Entries Tagged 'Nationality' ↓

I’ve commented before that I take a keen interest in advertising at least from the perspective of analysing it for which some are good and others are downright awful. Here’s an example of an awful advert at least in my opinion. It’s broadcast on German TV, not sure if it’s broadcast here as I watch next to no British TV these days.

When I first watched it I didn’t get it which is unusual for me as I’m usually quite hot at this sort of stuff but as I didn’t then that’s the first sign it’s a bad advert. If you want to sell someone something, it’s a good idea to explain it to them, unless of course you’re being deliberately vague and producing a meaningless advert that sometimes works as well.

Anyway, after a few attempts I got it. I already understood that it was trying to say that Renault cars are very safe but the imagery didn’t click. Eventually it did and I felt somewhat insulted but equally bemused at how this could possibly get by as an advertising strategy, at least outside of the confines of the French Republic.

If you don’t get it as I didn’t first time around here’s what it means. Sausage = German, Sushi = Japanese, cracker = who knows? Bread = French. There’s also a different version containing Pizza = Italian and Sandwich = presumably us lot in Britain and a hamburger = presumably the Yanks. So as all these bits of food hit the barrier and blow up or crumple to nothing, the sturdy bit of French bread has a bit of a dent but everything else is OK. So lets get this straight, Renault are saying that drive a German, British, Italian, American or Japanese car and it’s going to blow up the moment you hit something so drive a French one and you’ll be safe.

Now I could understand them broadcasting this in France, bit of the old national pride to build on, always good for loving up the local market, but to broadcast this in Germany and who knows where else and say that their countries cars are crap isn’t just insulting, it’s a truly awful way to try and sell a product.

The upshot of it is that the last car I’d wish to buy would be a Renault purely on the basis that they think I’m going to spend my money on their product while insulting my country. Admittedly we don’t really make that many cars in Britain any more, not British ones anyway but from Mrs Penguin’s perspective to insult German cars is a big no no. In all fairness we can’t stand Renault anyway but that’s purely down to what they do in Formula 1 but please do tell me which idiot thought it would be a good way to sell cars by insulting the people of countries that you’re trying to sell them to?

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I’ll admit I’m leading into a bit of a rant today, but no foul language I promise. My subject is the issue of car license plates and identity. Now before someone tries to be clever and post something about identity not being purely a question of geographic location, I’ll add that I’m fully aware of this and maybe that will be the topic of another post, but purely in terms of the this post I am considering primarily that facet of personal identity that is derived from a geographic context.
Just so that everyone is clear where I’m coming from, I thought I’d start of by giving you my concept of identity as I see myself. First and foremost I’m a member of the human race, yes, our species of homo-sapiens that have come to be the dominant species on our planet. Secondly I’m a European, being that I have spent every second of my life within the generally agreed area of what constitutes Europe. Thirdly I’m a Brit, an Englishman, a Midlander, a Wulfrunian and whatever term could be used to describe someone as coming from Willenhall. I am completely happy with my identity/identities as they are, I neither see one nor the other as being more or less important. I also see no reason to openly display affiliation to one or the other as a preference.
So now the gripe. A few years ago we started to intoduce number plates on new cars that have the GB emblem and a litle EU flag above it. However, it seems common that people stick little England flags over this part of the license plate, presumably as some form of expression of hatred for the European Union and to display their nationality as they see it.
Before I start to get comments about being an England basher and being unpatriotic I would add that I have no problems with the display of the England flag in many different contexts, be it hanging out of windows, across streets or even those little flagpole things that people put on their cars during football championships. I’ve also been known to hang the flag out during the European and World Cups myself.
However what I don’t agree with is the deliberate defacing of car number plates that are there for an official reason.
Now the legal requirements in the UK do not need to have the GB and Euro flag element on the number plate contrary to what rabid anti-European’s might like people to believe in this being a conspiracy to rob us poor Brits/English of our identity. However, from my point of view they just seem sensible and here’s the reason.
Should one want to drive on the continent, it is a requirement that the car must display the internationally recognised national identifier tag of ‘GB’. To not do this is an offence. So for all those people who stick England flags over their number plate, sorry, but you’re daft behaviour means that you’re going to have to fork out more money for another ‘GB’ sticker should you ever pop over to France on a beer and fag run. Doesn’t this just sound that bit illogical?
A final point. Having made clear that I personally am quite content with what I see as my own identity, lets take the English identity here as the example. Were I to own a car with a GB and EU flag number plate then I would feel no desire to whack an England sticker over the top as an assertion of my identity because I’m quite secure in how I see mine.
Which beggars the question, does the need to do such a think show a deepseated insecurity in those who need to outwardly show such a pointless assertion of their nationality? It truly is as pointless as the argument that suddenly we are less British if we have the Euro. I’m sorry for all those who think that their identity is defined by a few coins in their pocket, or a sticker on their number plate but I happen to think there’s a bit more to it than that.
Oh, and I am just waiting for the Sun headline about some dipstick pulled over by the French police for not showing a GB sticker after he’s plastered an England flag over his plate. It has to happen some day.

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I spotted this little gem today in the Guardian. Forget the main section of the article, it’s the bit about the Tories calling for a ’statement today from the home secretary, John Reid, on the safety of Russian citizens in the UK’.
Now this is presumably in response to the death of Alexander Litvinenko who as far as I can tell isn’t a Russian national, having successfully applied for British citizenship so perhaps there is some other reason for this call for a statement. Perhaps the Tories have turned over a new leaf and are truly concerned about the safety of immigrant groups in the UK. Or, they simply made a slip-up and showed that whether or not you’ve got a British passport then in their eyes you’ll always be a foreigner.
I was then drawn to exactly what was the point in asking for an official statement from the Home Secretary on this subject, and indeed, how exactly a comprehensive response could be formulated. Is there a special arm of the police that deals solely with the protection of Russian citizens, or indeed for every other nationality that resides in the country, fully kitted out with an army of translators, specialists and producing reams of data on how they are protecting foreign nationals in the UK? If this isn’t the case then surely it would seem the Tories think there should be as they seem so concerned over the issue.
This is of course the same party that not to long ago criticised the amount of money spent by Police Authorities to employ translators because of the number of immigrants living in the country, but of course that was just a cheap swipe at johnny foreigner and what a drain on society they are, the Tories are now the huggy feely party of British politics and have obviously changed.
Note: When I first penned this article, the following section was not in the Guardian article: ‘Although police are resisting calling their investigation a murder inquiry, senior MPs are openly using the term. The shadow defence secretary, Liam Fox, said it was unacceptable for any UK citizen to be murdered inside their own country, while the Foreign Office minister Kim Howells has reportedly spoken of a naturalised British citizen “murdered on British streets by foreign nationals”.’
Perhaps the Tories spotted their slip-up and had to do a bit backtracking. However the point remains, the Tories asked a silly question not designed to aid understanding or supply information but simply for the point of asking it.
Equally, if their intention was to ask specifically about the case involving Mr Litvinenko then they should come out and say it, not hide behind vague terms. It should be given the response that it deserves, simply, that our legal, judicial and law enforcement agencies are there to protect everyone within their jurisdiction and is not aimed at any one particular group in society and in individual cases as it would presume this is what they are really after, then the response should be; it’s a matter for the police to deal with and investigate, oh and how the hell am I supposed to know if the police and secret services don’t.

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