Teen Banned from US

[Raithe]

You're making the mistake that "european" is based on genetics... if you're going to say that you just need that mix of danish, irish, german, dutch etc. background to be "european" then wouldn' that make a whole bunch of people in america "europeans"?

 

Nah, European is a cultural thing, not strictly a geographic & genetics thing. And for a whole bunch of reasons, the UK has never quite walked to the same tune as Europe proper.

Maybe it's an island thing....

[Gromnir]

You're making the mistake that "european" is based on genetics... if you're going to say that you just need that mix of danish, irish, german, dutch etc. background to be "european" then wouldn' that make a whole bunch of people in america "europeans"?

 

Nah, European is a cultural thing, not strictly a geographic & genetics thing. And for a whole bunch of reasons, the UK has never quite walked to the same tune as Europe proper.

Maybe it's an island thing....

 

no mistake. am fully aware that european and english is cultural rather than genetic.

 

so what? 'course maybe you is talking to somebody else.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Monte Carlo]

'European' has become a pejorative term simply because of the EU. Which is unpopular, unless you are a French farmer.

 

I am proud to have so many splendid European countries as neighbours, friends and allies. It's just that my country has followed an utterly different historic trajectory than them and is different. The core issue, in case you were wondering (and as a lawyer might be of interest to Gromnir) is that they have vestiges of the Napoleonic Code in their legal and political systems and we don't. This makes us less very different, and is why EU law, predicated on European systems that share so much commonality across the continent, is tough a tough fit with the UK.

[Raithe]

'European' has become a pejorative term simply because of the EU. Which is unpopular, unless you are a French farmer.

 

I am proud to have so many splendid European countries as neighbours, friends and allies. It's just that my country has followed an utterly different historic trajectory than them and is different. The core issue, in case you were wondering (and as a lawyer might be of interest to Gromnir) is that they have vestiges of the Napoleonic Code in their legal and political systems and we don't. This makes us less very different, and is why EU law, predicated on European systems that share so much commonality across the continent, is tough a tough fit with the UK.

 

Yes.. to consider one point.. the French have always gone on about their higher safety standards (according to the law) for vehicles, but they don't actually enforce them as much.. while the UK has lower standards but rigerously enforces them.

 

Note a few years back when we gave spot MOT's to French truckers as they crossed over, and they were all failing them miserably.. One of the those wonderful "political" byplays with the EU and the French truckers wanting to go on strike...

 

Oh, and unpopular unless you're a French farmer or a Belgian bureaucrat..

Edited September 26, 2010 by Raithe

[Nepenthe]

Oh, and unpopular unless you're a French farmer or a Belgian bureaucrat..

 

Or somebody who has to travel on an airplane...

 

Oh, wait, nobody ever mentions the good stuff...

[Walsingham]

Yeeees... the airplane thing. Anyone else notice how the EU enforces regulations on how it is illegal to offer national discounts, yet somehow fails to enforce with the Sicilian carrier?