British Backbone

Submitted by Mike Randall (United Kingdom), Jul 5, 2007 at 04:27

I am fully in agreement with your article , re. Salman Rushdie and his Knighthood, although the assertion that he is a 'fine novelist is a bit much. Had his novels been written in Cuneiform, I think I would have understood them better, but that is beside the point. The term 'British Backbone' surely must be an oxymoron considering that successive British Governments have done their utmost to emasculate the sad residents of this once proud Island nation. I. for one refuse to use the label 'British' despite being born here and having forebears going back centuries, who were also.

Nowadays a 'Briton' would more likely wear a Turban or Burkha than a bowler hat and pray to a Deity for whom compassion seems to be reserved for those that subscribe to a rather warped view of the world - all others are fair game to be eliminated. Being British means nothing and certainly does not convey any sense of loyalty when associated with the hoards of foreigners, all with British passports, but with neither knowlege nor interest in this country, that now infest our shores.

The Scots, the Welsh and the Irish are all admirable people and justifiably proud of their history, but I am not one of them - I, therefore, await the day when devolution is complete and I can claim my right to say "I am English and I have a backbone".

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