The notion of “withdrawing condolences” seems radically childish, even in the case of Hitler.
“Hey guys, remember when we said we sent our condolences for the death of Soandso? Well we’re taking them back, because he was a jackass, and we’re glad he died. Have a nice day.”
Well, he was the one who finally decided to end it, right? Despite the military wanting to carry om fighting until they all had died ‘honorably’. Even after that, some hotheads in the military tried to steal the recording of his surrender speech before it could be broadcast to the public – they knew that the public would surrender once they heard the emperor announce it. Isn’t that power?
Eh, no, France is to the south of Britain.
If you know the difference then why did you get it wrong? Or do you have proof that there were no Welsh or Scots involved, at any level, in the British domination of Ireland? No politicians, no civil servants, no top ranks in the army, no regiments? All the people involved were English? That somehow all 7 million people stayed out of the whole thing?
If you pursue this idea that since England numerically dominates the UK you can use “England” when describing the actions of the UK, then unless you deploy sophistry you will end up saying things like: the Clydeside Blitz was an attack on England, or that lots of Welsh soldiers died re-taking the Falklands for England. Not only are these statements factually wrong, and misleading for anyone learning about the topic, they are deeply offensive.
Some Irish people use the term “England”, when they mean “Great Britain” - I have personal experience of someone from Kerry who thought that Edinburgh was in England. So when Irish people talk about “the English” you should not always take it at face value.
Do you seriously imagine that anti-Irish prejudice is confined to England? Do you think there were no Scots eagerly involved in the Black and Tans? Do you think that Llyod George, the Prime Minister throughout the Irish War of Independence and partition was English?
Looked at a map recently? Ireland is to the west of Great Britain.
What’s this about? “English” is incorrect. The nationality of citizens (or subjects as they were then) of the UK (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is “British”. Saying “English” is flat wrong, and historically inaccurate too.
Sometimes it’s the other way round: I had a cabbie in Dublin tell me that “Scotland are playing the Brits” at football.
I like your cite, dude. 
As already said, Ireland is to the West of GB. RAF Castle Archadale was the most Westerly RAF base in the UK.
If it was so unimportant, why go to the bother of hassling the Irish government over the matter?
Dunno why people think the demand for the Treaty Ports and bases was insignificant. While subsequently the Allies may have come up with ways to bolster alternative and less convenient routes, the desire to use them remained for most of the war. ‘Defending Ireland’ - Oxford University Press:
And though “…the likelihood was never very great, for a combination of political and military factors…”
Seems a fairly undiplomatic stance for something supposedly trivial.
I’ll accept “British” as a correction for “English” (if we aren’t talking just about Olde England area) but fuckall if I’ll say or type out “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” everytime I want to refer to that nation= "*Finally; its not “English” its the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. *)
It reminds me of this All In The Family episode, where Archie want’s Mike to baptize Joey, his grandson
Archie) Well you were baptized
Mike) I renounced that years ago
Archie) [scoffs] Oh, ho, buddy, renounce your belly button, you still got it
Ah, now I understand your gripe. Yeah, the country is more conveniently “the UK” and the nationality is “British”.
It’s called synecdoche, when you use part of something to refer to the entire thing. So, sometimes, when people are talking about WWII, people talk about the actions of the “English” when they mean the actions of the US, or of the “Russians”, when they mean the actions of the Soviet Union. It’s not generally done with the intention of being offensive.
You were whooshed by the AK84 post that you quoted. AK84 was using sarcasm to express the irritation many of us feel when “England” is used instead of “the UK”, and to demonstrate how inaccurate the usage is. At risk of putting words in AK84’s mouth, he or she was asking people to say “the UK” when that is the nation-state to which they are referring.
Or, maybe you were all “whooshed” by my reply. Or perhaps he was being that literal.
Having a special word for something does not make it justifiable.
I love it when people prove my very same point and don’t realize it.
The cross-channel anger was directed at the English. I said (well, strongly and deliberately implied) that the Irish didn’t want the English on their turf. That is all I said, and I did so deliberately, and it was specifically the English part that they objected to most.
I did not say their belief was reasonable, proper, or fully in keeping with the weird inter-national relationships which make up Britain. I say it was a real belief, and nothing more. Seriously stop being a fool, and read what I wrote for what I actually wrote down.
So those Scots who were planted in Ulster and in Munster by James VI/I (a scot) are not hated? Or their decendents? You know Ian Paisely’s background is Scottish.
Ok.
What exactly do you mean by the first “English” here? I can’t see how it could meaningfully or relevantly refer to anything other than the UK government and armed forces, which comprised of more than just English people.
No, that is not all you said. As I have just shown, you used “the English” as an active noun when you apparently meant “the UK”, and then you tried to justify it when AK84 pulled you up on it.
Far be it from me to tell you what you should or shouldn’t be offended by, but if you are going to be offended by the substitution of “English” for “British”, you’re going to be offended a lot, because pretty much everybody I know says “English” in casual conversation when they mean “British”.
Forgive me, I thought the conventions of GQ were a little tighter than those of casual conversation.
