FLYING THE FLAG

Wearing a Union flag T-shirt in Barcelona is considered quite cool, but in Britain it would encourage a self righteous Fair Trade enthusiast with a bad haircut to berate you as an evil imperialist oppressor / anti-European facist / a Klu Klux Klan member with a side line in child sacrifice. (Delete dependng on your expereince.)

In shops across mainland Europe, all manner of household items area decorated with the Union flag.

I have seen this enthusiasm for the British flag elsewhere in Europe. I am sure people just like the design as a fashion item and the association with the swinging sixties, Cool Britannia and all that, but dig a bit deeper and you find an altogether more interesting explanation.  

The abiding European interest in Brutishness is an amalgam of many things, including history, heritage culture and attitude, but mainly that Britain is something a little apart, a little dangerous and maybe even a little arrogant. Britain has “bad boy” appeal.

While British liberals wail at the moon with anger and misery whenever our politicians refuse to kowtow to Brussels, Europeans quietly cheer them on, wishing that their own passive politicians were made of sterner stuff and who would similarly stand up for their own. 

Britain is seen as the global breeding ground for youth and pop culture, starting with the swinging sixties and continuing with heavy metal, punk, two-tone and latterly Britpop.

Older people still see Britishness has a symbol of quality, an association that advertisers are all to keen to exploit.

Interest in the British Royal family continues unabated, and with a Jubilee in the offing that interest will continue to grow.  

 

Paradoxically Britain is also known for not being too deferential, we will let Lemmy take it from here: