[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by jonbxx

Ooh, this could end in a locked thread and some bannings!

I think how we see British culture and how other see it are quite different. I saw this thread and then had a call with a colleague from Belgium and asked him what he thought of British people and culture. On the positives, he saw British people as being open and fair and surprisingly flexible. On the less positive side, he saw us as being somewhat parochial or cliquey and tended to look backwards than forwards.

I asked him what other people were we like and he said somewhere between the Swedes and Germans (not the Danes though) which I guess is a compliment!

So culture in general. It depends on if you see British culture as what identifies us or a snapshot of where we are now. In my mind, culture is an organic thing, always changing. Britain and the culture of britons has been changing for centuries, from a largely illiterate population working in serfdom, through the industrial revolution and the growth of cities to having vast amounts of information available on a device which sits in the palm of your hand.

If you look at 'foreign' culture coming here, how much of that is normal now? We have cherry picked and anglicised other countries products, foods, words, etc. for ever. Sitting in your pyjamas, drinking coffee and eating a pizza in a bungalow and so on...

I am in no doubt that British culture will continue to change. I am also in no doubt that there will be many who decry cultural change as the virtual destruction of British culture. Of course, the counterargument is who says that where we are right now is the absolute peak of our culture and any change will be a downhill one?

It's an interesting discussion!

Ooh, this could end in a locked thread and some bannings!

That's what will make people dance around/avoid fingering cultures in the UK that might dominate in the longer term future.

Brexit has illustrated that there are cultural differences between continental Europeans and Brits. Both are conditioned by their environment. For example, Europeans governed under Roman Law are subtly aware that the law broadly says what they are allowed to do and anything else is implicitly not allowed (crossing the road is an example). Put rather simply but the principle is sound. British Law has none of this; it defines what you MUST do, what you MUST NOT do and everything else that doesn't negate what you must do is allowed subject to precedent in the Courts. This conditioning thus affects behaviour and hence culture.

There are certain cultures present in the UK that don't do diversity. A variant on the, multi-culturalism, causes problems for the defence of British culture. The ultra-woke may well think "so what?" - melange is the ultimate answer. This sort of evolution cannot and should not be stopped. But there are cultures that would prefer to dominate and possibly have that agenda in mind right now whereas the melange is a very slow burner.