What It Means to Be British - Stephen Fry

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About TRIGGERnometry:
Stand-up comedians Konstantin Kisin (@konstantinkisin) and Francis Foster (@francisjfoster) make sense of politics, economics, free speech, AI, drug policy and WW3 with the help of presidential advisors, renowned economists, award-winning journalists, controversial writers, leading scientists and notorious comedians.

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Join our exclusive TRIGGERnometry community on Substack! triggernometry.substack.com/

[@victorsilvester78]

A spineless pampered bore.

[@GhostofEnoch]

You merely function as a bulwark against the sort of organic radicalism that will bring genuine change in the West. Moderation and splitting the difference are simply not options when our civilisation and the race that created it are under the threat of extinction.

[@Kyle-l8p]

No thankyou

[@bryankerr9174]

Funny, but hearing Fry quoting George Orwell's descriptions of essential English traits, I can't help noticing that he didn't include Orwell's observations that the intellectual class was fiercely anti- British and anti- English.

[@Si_Mondo]

Weird that, isn't it? I wonder why that is......🤔

[@anthonyferris8912]

@bryankerr9174 And on receiving his Austrian citizenship, Fry said ‘I am so proud to be Austrian’ and ‘becoming an EU citizen enables me to ‘stick my tongue out at Brexit’. Just before Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) celebrated an unprecedented election victory in the Austrian elections…Oh well, Orwell..😃

[@Si_Mondo]

@@anthonyferris8912 When virtue signalling bites one in the ass! 😂

[@Asto508]

@@anthonyferris8912 Well, he jumped the UK ship, not that I could blame him though.

[@anthonyferris8912]

@@Asto508 You really think he dumped his UK citizenship and moved to Austria? Of course he didn't and he still lives in the UK.

[@villhelm]

I can trace my ancestors back to 1090 on these Islands and they go back much further than that. I don’t need to ‘define’ what being English is - it’s in my DNA. I see my ancestors in the stories and folk tales, shadows of my people in our literature and art, in the forests and stones of the land. I feel nostalgia in the wild places and in the old buildings and a connection to my lineage all across the land from North to South. When I read old works of the great English authors or Poets or listen to old BBC radio, watch old films of England or go to a village fete I feel my culture and my heritage. I don’t need to define it or narrow it into a silly list of sol called values - It’s in my very bones.

[@shelleyscloud3651]

👏👏👏👏👏 Precisely this.

[@UKElectionsGuy]

the question was on being British not English. How are the people of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland roped into the British identity.

[@getlost3346]

@@villhelm seems Fry can only recall his Jewish ancestry and being gay? Does he even mention his English side of the family?

[@Si_Mondo]

​@TheUKElectionsGuyThey're from the British Isles.... that's how.

[@UKElectionsGuy]

@@Si_Mondo I know but at one point they weren't on these great isles. So when do the people go from being non-British to being British?

[@tboneisgaming]

British is who we are to the rest of the world. I'm English. I'm not Scottish, Welsh or Irish. Each of those have a unique cultural identity that should be celebrated and preserved. They can trace their ancestry back several generations. Potentially as far back as the doomsday book. Collectively we are the United Kingdom with common interest to work together as 4 countries under one nation. The people who move here over the past 100 years will identify with their country of origin first and British second.

[@Monkey-fv2km]

True. English>British>European>western>terran.

[@MrsRanchoFiesta]

I was wondering if there's a difference btwn "British" and "English" 👍

[@orkstuff5635]

@@MrsRanchoFiesta I was born in Malta, mother born in England, father born in Canada, at least three grandparents born in England. Always feel a bit 'odd' referring to myself as English but British I have no problem with.

[@jdjones4825]

Unlucky butty Bach 😂

[@Darthbaldmouse]

That just means you don’t have an unnatural attraction to sheep.

[@TheMikesylv]

I am American my view of Great Britain is nothing short of knowing how Great the British people are now and in the past . This world is what it is because of the people on that little island in the North Sea everything that is wonderful about the modern world . The only empire to outlaw slavery (at great expense exponentially more than ever made) mapping the world and creating safe and secure trade routes, creating maritime shipping, steam power, electricity, the railway system all over every continent, Industrial Revolution, workers rights , bringing prosperity and dignity to the common people of the world, the fundamental rights of everyone, women’s equality the list is endless. The British people and the people of all the colonies including Americans have been the driving force in the pursuit of a better human civilization. The people in our countries that are bashing western civilization (British) by diluting our population with immigrants who don’t share our values is a direct assault on the western civilization no different than waging war. To even suggest that Britain didn’t change the world fast enough is simply ridiculous. Name another civilization that even achieved 10% of what the British Empire did and you will hear nothing but silence. I haven’t even mentioned the science and arts and the learning centers all over the world that can trace there roots straight back to England. The world would be unrecognizable without Great Britain

[@osgar333]

Thank you for what you wrote. Can you get on plane, come over here please and tell that to all our school children; who are being brainwshed by 'the left'. Brainwashed into putting their country and our hisitory down. It's tragic.

[@stirlingmoss9637]

A generous assessment sir/madam, from a cousin across the pond. We have been betrayed by the Liberal elites who see good in everyone coming to our shores and despise those patriots who pay the taxes that maintain those new arrivals who only want the financial benefits of our hospitality whilst trying to tear down our culture and identity in favour of their own and who are supported by the same Liberal elites in those aims.

[@robertcook9201]

True, and a better response than Mr Fry's. but we are afraid of recognising it or valuing it as we have come to think of those values as normal and what anyone would support. Hence our naive faith that other races, countries, and beliefs basically think the same and are therefore ultimately no real threat. So the race and it's cultural values are being swamped.

[@TheMikesylv]

@@robertcook9201 both of our countries have been infected with a self loathing disease. I know all civilizations go through there ups and downs. But I can’t shake the feeling there is something sinister and planned about the state of things. Normally I would say that is ridiculous. Our countries and all of these oversized corporations run by inherited inbred children who have absolutely no clue about anything have had one bad idea after another have made a mess out of everything. Regular citizens with the intelligence and expertise need to take control before it’s to late. Time is short

[@grioulaloula8594]

@@stirlingmoss9637 Please note that this is a comment I borrowed from someone that I think applies here…The UK's current crisis, which is real, was caused by an elite which seems to hate the traditional British population and wants it replaced. Sorry, but it's true. Hostile elites create dangerous politics.

[@PWMoze]

I find this idea that Brits should not celebrate their own uniqueness too enthusiastically, or should not defend their own identity robustly and that they should almost be ashamed of those that do, is a large part of the problem. Fry may not feel that British culture and identity is under sufficient threat to require of him a robust defence, but I for one would disagree. We need people like him to fight on our behalf not cleverly avoid the fight because it makes them feel uncomfortable.

[@mimetype]

The Gated Bourgeois.

[@villhelm]

That’s because Fry is like Kisin - a member of the tribe of small hats who are the people behind the mass immigration policies in all European nations and the idea of ‘multiculturalism’.

[@PWMoze]

@mimetype Exactly, sitting safely inside his various exclusive clubs while thinking everyone is being given 'a fair shake' and being entirely unaware of the irony. He would probably get on famously with King Charles.

[@importantjohn]

Not listening to what people say or misinterpreting what people say is a large part of the problem. Fry did not remotely suggest we should not defend Britain or its values. He simply said one of our key values is tolerance.

[@jackhamilton5250]

He directly said British values are under threat at 7:35 and then proceeded to talk about how we need to start publicly defending them. The fact that you either didn't watch the whole video or are unable to comprehend a clearly articulated point seems to be more of a problem than whatever point you're trying to make.

[@shelleyscloud3651]

He’s defining class. Therein lies much of the problem.

[@mimetype]

Nritishness is class, Stalin.

[@marsinapakos239]

Says the guy who went to murder thousands of his own people!!! Not even worth quoting .....all societies are class based!!...Indian caste system??....utterly ruthless

[@Philip_Taylor]

Stiff upper lip, silent despair, slowly being boiled.

[@imahick5723]

People blindly trapped in a feudal system of rank and privilege. Forever peasants.

[@ReekieReels]

You're spot on.

[@tandrichter]

@imahick It's all relative. Would you rather live in Russia? And if you're right, why is it that UK has the largest Russian community in Western Europe?Why is it that the entire world is fascinated with everything that is English- well, perhaps excluding the football fans?!

[@what-about-bob]

​@@imahick5723if you are not British you do not understand that this is not about privilege or feudalism. It hasn't been that way for centuries. We have freedom (though we are losing it rapidly and, sadly, willingly to foreign powers). If you are American (as your handle suggests) what have your freedoms brought you? You waste them on debauchery, greed and endless litigation.

[@imahick5723]

@tandrichter indoctrination. Remember how the British empire made colonies out of so many countries in robbed them of their own cultures.

[@MisterMukdenTimes]

Such timidity in singing our own praises was okay when we were a homogenous country, and we all tacitly understood what it meant to be British. But when we're importing a million people a year, how can we expect them to integrate if we don't actively extol the virtues of British society?

[@barneyrubble8590]

@@MisterMukdenTimes spot on !

[@garysmith1931]

Self-deprication, the English robbing others of the opportunity to criticise, because as Rhodes had it, to be born English is to win first prize in lifes lottery.

[@richardpearson5439]

Been following the debate for years and what an incredibly sensible well put point that is

[@34428]

I suppose that depends upon what one believes they are…

[@ShelleyOtter]

@@MisterMukdenTimes that is exactly what Douglas Murray said at the Oxford Union! We don’t even know who we are any more! 😔

[@GhostofEnoch]

"What does it mean to be Chinese?" Asked no Chinese person ever.

[@2frogland]

yes because they all know

[@importantjohn]

@ yes, and if they don’t give the right answer they go to prison or worse.

[@Tomhito]

Ask me, I am Chinese. I don't think the identity of Chinese should exist at all. China shouldn't exist at all.

[@2frogland]

@@importantjohn getting that way here

[@importantjohn]

@ no it’s not, you gigantic snowflake. You have living standards and social / legal rights x 10 that of China and most other non western countries. That’s the problem with your generation, you have it so easy now you consider every little thing an ‘outrage’ and unacceptable. Turn off social media and go live your life.

[@bobbyb379]

Spot on. Being British isn’t about cultural behaviours (such as what we do in our free time, what we wear or eat) - on that basis we aren’t culturally or even linguistically similar to people that lived in Britain 100 years ago, let alone 2,000. Being British should be about a national community built around a shared set of values - progressive thinking, fair-play, equality, freedom of speech and support for those that need it.

[@theoutspokenhumanist]

I partly agree but isn't all of that a part of our culture? Surely those values you list are demonstrated by our behaviour. Otherwise, wouldn't they be secret or private and not shared?

[@milathexton3880]

You described the values of any human being how we were supposed to be…

[@georgiosyiannakou5537]

These should be world-wide human traits, not just British...

[@bobbyb379]

@ agreed. A quick look at a lot of countries would suggest that they’re not…

[@suewood8538]

This country has gone through such a radical change since the 1990s but in the early 1990s life was pretty much as it had been for hundreds of years except for the technological advances. Midlands market town, nuclear family, homogeneous society.

[@aion5837]

I'm guessing that Stephen was talking about the ability to be self-reflective. That requires an innate understanding of what it 'is' that is being reflected upon. When a people are continually told that their culture and history is so abhorrent, that the best that can be done is to extinguish it, all that remains is a void. That he is oblivious to all of this, speaks for itself.

[@Dilmahkana]

A culture can be pernicious/abhorrent and amazing at the same time...

[@fairislecat6413]

​@@Dilmahkana that's all cultures though isn't it?

[@Dilmahkana]

@fairislecat6413 of course.

[@RNS_Aurelius]

The evils of the East India company and colonialism in general are undeniable. The greatness of our ingenuity and works to better the world are also undeniable. It's just which parts of history you want to be inspired by.

[@nihilistlivesmatter]

Desperately using vague transient nebulous qualities to define Britishness without mentioning the obvious 1000+ years of ancestry

[@Jack-zv6ht]

You do realize that Britain was invaded by the Normans? I could say that you're French, not British. Culture change. White Americans aren't who they were 20 years ago, let alone 1000.

[@Dilmahkana]

British is a culture. Culture is demonstrably fluid and malleable, far, far more than any biological aspect of human (yes epigenetics is an important thing). In fact, in spite of the 1000+ years of ancestry, most of British culture can been found in the last 400 years, and a lot of it can be traced to the last 200 years, a some extent to the last ~100 years.

[@Jack-zv6ht]

@@Dilmahkana You still aren't accounting for things like the Norman invasion. Are they French because they got colonized by the Normans? Ah, but what is French today isn't the same as it was 1000 years ago, neither are the English. Heck, White Americans today have a culture that is alien to those who existed in 1920. Cheddar man was a dark skinned man who most of the racists subscribed to Triger wouldn't identify as "British".

[@ijustwannaleaveacommentony6511]

they should ask him what it means to be Jish. let's see if it's so hard to describe

[@nihilistlivesmatter]

@@Dilmahkana Oh look a patronising Asian explaining what Britishness is to an ethnic Brit.

[@61shirley]

When immigrants tell us what it is to be British, when most of us identify as English

[@sacredgeometry]

Nonsense

[@61shirley]

@ I couldn’t agree more

[@villhelm]

Not nonsense at all.

[@2frogland]

@@sacredgeometry no hes correct, you were and still are either scottish ,welsh, irish or english,british is a more recent thing as it doesnt define ethnicity

[@getlost3346]

Calling yourself British Citizen demanding the rights as a subject of the Empire, while denouncing British Colonianizm.

[@dumbunny7986]

Can one be a self loathing narcissist?

[@jamieburgess1765]

Yes. Read Ovid's Metamorphoses or Steven Fry's Mythos. Or were you doing a "do bears shit in the woods"?

[@RedSquirrelsReturn]

All narcs despise themselves

[@I9s7lam5is-S3tu1pid]

That’s how they get the gullible public to love them

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

​@@jamieburgess1765Mythos was a great read. I'm not sure his political opinions are worth all the hatred being thrown his way. He is still an interesting guy. Quite interesting.

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

Can one be an armchair psychologist?

[@tandrichter]

Being British, as an outsider, in no order springs to mind: the Royal Family, BBC standard English, The high public school standards and its sins, Paddington bear, Charity as a very special British institution, The British nurse -Florence Nightingale?!, Shakespeare, Turner, King's College and its Choir, Christmas and its English carols, Scotland Yard, Agatha Christie, The Proms, Endeavour and the original Morse, the Royal Academy of Art and its incredible exhibition and events that make your reputation travel, Churchill and his brave and upright character, the spy world of MI5 Aand MI6 admired and feared by Russia. I could go on… You have a lot to be proud of…

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

My first two are Brown sauce and fish n chips with mushy peas. Ok, I am drooling now.

[@tandrichter]

Clearly, you're an insider!​@@paulmichaelfreedman8334

[@tandrichter]

Perhaps I should add to above list that all those institutions you have created over time imbued you with some incredible values, humility, self-deprecation, British humour-in a class of its own, sarcasm, tolerance -recently in short supply, justifiably, love of art without bragging about it, like the French, being a modest boffin, almost a contradiction in terms and yet you're capable of it - see the inventor of Internet, oh, yes, last but not least, the best inventors of the world over time. Thank those public & grammar schools you like to tear down so much.

[@marcusfairweather8917]

Ah yes…MI6 so feared and admired by Russia that for nearly 30 years it was too incompetent to work out that Kim Philby was operating as a double agent under its very nose.

[@amicizia45]

What are British Values? Fundamental British Values underpin what it is to be a citizen in a modern and diverse Great Britain valuing our community and celebrating diversity of the UK. These values are Democracy, Rule of Law, Respect and Tolerance, Individual Liberty. Especially our leaders (Prime Ministers and their cabinets)-true citizens of Britain who guide us to these values.

[@visionlandmusic]

Stephen Fry: One of the architects of the British downfall into the abyss.

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

I'm sure if you changed your attitude, you could be his toyboy and he'd allow you to fondle his manlihood.

[@cboffard8350]

What utter crap.

[@lkrnpk]

In what way?

[@funkydanis1278]

I thought Boris Johnson and despicable Farage cover that ?

[@vaughanrichards7438]

😂

[@MrBartleby451]

If I'm Welsh or Scottish or Irish I'm part of a noble race with a rich and wonderful culture, I'm celebrated. If I'm English or a Brit I should be ashamed of myself. Or so the media would have me feel.

[@sunking9050]

you are correct and its very sinister. The BBC is one of the worst examples

[@davebuchan81]

Funny how I know Scots and Welsh people who feel demonised by the media. Muslims feel demonised and wait, maybe it's more your your own bias coming through... you only notice the bits you feel slighted by... you don't see how the media does this shit to everyone - and you can always find a load of people like you claiming that 'Christians are under attack in this country'. There are lots of media outlets which say the same thing as your comment. You are repeating a widely held belief. You should know this...

[@YorickReturns]

What if I told you told it's neither, and that you should feel pride or guilt only about your own choices?

[@sdry1688]

Welsh and Scottish are Brits too - Stop mixing British and English

[@davidgreenfield3204]

Sir Stephen Fry, the ultimate British Gentlemen.

[@megapangolin1093]

Never.

[@armorbearer9702]

I am not sure what he is going for, but it sounds like being polite is a core British value.

[@stanleyshannon4408]

The word actually refers to a specific ancient ethnic group, not some arbitrarily defined set of inane modern values or cultural, political or legal norms. It was used specifically to unite the various later ethnic identities around an even more ancient shared past.

[@bishbosh4815]

I definitely relate to him, simultaneously wanting to be apart from society and a part of society, wanting to be individual, unique and independent, but also wanting acceptance, belonging and validation

[@mrl8443]

Oh, so you're not supposed to vote for who does the best job, you're meant to vote for who you like the most. Got it. Thanks Stephen.

[@Ian-j9u4e]

I always loved Julie Burchills description of Fry….”What stupid people think clever people sound like”…..

[@TheFarCentre]

Whatever you think about Fry he is definitely clever. You also can’t judge someone’s intellect from the way they ‘sound’.

[@muellkoerbchen]

Haha, right. Spot on. 😂 But: Fry is very good here, don‘t you think?

[@anthonyferris8912]

As a member and one time president of the MCC, does Stephen also see himself as a “beetroot-coloured” man “stinking of privilege"?

[@atoning2009]

no it is the jewish aggressive mimicry ....

[@Paganine55]

The most monotonous, humdrum , boring snob who if he crept out from under his rock, to actually read Orwell! He would agree that Orwell saw totalitarian snobbery a problem of elites and government bureaucracy!

[@cboffard8350]

You don't sound as if you've actually read him at all.

[@amraceway]

@@cboffard8350 Those from the right quote Orwell, not read him.

[@lespaddick6248]

He was asked What's it like being British Then went on to describe what it's like being English They are two different things

[@suewood8538]

Advocating for nationalism means the next stop is invading Poland. Can you imagine how dumb the people are who actually believe this?

[@markwilliams7712]

His self loathing is palpable.

[@I9s7lam5is-S3tu1pid]

Which keeps him in the public spotlight by being this endearing while also being a self loathing caricature.

[@manfrombritain6816]

Jewish playbook 101. self-effacing in public, massively self-promotional in private

[@billythedog-309]

Don't agree at all.

[@Hail_To_The_King]

Either it's a heritage or it's a passport. There is no third option

[@suewood8538]

It's heritage. I'm English, families going back centuries. It doesn't matter how I behave or what I think that cannot be changed, just like someone's sex. I could go and live in any country but would still be English. To be British you have to be English, Scots, Welsh or Irish, The world and his brother can become a British citizens but that doesn't make them "British", although they all leave off the "citizen" bit. We all knew this 10 years ago, but seem to have forgotten.

[@Tomhito]

​@@suewood8538what about Jews living in the UK?

[@Wayne-q1v6l]

@@suewood8538 exactly! I am English. But I am a British citizen as per my passport, and even when I get my Russian passport, I moved here two years ago, I will still be English, but with dual citizenship - British and Russian.

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@suewood8538Nobody has “forgotten” anything. Most British people just disagree with you and understand that a person’s ethnicity and national identity aren’t one and the same. I doubt even *you* think this. It’s clear that a person’s national identity is shaped far more by their environment and their experiences than it is by their genetics or their ancestry. If a person of Irish descent is born and raised in rural England, they’re probably just gonna think of themselves as being English/British. They might consider their Irish heritage important to them, they might not (again, if they consider it important, it’s probably influenced by environment, i.e their parents consider the heritage important and they pass that on). But I highly doubt anybody would question their Englishness or lament about the changing nature of English identity. I suspect people only do this when the person’s skin is darker. I was born and raised in rural Suffolk, for instance, and I consider Englishness/Britishness an important part of my identity, and yet I’m mixed race. I’ve done a DNA test for fun and I have ancestry from all over - Nigeria, Central Africa, England, Scotland, France, Denmark, Portugal etc… but my particular environment and upbringing in England is what shaped my identity. I don’t think it’s fair or makes much sense to deny people of their own identity and experience, just to cling on to some outdated ethnic notion of what it means to be British. Even White British people who’s ancestry goes back far in Britain, still have ancestral roots in Denmark, France, Germany etc. The history of England is one of invasion and conquest. Why is there an arbitrary line for who gets to be “real British”?

[@suewood8538]

@@PeterBarkerMusic What somebody considers themselves to be and what they actually are will not necessarily be the same or valid. People fancy themselves the opposite sex but are not, nor can they ever be. I'm no more agreeable to random foreign people claiming my ethnicity because they were born or live here than I am random men claiming my sex because they are wearing a dress, wig and make up. I can imagine having DNA from various ethnicities is difficult to process, in fact I know it is. My daughter's father is 100% Irish, she too is "mixed race", although as you say nobody knows, but nevertheless that's how it is. Don't ever try telling an Irishman they are English. In addition her family history spans two countries and what a complicated history that is. Why do you think people do DNA tests and watch "Who Do You Think You Are?"? They want to know who they really are.

[@betrayedcitizen5135]

If I am a tourist visiting Japan I expect to see Japanese people and experience Japanese culture. Likewise with England. When I visit England I expect to see majority White English people and experience English culture. I’m not interested in visiting England to only to see pockets of India, Pakistan, Syria and China. For anyone needing clarification this is what London should look like - for every 50 white English person there should only be 1 nonwhite English or immigrant. This is how an atmosphere and culture is retained.

[@TheIceyeddy]

Agreed! I am English but live in Australia. When I visited England earlier this year I was shocked at how I didn't see a white person working in Heathrow. It felt like I had arrived in a foreign country, which made me feel very uneasy and like I didn't recognize the country anymore. When I arrive in England I want to feel like I am in England, not Nigeria.

[@joey-pn3xe]

⁠​⁠@@TheIceyeddydo you see 50 aboriginals before 1 white person in Australia?

[@joey-pn3xe]

You need a time travelling machine ASAP in that case.

[@betrayedcitizen5135]

@@joey-pn3xe I’m a child of immigrants and even I can easily tell that aboriginal people did not build this country. I expect the population that built this country up and westernised it to remain the overwhelming dominant population. My parents migrated to Australia with the expectation that our family would be subsumed by whites, not be surrounded by Indians. If we wanted to be surrounded by Indians we would have migrated to India.

[@joey-pn3xe]

@ if we expect to see the population that build the country then seeing the commonwealth in London should be the norm?

[@barneyrubble8590]

He’s the epitome of the London liberal elite 🙄

[@shelleyscloud3651]

Precisely and of the most despicable type - the middle class. Desperate to hide their roots by aspiring to the upper and mistakenly thinking this can be done through signalling distance from (too often disregard for) the lower.

[@rosstheboss-q2f]

My favourite people, and by far the nicest.

[@Deepfake820]

​@@rosstheboss-q2fis that sarcasm lost on me?

[@rosstheboss-q2f]

@ Absolutely no sarcasm intended.

[@tandrichter]

There's nothing wrong with being a liberal elite. Behaving like an oaf, envying those above them, instead of aspiring to be better tends to be a lot worse.

[@phampshire6864]

Blackadder was 'Horrible histories' for adults, the writers admitted they were deconstructing British history

[@lkrnpk]

It was funny as hell though

[@lovelyskull3483]

Stephen Fry is such a gift to me. The sound of his voice is like music.

[@Soulrollsdeep]

Being British is a quiet affair, it's being pragmatic and logical. It's cricket, cups of tea, the pub, footy, having a laugh, killer banter and not taking life too seriously. It used to be about balance and fairness, as well.

[@philipmartin5757]

Cricket is British now?!

[@EA_Kar]

Love meeting brits on vacation. The boyish charm & rowdy enthusiasm & being up for making merry & adventures & the utter insustance on leaving the tropics red as a lobster

[@shaagaknowsyou5295]

Not sure that 'not taking life too seriously' is an epitome of 'Britishness'. If anything, it's anything but. We see people 'not taking life too seriously' and it's not a good thing hence the extremely high violent crime rate in London.

[@Lollo-q9o]

​@@philipmartin5757 like tea, spices and remote ocean islands 😬😂

[@Soulrollsdeep]

@@philipmartin5757 yes, you fuckwit. It's literally one Google away from disrupting your entire dickhead world view that brown and black people invented everything.

[@stewartwebb5699]

A great British man. He has done so many wonderful and clever things in his life. A true British treasure!

[@davewillis7172]

I used to look forward to seeing Steven in different characters, but now every time he opens his mouth I cringe at his attitude & opinions

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

Have you considered a sex change?

[@iconicon5642]

If there's one man who hasn't a clue it's Stephen Fry.

[@nicolasbascunan4013]

He has, he’s part of them

[@amraceway]

@@nicolasbascunan4013 He is a brilliant actor. Loved everything he has been in. Even starred with Russel Brand in an hilarious play.

[@megapangolin1093]

He is an actor, and he acts British to attract an audience, as in this video.

[@revol148]

Notice how someone as "quintessentially English" as Fry just ends up talking about himself (his favourite subject) rather than answer the question directly !

[@callumbrown8659]

I thought he spoke honestly about his experience about being English rather than simply about himself

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

Almost like people draw on their own experiences particularly when being constantly described as "quintessentially English"

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

This just in: Stephen Fry uses examples of his identity when asked a question about identity 🤯

[@garysmith1931]

He's an actor and not English or British, it's a role for him, that he plays close to caricature, and he's paid well to do so.

[@suewood8538]

I had just thought about commenting that the middle and upper classes often play a caricature of being English. It's like a man who thinks he's a woman behaving and dressing in a certain, over the top, way.

[@LiamBeanComedy]

You got any receipts of him being paid to live his entire life as a lie including his personal opinions or did you just pull that ‘opinion’ out of your arse based on your feelings?

[@Zacky12345]

@@LiamBeanComedy Is Fry your friend? He is the elite caste of the professional academic. He has nothing to do with the working classes, they are there to be ridiculed and stereotypes to be confirmed. His world view is more evil than the class system of the 1920’s. I am proud and working class I am the enemy of his caste unless i know my place.

[@benfisher1376]

Not English , but upper class. Ever noticed how rich Scottish and Irish people always speak in the same accent?

[@garysmith1931]

​@@LiamBeanComedyAs he owned up to being a coke head, at a time when coke was not as cheap as today that would be the receipt I'd choose. Also the sense of not belonging he mentions underlines he's not British/English.

[@Bob-e9f9q]

A couple of ethnically non-British gentlemen discussing what it means to be British. Nothing embodies modern Britain quite so succinctly.

[@djunior874]

Ethnically non British? Why does their blood matter if their values are British?

[@Bob-e9f9q]

@ Because blood is intrinsic whilst values are formless and fleeting.

[@franingegnieri1831]

What ethnicity is Stephen Fry?? He's an old class brittish gentleman

[@bigwildhaggis7604]

Stop talking crap Bob

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

I agree - it’s a testament to the progressiveness and forward-thinking ideas that most of the British public have. Most of us (and yes, I will include myself in the British public despite scarily being ethnically half-Nigerian) don’t think a person’s skin colour or ethnic origin should inherently tie them to a particular identity. Is this not what people want? It’s funny that one hand, we’re told that we (“we” being ethnic minorities) should integrate and assimilate into British culture, but then when we do that, we’re also told that we’re “ethnically non-British” (even when we’re mixed race and do in fact have British ancestry), and thus can’t consider ourselves British. Very silly stuff.

[@xamo-b2o]

I won't be taking any advice on Britishness from Stephen Fry. Thanks.

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

No one's asking you to mate. That doesn't mean you can't fondle his balls a little bit.

[@itsmrryan]

Why not?

[@Funkloving]

I'd like to know why too, genuinly curious.

[@nicholasmitchell8749]

If it's relatable, I remember my elders, in the world of bricklaying, tell me "no one likes a smart ass". This came at me frequently after trying to explain NHBC standards, and why they were enforced. I understood the reasoning, but my elders were too concerned by the up hill struggle to sustain a living wage. The standards made that harder, and my attempts to build a bridge of communication was coldly shut down by such comments. This totally baffled me for ages, until the penny dropped. The working British man is not seeking understanding, or a wider social connection. They want an easy run at it, to minimise the anxiety of living.

[@Steabhan-b7s]

Well said. You’re probably the only one on this daft thread to make any sense.

[@matthewstollar2678]

Fry is very much of a time and certain 'class 'of Englishman...but also trapped in a certain amount of post modern quicksand. And to me it is 'thought provoking' what he says because I could go either way in agreeing with or disdaining comments regarding warm beer, and patriotism being distasteful. This is NOT a working class value, and nor is warm beer or cricket as far as I know. This idea of overt patriotism being distasteful probably 'is' a value in some quarters, at least in part, because the historic British ruling class didn't want the fact it ruled half the world to be down classed from being a 'noble thing' to a crass form of unthinking patriotism, and thus to be considered an abomination by potential critics of which 1% of the current posthumous volume even existed. I mean how can one's feelings for one's country be private and personal. It is the most bureaucratic and impersonal of all one's personal feelings if it is indeed in the 'personal feeling' department at all. But, the aspects of British culture that one identifies with 'are 'probably due to personal taste or affinities, but it's not somehow secret? Is it? Stephen has a bit of a subconscious tug of war on his hands. As a left leaning well known celebrity, it is likely he has got used to hiding what appears to be a far greater love for 'historic' Britain than he is used to openly admitting. And his now 'revealed' thoughts seem to me to 'half' represent the sort of 'upper middle class-bordering on aristocracy' and 'half' Brits as a whole. Who really knows? He probably doesn't represent the millions of culturally clueless recent 'illegal' or legal arrivals or huge swathes of younger people, Anglo Saxon originated or otherwise, that have been educated into patriotic ambivalence or at worst animosity from the 90's onwards. How accurate is his assessment statistically person by person ? Who knows. I actually think because of multiculturalism, and general education exponentially becoming more and more left leaning since the 70's, many people either live in a vacuum both of information/knowledge and/or of feeling (national pride or disdain} OR have some extreme reaction to the issue of patriotism, also caused by an 'overall' knowledge vacuum but in these cases catalysed by some form of political low resolution propaganda. I think the pros and cons of the 'British' Empire should be taught dispassionately in the education system AND great mention should be made that most of the country was itself colonised by the British ruling class until very recently. The average person had no say in what Britain was or wasn't, did or didn't do, nationally or internationally, until between 1880 (to 1920) or thereabouts. 85% of the country could not vote and therefore had ZERO political power over 'the empire's' existence or non-existence. The empire may have spanned 400 years but started off very small, as a military presence to protect trading routes and was only a major all consuming world power for the last quarter of it's life. By the 1920's when the last 50% of the populace, women, won the right to vote, within 25 years or so the empire was over, disbanded. 85% of the British public were emancipated only 75 years to 25 years before the rest of the world. As long as you teach that, I don't mind if the ignoble and noble sides of the 'empire' are taught in the education system side by side. And as long as Islamic and African complicity in slavery is also taught. The empire can be taught from quite a few angles. Which aspect you privilege will lead you to vastly different interpretations. In general people should be taught how to think, techniques of thinking not 'what' to think. In time once everyone white or 'minority' feels their voice is included in the public conversation things should balance out and a genuine consensus reached. But for now this low resolution anti white bile needs to be mercilessly punctured until a REAL assessment can even start to be made about the past.

[@villhelm]

Very beautifully written Sir.

[@warningsigns1]

Did you do an Open University Course? Good on you!

[@matthewstollar2678]

@@warningsigns1 i recently told someone that this little opinion peice is the result of years of thought and really only just enough exposure to colonial history to know where and how to prove the overall point i was trying to make. I'm still in the process of filling out my knowledge. I have NOWHERE NEAR an academic understanding of the subject but have been following contemporary politics quite closely for over half a decade.

[@RKPT9]

Why is Fry your example of what it means to be British?

[@homemaintenance1234]

He isn’t.

[@manutdok1]

Egg & chips, The Beatles, Morris Minors, catapults made from a tree branch, jumpers for goalposts, asking the coalman if we can pay two weeks next week, Top of the Pops, Donkeys on the beach, Bus conductors that said thankyouuw when giving a ticket, News at Ten, Mars Bars, Sunday dinner (lunch then), etc, etc.

[@fredo1070]

There's something not quite right about that man.

[@zimbargie2909]

Hes one of these that has been completely obnoxious in the far left rhetoric forbyears. And has suddently found reason, now he's realized most people are sick of it. But hes new to it, so he comes across as fake as he is

[@louisdisbury9759]

Yes his rants about Trump are becoming far more frequent.

[@fredo1070]

@@louisdisbury9759 He used to star in propaganda adverts for Tony Blair.

[@louisdisbury9759]

@@fredo1070 Cheers that answers everything.

[@ijustwannaleaveacommentony6511]

yeah, exactly. there's more than one thing

[@audioweasel6997]

The greatest British tradition, which defines them to me, is known in the country as “taking the piss”. And I personally think that makes them great.

[@Steabhan-b7s]

And the ruling class in ‘Britain’ have been doing just that ever since.

[@gunner23]

To be British is to be a protestant Christian who elevates individual rights over the family and or the group collective. That is the decisive factor between my parent's country India and the country I was born in. To see atheists like Fry and Kisin try to extract or ignore Christianity as the major force in Britain that drove individualism, what the size of the state should be and what role it should play is like watching a fish in a river deny they are swimming in water. Time to grow up and recognise that you may be athiests in name but your values are distinctly and uniquely Christian. White Anglo Saxons have been around for a millennia but the world really took notice of their astonishing achievements when they became White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

[@2frogland]

the anglo saxons are the english the scots welsh irish have a different genetic make up though there has been much mixing if you loojk at a genetic map of britain you can see the different nations that make up britain

[@ashmaybe9634]

No need to ignore the Catholics, but Christianity, sure.

[@eaglescouttrooper7969]

Well done mate, & that might well be the reason why Enoch liked India so much

[@Jack-zv6ht]

Your ancestors were surfs for the monarch and achieved nothing lol. But, yes, I'm sure you wuz kings n shid.

[@2frogland]

@@Jack-zv6ht what were yours

[@immortaltyger1569]

Thanks for making this a separate video - it's very helpful to see important things like this on their own.

[@Hindenzog]

As Starkey says, being British is an export. People immigrate to this country and can become British, but they can’t be English, Welsh etc.

[@yusufgleason6478]

He’s so British he’s just obtained a Austrian passport!

[@ashleyhoward8926]

A good point, well put.

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

Ah yes a piece of paper is far more important than this life or his experiences growing up in Britain

[@kevinturvey8213]

actually not in the least bit interested in what SF has to say about anything - and can't understand why anyone else would be either. By the way I'm English, not British

[@danmayberry1185]

Funny, I see things in my feed I'm "actually not the least but interested in" and so I don't click on them.

[@amraceway]

@@danmayberry1185 Young Kevinturvey8213 doesn't seem to be the brightest star in the sky.

[@nicsinclair]

Interested enough to comment here. Odd

[@papadiamea7330]

I exercise my freedom of speech not for humans but for those who no longer have a voice, plants, and animals. And birds of a different feather. 🎉❤

[@Dantegrey1]

I am Danish, and I think my description of what that is would be different than most Danes'. I am pretty sure I would be correct, but it is quite difficult to define a national character.

[@rhobatbrynjones7374]

Being British means being English and being English means the Home Counties. Triggernometry is way behind the curve on this one.

[@jumperjunior804]

He doesn’t talk for the British at all, it’s his bs version

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

I don't think he tried to. He was asked his opinion and gave his experience. But, I'm sure he'd let you fondle around in his pants if you asked nicely 👖 🩳

[@UkrainianPaulie]

Warm beer and bad teeth. 😂

[@jameswhite7997]

Does he ever give a clear, concrete, understandable answer on anything in this interview? (Given up, obviously, on him being concise).

[@iainmclean2]

Thats not british, thats from all cultures. Fenced answer.

[@awf6554]

Being "English" has changed repeatedly through history. It's undergoing another change. No doubt those on whom change was imposed in the past were as indignant as the current people who identify as traditional " English".

[@PaleRider-j7i]

Same with any ethnic group really.

Africans & Asians are not English and never will be

[@suewood8538]

Partially true, but it isn't going to happen again because the new arrivals aren't our cousins as the Normans and Vikings were.

If Africans, Asians & Europeans are all 'English' then the term has no meaning

[@suewood8538]

The truth is they aren't English, they are British citizens, being born here doesn't make you English. The distinction between nationality and ethnicity is being eroded by TPTB. The native people i.e. the English have special protections under the UN which is why TPTB are working like mad to say we don't exist. They wouldn't dream of telling the Maoris that.

[@creedor]

Sir Stephen John Fry is a treasure. And I’m not even British.

[@oatdilemma6395]

It shouldn't be "What It Means to Be British", it should be "What It Means to Be English, Scottish, or Welsh"

[@danpearce4547]

The quiet resilience and steadfastness, the refusal to submit to those that would deny us our freedoms.

[@alexanderbalcombe4207]

Not consistent in his views. In fact not consistent with much. A convicted thief and jailbird, a known liar.

[@rosstheboss-q2f]

As opposed to your saintly self.

[@alexanderbalcombe4207]

@ not claiming to be a saint. But I’m not a thief or a jailbird. Fry is both.

[@ashleyhoward8926]

@@alexanderbalcombe4207 and one who bowls from the pavilion end.

[@Wayne-q1v6l]

British is a citizenship. I am English but a British citizen as per my passport. Later, when I get my Russian passport, I will still be English but with dual citizenship, British and Russian.

[@getlost3346]

Fry trying to answer Enuch Powells question from 1968.

[@RedSquirrelsReturn]

Fry trying to save his own stinky arse

[@katebird2692]

Im english but although i agree in some things ive also experienced working class identity,which i am proudd of. I will always fight the class system.

[@RifndjsklljuwhdnchAfacnxla]

nice hook to stop at "i suppose i would say..."

[@60crown]

He starts by describing himself which puts him in a certain 1-10% of the population then describes what British is. But it is only his view of what British is. Which in some cases is very different to the other 90% of the country he is a part of.

You are either British through ancestry, or through a piece of paper issued by the UK government...

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

L ethnonationalist nonsense

@@PeterBarkerMusic Then you think being British a piece of government paper. Fine

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

Nope. I think that’s one dimension of Britishness - legal British citizenship. There’s other dimensions to it. Britishness, to the majority of people in Britain, is a complex and subjective national identity. Data consistently shows that the overwhelming majority of the British public reject the idea that you must be white to be British, which means they reject your idea that Britishness is exclusively rooted in ancestry. People’s identities aren’t shaped by their ancestry alone - they’re shaped by their environment. If it were all an ancestral thing, every person of English descent would have the same, or extremely similar, culture, identity, and expression. But that just isn’t true, at all. People of English descent who were born and raised in New York City will be very different to people of English descent born and raised in rural Yorkshire. If you were to approach the guy from NYC and tell him he’s English, he’d probably laugh at you and go on a tangent about how America is the best country in the world. Because his identity is shaped by his environment, not his ancestry.

@@PeterBarkerMusic I get tired of arguing with Africans & Asians what Native Europeans are allowed to call ourselves. So whatever

@ I get tired of arguing with Africans & Asians what Europeans are allowed to call ourselves. So whatever

[@marpintado]

To be British is to be a subject.

[@jorgegomez524]

None of these tree guys have a clue what it means to British, I know that much.

[@jsbruggeman]

These are values to be truly proud of. This is said by a Dutch person who shares the same values, since we read Orwell and other European literature at school. However, I would never-ever wave my national flag for it; that would feel inappropriate and tasteless. I would rather wave the European flag for these values like freedom of speech and progressive human rights.

[@jaredtaylor326]

How bout what it’s like to be American? We real Americans can’t stand our politicians, except maybe trump these days, it’s been 3:55 a crazy year

[@brianfreeman8290]

Sir Fry, I once stood behind you at Longborough on one of those wonderful Wagner evenings. I so wanted to shake your hand, but it would have been rude to interrupt your conversation. Mayne one day . . .

[@richardmurphy4520]

" We can learn a lot from Islam." KING CHARLES

[@norbitcleaverhook5040]

I don't think he was talking about grooming and beheading.

[@richardmurphy4520]

@norbitcleaverhook5040 That's no bone of contention or bonafide peasant apology on his behalf. He's guilty of absolute contempt for the indigenous people of this country.

[@theoutspokenhumanist]

I am the same age as Stephen Fry and I echo his thinking. I alternate between pride in my country and being somewhat ashamed of how some things have changed and are handled. I see the US and Americans as being like teenagers, full of confidence and happy to be loud whilst we British are the grumpy old folks complaining about kids today. I live in a rural village and write for a living, largely sequestered from what I see as the decline of my country whilst wishing someone, somewhere would please do something about it, on my behalf. I honestly do not care which god people pray to, what clothes they wear or the colour of their skin but what troubles me is the vast cultural gap between ourselves and those coming to our shores, who are hindered from integration by their own culture which is closely bound by their religious rules and expectations.

[@mimetype]

Take any member of the SAS, that's what it is to be British. It's all down hill from there.

[@Thisisahandle701]

Lol

[@rosstheboss-q2f]

That’s a pretty high bar 😅!

[@pauljames1807]

How so?

[@mimetype]

Being based in the beating heart of the British countryside, ready and willing to endure the the harshest circumstances known in defense of your country.

[@skylongskylong1982]

So If you are so British, why did you apply for a Hungarian Passport this year ? The facts are out there .

[@TTraveller3]

The correct question is… “What does it mean to have been British?” British culture, beliefs and values are understand relentless attack and disappearing. To be British…. A combination of…. Fair play. Manners. Compassion. Stoic. Accommodating. Generous. Free speech. Respect. Loyal. Pride. Britain has fallen….

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

I think you may have watched a bit too much GB News, mate.

[@icarusjumped2719]

I dont agree that the British would not like a Christian religious leader. I think we might actually like it now.

[@janelennon7701]

I would prefer all religions to stay out of law.

[@icarusjumped2719]

@janelennon7701 sure, but given the options, which would you prefer? Islam, or Christianity? Coz its gonna be one of them, and i know which i would prefer.

[@StephenLawrence01]

Not we , you, not me.

[@icarusjumped2719]

@StephenLawrence01 we, not you. Thats your choice. But one of them will lead, and i would rather christianity than the other one that is taking power.

[@icarusjumped2719]

@@janelennon7701 sure, but one particular one that currently rising and demanding blasphemy laws in the uk, WILL take power. I know which one i would prefer

[@alexandermayer2026]

Being British means educated, whether formally or not; able to hold rational discussions even if the logic of opposing ideas wins out over yours; holding fast to democratic ideals in the face of overwhelming Nazi forced; and it means that you are a conduit of Judeo Christian values, not because you are necessarily a Jew or Christian but because you recognize that this worldview has been the most powerfully force for good in human history.

[@PeterBarkerMusic]

Thank you for imposing your own preferences on the rest of us

[@alexandermayer2026]

@ the proof is the history of contribution to civilization. Please point out other world views that have advanced civilization. And we have seen the degradation caused by progressives who try to claim the benefits while casting aside the obligations and acknowledgement of divine forces. What is a woman? Is socialism preferable to capitalism? Is allowing hordes of people with hostile worldviews into a culture creating more harmony or less? 50 world leaders have changed in the last few years who are returning to sane concepts. Are you looking forward to sharia law

[@paulsmith1981]

The peoples of these Islands, The British Isles, share a common ancestry, culture and ethnicity. That's what it means to be British.

[@joel-lukeJesusYeshua888]

Boring being British for me is Christian of every race working together and good men of all creed color religion trying to be better humans everyday. This race thing only leads to racism. And by the way im against mass immigration and I think we need a Trump in this country

[@franzmeyer9171]

I am not surprised that Mr.Fry is a member of such a wide area of clubs. If your parents send you away to a boarding school at such young age as the British do , your family then essentially becomes the boys club at the schools and later on in life you flock to the clubs to have that sense of family again. Especially I would assume that if your are gay and at the time when he was a young adult society did not offer the chance of same sex marriage and adoption etc. as they do today. A longing for a family

[@elric6084]

"Arse"

[@heronymoustosh2314]

That just put me off an actor I’ve always loved.

[@joricmalolic3723]

A shapeshifter. Every single time.

[@fitprotunes]

Say more

[@villhelm]

He doesn’t need to say more. We have two shapeshifters of the same tribe sat there trying to define what it means to Be British. Neither of them are Anglo Saxon or Celt so they don’t get to define it. They are from another place and tribe entirely. Britishness isn’t a costume you can wear.

[@rosstheboss-q2f]

Christ, you racists. Oh well, merry Christmas you antisemitic fackwits 😅

[@pauljames1807]

​@@fitprotunes antisemitism basically. They're too pussy to say what they actually mean.

[@johnfitzpatrick5107]

Do you know what the origin of the word celt is ​@@villhelm

[@kerryholland4822]

Stephen is one lovely, glorious bastard

[@simonpassant3625]

Keep being you Stephen.

[@andreweaston1843]

I call myself a Brish American even though I was born in England Chard Somerset, my mother's family was from London, my father was Scottish we emigrated to the USA in 1978 when I was 12 years old now 58.

[@alanspringett9233]

The man has a brain that i admire

[@chrismatthews8717]

It means never having to say you're sorry, but donig so anyway. 😂

[@YorickReturns]

The question we should be asking is, what kind of society is fit for human life? To the extent that British society meets that requirement, great! To the extent that it doesn't, change it.

[@sdewviljoen]

The irony of fair play as a concept from the colonial power is absurd!

[@Steabhan-b7s]

Aw I said elsewhere, being British is about fair play whilst hoping nobody catches you cheating.

[@papadiamea7330]

Phoenix, ancient Phoenix. The spirit of the century. ❤🎉

[@robert3987]

Stephen, a wonderful raconteur.

[@lourogers7346]

The remarkable, charismatic Stephen Fry is a Hungarian. Reference “the Martians”.

[@enriquehartmann8642]

Id give everything to meet and conversate with Stephen Fry.

[@r4vr4c]

Us from the working class are incredibly proud of being British and English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish and we are very vocal about our pride and patriotism for our nation(s), so I disagree with his notion of "Its bad taste", maybe for him but not from my experience in my life in Britain

[@eugenekaufmann1]

Britain needs to grow up; monarchy, Lords, FPTP, empire medals, and royal anti-intellectuial pillocks.

[@SAPPERBRAVO]

The ONLY British man that should be asked what it is to be British is JEREMY CLARKSON. In fact, I'm honestly surprised he hasn't become PM yet.