Why Is Nicky Wire So Proud Of Being Welsh?

[beautifuldistortion]

Originally Posted by Thomas

i generally don't get the idea of patriotism. it's closer to nationalism than people think.

Agree in a lot of ways.
But it is nice to have a sense of belonging. Same with supporting a football team, it's kind of like tribalism.
But yeah, it can be taken too far.

[starstruck]

Originally Posted by Thomas

i generally don't get the idea of patriotism. it's closer to nationalism than people think.

Originally Posted by beautifuldistortion

Agree in a lot of ways.
But it is nice to have a sense of belonging. Same with supporting a football team, it's kind of like tribalism.
But yeah, it can be taken too far.

steady on there - Nicky being proud of Wales is an individual thing, nationalism is expecting everyone to act (and most dangerously) think the same as you and highlight the ways you are superior to all others (to put it mildly).

considering how Wales gets picked on (i seem to recall James in an interview being sick of hearing the phrase "the size of Wales" in regards to any disaster area), i've always admired Nicky for being proud of his Welsh origins and all that is good from his homeland. and, in fairness, neither he nor the band have been shy in being critical of the place as and when called upon.

[CardiffAfterlife]

Haha, I can't imagine what it must be like to be this man. This comment he left under his video made me laugh:

"lol if you put urself out there you will be questioned, depends wot u mean by film star ppl say i look like gene hackman not good lookin but he done ok, i will soon be doing a vid on patriots so hang tight dont dog me too much everything done tounge in cheek love"

"Gene Hackman"? "Don't dog me"? This man must be incredibly retarded or have some sort of borderline personality disorder.

[CardiffAfterlife]

Originally Posted by starstruck

considering how Wales gets picked on (i seem to recall James in an interview being sick of hearing the phrase "the size of Wales" in regards to any disaster area), i've always admired Nicky for being proud of his Welsh origins and all that is good from his homeland. and, in fairness, neither he nor the band have been shy in being critical of the place as and when called upon.

Exactly, Welsh patriotism is similar to the brand of patriotism that is prevalent in a lot of small countries in that it is often a reaction to a negative or critical attitude towards your country from elsewhere. Welsh patriotism isn't about saying Wales is better than anywhere else, unlike British Imperial nationalism, its about trying to reclaim the respect we feel we deserve as a country.

[starstruck]

Originally Posted by CardiffAfterlife

Exactly, Welsh patriotism is similar to the brand of patriotism that is prevalent in a lot of small countries in that it is often a reaction to a negative or critical attitude towards your country from elsewhere. Welsh patriotism isn't about saying Wales is better than anywhere, unlike British Imperial nationalism, its about trying to reclaim the respect we feel we deserve as a country.

yep, this. i really do wish us English could just take pride in what we've done, but no, the lunatic fringe hijacks it all in their extremist way. i think Michael Palin recently tried to say "well hang on, not everything the English has done has been awful", pointing out things like contstruction & engineering, music and literature. the extreme left shot him down on the usual grounds of "racism", the extreme right shot him down for daring to suggest anything the English have ever done is wrong.

the single most frequent question i get asked on my travels around the world is "why exactly do so many nations exist in such a small island space and why do you all hate each other?". i have no answer, except to say "well, i did move.....".

[Lydia]

Nicky is half English anyway.

[Bryter Layter]

Originally Posted by Thomas

i generally don't get the idea of patriotism. it's closer to nationalism than people think.

While I really dislike the term 'patriotism', I don't agree at all that it's meaning is closer to nationalism. Sure both are used as political and propagandist tools, but history has shown that nationalist ideologies propogated by extremist right-wing philosophies is infinitly more dangerous. Show me an instance where patriotic sentiments have inspired a banality of evil in the same sense that political nationalism has and I might be convinced of your theory.

Originally Posted by CardiffAfterlife

Exactly, Welsh patriotism is similar to the brand of patriotism that is prevalent in a lot of small countries in that it is often a reaction to a negative or critical attitude towards your country from elsewhere. Welsh patriotism isn't about saying Wales is better than anywhere else, unlike British Imperial nationalism, its about trying to reclaim the respect we feel we deserve as a country.

That's actually a really insightful and, speaking as someone from a culture that can very much relate to your observation, quite true.

I agree with Lee, I admire the band's pride in being Welsh. Pride in one's culture and enviornment doesn't always mean a lack of respect for other places and people, it's only the extremist with their own political agenda that perpetuate this stereotype.

Originally Posted by Lydia

Nicky is half English anyway.

I'm not sure how that really matters with respect to how proud Wire is to come from Wales. I'm mostly Irish descent with a bit of English and German thrown in for good measure and I'm quite proud of the fact that I'm Canadian. I don't think your ancestral heritage trumps the enviornment in which you've grown up in and have subsequently laid down your own personal roots.

[riot_star]

Originally Posted by CardiffAfterlife

"Gene Hackman"? "Don't dog me"? This man must be incredibly retarded or have some sort of borderline personality disorder.

(rolls on floor laughing!!)

[Lydia]

Originally Posted by TheGreatPretender

I'm not sure how that really matters with respect to how proud Wire is to come from Wales. I'm mostly Irish descent with a bit of English and German thrown in for good measure and I'm quite proud of the fact that I'm Canadian. I don't think your ancestral heritage trumps the enviornment in which you've grown up in and have subsequently laid down your own personal roots.

Haha yeah I know, I was just being a bitch because I know Nicky probably wouldn't like to be called English.

[Bryter Layter]

Originally Posted by Lydia

Haha yeah I know, I was just being a bitch because I know Nicky probably wouldn't like to be called English.

Lol! My bad! I really should have known that was your intent. It's a fair point actually.