England, to me, follows this map and doesn't include Wales and Cornwall although if they get nasty about it, then it does.Excellent piece over at CfaEP [you'll remember Toque who set this site up] on something which gets my blood boiling, not least because I was in education. Wonkotsane takes it up:
A month ago a concerned work colleague showed me a copy of an EY2 form issued by the English education standards office, OFSTED, which included an ethnic monitoring form. The options included White British, White Irish, White Scottish and White Welsh.
"Bearing in mind that OFSTED only operates in England, the exclusion of White English from the ethnic monitoring form is inexcusable and when White Scottish, White Irish and White Welsh are included, it is almost certainly illegal under the Race Relations Act.
I'm going to break in here and get all petulant - yeah, it's a measure of the effing hypocrisy of these people, the utter gall to say they're arguing for equality when it is really discimination against targets they don't embrace and boosting groups who are their little pets. Prats!!
OK, I've taken my tablets and back to the topic. Oftsed replied:
We are most grateful to you for pointing out that the EY2 form does not include the category ‘White – English’. This was an oversight on our part and we apologise for this.
We have recently reviewed the way in which we monitor the ethnicity and nationality of those with whom we have contact. As a result of this, we have developed a revised monitoring questionnaire which includes as separate categories under ethnicity a person’s national group and their ethnic group. I can confirm that the national group will include the following categoriesBritish or Mixed British
English
Irish
Scottish
Welsh
Other (specify if you wish)
Oh yeah, very good - mixed British - but it still doesn't answer these questions in the first place:
1. Why do you and other government agencies run such clearly discriminatory and according to your own rules, illegal policies in the first place? Why do you need to discriminate? Whose business is it what ethnicity or religion I am? Why should I be discriminated against on that basis?
What really galls is the smug, self-satisfied way in which it is presented to us on forms and in any other dealings with officialdom. As my mate did the other day, I'm putting "other" next time.
2. Why, in the name of England, do you continue to run such blatant discrimination against the English and think you are being fair? What sort of rank hypocrisy has diseased your minds to the extent that you think this is quite OK to do?
One could go on and on, muttering about West Lothian et al [and by the way, I wonder how the Scots will enjoy being placed below the Irish and how the Welsh will enjoy being bottom of the heap but that's another question] ... however the blood pressure is a bit much and it's best to get off the topic now.
Bloody hypocrites!!!!!
Only one sort of Irish - lunacy.
ReplyDeleteAnd your map won't do, Hob. I want to see Cumberland and Westmoreland, Isle of Ely, Soke of Peterborough, and Huntingdonshire. Some divisions might be nice too e.g. for Yorks and Lincs.
Whoa! With all that 'effing' 'bloody' and exclamation marks you could be mistaken for that bloody, effing Ubermouth!!!
ReplyDelete:)
James,
ReplyDeleteThe American government also made discrimination against white people legal. It's called the Civil Rights Act.
Dearieme - naughty.
ReplyDeleteUber - how lovely to see you.
Winfred - it's just plain wrong to discriminate against an indigenous ethnic majority - did you see the Fiji situation, by the way?
I never put British on an official form now, I always select either English (white) or other (English). It's all part of several minor rebellions against officialdom that I carry out in an otherwise humdrum life ☺
ReplyDeleteThe Cornish separatists always stuck me as somewhat potty.
ReplyDeleteI always enter English much like Quiet_Man on these forms but then I wonder about all these sub divisions, I have some Russian ancestry on my Mother's side and Scottish on my Father's side whilst my family can be traced as Norman invaders. With all these obsessive cultists to ethnic genealogy what are we to side with?
Really for most people their true ethnicity may turn out to be a surprise if revealed. Its all such vanity.
White European, will do me fine. I can still be proud to be that.
Tick them all, we are after all a mixture of just about every country in the world.
ReplyDeletepersonally I consider myself British first, white second and a mongrel after that with french, german. swiss, italian, scottish welsh and irish in the mix.
So why do we have to categorize ourselves?
I've been accused of labelling people too but that was answered in another post by some of the other commenters.
ReplyDeleteIf it were just an academic exercise, that would be one thing. But this has a deadly side of it when it affects and skews policy in the country.
Whilst the error - if it be an error - is inexcusable, the reason may not be discrimination against "White English" as you and others suggest. The reason MAY be that those responsible for the form see "British" as synonymous with "English" which is itself an error worthy of comment.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with the new proposed layout:
"British or Mixed British
English
Irish
Scottish
Welsh
Other (specify if you wish)"
This order is sensible with "British" being at the top as the over-arching definition and the others in alphabetical order.
Re your blood pressure, Calum says ....... RELAX.
How About,
ReplyDeleteJedi Knight?
That'll foolem.
Probably over 50% of box tickers will think it's for-real.
But it is!
Hee hee - I think no one's really examined the map yet for the anomaly.
ReplyDeleteJedi Knight ... or Ninja.
Shouldn't Northumbria extend up into Scotland, including that little English town called Edwins Burh?
ReplyDeleteDamn, caught me out.
ReplyDeleteSomeone who knows his stuff. :)
why not cross all the boxes off, add you own box, next to it put, 'human being'
ReplyDeleteI always think of myself as British first and English second.
ReplyDeleteWith all the rubbish going on I can see why people want to call themselves English first and British second.
The problem I have personally with that approach is that I have been researching my family history and I have both Scottish and Irish ancestors...
To His Girl Friday:
ReplyDeleteGood one. I sometimes put 'Homo Sapiens'
I refuse to put myself in a box of someone else's construction.
As it happens, I'm English with a Cornish Grandmother, so sometimes I put 'mixed race', but one thing's for sure - I am not ticking 'British'. Bollocks to that.
Hee hee - I think no one's really examined the map yet for the anomaly.
ReplyDeleteTwo anomalies - Yorkshire and Warwickshire is on the map abbreviated as "Wars" but the key says "War". I'm a good proof reader. ;o)
I'm English first, second and last. Screw Britishness, it's too late to save it now.
You are a good proof reader. The intended anomaly you no doubt picked up on too. :)
ReplyDeleteHence the reference to Englishness.
Yes, I got it so I should have said three anomalies. There are four now I've looked at it for a second time - the Isle of Man appears to have been stolen or sunk.
ReplyDeleteI missed that and that's a bad miss. Hell, it does seem to have gone.
ReplyDelete