It’s almost as if giving people a bit of financial and employment security and the right to be more than a corporate battery is actually a good move for everyone.

We seem to be being pushed down a road toward bowed head corporate slaves in surveillance states/cities. There seems to be attempts to tie people in knots financially so they are desperate and can be more easily manipulated/divided and taken advantage of.

Who can blame people for taking justified action when reasoned discourse isn’t working.

We have/are being sh1t upon from successive regimes for the last 50 years in good old blighty, and are only just waking up to this fact ( well a few are). More power to the french elbow. They are more politically and socially aware as a nation than any of us. We are a disgrace to the millions who died in the previous century for the freedoms we take for granted.

Watch soaps or series in France, Germany or Spain and you’ll fall asleep long before another nation is mocked. Now think of your favourite BBC series and soaps… .

To be fair on that point, if we get a new non-brit European join our team, they are initially quite shocked at how much we take brits take the piss of each other, but they soon get the hang of it and start joining in. It is just part of our culture to mock ourselves, our friends and everyone else, but it should be done mainly in that order, it is when someone never mocks themselves and just everyone else that you know they are a proper dickhead.

However having seen some of the films they show children to teach them about the war in German schools, the “war” is a trope I never visit any more. Even at nearly 50 years old I found them emotionally scarring.

Because religious intolerance is unforgivable

But racism is OK now is it??

So, we’re now forbidden from making any generalisations about any groups or things? Funny, because that sounds quite fascistic to me.

JP

I’d suggest your Facismometer requires calibration.

We have/are being sh1t upon from successive regimes for the last 50 years in good old blighty, and are only just waking up to this fact

You’re joking. We’ve voted to give US Big Pharma open access to the NHS, and we’re about to vote to be ruled a bit longer by Etonians. Just because we see ourselves in a permanent episode of Downton Abbey in which we are the servants below stairs.

Vive la France 🇫🇷!! Allez les Bleus 🇫🇷
As long, of course, as England win the 6 nations 😜

‘Chapeau!’ to the strikers. Could do with a bit more of that round here, too many people come up with the resounding ‘we (sic) can’t afford it’. I’ve never known people’s subjective assessment clash so violently with their objective circumstances, attacking Corbyn whilst eating at Gregg’s ffs.

They’re shit at making coffee too. You’d think they’d be great with all that cafe culture stuff but coffee in France is generally rubbish.

Carry on guys, not offended one bit.

Not a big fan of strikes especially when they last ages and cause damages. But sometimes you need to remind the government who put them where they are.

Not seen any riots where I live. Lots of them on News channels though.

I’m half French having a French father I kinda like it. It gives me the excuse occasionally to berate the way the UK is and our politics. Having worked in Germany and France as well as Sweden, it does make me realise as great as the UK is it is sadly let down by our politicians and the media. Had my fair share of abuse when I was younger about my family once some so called friends discovered my family. Strangely most of my closest mates have French parentage like myself and I never sought it. I just levitate to like minded people/similar upbringing people weird. So if n summary in most environments in the UK I’m ostracized 😉

JeZ

It is just part of our culture to mock ourselves, our friends and everyone else,

Same with every other culture I’ve lived in. The question is, when does it get beyond a joke? and an observation, when it becomes institutionalised it’s destructive propaganda. And Brexit is the proof. Decades of “harmless banter” reinforce prejudices of people without the intelligence to distinguish between humour and reality.

I watched an episode of Top Gear (on the BBC), the humour part of it made me smile but the agenda really annoyed me, it amounted to “go thrash your car flat out across France with impunity”. The same mentality as those pricks who do the Gumball rally with a selfish colonial attitude putting people in danger in various countries on their travels. It’s about having less respect for foreigners than your own nationals – Top Gear wouldn’t have bragged about illegal speeds between London and Birmingham.

The humour on this thread raised a few smiles, but a couple of what look like serious comments show an underlying lack of tolerance of foreigners and things foreign. It’s as much an institution as banter and dangerous in the hands of the masses.

I am not surprised considering the EU ref, 2017 GE and the 2019 GE polls.

But racism is OK now is it??

French is not a race. It’s a nationality.

French is not a race. It’s a nationality.

Oh lordy….

Article 5 (a) page 23 of the following document makes it clear that discrimination on the basis of nationality is considered racist:

https://europe.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/CERD_Reader.pdf

OP isn’t discriminating though, he’s ranting.

Or as Boomer put it:

A bit of light xenophobia around one of our oldest enemies is fair enough 🙂

which is how I see it, but from a pedantic point of view it is xenophobia and that’s very much a part of racism law… .

It’s a question of degree and don’t underestimate where an accumulation of low degree stuff can lead you.

I’m still smiling, carry on.

from a pedantic point of view

Do you ever have any other? 😉

It’s just a part of:

It is just part of our culture to mock ourselves, our friends and everyone else

😉