'/ 'UK' whatever has been invaded soooooo many times by peeps in europe (vikings, romans, normans/french etc.) that you can't really be a pure bred anything! (I know this is nitpiking, but hey!)

[/i]

Actually the various invasions that Britain or rather more accurately England suffered from did not impact as significantly on the gene pool as is commonly beleived.
Like in the North and East of England, a mixture of Angles, Saxons, Danish Vikings, and Ancient Britons were found in the South and West of England. But the percentage of DNA from the 'invaders' (Angles, Saxons and Danish Vikings) decreased as the test sites moved towards the south coast and Cornwall (the most Ancient Briton/Celtic part of England). It seems this part of the country has more genetic input from the Ancient Britons than the North and East of England. Curiously, mainland Scotland was not appreciably more Ancient Briton (Celtic) than southern England.
I dont personally beleive it is sensible to derive ideas about nationality from ethnicity.

Either way Im English, i am definitely not european.

[Guest]

I'm another person who would describe themselves as British. I have English parents but was born and raised in Scotland. When I was younger, I was adamant that I was Scottish and got offended if anyone suggested otherwise. But now I realise that that was probably due to anti-english feeling at my primary school and bcos I was desperate to fit in.
Like other ppl have said-I'm proud to be Scottish, British and European.

[Ewan MacDonald]

I have always considered myself both British and Scottish, with no need to emphasise either. The previous post referring to 'Britons' not being accurate as a term is wrong, while there were invasions by angles, jutes, Normans (who were vikings, not french), etctera, the original Britons were forced to migrate west, so if anyone is a modern descendant, it is the Welsh not the English. The term British is in any case a 17th century reinvention of the Roman idea of Britannia, which is conceptual rather than based on distinct race. In short, if you want to be british go for it.

[hr]In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing.
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of being Earnest (III)

[KateBush]

I am Scottish through and through. Other than swearing allegiance to the Queen through the cub scouts when I was too young to know what I was doing, I have never seen myself as one of her subjects or declared loyalty to her. Britannia can sod off. Scotland rules.

[hr]a red rose is not selfish because it wants to be red rose. It would be selfish if it wanted all the other flowers in the garden to be both red, and roses. -Oscar Wilde

[quarterstaff]

the problem with this anti-british felling is that anyone born in the UK IS british, whether they like it or not... it is a fact....

the british armed forces, no matter where they come from within the UK have fought to defend the UK and ALL its citizens... you can be as scottish as you wish, but you are still british.

[exnihilo]

[s]Unregisted User little englander wrote on 13:13, 10th Mar 2004:Actually the various invasions that Britain or rather more accurately England suffered from...


I'm sorry, what?

What about Scotii arriving from Ireland? Multiple "British" tribes pushing up from the south? Norsemen in the north? And so forth. And let's not forget the Romans, who penetrated as far as Aberdeen. Point being one is no more genuinely and authentically Scottish than English by the invasion argument - every one of us is a mongrel. And subsequent arrivals from all over the world make that more and more true. So, perhaps British is the best term as it clearly indicates all the people living on this island, as opposed to claiming some bizarre ethnic right to be Scottish or English.

[amac]

i was born in scotland and have lived here all of my life, but a large part of my family is english (including my mum), so i would see myself as British.

[The Bigot's Bigot]

Born in Northern Ireland, would call myself British. Unreconstructed bastard that I am.

[Nature's Metropolis]

Quarter English, quarter Scottish, quarter French, quarter Indian......British.