the daily telegraph held a poll asking readers if there was a need for a bank holiday on 23 April. to think that certain quarters of the population whinged that they were prevented to celebrate it (?!); or were "...embarrassed by displays of patriotism..." to quote a reader; it is, quite frankly, astonishing.
is it because of britain's past as a perceived cocked-up colonial masters that may explain such apologetic mindset and behaviour? or the fear of a massive backlash from unforgiving ex-colonised people?
admittedly, there were atrocities commited against natives of certain territories. due to greed. but the french, belgians, spaniards and dutch fared much worse and were rather inept.
what is wrong with indulging in a wee flag waving then? or be proud of the fact that your legacies are alive in far-flung places?
or the fact that there are many many many :: ad infinitum :: more anglophiles than francophones and summat combined residing on this planet? as evidenced by the reach of coverage by the bbc world service.
ok, so most of their listeners are from africa.
if st paddy's day is celebrated the blue-marble over - even by specimens who are unaware of ireland's existence - why not st george's?
i'm sure anglophiles would be more than glad to do their bit in promoting the feast day. not to the extent of crass commercialism though, i reckon.
personally, i am looking forward to the day that i could switch my nationality and warble "god save the queen" openly and loudly. not that i didn't do so in the past, but only during sporting events. in the company of my mates.
i feared being walloped by wee-minded inferiority-complexed wee islanders, you see.
what's keeping me? issues like britain being overrun by amoebic muslim extremists - the irony is most are british-born! - and certain asylum seeking ingrates. 'cos i do not wish to be lumped together with them. oh, and clueless incompetent politicians who went to war just because.
btw, does one have to be white or anglo-saxon to be qualified as english?
as enscribed by the letter b @ April 28, 2004 07:48 AMthat's one wicked idea there and i'm impressed. though the bit on forcing every dj or presenter to mention it - ad nauseum? - is a tad frightening. not quite unlike over here.
visual adverts work best as a brainwashing agent - eg: outdoor giant posters inside tube stations or mobile posters at the back of buses. or placed strategically in schools 'cos you have to start them young. or even print adverts on both laddie and girlie magazines.
in order to kickstart the campaign, it has to be a bit aggressive but not on a mega-grand scale that borders on the insane. maybe getting representatives from each and every commonwealth country to sing the praises of shakespeare - or an inter-commonwealth footy or even badminton compo - could convince the english enough to be immensely proud of themselves.
oh i could go on...
as blahed by breanagh @ April 29, 2004 04:32 PMi think people are generally fairly obedient and easily brainwashed by massive ad campaigns and government initiatives.
In year one of the BBC St. George's Day season might be a success in TV terms. After year 5, you've started to change the mindset of a nation.
The campaign would have to be big enough to brainwash and change minds; not just a couple of ads but the biggest thing the BBC have ever done. They could force every radio dj and tv presenter to mention it. Im not sure if it would work on a smaller scale.
as blahed by oli @ April 29, 2004 01:12 PMit sounds alot like the wee isle many moons ago where the natives thought it was totally unnecessary, and that they'd looked a tad silly waving their flags, showing overt pride with all the accompanying ra-ra rubbish during national day celebrations. yet such stiff-upperlipsm was mistakenly remarked upon as "conservative asian mentality". what tosh.
but over the last decade, the legitimate gangsters were trying hard to prompt wee islanders to display their loyalty ::gagging sound:: publicly. in other words, telling the whole wide world it's a big deal being wee islander. actually, they are losing sleep over those who are leaving this island for good, numbers of which are increasing.
anyways, there sure is some marketing opportunities there where i could, ahem, come up with some plan.. ta for the idea there, oli :)
as blahed by breanagh @ April 29, 2004 04:16 AMOvert American-style flag waving is just seen as a little embarassing really. 'what? show sincere emotion?' well, that's the stiff upper lip brigade anyway..
There has to be a real reason to wave the flag --> football! Ill wait until euro 2004 to celebrate st george's day.
If the BBC wanted to, it could turn st georges day into a big event. All it needs is adverts on tv and radio plus themed programming. Its an opportunity waiting to be grabbed.
as blahed by oli @ April 29, 2004 12:00 AM