croyboy

Define Chinese culture to me, and how it differs from – say -Vietnamese
culture - and then we can all talk about it.
…Unless you’re saying the Chinese don’t have a real culture; after all, “The traditions, religion and customs of the upper class [bore] no resemblance to those of the working class” in pre-revolution China. There were and are very great regional differences in such things as custom, diet, and the spoken language, too. Also, “The Internet generation is a completely different way of life to the non-Internet generation.... and so on.”

It seems to me Mr.Butcher is suffering a brain storm, and has deftly guided himself up an intellectual cul-de-sac.

kernow

[quote="Anthony Butcher"]

As for British "culture" being indigenous, for many of us curry is a national dish,

Not for this Brit It isn't! bloody foreign muck, give me a roast dinner every day of the week!

Logan

I am indigenous, and whenever asked my ethnicicity always tick "other" and write indigenous, why not then as I truthfuly am?

__________________
only dead fish go with the flow

www.abcounties.co.uk

proud to be \"indigenous\"

swimmer

The late robin cook pronounced Chicken Masala was our national dish. Strange that as the times when I used to go for a curry through friends preference no one ever bought Masala.

Byriani seemed popular amongst the curryphiles and Korma for the less spicy guests at the table. Sag Aloo and poppadoms always seemed popular. If he had said any of these I might have believed him, but Masala??? Obviously he was talking PC rubbish just to curry favour! BUM BUM :wink:

I stay clear of Curries now, they remind me to much of a bowl of pedigree chum, all that sauce and meat. Italian or Fish please or fine good fresh country pub food.

Logan

or the ultimate, "Fish and chips"

__________________
only dead fish go with the flow

www.abcounties.co.uk

proud to be \"indigenous\"

swimmer

Anthony Butcher
As for British "culture" being indigenous, for many of us curry is a national dish,

Imagine in India if they all went round boasting Roast Beef and Yorkshires was their national dish, the whole place would collapse in laughter at the absurdity of it. Or the 1 billion chinese saying their favourite national dish was pancakes on shrove Tuesday. I dont think so somehow.



dear me....

girlfriday

DRAFT DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

(Commission of Human Rights)
45th session

Annex 1 Chairperson Ms Erica-Irene A Daes
"Reaffirming also, that indigenous poeples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind"

Part 1

Article 2

Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other individuals in dignity and rights and have the tight to be free from any kind of discrimination, in particular based on their indigenous origin or identity.

Article 3

Indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and CULTURAL development.

British culture could largely be identified as the principal accummulation of shared beliefs, languages and material creations established distinctly, and effected throughout the island of Britain, during the course of its formative ethnic development during the primary settlement period of its principal constituent ethnic groups (English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish, and supporting players from France and Scandinavia) up to the present day as expressed in its institutions of law, government and social habits, standards and beliefs and material creations.

That this right to a "culture" be one that is entirely for a native population to determine and exercise without fear of reprisal or discrimination and to whatever form that the said culture should ultimately take shape, irrespective how that may appear to a non-indigenous population.

The bottom line, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", otherwise CLEAR OFF!

Anthony Butcher

This is my point though - whatever people consider to be their "culture" changes very rapidly in just a matter of years.

Curry, pizza, burgers and Chinese probably feature far higher in people's lives than most of the things that you list. Why are they therefore not part of British "culture" now?

Those foods that you list are from a period of a couple of hundred years perhaps? Where is the British "culture" from before that, which has supposedly been here for 1500 years?

It sounds like your version of British culture is the same as John Major's 1930s England. Is that still relevant to modern Britain?

Don't get me wrong, I love all of that stuff, but it is history, not culture.

This is why I was saying that it is bunk - it simply isn't relevant to modern life in this country. there are so many very different groups in Britain, including a million muslims, that I don't think that it is meaningful to suggest that there is a single culture that defines them.

Now look down your list and tell me how many of those things are threatened by non-indigenous British.

True, but I would think that most of it could just as equally apply in the USA, Ireland, France etc. In other words, most of what you list is simply Western.

The reality is that to find something that is British is much harder. I would like to say fairplay has been a strong part of British culture, but that is just wishful thinking.

Anyway, my main point is that even the "indigenous" British society has many different so called cultures, not just one. If you can find the common elements of them all, then perhaps we can call it a "British culture".

Rather than talking about what we are losing, I would much rather we talked about what kind of Britain that we want. Who cares if we lose Spotted Dick? When was the last time you ate that?

Nor do I think that we should hang on to what you regard as our culture just because it has previously been our culture. Let's choose what we like, ditch what we don't and bring in influences from the outside - now that is British.

Anthony Butcher

That's just majority tyranny. UKIP is a libertarian party that supports freedom of the individual to act as they wish as long as it doesn't harm others (within reason).

Anthony Butcher

And lots of Indians eat roast beef do they? :roll:

The whole point is that curry, pizza, burgers and Chinese have all become embedded INTO phpbb_the British diet. There are traditions built up in Britain around going for a curry after a night at the pub, which is why curry houses stay open later than other restaurants. That is a very British thing to do I think.