The inflection point is in 1994. After that, UK dominates. Coincidentally or not, this marks the beginning of arch-globalist treason specialist Tony Blair's rise to the head of the Labour party. It's after this point that the trickle of immigration becomes a flood, and that neoliberal FIRE economics begins to cannibalize the first world economy.
Everywhere globalism takes root, it begins to sterilize the local culture. Soulless abstract art, public spaces shorn of adornment, renaming of streets and districts to take on anonymous identifiers that communicate nothing about the personality of the area. Muted eggshell white off-beige color schemes that appeal strongly to none and so can be made minimally acceptable to all. The destruction of both high culture and street culture in favor of corporate pop culture. Sanitization of language. Everywhere the annihilation of the particular in favor of the generic.
The result is a drab, boring planet that leaves the soul as barren as the senses. For all their many crimes, this may be their worst spiritual offense. May Le Corbusier and all his acolytes be drowned forever in Tartarus for what they have inflicted upon us.
I've sometimes mused, in passing, on the dislike I have for the bland expression 'The UK', which in common and official parlance has largely replaced the older names. You've summarised my feelings perfectly and elegantly. Another cracker, Morgoth.
It's not much, but whenever I'm filling in any sort of form these days and it asks where I live and what's my nationality I always respond with "England" or "English" for this very reason. Even "Britain" or "British" feels too vague, like a designation rather than an identity.
"Fee, Fi, Foe, Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman!" sang the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, which I used to read as a child. I'd be amazed if that line hasn't been dissolved by now, or the story itself consigned to the wrong-think dustbin.
Another great, thought-provoking article Morgoth! Thanks as always for your insights.
Of course the names of things matter (in general) and the names of places matter in particular. Fascinating article in that you've pointed out not just the different names people use to refer to your country but who prefers which designation. If names didn't matter then conquerors wouldn't have been renaming cities since the Bronze Age. In today's sped up, hyper-informed culture you can see it happen nearly in real time. Consider the monumental psy op of the Ukranian war: once the country was called "the Ukraine", now we are told sternly that it is simply "Ukraine." Once the capital was pronounced "Kee-Ehv", now it is "Keev". It might not be a huge difference but it means something and this insistence by our ruling class that we all talk alike and think alike is loathsome to me.
Its also not insignificant the 'UK' is an acronym, which is a motif of technocracy, managerialism and the non-organic (the Soviet Union was probably the most enthusiastic about the use of acronyms and technical shorthands e.g. NVKD, Gu-LAG, PolitBureau etc. noted by Orwell 'MiniTrue' etc). The persistence of genuinely ancient organic offices of England like Lord Chamberlain, Lord Chancellor, Privy Seal must be anathema to the technocrats.
My grandparents and great-grandparents watched Kenneth Clarke’s Civilisation series. They were poor, working class people forced to leave school at age 14 to go to work in mills or shipyards, with the occasional break when they were forced to go and fight in World Wars against other poor, working class people. They never used the term ‘U’kay’. Although I miss them, I am glad they are not alive to see what this collection of countries has become. As you rightly say Morgoth, Drag Queen ice-skating shows fill the prime time tv slots once held by their beloved shows like Civilisation, Man Alive and Whicker’s World. Just about says it all really.
"The U-Kay is a vampiric entity that gnaws on the marrow of the substructure of the British Isles, which it parasitized and terraformed."
This is particularly well said.
Words matter, meaning matters. That's why social engineers abuse linguistics, and the English language in general, if you can change the meaning of a word, you change perceptions of reality.
Ah Morgoth, I was beginning to think I was the only person to notice and get annoyed about 'U Kay.' I'm constantly wanting to correct people like some aged overbearing great aunt!
Very interesting article. In a certain central European country there is a somewhat similar situation in that there exists an acronym for the official name of the political entity. And yet in that country, ostentatious and unnecessarily repeated use of that acronym (rather than the full name) is frowned upon (it was even explicitly criticized by a cabinet minister) because, as I assume, the acronym reminds people that it refers to a construct that reeks of artficiality rather than an organic concept. Perhaps if the people of the UK (ahem) were made to recognize this difference in meaning and use it in a way that criticizes the concept of the "U-Kay", rather than affirming it, the term could be put to good use by dissidents in a kind of linguistic judo move?
This is something I've thought about, too, though I'd make an additional description for British. When speaking casually to Americans, I say I'm from North England. They point to and ask about "Bridish" things or "Bridain", all of which refer to South England, and have almost no relation at all to North England, Scotland, or Wales. It's also telling that, when people are surveyed about what they call themselves, city dwellers and the South will describes themselves as British, whereas everywhere else describes themselves as from their respective nations.
Now, I just call Southerners "Bridish", and use British when referring to all the nations on the island of Britain, as opposed to continental Europe, for example.
I'll leave this one paywalled as a treat to my lovelies here, I might make a video essay of it in the coming days.
Strangely enough whenever identifying myself on forms etc I always select “other” and class myself as “White - English”
Fantastic, awful article Morgoth. It made me gay.
You're absolutely onto something here. Check out the ngram for Britain vs. UK:
https://t.me/postcardsfrombarsoom/1446
The inflection point is in 1994. After that, UK dominates. Coincidentally or not, this marks the beginning of arch-globalist treason specialist Tony Blair's rise to the head of the Labour party. It's after this point that the trickle of immigration becomes a flood, and that neoliberal FIRE economics begins to cannibalize the first world economy.
Everywhere globalism takes root, it begins to sterilize the local culture. Soulless abstract art, public spaces shorn of adornment, renaming of streets and districts to take on anonymous identifiers that communicate nothing about the personality of the area. Muted eggshell white off-beige color schemes that appeal strongly to none and so can be made minimally acceptable to all. The destruction of both high culture and street culture in favor of corporate pop culture. Sanitization of language. Everywhere the annihilation of the particular in favor of the generic.
The result is a drab, boring planet that leaves the soul as barren as the senses. For all their many crimes, this may be their worst spiritual offense. May Le Corbusier and all his acolytes be drowned forever in Tartarus for what they have inflicted upon us.
I've sometimes mused, in passing, on the dislike I have for the bland expression 'The UK', which in common and official parlance has largely replaced the older names. You've summarised my feelings perfectly and elegantly. Another cracker, Morgoth.
Here in the states we see this in a different medium. I see more pride flags than American flags now.
It's not much, but whenever I'm filling in any sort of form these days and it asks where I live and what's my nationality I always respond with "England" or "English" for this very reason. Even "Britain" or "British" feels too vague, like a designation rather than an identity.
"Fee, Fi, Foe, Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman!" sang the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, which I used to read as a child. I'd be amazed if that line hasn't been dissolved by now, or the story itself consigned to the wrong-think dustbin.
Another great, thought-provoking article Morgoth! Thanks as always for your insights.
Britain: Has Northern accents.
U Kay: Can't understand Northern accents.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64980687
Of course the names of things matter (in general) and the names of places matter in particular. Fascinating article in that you've pointed out not just the different names people use to refer to your country but who prefers which designation. If names didn't matter then conquerors wouldn't have been renaming cities since the Bronze Age. In today's sped up, hyper-informed culture you can see it happen nearly in real time. Consider the monumental psy op of the Ukranian war: once the country was called "the Ukraine", now we are told sternly that it is simply "Ukraine." Once the capital was pronounced "Kee-Ehv", now it is "Keev". It might not be a huge difference but it means something and this insistence by our ruling class that we all talk alike and think alike is loathsome to me.
Its also not insignificant the 'UK' is an acronym, which is a motif of technocracy, managerialism and the non-organic (the Soviet Union was probably the most enthusiastic about the use of acronyms and technical shorthands e.g. NVKD, Gu-LAG, PolitBureau etc. noted by Orwell 'MiniTrue' etc). The persistence of genuinely ancient organic offices of England like Lord Chamberlain, Lord Chancellor, Privy Seal must be anathema to the technocrats.
My grandparents and great-grandparents watched Kenneth Clarke’s Civilisation series. They were poor, working class people forced to leave school at age 14 to go to work in mills or shipyards, with the occasional break when they were forced to go and fight in World Wars against other poor, working class people. They never used the term ‘U’kay’. Although I miss them, I am glad they are not alive to see what this collection of countries has become. As you rightly say Morgoth, Drag Queen ice-skating shows fill the prime time tv slots once held by their beloved shows like Civilisation, Man Alive and Whicker’s World. Just about says it all really.
Peter Hitchens made a similar observation btw: https://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/.m/2010/01/living-in-the-ukay.html?p=1
"The U-Kay is a vampiric entity that gnaws on the marrow of the substructure of the British Isles, which it parasitized and terraformed."
This is particularly well said.
Words matter, meaning matters. That's why social engineers abuse linguistics, and the English language in general, if you can change the meaning of a word, you change perceptions of reality.
Ah Morgoth, I was beginning to think I was the only person to notice and get annoyed about 'U Kay.' I'm constantly wanting to correct people like some aged overbearing great aunt!
Very interesting article. In a certain central European country there is a somewhat similar situation in that there exists an acronym for the official name of the political entity. And yet in that country, ostentatious and unnecessarily repeated use of that acronym (rather than the full name) is frowned upon (it was even explicitly criticized by a cabinet minister) because, as I assume, the acronym reminds people that it refers to a construct that reeks of artficiality rather than an organic concept. Perhaps if the people of the UK (ahem) were made to recognize this difference in meaning and use it in a way that criticizes the concept of the "U-Kay", rather than affirming it, the term could be put to good use by dissidents in a kind of linguistic judo move?
This is something I've thought about, too, though I'd make an additional description for British. When speaking casually to Americans, I say I'm from North England. They point to and ask about "Bridish" things or "Bridain", all of which refer to South England, and have almost no relation at all to North England, Scotland, or Wales. It's also telling that, when people are surveyed about what they call themselves, city dwellers and the South will describes themselves as British, whereas everywhere else describes themselves as from their respective nations.
Now, I just call Southerners "Bridish", and use British when referring to all the nations on the island of Britain, as opposed to continental Europe, for example.