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1/7 Agree with much of this. Just wish Zoe had made it clear that she is talking about ethnic nationalism - a toxic mixture of white grievance, middle class resentment and male insecurity. There are other ways of manifesting our sense of who we are. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/15/english-nationalism-champion-no-10?fbclid=IwAR3wbdvgOYLOtuhRHVPeN4o3eqpMILAlVYNBvIBQsci_dgYYA_yr5njy5ys
2/7 Take Marcus Rashford. Ethnic nationalists have no place for him in their concept of English identity. Yet his sense of civic duty coupled with the fact that he wears an England shirt make him a fine example of a civic nationalism based on inclusivity and equal rights for all.
3/7 I'm sure he doesn't think of what he is doing as a manifestation of civic nationalism, but for those of us whose love of our country is based on values rather than symbols, on behaviour rather than nostalgia, Marcus is someone who, by living up to those values, makes us proud
4/7 The distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism is crucial if we want the English identity to be open to everyone who lives in England, an identity based on where you are, rather than where your parents or grandparents were from.
5/7 To shy away from recognising this distinction because we are uncomfortable with any expression of nationalism is to leave it to the ethnic nationalists to define who does and does not belong in our society.
6/7 As Zoe points out, there are plenty among the right wing middle class media who wish to portray the ethnic nationalists as the authentic voice of the English people. It doesn't help when the leader of the Labour Party appears sympathetic to that trope.
7/7 Those of us who want to live in a diverse society need to challenge that stereotype by embracing the idea of a civic English identity based on shared space and values, rather than the narrow belligerence of blood and soil.
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