Who is more English and am I a 'foreigner'?

Question

Sorry I have to ask this, after living in various countries abroad I just dont understand this!

Answer 1

it really doesn't matter what anyone considers you to be but yourself. be happy with who you are, what you are is who you are not what some other person thinks or where you were born.

Answer 2

They probably call you a "foreigner" because you weren't born here and have a "foreign" accent.  If you had kids in the UK they will be seen as "English" as they will be born here and have a regional accent etc.

The whole "ancestry" thing is pretty alien to the UK.  Its like when Americans go to Ireland claiming that their great great great grandfather twice removed was Irish and expect to be "welcomed home". I don't know how its seen in Ireland but if they did that here they'd just be seen as American.  We don't see someone as British because their ancestors came from here, although there are regional variations - people in Wales (where I live) are often very interested to meet those who have Welsh ancestors and there was a TV programme called "coming home" where various celebrities traced their Welsh roots and came to visit the places where their Welsh ancestors lived.

As far as a White South African being more or less English than a UK-born Black man, well again I guess the way many people see it is that the black guy was BORN and bred in the UK, and you weren't.  I'm not agreeing with them but thats probably how they see things - a lot of it is based on where you were born/brought up, what your accent is like, whether you eat Marmite etc (joke!).  

Although the black guy would also meet up with prejudice because of his colour.

And as far as racism, well a friend of mine's dad was born and brought up in India, came to the UK in the 1970s as a young man, and he considers himself 100% British and OMG is he racist about East Europeans and other groups who are currently migrating into the UK! When you gently remind him that he himself migrated here he insists that its "different" because he had to have a degree and a work permit to come here and didn't get "loads of free handouts" like the newcomers do.  You get prejudice everywhere, its not just white Brits.

Answer 3

God white ppl always complain, they invade africa....and then complain, africans/asians/latinos invade their country and they complain agen....gosh shhh

Answer 4

yeah it does mean that,  why don't you stop moaning, stop being jealous and go and **** off! go and live in a canal prick

Answer 5

my father isn't english genetically at all, he's half belgian quarter irish quarter german, but he considers himself english and is in fact racist about most other nations and other races living in this country, he only gets away with it because he is white and looks passably english and having grown up here speaks in an english accent, its madness! but unfortunately its part of the character of england, another thing we have to not be proud of