What does it mean to be "British"? How do you define "British-ness"? Is it a way of life? A particular skin colour? Lineage? The food you eat? The language you speak? The clothes you wear? The ideals you uphold? Or is it simply owning a "British" birth-certificate?
The reason I ask this question is due to the disconnect I observe through my experiences in England. The disconnect that exists between the actual government of England and the English people themselves.
Let me further elaborate.
In the conversations I hold with coloured people, nay, even the conversations I hold with non-English speaking Europeans, the majority of them often complain of racism, discrimination and double standards when interacting with British society. However this distinction is not found in the Government or Governance of England, rather only in the people themselves.
I also find their experiences validated when I search on-line forums and read innumerable on-line comments that can only be described as "deplorable". There tends to be a overwhelming, resounding, clear cut difference and distinction that is made by White-English people and their acceptance or rejection of "immigrants" into the fold of British-Society.
Some poignant examples would be as follows;
A black skinned friend of mine and brown skinned friend of mine who identify themselves as being "British", tell me of a time in Britain when they were growing up in the 60s, 70s, 80s. They informed me that "nigger" bashing and "paki" bashing used to be an everyday occurrence for them at school and even in the workplace up until the early 90s. They related to me countless horror stories of being physically assaulted, verbally abused with hate speech and having their properties damaged, houses egged, car and house windows smashed in, or spray-painted etc.
When questioning them as to why they felt they were treated differently, they both without hesitation cited their skin colour as being the sole reason. Despite both holding British Birth-Certificates and speaking eloquent English, it mattered not. According to them, they were not accepted by British society, and without question believe that "white" people would never allow them to be "British" or to belong or to "integrate".
The same men also informed me that when their people (browns or blacks) would try to integrate with white people by moving into a "white" neighbourhood, they would soon find that the white people would move from the neighbourhood as if rats or cockroaches had entered their living quarters.
I found the same horror stories when speaking at length with my coloured friends among the younger generation who are in 20-35 year old age range. Although their experiences were less severe then the era of their parents who lived through the "nigger and paki" bashing era, the younger generation of coloured people in the UK faced many hardships, also due to their skin colour
.
So my question to "British" people is this....who is and who isnt British?
Can a 4th generation British-born, brown-skinned Sikh man be considered to be British or English? If so, what makes it that way, and if not, what excludes him from the fold of British Society?
What about white-skinned Polish or Romanian people? Can they ever become "British" if they keep the languages and customs of their homeland? Same question for Black Africans? Pakistanis etc.
Please Britain, define for us "Immigrants" and "Foreigners" what British-ness means. What is its definition and Criteria? Who can and cannot join the club?
Please leave me your thoughts and comments.
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