Being An Englishman Abroad And At Home

Back to the old keyboard once more for a quick view into my brain.

Recently I've been stuck for ideas for this here blog and I had lots of suggestions as to what I should write about. Now, I'm going to completely ignore all those suggestions and go with this. Enjoy!

For the past week at Arcada (where I'm studying) we have been doing an International Week. Basically various lecturers have come and talked to us about various subjects all based around the overall theme "Ethics". Now that sounds like my cup of tea doesn't it? Well it's been an interesting mix. Some of the lectures have been really quite interesting and have really made me think. Others have made me sleep. Some lectures that particularly stood out for me were conducted by Mehrdad Davishpour. The titles of the lectures seemed at times completely impenetrable such as:
The Welfare State's "Stepchildren": An intersectional perspective on ethnic relations and discrimination in Sweden.
Huh?
However, the subjects they dealt with (discrimination, power relationships between groups, immigration and attitudes to it) were really fascinating particularly as I've been thinking about these sorts of subjects myself for the last year because I am now an immigrant.

One point that was made in one of Darvishpour's lectures was that if an immigrant or foreign person is subjected in their new society to discrimination or even simply a clash of cultures with the "native" people of that new country, it can lead to the foreign person retreating further back into their own culture. He used the example of some families from a very patriarchal cultural background becoming even more conservative in their beliefs as a reaction against the "opposing" culture and becoming even more controlling of their wives and daughters. Now I thought this was interesting to consider: Has my view on what my culture is changed since coming to Finland? Have I become "more English" to react against Finnish culture?

I think one interesting thing is that I have now become much more insistent on having a good cup of tea. The most quintessentially British thing (except for the Queen) is a nice cup of tea. Have I been trying to reassert my Britishness or Englishness by clinging ever tighter to a good cup of tea?

I don't know but I think it's something for me to think about, consider and be aware of. I don't want to find myself withdrawing back into my protective shell to try and hide from cultural conflicts and conflicts when thinking about other people's view points.

What you may have noticed in that above paragraph was that I jumped about from "British" to "English" and back again which is really what this post is about. Where am I from?

Last year I was asked by a (now very good) friend do I prefer being called English or British. In that moment I became very aware of the massive divides within the (supposedly) United Kingdom and how my experiences of patriotism and nationalism have shaped my idea of who I am.

I really should of considered writing this sooner, I guess, as on numerous occasions living in Finland I've had to describe where I'm from and I've floundered about as to whether I should say Britain or England. Those people reading this who are not themselves British or English might wonder why this is a problem but I cannot stress enough that the way you describe where you are from in this situation can really reveal a lot about you.

In Finland, very often, they celebrate Flag Days (liputuspäivät). A day of national importance such as the birth of the famous Finnish writer Aleksis Kivi or a particular day celebrating Finnish literature or (and perhaps especially) the day Finland gained independence all have their own day where government buildings and a large number of public places have the Finnish flag flying. Now in Finland this is normal and shows how proud people are to be Finnish and really celebrates Finnish culture.

Imagine the same scenario in England. The St. George's Cross flying on every government building. For me it sends a very different message. When I see the St. George's cross flying, I see racism. I see discrimination. I see oppression. I see hatred. Why is this?

Because of the UK's status as a country made up of countries, there has almost always been some form of infighting between them. Even if not infighting there has certainly been stereotypes and prejudices flying about ("There was an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman..."). What this means is that those that choose to pick out their individual flag (the Welsh dragon, the Scottish saltire or the St. George's cross) and fly their own colors are separating themselves as distinct from the UK. Now when I see the Scottish or Welsh flag flying I don't get the same tightness in my stomach, the same rising stress levels, the same fears that the English flag conjures up. This is because Wales, England and Scotland's (relating to what another of Darvishpour's lectures I saw this week was about) power relations are not equal even if they are supposed to be in practice.

I think this became quite apparent during this year's Scottish referendum. At times it did seem that Scotland weren't saying they wanted independence from Britain, what they were asking for was independence from England as it feels that England calls all the shots.

So when the Scottish or Welsh flag is waved I feel like it is more focussed around keeping an identity alive within a mixed group of countries. Each group of people have their own identities and it's good that people still feel strongly about who they are. So why is it so wrong for English people to start waving their flag around?

To understand this you have to look at how the St. George's cross has been used. Go watch the film This is England. Go on, I'll wait here. When you come back you'll get what I'm talking about. You don't have time to watch it? Ok fine.

This is England follows the story of a young kid called Shaun growing up in England in 1983. He makes friends with a group of skinheads who take him under their wing. Everything is going great until an old friend of their's comes out of prison and quickly reveals himself as a hardcore racist, member of the National Front and actively violent against what he thinks of as "the foreign invaders". Things quickly spiral out of control. What is shown again and again in the film is the use of the St. George's cross in negative connotations. It is used to represent the angry, racist, white working class; it is used as a banner to proclaim the superiority of white Englishmen. They quickly come to refer to themselves as warriors "fighting in the streets to take back their country". It finally ends with Shaun renouncing everything he had come to stood for. How was this rejection of racist, discriminatory beliefs symbolized? He throws his English flag into the sea.

Almost every right-wing or racist party or group that has existed in England has used the St. Georges cross in some shape or form. Racist skin heads during the 80s and 90s, the National Front, the English Defense League (EDL) and others. It is now tainted in my eyes.

Does the Union Jack have the same connotations? For me, not exactly. The Union Jack is used on national holidays and celebrations (particularly events to do with the Royal Family) and it does in essence represent the uniting of all the differing groups within the UK but that hasn't stopped it being used against those coming from outside the UK.

The British National Party (BNP) have the Union Jack on everything. If it's possible to put a flag on it they put one right on it. It's used to represent the superiority of Britain at the expense of all others. "Britannia rules the waves". So how has their racism not sullied the Union Jack? Well it has but not nearly to the extent that English flag has been sullied. The St. George's cross has come to represent everything I don't like about England in particular. Discrimination, hatred, imperialism and a superiority complex that could outshine the Sun.

So how do I see myself? Am I English? Am I British? I have a partial right to declare myself Scottish. Should I say I'm Scottish or just 1/8th Scottish?

Technically I can say all of them. I'm a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Britain, England, The Midlands, Worcestershire, Worcester. I think if you still live in the UK this description is a bit over the top. No-one really cares that much but I feel outside of the UK I have a duty to be accurate because a lot of people don't understand the distinctions and the implied meanings they have. If I say British it seems most people assume I mean English (and that I live in London) which I feel marginalizes Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (if you want to know why I have only mentioned Northern Ireland once in this post, look up "The Troubles". Yeah I'm not even going to try and talk about being English in regards to Ireland. Sorry but I just don't feel qualified).

For myself if I say "English" and say it in such a way that I sound too proud I start feeling weird and uncomfortable because being strongly proud of being English is so weighted down in meaning for me and for pretty much everyone in the UK. Which is sad. It's sad that I can't proudly wave an English flag in the same way a Finn can wave the Finnish flag. That's not to say that the Finnish flag hasn't been misused in it's time but in my understanding it hasn't been misused to quite the same extent. I think also the fact that Finland had to fight to be independent has in some ways allowed them to be proud of being who they are. England has throughout history been the oppressor. Other countries have independence days from us!

So how do I answer "who are you and where are you from?"

Hi, I'm Joe and I live in Helsinki.

Herbivore Joe

As you may, or may not, have heard this last October I have been participating in LIHATON LOKAKUU! (For the non-Finnish speakers that means Meatless October. It doesn't sound as catchy in English...). This post is all about it. Enjoy!

(By the way don't you think Herbivore Joe should be the name of a new cartoon series about a wise-cracking dinosaur that gets up to all sorts of prehistoric mischief? I do.)

I was told about this meat-free month (saying it like that sounds a lot catchier) and I thought "That sounds like a great idea!" The main reason I thought it would be a great idea is that since I've come to Finland I've been eating meat pretty much every day. Well, actually yeah EVERY day. At least twice, every day. Three times a day. I've been eating a lot of meat. Now as I am interested in health (What with the whole NURSE thing going on...) I am very aware that too much meat means that you go to sleep in a hole in the ground forever a lot sooner than you should, it did help however that I saw a documentary (hosted by the ever entertaining Michael Mosley) that really spelled out the dangers of a diet high in meat, particularly processed meat like the delicious ham and salami I was having on my sandwich for breakfast. Every day. To save space (and save you lovely readers some time) I'll condense down what the documentary said:

If you like polyps on your colon and heart attacks, tuck into those sausages!

Now I'm not a fan of colon cancer (personally never had it but the reviews are terrible) so I thought I should probably cut back a bit and what better way to ease myself into this than to entirely cut out all forms of meat in one fell swoop? Now at this point I feel I should make a "Going cold turkey" joke but I only eat turkey at Christmas so the joke doesn't really seem valid...

The other reason that that joke doesn't seem valid is that this past month hasn't been like going cold turkey at all. It's frankly been a piece of vegetarian cake. The biggest change to my diet is that I've been eating a lot more cottage cheese than I used to, mostly because I didn't eat cottage cheese until this month. Really that's it. At restaurants I'm perhaps slightly slower at ordering due to the fact it can take a while to find the vegetarian dishes on a menu stocked entirely with meat. Apart from that basically no change.

The question I know everyone is asking is "Have you missed meat?"
No. At no point have I really truly craved any meat. It just hasn't happened and why should it? Whenever anyone talks about not eating as much meat or becoming vegetarian people turn around and say stuff like

"Oh no I couldn't do it, I love sausages too much!"

My answer to that would be: "No you don't." Meat is not an addictive substance and to suggest it is is just silly. Being vegetarian isn't like coming off crack. It's like not eating animals.

I'm sure you are all thinking now "Here comes the announcement that Joe is now a card-carrying veggie" but in a shocking twist I am not going to make this Lihaton Lokakuu permanent!

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!

Why? Well for a the same reason I'm not eating LOTS of meat, for my health.

There are lots of vegetarians that will say that it's perfectly possible to eat a diet that fulfills all the body's needs without eating meat but frankly that takes a lot of organisation. You have to be absolutely sure that you are getting enough protein, vitamins and particularly iron and quite frankly I cannot be bothered to work that out. Choosing between organising my diet around eating the right amount of beans and pulses and just having a steak, the steak will win every time.

Now you are all looking very confused and think this lack of meat has driven me insane but I'm not crazy yet. What this month has shown me is that I do not need to eat meat at every meal. I don't need to eat it every day. I don't actually have to eat it every single week.

The description of the Michael Mosley program above was perhaps a little too condensed. What the program really was saying is that eating too much processed meat will increase your chances of developing various cancers and other health problems. It never actually stated that vegetarianism is the way to go. What it did suggest though is limiting the amount of meat you eat and ensuring the meat you DO eat is of a good quality and has not been heavily processed.

To condense the expanded condensed summary of the program: Lots of sausages and ham = bad. Steaks and good quality cuts of meat = ok if not excessive.

So that is how I am planning to live my life. Eating the occasional steak will ensure my body is getting enough of the vital nutrients I need (most notably iron) and not eating ham every day will reduce my risk of cancer. Everybody wins. Except the animals...

Just when you thought I was wrapping up...

The other main reason I decided to do this Lihaton Lokakuu is because of ethics. We've all seen the videos of animals being horrifically treated and kept in horrible conditions and as soon as we've posted a comment about how terrible and cruel it all is we go to the kitchen and start making a bacon buttie. I admit I have done this too multiple times. It's very easy to forget that what we are eating is a dead animal when it doesn't have a cute little face staring back at you, but is animal welfare really a valid reason not to eat animals?

Personally I think it can be. It depends very much what is considered animal welfare. Some people might say the killing of an animal for consumption is ethically wrong but personally I don't believe this to be the case. Humans are designed to eat meat. Not just meat of course but our physiology is built in such a way that it can take in and process meat for energy, as stated above it can be very hard to find alternatives that fill the gaps that a vegetarian diet creates. We don't have canines and incisors for nothing. Now so far it's not possible to eat meat without killing an animal. So far. Scientists have managed to grow a steak from animal stem cells so it won't be too long until entirely bloodless meat will be a reality but it is still currently in the future so for now animals will still have to die if you insist on that bacon buttie.

Right now it's possible to buy meat that is grown and slaughtered ethically so in some ways as long as you are careful and informed in what you buy it's possible (in my opinion) to eat meat ethically.

I can't wait for lab-grown meat because not only will it side step the ethical issues (at least animal welfare ones) it will also remove the other downside of industrialized meat eating. The environmental impact. A vast amount of methane is produced getting a calf from womb to plate and the amount of space needed is simply incredible. By reducing the amount of meat I'm eating I can reduce my contribution to a global problem. Pretty neat. Especially as it's so easy.

Of course there is an alternative source of protein that uses very little space, and has a minimal effect on the environment... The meat that dare not be spoken of. In cultures around the world it's been eaten for thousands of years. In desperate situations people have been forced to it...

No not humans, insects. Insects are a great source of protein and can literally be grown at home. Before you say "Eeeeewww!" Please remember that people have and still do eat insects around the world and to say you won't eat an insect but are perfectly happy to stuff your face with mashed up pig-bits in intestine is a position that in my opinion is a tad untenable.

Take the humble Dubia cockroach. Blaptica dubia to give it it's fancy name. They are a species of cockroach from Central and South America. They grow 4-4.5 cm's long and are absolutely full of protein with very little hard exoskeleton which makes them a perfect feeder insect for reptiles, carnivorous insects and... humans? In my opinion why not. They can be grown in a plastic container you can get from a supermarket for a fiver. They can't climb out of said container or fly out. They require a temperature of between 25 and 30 degrees to breed so if they do escape they won't infest your house. All they need is some fruit and veg and some time. If the conditions are right they reproduce like rabbits and you can go from 50 to 1000 in no time at all.

So this perfect, ethical, low environmental impact, quick to breed food source is being ignored. Why? Everyone (well most people in the West) are too squeamish. Which is silly.

If I was allowed I would have boxes of cockroaches all over the place as well as boxes of mealworms, grubs and crickets. Sadly I can't... yet. As soon as I can I'll be frying them up in a tasty stir fry before you can say "EEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!".

Fight insect prejudice! Save the world! Make a tasty meal! Breed cockroaches!

Oh yeah and lay off the ham.

(Who here guessed this post would start of with "I didn't eat meat for a month!" and end with "Devour cockroaches!"? Anyone?)