Although really it would be better if :england-cool: just didn't exist.

  • Awoo [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I think it will be incredibly difficult to get the Midlands to have any identity of their own. They're the most reactionary area of the country in my experience and they really have no link to any identity at all.

    The north and south on the other hand are much more distinct entities, with Londoners having built a separate identity of their own.

    • eduardog3000 [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      lol I mainly based it on the existence of some "Mercian Independence" twitter account in the vain of, but nowhere near as real as, the NIP, which is already barely a thing itself.

      I didn't want to split off London as long as England is still a thing. But yeah if England balkanized entirely London would probably be its own thing.

        • Awoo [she/her]
          ·
          2 years ago

          The rest of the UK already acts as if London is a different thing to the rest of the UK so this is probably viable.

      • Awoo [she/her]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Northumbrian identity has legs. It can't work in the short term but give it 20-30 years of activist work to build pride while agitating against the south and it'll get there. Mercian identity? Can't ever see it. It's the region most in need of an authoritative paternal relationship to a central power organising it to stop it from being reactionary and adrift. Everything in the midlands is a wasteland, and nobody cares because nobody identifies with the midlands as anything other than "nameless place I want to leave". Ever been to Coventry? Or all the various Birmingham overflow towns? Fucking awful, nobody wants to be there.

        The nicest places in it are probably Worcestor and Shrewsbury and both are full of posh twats.

        Maybe I'm wrong though, maybe these conditions make it a good target for pulling off some kind of "pride in our place let's make it better and not accept these conditions" campaign, but it'd be starting from scratch.

        • eduardog3000 [he/him]
          hexagon
          ·
          edit-2
          2 years ago

          Northumbrian identity has legs. It can’t work in the short term but give it 20-30 years of activist work to build pride while agitating against the south and it’ll get there.

          Oh yeah, NIP does seem like it could become something. But right now it's still not much.

          Mercian identity? Can’t ever see it.

          lol I called it a shitpost for a reason. It's literally based on the existence of a twitter account.

          • Awoo [she/her]
            ·
            edit-2
            2 years ago

            Yeah I'm not attacking. Just thought-streaming about it really. Some of these midlands towns are literally the poorest and most run down in the country but they voted Tory HARD in the last election and not just because of Brexit. They're really reactionary and both racism and "I don't like wokies" has been catching on. Racism has always been pretty bad here though, it was the worst place in the country for anti-Polish migrant racism.

    • eduardog3000 [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      looks up who that is

      Oh, the map maker I was using didn't include Mann for some reason.