[LottiFurmann]

Leon, sorry I cross posted that Pipes Article in another thread before I saw it here. My Bad.

[Beerinkol]

perish the thought that English-ness ever be imposed on the charming ethnic people of Brittain and their interesting customs and funny hats. Since the thread's been bumped anyway...
There has been a bit of a move away from this recently. They've looked at introducing English-ness lessons (not exactly what they called them) and exams for new immigrants. I can't remember how far they've got but they had some fairly positive pilots and last I recall they were looking at a wider rollout.

[softy54534]

I doubt that happens in practice to anyone. Maybe, maybe not. I suspect it does happen but I can't prove it. What reason have you got to think it doesn't?
You were saying that civil liberty groups would stop it but they clearly haven't because it officially happens.

[Paul Bunyan]

The UK today goes to extreme lengths to micromanage the populace to the extent that everyone should be forced to exist in their own virtual ethnic, linguistic and cultural enclaves. The flip side of the nanny state is that while momma England knows and does best, everyone should be forced to never assimilate in any meaningful way because perish the thought that English-ness ever be imposed on the charming ethnic people of Brittain and their interesting customs and funny hats. And instead of making a large culture that 'respects' the values of others all it doed is breed contempt among everyone for everything else.

This is the great difference between the UK and the US. Here we work, for the most part to make everyone 'American' within a wide latitude of what that means to each, but none the less, American in some identifiable way. We don't generally like or support or appreciate isolationist or seperatist movements. Some would even call them here, hate groups. We allow people to cherish their hyphenation but only to a limited extent and only in personal ways. We don't have Greek holidays in school or Tibetan festivals except as voluntary affairs meant to include the outside communities.

I read that about Bolivia, groups that call themselves falangist or fascist are making noises against all 'foreigners' aka anyone who's not an indigenous native, Mayan I guess. Bolivia for the Mayans is their call and Simon Bolivar was not a patriot but a white invader no better than the Spaniards he kicked out. OK, that's a wonderful mythology.

[Beerinkol]

Since the thread's been bumped anyway...
There has been a bit of a move away from this recently. They've looked at introducing English-ness lessons (not exactly what they called them) and exams for new immigrants. I can't remember how far they've got but they had some fairly positive pilots and last I recall they were looking at a wider rollout.

That was just an idea and will stay exactly that - just an idea, as civil liberty groups will whine and complain that immigrants are being hassled into becoming more British when they don't want to be. Many of them just want to sponge off our welfare state, free healthcare and asylum laws and that's as far as it goes.

As the population gets older, fewer and fewer people will remember what being British is all about anyway. Tony Blair has ruined this country almost beyond recognition.