Wayne’s Word – identity

It’s a little nod to Wayne’s World, but instead of ‘party time, excellent’ (if you are aware of the cult nineties classic) I will be diving into one WORD each day. It could be something I learned, something bizarre that happened, a favourite word that I have rediscovered or just a thought that won’t leave me alone.

If you’re joining in on today’s word, feel free to use this tag to connect your post to the series: #WaynesWord

Today’s word is IDENTITY

Something strange happened to me today. A stranger asked me what part of Ireland I am from as they had heard my accent. I said I was from the North. They looked at me strangely, so I said I’m from Belfast. The response was shocking. “Eww” they said. I looked blankly with confusion. “Eww you’re British”. I was honestly speechless and just walked away.

Now being from Northern Ireland, I know it’s tricky as we can be British and Irish yet neither the Irish or British believe this (some, not all). We’re born on the island of Ireland but the North is governed by Britain. Some people will identify as Irish and some British. I don’t particularly mind being either but the older I become, I find myself identifying more as Irish. I don’t find it insulting to be called either but the fact that they made a sound and facial expression like they were disgusted, truly surprised me, especially from a young Australian person. I felt attacked for no reason.

Speaking from experience, many Irish people don’t consider us Irish enough to be Irish and many Brits don’t even know we’re part of Britain. Therefore, we really struggle at times with our identity, or at least I do on occasions. Does anyone else have issues with their identity or experienced something similar?

I know being Irish or British doesn’t define me as a whole and to be honest, I’m happy to be included in both. I also primarily consider myself to be a proud Northern Irish man, yet that is just one aspect of me. Identity also includes qualities, beliefs, personality, and expressions that make a person, not just where you are from. What are your thoughts? Do you have similar issues with where you’re from? I am intrigued to hear other views.

Wayne

24 thoughts on “Wayne’s Word – identity”

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  1. How rude of that person to react the way they did, Wayne.

    I must admit that I dislike it when people ask which part of England I am from. ‘I’m not from any part of England, I tell them, ‘I’m from Wales.’ I recall one person asking me which part of Scotland was Wales? I guess it’s all about the lack of geography in some people’ education, but why many people refer to the British Isles as England always gets me spitting feathers.

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    1. Thanks Hugh. That’s so true. I have a Welsh friend and he agrees, he finds it annoying to always be called British, he will say he’s Welsh. I don’t really mind but the tone was unsavoury.

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      1. I have no problem saying or told I’m British, Wayne. It’s when people refer to me as English or being from England. Whenever I get asked, I tend to say British over Welsh, but never English.

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      2. 100% Hugh, that can be infuriating. I had a patient once call me Pom or Pommie to wind me up – it means English immigrant in Australia and NZ!!! Not very nice to say the least.

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  2. Excellent post, although it’s disappointing that someone could be rude to you, Wayne. I looked up the definition of identity: ‘Identity refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups. It also refers to our sense of how others may perceive and label us.’ You’ve inspired to write a blog post about this topic!

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  3. Wow, that was a rude way to respond to you. It’s probably quite complicated but if you identify more as Irish then that’s really up to you. I don’t think others define you or even what part of Ireland you’re from. It’s more about what you feel. That’s just my opinion though.

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  4. What a strange response from a stranger, but I find your sentiments interesting. My dad’s family comes from Belfast and I never thought of them being British, although I (kind of) know the political history. Interesting to be caught between and within two worlds. Maggie

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    1. Thanks for sharing Maggie! That’s so interesting that you never thought of them as British. Many from Northern Ireland would think the same but yes very strange that this stranger assumed I would be British. I actually was born as British due to being under British rule and I’m ok with that, it was just because the reaction was so sickening. I love that your family derive from Belfast!!! 😊😊

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  6. Their response says nothing about you, but a lot about them. Such a strange way to treat a stranger.

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  7. When I was in the States, everyone thought I was Australian!
    But yeah, I always thought of Northern Ireland as a place of its own, neither British nor Irish. It can be handy, though, qualifying for both passports.

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    1. Oh wow that’s interesting Pete, seeing as you’re English I believe. I think many people see it as a place on its own and I like that too. It’s just easier living in Australia to say you’re from Ireland as many people don’t realise that’s it’s split into 2 countries so it just saves confusion. I love the fact that we can have 2 passports so it’s not all bad 😊

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      1. Yeah I’m from Liverpool originally so not so far from you. A lot of Liverpool has its roots in the Great Famine.
        I suppose… Brits can easily distinguish each others’ accents so it seems obvious the difference between ni and ie. But I guess most of the rest of the world would have trouble.

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      2. Yes especially a lot of Asian people understandably can’t tell the difference. Love the scouse accent! I can even tell in NI where you are from as we have such different accents for such a small country.

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      3. I must admit I did my best to lose my accent soon as I got out! Scouse accents weren’t very good for business and I’m a soft southerner now 🤣. I can tell North and South (of Ireland) easily enough, but that’s about as far as it goes. I’ve got roots in Tipp so have spent time there

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