If I had £1 for every time someone told me to “get over” some aspect of Welsh history, I’d be so prodigiously wealthy and yet still not over it. 

Below are those moments when Welsh Histories Facebook page got people reaching out for the “complaint” button.

#1.

If promoting Welsh history makes me “nationalist” and he didn’t like that, then why was he following me to begin with? 

I spend my days being accused of being both a “Welsh nationalist” *and* a “Welsh traitor”. It’s all a bit silly.

What others have to say:

Someone replied: “What’s chips got to do with it ?? ”

Another said, “As an American who has witnessed the destruction wrought by Nationalist political rhetoric and appeals to peoples patriotism to hate others, I’m particularly sensitive to that sort of combative and accusatory swill. 

Loving ones culture and history is not nationalism. I’ve never seen anything on this page that called people to hate others or that promotes Cymru culture as elite or somehow more worthy of adoration than others. Simply desiring to be seen is not a negative thing. 

It speaks far more of this person’s own issues with how he sees the world and Cymru in particular, than it does of anything untoward from you.”

Third one said, “7 years ago after years of nagging from my brother ( who was born & lives in Wales, I wasn’t) we made the move here. I set out to find out as much as possible about the history & the past because of course we were never taught anything. There are times when I reel with shock & shame looking at what was done & still do when ignorance like this is shown. I love my adopted country & this page has really helped educate me. You’ll always have the haters who are jealous of the Welsh pride.”

Fourth said, “There are some Welsh people who have been brainwashed (if they actually did some reading they would not be brainwashed) to deny anything good about our country, language, history and culture.”

#2.

If you are someone with a disdain for our country, our culture and our language, then this isn’t the page for you. Most of these people are grown men in their 40s and 50s who should really know better and, frankly, they are only embarrassing themselves. 

What others have to say:

”I’m English and have been learning Welsh since lockdown as a project. I’m fascinated by the culture and language of my near neighbour and of shared history.”

”If this guy took time to read up on our history in Cymru, he’d see that it was the elite that tried to suppress and kill off our language. It’s the language of our forefathers, spoken in working class communities not in elitist circles. They were threatened by it so they tried to eradicate it, like bullies still do to this day when they don’t understand/agree with something. Cymru am byth ”

”I’m 70. I’m Scots, I married a girl from Monmouth, I’ve visited Wales numerous times, and I’m always genuinely sad to leave. Welshness is magnificent.”

”This is pure ignorance. I’m of the camp that Welsh should be taught in ALL British schools. It’s part of our national heritage. The people of central Britain only speak English because that’s what the conquerors spoke.”

#3.

You will be astonished that, months later, I am still told to be inclusive of Anglo Saxon history by a small number of commenters. I don’t get it 

What others have to say:

”I was so disappointed when I went to math class, and not once did we cover anything about chemistry.”

”Yeah you don’t cover WW2 or nuclear physics either, I mean, what gives?”

”I always ask those folk what the history of the River Avon is, and then tell them what it is in Welsh ”

#4.

I do, for some reason, get the occasional abusive drunk message on here. Why? I am not sure. I do think it is hilarious, though.

What others have to say:

”Someone needs to learn their native tongue, before they come after our beautiful language and culture”

”Someone’s been at the cooking sherry again !! His mum will be annoyed and take his wi-fi privileges away !!”

”If you read this as a butt dial with voice-to-text on, it becomes much funnier.”

”I’d be more concerned he was suffering from some kind of head injury.”

”He(?) didn’t ask you to do Anglo Saxon historyl? The Germans usually do.”

#5.

I received this message following the post about the Welsh Not, though it appears as though it came as a result of he being unhappy with my use of “Cymru” instead of “Wales”. 

Literally no Welsh person is deriding the English language – we all speak it! In fact, my posts are 99% in English, with the exception of Welsh place names. English is the most widely spoken language on earth and is under threat from no one and certainly not from a Welsh history page which posts in, wait for it, English!

If you come to this page, titled Welsh Histories, and have an issue with the use of very minimal Welsh, then take a step back and think what that makes you.

What others have to say:

”When you’re English and see other English people playing the victim as an excuse to continue to attack the Welsh language.”

”I’m English. I was born and brought up on the Welsh border. I’m good at languages and always wondered why I’d been blind to Welsh growing up. So now I’m retired, dw i’n dysgu cymraeg. 

And because I am, my sister is too, so we’re sharing words with delight. How did we not know ‘sglodion’ when we were kids?”

”How hard would it be for school children across the UK to learn a few simple terms and elements of the all the indigenous languages of Britain and Ireland?

Would it not increase mutual respect if they began to use Cymraeg instead of “Welsh”? It can be done.

Look at how the terms Lapp and Lappish have been largely discarded as rude. Let’s face the fact that the term welsh is not native and has a history as a perjorative verb in English.

I was invited to join the page because I “liked” one of its posts, however I hesitate because of its name. I’m welshing on welsh!

Let’s normalize Cymry, Cymru and Cymraeg whether we have a word of the language or not. It would in my opinion, be a good first step. Diolch an fawr for listening.”

#6.

I do love being told to “move on”. 

I like to imagine that science based pages get similar comments, only with “move backwards”. 

What others have to say:

”Funny how people that talk about ‘moving on’ are generally referring to the periods of history that they have most reason to be uncomfortable with.”

”Being told to “move on” by someone who’s fixated by the 1966 World Cup is hilarious.”

”Does she know it was the Celts who were ‘super’ invaded by the others? My ma used to say, the English is a Heinz variety! They come from Rome, Germany, Sweden, etc.. Whereas the Celts are Celts, as for Rome and Spain.”

#7.

How on earth does someone read my content and assume this? 

I fully understand anyone who comes here and assumes that I am a Welsh nationalist because I quite admittedly do give off that impression, whether true or not. But this?

What others have to say:

”I honestly dislike nationalists I don’t care what flag they serve.

All nationalists like to carve out the world into little pieces then they center the world around themselves and believe that they are more special and deserving than those who live in a different slice of the world instead of seeing the world for the highly interconnected whole that it is.”

””Wales” is Cymru. If the world can respect Côte d’Ivorie and Türkiye they should respect Cymru.”

”If it wasn’t Anglicized, as an American, I would be lost. It feels like the entire world is Anglicized. 

On the flip side, I grew up thinking my father’s family came from Wales and England. It wasn’t until I was in my 40’s that i learned my last name was Cornish, not Cymru. And the close similarities Cornish has with Cymru. 

IMHO, Cornish culture has been completely Anglicized to the degree,in comparison, I would never consider Cymru or this group as Anglicized. 

I hope this makes sense.”

#8.

If I had £1 for every time someone told me to “get over” some aspect of Welsh history, I’d be so prodigiously wealthy and yet still not over it. 

What others have to say:

“The whole point of a history page is to enlighten people about these historical facts. The people who don’t want to know can either scroll on by or unfollow.

I find these things very interesting. As a non-Welsh American, all I ever learned about Wales in school was that it was a small country next to England, and that many of the towns around Philadelphia have names that are of Welsh origin (I grew up just outside the city).

Because I was interested in learning about it, I read books about Welsh history, and have visited (not nearly enough!) several times. It is one of my favorite places to go. I’m a self-published author, and several of my books are set in Wales.”

”I would “love” for some of these “get over it” people to try and say that to the African American citizens here in the US or our Native Americans.”

#9.

I get around 4-5 of these types of messages per day for some reason. 

Replies from myself will always be in Cymraeg. Occasionally in Hindi.

What others have to say:

”As an Englishman from Manchester, I have always been fascinated by all of British history. Despite our geographical differences, I believe Welsh history is incredibly important to British history, especially here in the North West. The influence of the Welsh language and culture has significantly shaped our region, and I find it enriching to learn about the contributions of Wales to our shared heritage.

I don’t understand the haters. What was done, was done by those in charge, mainly the Normans and Plantagenets. Similar things happened to us, like the Harrying of the North. It’s important to remember and learn from history rather than harbour resentment. 

I love the page.

Diolch yn fawr!”

”If they “live rent free in your head”; why is this person the one going through the effort of contacting you (whilst you mind your own business, doing your own thing); to tell you this?

Sounds like psychological projection to me.”

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THERE’S MORE:

Welsh History Memes That Will Change How You View the Past

Welsh History Memes That Will Have You Asking, ‘Where Have These Been All My Life?’

Welsh Problems that Every Welsh Person Could Relate To

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Welsh Histories is a Welsh history celebrating platform which looks to promote all aspects of Welsh history. Though we focus predominantly on native Welsh history, we do also share the non-native aspects from time to time. You can follow us on Facebook; Instagram or Twitter for more. A reader? We also have our very own Welsh Histories Shop where we sell our Welsh Histories  Magazine.  Diolch yn fawr iawn and keep enjoying Welsh Histories

Sally George

Sally is a proud wife of a Welshman, editor & writer of Welsh Histories. She’s all about stories—that shout ‘anything Welsh.’ Drop her an email if you have an advice, insight, experience, or a story to share.