What Do You Think About...

[DiamondJoe]

Marketing is very clever.

Take the humble razor blade, for instance. Once the US market was saturated, in the early 20th century, some clever bugger came up with the idea of a Gillette Razor - The best a man can get! Truth is, you don't get a better shave from a much more expensive razor but they've sold you the idea of quality - and you pay for it.

Clever, eh?

 

[Deleted member 3411]

Don't want to hijack this thread by changing it's purpose, but to what extent do you lot think the spread or adoption of foreign culture (Not just American) is due to a sort of underlined belief that to be proud of Britain is by it's action a racist abuse? Americans shout USA USA and we see it as typical ott pride, we see Germans puffing their chests out with pride over German products as arrogance yes but justified and French belief in the good of anything French as the norm. But soon as anyone here praises or bigs up UK it's seen as wrong.

 

[Lips_Pearls]

sort of underlined belief that to be proud of Britain is by it's action a racist abuse?

Completely agree. It's now a case of that if we're "proud to be British" we're instantly an EDL supporter, knuckle dragging, skinhead loony. What is so damned wrong in being proud of where we come from?
We're a tiny island but by God do we punch above our weight, and always have done!
Do we have a shameful past, yes perhaps... but should that mean we should be ashamed to be who we are? Nope...

 

[DiamondJoe]

***tangent alert***

Anyone ever heard of Edward Bernays?

He was the first public relations guru in America, in the 1920s. He fused the ideas of uncle, Sigmund Freud, about subconscious desires, fears, wants and needs and applied them to politics and to corporations - swaying public opinion in favour of his clients.

For instance, Bernays was approached by the US tobacco cartels about the problem of women smokers; women didn't smoke. The habit was almost exclusively male at the time and taboo for women.

Bernays had a brain-wave. He got a bunch of beautiful young starlets to pose in New York, smoking "Torches of Freedom!" and sent the photos round the country. We would now say that smoking amongst women went viral as a result of this ad campaign where Beranys linked smoking with freedom for aspirational women.

Clever eh?

Edward Bernays - Wikipedia

 

[DiamondJoe]

Completely agree. It's now a case of that if we're "proud to be British" we're instantly an EDL supporter, knuckle dragging, skinhead loony. What is so damned wrong in being proud of where we come from?
We're a tiny island but by God do we punch above our weight, and always have done!
Do we have a shameful past, yes perhaps... but should that mean we should be ashamed to be who we are? Nope...

Well yes, sadly. The Cross of St George was hi-jacked in the 1980s by skinheads. It wasn't very nice in you weren't obviously English.

Symbols have meanings.

Don't want to hijack this thread by changing it's purpose, but to what extent do you lot think the spread or adoption of foreign culture (Not just American) is due to a sort of underlined belief that to be proud of Britain is by it's action a racist abuse? Americans shout USA USA and we see it as typical ott pride, we see Germans puffing their chests out with pride over German products as arrogance yes but justified and French belief in the good of anything French as the norm. But soon as anyone here praises or bigs up UK it's seen as wrong.

I think it's difficult for a country that apparently/largely defines itself by some imagined notion of the past not to get upset when it transpires that we're not as great as maybe we thought we were, our image of ourselves is a little tarnished. Was 2012 the death of Cool Britannia? I think you'll find other countries are also experiencing similar or other difficulties, let's try not to be too teen-angsty about the direction of the country, maybe?

The notion of Britishness - what is that anyway? It's like painting wind, eff eff ess...

• Queuing
• tea - or are we all latte freaks these days?
• the Royal Family (love 'em or loathe 'em they've inserted themselves up there)
• Not complaining or did that go when the internet came in?
• Cheering when a plate or glass is dropped in a pub
• the NHS?
• Fish n' chips - that's been succeeded by chicken tikka masala

That's not a recipe for nationhood!

How about our common history?

Our idea of past greatness is an imagined one - Britian might have had an empire that painted 1/4 of the globe pink but kids went to school with no shoes on their feet...

It's a bit more complex than we like to admit sometimes

 

[DiamondJoe]

My posts are getting too long.

I'll go have a ciggy.

 

[Deleted member 3411]

@DiamondJoe .... But you might (or not) be surprised at how little bits know that we do well or have given the world. We are very inventive but most Americans believe THEY invented the car, the helicopter, tv, radio, the pc, the net and with it emails. (Btw yes I know a Russian invented helicopters). My point is we usually quote distinctly middle or upper class attributes as things that are great about Britain, So lower classes adopt anything but our culture as great. .. gangsta man innit, let' go get a Mac...

 

[DiamondJoe]

@DiamondJoe .... But you might (or not) be surprised at how little bits know that we do well or have given the world. We are very inventive but most Americans believe THEY invented the car, the helicopter, tv, radio, the pc, the net and with it emails. (Btw yes I know a Russian invented helicopters). My point is we usually quote distinctly middle or upper class attributes as things that are great about Britain, So lower classes adopt anything but our culture as great. .. gangsta man innit, let' go get a Mac...

Yes, Sikorsky invented the helicopter?

You're right there is a nostalgic, middle-class view of Britain, but my point is that if that is the foundation of our national identity/myth, it's not based on common progress, enterprise, culture (well, some) or purpose.

It's an essentially false idea and no wonder we don't know who we are as a country.

 

[DiamondJoe]

Yes, Sikorsky invented the helicopter?

You're right there is a nostalgic, middle-class view of Britain, but my point is that if that is the foundation of our national identity/myth, it's not based on common progress, enterprise, culture (well, some) or purpose.

It's an essentially false idea and no wonder we don't know who we are as a country.

The world has changed and nostalgia will not help us find our feet.

Gotta look forwards.

 

[Lips_Pearls]

Gotta look forwards.

Perhaps, but West is not it.

 

[Deleted member 3411]

Ah bet then as we know... America was built by handsome cowboys defending farmsteaders against bad evil red Indians, and they are the land of the free....hmmm

 

[DiamondJoe]

Perhaps, but West is not it.

Read: Why the West Rules—For Now - Wikipedia

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-West-Rules-Patterns-History/dp/1846682088

 

[Lips_Pearls]

Read: Why the West Rules—For Now - Wikipedia

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-West-Rules-Patterns-History/dp/1846682088

What I mean by this is, we should look more inward and fix the issues and socially inept issues within ourselves, over - looking across the waters to stylise ourselves to become morphs of others.
We should address and try to realign our own cultures, social aspects (no not binge drinking, sofa kings and TV addicts) and get ourselves back on track... but I fear we're already going too far outwards and becoming the morphs.
We're being dragged maybe, by the Internet - smaller world and all that. By I'll be damned if they're taking me with them.
Traditionalist maybe, patriotic - yes.. modernist? Yes.. Proud but foolish? No.
I don't want to be part of a more modernised narcissistic, teeth bleaching, face lifting, fast-food eating, junk food obsessed nation whom is so uncomfortable at looking in the mirror that they rearrange themselves to be like someone else. (metaphorically).
I don't just feel it's us looking out though, I feel it's like a weed, a climbing ivy that's creeping in under our feet and we're losing grip on it... Know what I mean Joe?

 

[DiamondJoe]

What I mean by this is, we should look more inward and fix the issues and socially inept issues within ourselves, over - looking across the waters to stylise ourselves to become morphs of others.
We should address and try to realign our own cultures, social aspects (no not binge drinking, sofa kings and TV addicts) and get ourselves back on track... but I fear we're already going too far outwards and becoming the morphs.
We're being dragged maybe, by the Internet - smaller world and all that. By I'll be damned if they're taking me with them.
Traditionalist maybe, patriotic - yes.. modernist? Yes.. Proud but foolish? No.
I don't want to be part of a more modernised narcissistic, teeth bleaching, face lifting, fast-food eating, junk food obsessed nation whom is so uncomfortable at looking in the mirror that they rearrange themselves to be like someone else. (metaphorically).
I don't just feel it's us looking out though, I feel it's like a weed, a climbing ivy that's creeping in under our feet and we're losing grip on it... Know what I mean Joe?

I spent 10 years in inner-city London trying to fix people's problems one at a time. Housing benefit, eviction, arrears, debts, homelessness, drugs, alcohol, mental health...

It needs a much bigger shake up

 

[Lips_Pearls]

I spent 10 years in inner-city London trying to fix people's problems one at a time. Housing benefit, eviction, arrears, debts, homelessness, drugs, alcohol, mental health...

Kudos to you. No easy feat...

 

[johndoc01]

If opening a new restaurant from what ever country helps people into work all the better I think as for Halloween Derry / Londonderry its the biggest party of the year for them and brings in a tremendous amount of tourists which = money for the local business Derry Halloween 2017

 

[Pearls]

@Lips_Pearls @DiamondJoe @SteLinda

You finished now

 

[Lips_Pearls]

@Lips_Pearls @DiamondJoe @SteLinda

You finished now

Maybeeee..... xx

 

[DiamondJoe]

Maybeeee..... xx

*gets off soap box*

 

[Lips_Pearls]

*gets off soap box*

No no... brethren, come back - we can do this!

 

[Deleted member 8626]

Mmm this is a interesting subject we could also argue that if we the British hadn't colonised America there'd still be a indigenous population of Indians living there lives in blissful ignorance of McDonald's and the such. in fact one could say that a pretty big part of the world would be living In blissful ignorance of alot of things if we the British hadn't been so intent on taking over the world. I say what goes around comes around.

 

[No longer with us..]

Is denny’s open yet???

I still need to hit up bubba gump in london so if Denny’s is open thats next on my list.

We have hooters in notts but its nowhere near as good as the USA version.

If perkins came to the uk that would be lovely they do some great dishes!

 

[Deleted member 3657]

Does it grate you when someone says Airplane, or movie.. instead of aeroplane/film etc or types for example traveling not travelling - fantasize not fantasise, or are you okay with all of it?

It boils my piss.

 

[No longer with us..]

It boils my piss.

If they are english and use the americanism then same.

Though film/movie i am not fussed on, its a french creation so their word is different. Plus when i think film i think camera’s

 

[Lips_Pearls]

It boils my piss.

Mine too mate. I mean it really grinds my gears.