Stop moaning that political correctness makes it wrong to be patriotic – it’s very un-English

People who complain that they’re ‘not allowed to be British anymore’ are not only probably racist, but also ignorant to the history of the culture they purport to adore

It used to be part of the ‘English’ character to view overt displays of patriotism as as a bit vulgar (AFP)

“We’re not allowed to be English anymore,” the caller bitterly complained. Or words to that effect.

They were speaking at the tail end of BBC Five Live’s Afternoon Edition, and with the news due, it was hard for the poor host to get a word of challenge in as they launched into a rant that included such gems as “we don’t want all this multiculturalism” and “we like to be able to visit other cultures but we want to come back to ours”.

There was, naturally, a jab at “all this political correctness” and of course, BOOM, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body”. We all know what that’s code for, don’t we.

It was a good thing I was in a traffic jam, because at that point I was banging the steering wheel. I wanted to call in and accuse the caller of being a “bloody idiot”.

But that wouldn’t have been terribly constructive. They were deeply entrenched in their faux victimhood, with its daft notions of political correct commissars demanding they eat curry instead of chicken and chips, and tear down the Cross of St George wherever it appears.

My snarling at them would only have confirmed their suspicions because, of course, I write for The Independent. Which makes me a member of the “Liberal Elite”. Even though I was born to a family living in a Sheffield council house and was brought up for a good chunk of my life by a single mother. Liberal I am. Elite? Not so much.

Still, the caller was right with one of their points. The sentiments they expressed are hardly unique. Stoked by cynical politicians, they’re increasingly common and they demand a response.

So let’s first tackle the issue of multiculturalism that the caller “didn’t want” and said “we never asked for”.

Except, of course, that it’s always been with us, and not just because these islands have played host to minority ethnic communities for a lot longer than most people think.

In reality, England, at least the part of England I’m assuming they consider to be properly English (so the white part) has never had a monolithic culture, and it still doesn’t.

The North, for example, has always been culturally quite distinct from the South.

Helen Nugent, who edits the Northern Soul website, explains it thus: “If you live in the south you wouldn’t call yourself a southerner, you’d call yourself a Londoner, or an Essex girl or a West Country lad. In the North you’re a Northerner. People are very proud to call themselves northern.

“There are different cultures within that. Burnley and Blackburn see themselves as quite distinct, even though they are only ten miles apart. But everyone’s still a northerner.”

That doesn’t stop northerners and southerners from rubbing shoulders at national events, or when England’s sports teams are playing. Then everyone’s English, and they all wave the Cross of St George. They used to wave Union flags; you rarely saw the English national flag. But cultures can, and do, change. The English one has, in part, perhaps, in reaction to the rise of Celtic nationalism.

But no one’s stopping the Five Live caller, or anyone else, from celebrating it, or from waving whatever flag they think represents it if that’s want they want to do. Take a drive around north-east London where I live. You’ll see that Cross all over the place when there’s a big football tournament on. And sometimes at other times too.

The victimhood the caller displayed, the “they won’t let us be English”, is patently ridiculous. It’s paranoia on the same level as the Fox News Channel claiming that there is a “War on Christmas” in the US because ABC says “Happy Holidays” during the festive season.

You can’t escape Christmas over there, just as you can’t escape it over here when people get hot under the collar if some council decides to hold a “winter festival”.

There is no more ubiquitous event. A “War on Christmas” in this country might actually come in handy if it’d stop supermarkets from playing Wizard’s “I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day” or Slade’s “Here it is Merry Christmas” every 15 minutes. I just thank Christ for following up dying for our sins with the creation of internet shopping for those who need a break from his birthday celebrations. They’ll probably start in a few weeks’ time.

I do actually wonder if the caller, and the people that feel the same way as them, don’t actually need a few lessons on the culture they purport to adore. Whatever happened to those stereotypically English phrases “mustn’t moan” and “can’t complain”? What about and the stiff upper lip?

It used to be part of the “English” character to see overt displays of patriotism as, well, a bit vulgar. Look, do stop getting your blood in a bubble old chap. Tell you what, why don’t we sit down with a nice cup of tea and talk about something really important? Like the weather? Or if England can ever win two tests in a row.

This sense of victimhood, this bellyaching about not being able to celebrate “our” culture because of multiculturalism, it isn’t just basically thinly disguised racism. It’s, well, it’s positively un-English.