England Turning Resentful of Scottish Desire for Independence

[Filuwaúrdjan]

These articles seem to get churned out on a semi-regular basis. They're onto something, but, regrettably, an inabilty to actually think means that they don't even bother to find out what it is. Instead we get cliche's and dodgy examples by the bucket-load.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I've always had an interest in the union dissolving. Let Scotland go, give Northern Ireland back and just let Wales...uh...do their own thing, too.

I've always had an interested in Italy dissolving. Let Lombardy go, give South Tirol back and just let the South... uh... do their own thing, too.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Why be an asshole about it?

Hmm... what? When? Where? I don't see why calling for the breakup of Italy is anymore absurd than calling for the breakup of the U.K. Historically speaking it makes more sense, actually.

Though as it happens I'm not overfond of nation states at all. Beyond a certain, basically nominal, point at least.

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How is it pointless? Millions of people live here, millions of people work here. A sizeable minority of people still speak the Welsh language and most people speak interesting (and very Welsh) dialects of English. There is a simple but distinctive cuisine, great cultural traditions and much regional diversity. There are cities (small cities mind, but cities all the same), towns, industrial townships, villages, seaside resorts, ports and isolated farmsteads. There are factories, offices, farms, power stations, railway lines, schools, hospitals, chapels, universities, roads, bridges and even a few mines and quarries left. There are mountains, hills, cliffs, coasts, islands, forests and valleys. There are rugby clubs, choirs, football teams, cricket sides, trade unions, heritage organisations, local business groups, farmers rackets organisations, community councils and old radical political and religious traditions that have managed to survive, in one form or another, for a few centuries now. And so on and so forth. I don't see what's so pointless about all that. Wales is certainly no more pointless than Sicily. Or Pennsylvania, for that matter.

Tragically, we have the crachach as well. But then everywhere must have a self-annointed elite to despise.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I am amazed you did not mention the Welsh gift of voice and song.

I wanted to avoid stereotyping

But I did mention choirs...

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That's because all "you" know about Wales is How Green Was My Valley

(and not quite; all the deep mines are gone, but there are quite a few drift mines and opencast works left)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Three of them.

Yes, yes, details, details

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Sort of obvious when you consider where Sicily is

[Filuwaúrdjan]

You only responded the way I did to get under my skin.

Of course.

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Nonsense. It was most certainly relevant to the discussion. All I did was take an argument and change a few minor details.

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Lewis hath dealt with this already

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When did I do that [qm].

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Assuming that is sarcasm, explain why you posted it.

Sarcasm is a totally alien concept to me, Phil.

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I'm not sufficiently egotistical to think that I could shut you up.

No, I just thought it would be interesting to change a few little details of your argument (and the argument of many other Americans on the interwebs) around. That's all.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Again, Wales seems rather boring to me

Welsh history is actually very interesting. And I'm not just saying that as a Welshman.

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If you think that you can detect hostility towards Sicily and Pennsylvania, then your Offense Radar is malfunctioning.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm not sufficiently egotistical to think that I could shut you up.

You're right, Al. I'm a loud mouth Italian American. There's no shutting up this stereotypical, dago, arrogant American, right?

Two plus two does not equal fifty eight.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm not sufficiently egotistical to think that I could shut you up.

You're right, Al. I'm a loud mouth Italian American. There's no shutting up this stereotypical, dago, arrogant American, right?

Two plus two does not equal fifty eight.

And, as expected, I get a typical coded response from Al! Yay!

The fact that God himself would struggle to shut you up and the fact that you are an Italian-American are seperate. It's not my fault that you see ethnic (or sectarian) slurs behind the mildest of remarks.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's a mild remark to say that I can't be shut up by even God?

Not that long ago you were complaining that people didn't "get" that your remarks were exaggerated...

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Vicktorah!!!!!!1111

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Totally wrong as it happens.

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Now, now, Phil... I don't think that anyone would accuse you of being uneducated.

Regardless, for someone currently touting their ability to observe and understand other people, you seem to have somehow missed that I loath educational snobbery... I would certainly never use "uneducated" as a serious insult. At least not as far as formal education is concerned.

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lol

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That depends on the circumstances.

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I do believe that I detect a trace of sarcasm here. Only a small trace. Certainly no overkill.

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I didn't accuse you of being arrogant.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Uh...relevance?

Some.

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It is possible to be quite sincere about that you know. Not everyone who claims to be on the side of the Working Class is a corrupt old fraud, brainwashed Trot or a Democrat hack paying lip-service to Working Class voters. I think that you'd probably find me much less objectionable if you realised that.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There's that classic annoying Al response! Vague as ever. Keep it up.

If I'd responded in more detail you'd only have gotten more irritated.

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Here we go again. I don't play up anything in that regard.

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What exactly is the "educational snob attitude" [qm]. I'm a lot of things Phil, not all of them good, but one thing I'm not is the sort of prick who things that having a degree makes them superior to the overwhelming majority of humanity that doesn't.

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No, no, no... I don't think it's impossible for you to shut up. I think it's impossible for anyone else to force you to shut up. There's a difference

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Annoy is the wrong word. Wind up a little... maybe.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yeah, no one can force me to shut up. Now it's said in a positive way. Earlier, you used it to be insulting; to make me seem like an arrogant, loud mouthed asshole.

These remarks:

"I'm not sufficiently egotistical to think that I could shut you up."

"The fact that God himself would struggle to shut you up"

Can be read in several different ways. That's the point. The basic observation is true (as you yourself have just ended up proving here), which is also the point.

I'm not really sure what your problem with me is (fwiw I don't have a problem with you). You seem to be railing against someone who I don't recognise as myself.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Al, you just gave three answers to whether or not you were calling me a loud mouth.

No I didn't. It's quite clear that I was calling you a loudmouth. The ambiguous part is the extent to which it was meant as an insult.

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How so?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Er... I'm certainly not a Welsh Nationalist. Fifty years ago the label "Soft Nationalist" might have fitted, but that was an odd term describing something (ie; a desire for a certain amount of home rule, concerns for the preservation of endangered parts of Welsh culture, etc) that can hardly be described as nationalism. Patriotism, yes, but that's not the same thing as nationalism.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

You don't have a problem with me? As I said before, you've made plenty of condescending remarks directed my way in the past and you've just admitted that your comment about me being a loudmouth is, to an extent, an insult.

One of the stranger things about the internets is that so many people on it have the curious idea that if someone throws some occasional snide remarks in their general direction, remembers a few odd details about them or corrects them about something, then that person must be hostile towards them and quite the obsessive to boot.

Curious, really.