"Anyone but Little England"

[C_C]

You don't 'choose' a culture - it just happens. Those individual environments themselves still exist to a lesser or greater extent, but they are becoming more and more diluted over time.

To me, as an inhabitant of these islands, the cultural differences between Orkney, Derbyshire, Cornwall and Norfolk are obvious - to you, not so.

No, you DO chose your culture. The music you choose to listen to, the food you choose to eat, the way you choose to dress is how culture happens. Societies choose their cultures.

And the difference between scottish and english 'culture' is something i am aware of. However, it is not two seperate cultures - they are the same culture with wee little variations thrown in, just like dialects of the same language that exists every language and same little itty bitty variations in every other culture.
If that is your definition of 'diversity', then everything is diversity and there is no such thing as 'not a very diverse nation' unless it is a nation of institutionalised people.

 

[Langeveldt]

But who in the UK actually speaks Gaelic/Cornish/Welsh? Who wears a kilt? Who eats Kedgeree?

Whether you're from Southampton or Stirling, chances are you'll enjoy a few pints at the local pub, eat Fish and Chips, Indian or Chinese, support a local football/rugby team, watch big brother and probably don't take much notice of religion..

Okay its a land of massive cultural variances from place to place, but hardly any of these traditions are actually mainstream nowadays..

 

[steds]

But who in the UK actually speaks Gaelic/Cornish/Welsh?

Kids in the Isle Of Man have to learn Manx at school, which is a branch of gaelic. It's a recent thing, though.

 

[Langeveldt]

Just seems like trying to flog a dead horse, when are they actually going to need to speak Manx? I think kids should be able to chose what language they learn in, and have 1st and 2nd language lessons, such is the system at the moment in SA

 

[luckyeddie]

Just seems like trying to flog a dead horse, when are they actually going to need to speak Manx? I think kids should be able to chose what language they learn in, and have 1st and 2nd language lessons, such is the system at the moment in SA

This entire thread has been like flogging a dead horse.

 

[swede]

Average western people maybe.
The best thing about having access to multiculturalism is that you get a very vibrant and thriving cultural scenery with fresh ideas and viewpoints popping in like confetti.
It is a very pleasurable experience so long as yer not xenophobic.
Some parts of europe and north america tend to get xenophobic from time to time....but when you have a billion or so people most of whom are different culturally from each other, its pretty hard to be xenophobic.

I do think you are ignoring the problematic aspects of multiculturalism such as cultures finding things in other cultures hard to accept. we have certainly had an example of that in Denmark recently.

The more multicultural a place is the more it seems to be ruled by laws instead of customs because people dont understand their neighbours and surely some cultures will find it difficult to live together.

An example: Denmark has extremly generous welfare systems, how could that work if say an african culture was moved up here, a culture where people didnt work much but had a relaxed attitude to life.
No culture is wrong but as I see it, it would be impossible to satisfy both cultures. Either the africans would be forced to work harder than they wanted or Denmark would have to abandon its welfare system.
How can such things work.

It seems to me that its only because there isnt real multiculturalism in any country that it hasnt lead to huge trouble yet. I am all for the kind of multiculturalism where you can live in other countries and cultures can feed off eachother, primarily in big cities as happens now, but that is not real multiculturalism.

 

[C_C]

I do think you are ignoring the problematic aspects of multiculturalism such as cultures finding things in other cultures hard to accept. we have certainly had an example of that in Denmark recently.

Such things are easily remedied with education and time. Take India for example...almost 50% of the people know squat about the world, cant read,write, dont know whats 200 miles from their homes etc....still despite all that, sectarian violence is sporadic and pretty rare. Add education to that and sectarian violence is almost bound to disappear...the conflicts in the west is simply because of unfamiliarity with other cultures and the inability in seeing other cultures as equal or more accomplished than the western ones.
Time remedies that.

The more multicultural a place is the more it seems to be ruled by laws instead of customs because people dont understand their neighbours and surely some cultures will find it difficult to live together.

When you have a few hundred years to work at multiculralism instead of a few decades, people tend to understand their neighbours.

Either the africans would be forced to work harder than they wanted or Denmark would have to abandon its welfare system.
How can such things work.

From my brief sojourn in Africa, i can safely say that Africans tend to be very hard working .

 

[swede]

Such things are easily remedied with education and time. Take India for example...almost 50% of the people know squat about the world, cant read,write, dont know whats 200 miles from their homes etc....still despite all that, sectarian violence is sporadic and pretty rare. Add education to that and sectarian violence is almost bound to disappear...the conflicts in the west is simply because of unfamiliarity with other cultures and the inability in seeing other cultures as equal or more accomplished than the western ones.
Time remedies that.



When you have a few hundred years to work at multiculralism instead of a few decades, people tend to understand their neighbours.



From my brief sojourn in Africa, i can safely say that Africans tend to be very hard working .

whether african work much in your experience, was hardly the point. Its just an example of how both cultures would lose out if forced under the same system with no one being in the clear majority.

India may not have much secterian violence but it certainly has some problematic social customs that would be difficult to accept elsewhere.

An open tolerant multicultural world would be a good thing, I just dont understand why everyone needs to live everywhere.
Is the multicultural dream everyone living everywhere making the entire world the same?

 

[C_C]

whether african work much in your experience, was hardly the point. Its just an example of how both cultures would lose out if forced under the same system with no one being in the clear majority.

Labour law is hardly culture...culture is language, music, literature, ideologies, value system, art, architecture, etc.....

Is the multicultural dream everyone living everywhere making the entire world the same?

Au contraire....multiculturalism means 'many in one place'....not 'one in many places'.....The reason most of the english speaking world is pretty much the same culturally, despite being far flung around the globe is because of the 'one in many places' rather than 'many in one place'.

 

[luckyeddie]

But who in the UK actually speaks Gaelic/Cornish/Welsh? Who wears a kilt? Who eats Kedgeree?

Whether you're from Southampton or Stirling, chances are you'll enjoy a few pints at the local pub, eat Fish and Chips, Indian or Chinese, support a local football/rugby team, watch big brother and probably don't take much notice of religion..

Okay its a land of massive cultural variances from place to place, but hardly any of these traditions are actually mainstream nowadays..

Whereas (on reflection) what you are saying is true nowadays, remember that I am from your parents (or grandparents) generation. Consequently, I am always likely to be living in the past - I get accused of that one here frequently.

Oh - and regarding mainstream cultural traditions (the Saturday night out) - you forgot "drink yourself into oblivion, puke Midori and White Lightning all over the pavement, mug a passer-by at the cashpoint then throw empty bottles at the ambulance driver".

Happy days.

 

[BoyBrumby]

regarding mainstream cultural traditions (the Saturday night out) - you forgot "drink yourself into oblivion, puke Midori and White Lightning all over the pavement, mug a passer-by at the cashpoint then throw empty bottles at the ambulance driver".

Have you been following me around?!

 

[steds]

Have you been following me around?!

Don't be stupid. You're an old man! You don't do that stuff. You sit in the local telling the landlord what it was like in your day.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Don't be stupid. You're an old man! You don't do that stuff. You sit in the local telling the landlord what it was like in your day.

Too right. You could go out with a golden guinea, have a pickled egg, a steak n kidney pie, all the ale you could sup, get the bus home & still have change for a new house.

 

[C_C]

i never quite understood why people prefer to get pished over smoking dope....yer far less in control of yerself and your head feels like the blacksmith's anvil the next morning....with dope you just sleep a wee bit more and thats that...

 

[steds]

i never quite understood why people prefer to get pished over smoking dope....yer far less in control of yerself and your head feels like the blacksmith's anvil the next morning....with dope you just sleep a wee bit more and thats that...

The smell for me.


Plus the fact it isn't illegal.

 

[luckyeddie]

i never quite understood why people prefer to get pished over smoking dope....yer far less in control of yerself and your head feels like the blacksmith's anvil the next morning....with dope you just sleep a wee bit more and thats that...

Must be a cultural thing

 

[Langeveldt]

Oh - and regarding mainstream cultural traditions (the Saturday night out) - you forgot "drink yourself into oblivion, puke Midori and White Lightning all over the pavement, mug a passer-by at the cashpoint then throw empty bottles at the ambulance driver".

Happy days.

Well thats what I wanted to say, but I've moaned about Britain enough since I've had to come back They're only trying to be friendly!

 

[C_C]

Must be a cultural thing

On a serious side, i dont think so - Weed is much more popular in India than anywhere else (apart from BC ofcourse) but there still tends to be more drunk folks than stoned folks...

 

[silentstriker]

Vodka doesn't give me a hangover. And good Vodka - neat only - tastes much better than most other drinks. Even though I have a soft spot for tequilla and sometimes Jack Daniels, its mostly Vodka for me.

 

[Langeveldt]

Is archers still girly if you have it with Lemonade or Cola?