Strengthening Sunderland's Identity

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I like Sunderland me. Can have a decent night out, hardlys any bother, easily accessible and not far from the beach. There's far worse towns/cities of similar size/stature around.
 


MrOompapa said:
So in the last thread I asked people to provide some icons of Sunderland and life in it, things which gives the area meaning and symbolism to them. There were a few jokes as to be expected, (as well as Dave the Rave getting mentioned more times than any other thing!).

icons of Sunderland and local life

But I wanted this to lead into something bigger. It's easy to be downtrodden about Sunderland as a city, and as a football club, but the mentality of things needs to change. Rather than talking down the place at every opportunity, we should take pride in it and strengthen our personal connections to it. We should seek to be optimistic about Sunderland, to generate an atmosphere of positivity which can drive things forward.

To do that, as the thread above shows, we need to build up our local identity. We need to think more about "who we are" as people from Sunderland, what this "place means to us" and "what it should be".

For example, for me this is what Sunderland "means". Despite the things people say about the area and its imperfections, it is part of who I am. Sunderland is not just a city, it is a heritage and a way of life. We are ultimately an egalitarian city, we value humility, equality and a spirit of community. We embrace a proud industrial past whereby we were once the "largest shipbuilding town in the world", a hub of coal mining and glass making too. Although this was taken away from us in unjust circumstances (no politics intended), it is a part of us. Past generations of my family were shipwrights and miners, whom came from other places in the 19th century to seek work in an industrializing Britain (Scotland, Ireland and vast corners of the world for some). The football club is an extension of that heritage and identity. As woeful as things are, I cannot detach myself from SAFC not now or never.

My mind contrasts the humility and spirit of Sunderland (as well as the North East a whole) with the perceived snobbishness of Southern England and wealthier areas, or the community spirit with the busy, metropolitan and impersonal scenes of London. That is not making any negative statements about London, it is merely a personal reflection on how Sunderland is different.

Whilst everyone's "identity" is ultimately subjective, we really do need to come together as a city and start being passionate about this place, having the confidence to promote ourselves. If you look up the road you can see how the identity of "Geordieness" has propelled Newcastle on the national and international stage. We need something similar, becoming more confident about local history, heritage culture, community, dialect and so on. The pessimistic culture which shadows our city needs to end, we need to start reflecting about who we are again.
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You forgot to mention the history of all Rope Making of all types Websters at the Ropery, Sail making and the making of Large Marquees at Speeding's all arising from the wide diversity of industry on Wearside.
 
Jimmer13 said:
You forgot to mention the history of all Rope Making of all types Websters at the Ropery, Sail making and the making of Large Marquees at Speeding's all arising from the wide diversity of industry on Wearside.
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What about our rich call centre history or our disproportionate low skilled but highly paid public sector jobs? Perhaps a national car manufacturing visitors centre? Nobody give a fuck about what people did for graft in days gone by. Not enough to revitalise an economy anyway.
 
Mackem00 said:
I like Sunderland me. Can have a decent night out, hardlys any bother, easily accessible and not far from the beach. There's far worse towns/cities of similar size/stature around.
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There is far worse cities with no where near the potential we have as a coastal city. There is far better ones that don't have that luxury either. You can go anywhere and have a decent night out and I see the same amount of trouble as I would anywhere else in the country.

I think you as a person seems similar to me, someone that doesn't give a fuck about surroundings as long as your life is fine. That is ok for me, but to others there is no denying we are a shabby looking city.
 
It's really hard to create any interest in anything in this town because the people are used to being fobbed off with half-arsed shit - that's the problem that really needs addressing.
 
double maxim said:
What about our rich call centre history or our disproportionate low skilled but highly paid public sector jobs? Perhaps a national car manufacturing visitors centre? Nobody give a fuck about what people did for graft in days gone by. Not enough to revitalise an economy anyway.
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Low skilled high paid public sector workers. :lol:

Macho said:
There is far worse cities with no where near the potential we have as a coastal city. There is far better ones that don't have that luxury either. You can go anywhere and have a decent night out and I see the same amount of trouble as I would anywhere else in the country.

I think you as a person seems similar to me, someone that doesn't give a fuck about surroundings as long as your life is fine. That is ok for me, but to others there is no denying we are a shabby looking city.
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I cant argue that parts of it are grim mind.
 
double maxim said:
There needs to be an economic impetus for change as land values are so low no developer will invest when they can get better returns elsewhere.

I think the op is barking up completely the wrong tree in trying to create some kind of sunderland cultural identity as it just smacks of a small town springfield/shelbyville mentality.

We have all heard the stories from dads and grandads that we were all considered geordies until not so long ago and people would go to see whoever was at home that week etc.

We would have more to gain from embracing our proper role and identity as part of the north east rather than trying to fashion a sense of individual identity that i don't really think exists.
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I think he was just saying that Sunderland should be more confident about itself.
 
knitting away said:
Well the people who live there should be more confident and proud about where they are from, I think is what the point of the post was
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I think it is like Michael Jackson's song "Heal The World". It sounds cool but is utterly meaningless. Or "Feed the world".

MrOompapa said:
People can be proud of a country, so why can't they be proud of a city?
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Because people have different attitudes , prejudices and ambitions. Outside of North Korea you can't get them to work as one. Many people say the royal family make them proud to be British , I would abolish the royal family.
52% of those who voted in the referendum voted Leave , 48% voted Remain.
People aren't robots.
 
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PinzaC55 said:
I think it is like Michael Jackson's song "Heal The World". It sounds cool but is utterly meaningless. Or "Feed the world".



Because people have different attitudes , prejudices and ambitions. Outside of North Korea you can't get them to work as one. Many people say the royal family make them proud to be British , I would abolish the royal family.
52% of those who voted in the referendum voted Leave , 48% voted Remain.
People aren't robots.
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That doesn't mean you can't be proud of something, even if that something is subjectively different to each person.

For example, are you trying to suggest the remain voters are not proud of Britain? Just because what Britain means to them is different to that of leave, does not mean they are not proud of it.

It's not so simplistic or black and white.
 
MrOompapa said:
That doesn't mean you can't be proud of something, even if that something is subjectively different to each person.

For example, are you trying to suggest the remain voters are not proud of Britain? Just because what Britain means to them is different to that of leave, does not mean they are not proud of it.

It's not so simplistic or black and white.
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Of course not. My point is that you have two diametrically opposed points of view neither of which is wrong or right. So , given your thread on icons of Sunderland, what is the one present day thing which you think will unite all Mackems in pride for their city ?
 
Personally I think Sunderland is loosing its identity decade on decade .

SAFC havnt helped either mind

Mackem00 said:
I like Sunderland me. Can have a decent night out, hardlys any bother, easily accessible and not far from the beach. There's far worse towns/cities of similar size/stature around.
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Cracking place to live mate I agree .However we have lost something imo since the industrial decline and even more recently the Metro arrived and took people out of Sunderland .
 
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Jarra Dicka said:
Ill bet you are also a bundle of hoots at parties
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You bet your last pound I am. History is what made the Town....it's people, their life, their struggles.

Some of the most inventive and intelligent tradesmen and tradewomen around. You are assisting to make history if you live and work in Sunderland now. Not sure "how's the song go" It's all in the name.

Then it was a Town made famous, by their actions and workforces. Ask not what your City can do for you, but what you can do for your City. So your turn to stand at the ochre........and take your throw for history or not.

The O/P is attemoting to raise the awareness, good on him. It may be the wrong direction it may be right direction in hindsight, but at least he is getting off his arse to make a positive change.

He deserves some credit for that.
 
Jimmer13 said:
You bet your last pound I am. History is what made the Town....it's people, their life, their struggles.

Some of the most inventive and intelligent tradesmen and tradewomen around. You are assisting to make history if you live and work in Sunderland now. Not sure "how's the song go" It's all in the name.

Then it was a Town made famous, by their actions and workforces. Ask not what your City can do for you, but what you can do for your City. So your turn to stand at the ochre........and take your throw for history or not.

The O/P is attemoting to raise the awareness, good on him. It may be the wrong direction it may be right direction in hindsight, but at least he is getting off his arse to make a positive change.

He deserves some credit for that.
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Posting on an internet forum isn't the same thing as getting off your arse.
I have asked him 35 minutes ago "So , given your thread on icons of Sunderland, what is the one present day thing which you think will unite all Mackems in pride for their city ?" The answer should have been obvious whatever it is, but it seems a long time coming. Sunderland has a fantastic history but nobody under 35 can actually remember seeing a shipyard in use on the Wear so their heart is hardly going to bust out of their chest when you talk about the history of shipbuilding.
 
PinzaC55 said:
Posting on an internet forum isn't the same thing as getting off your arse.
I have asked him 35 minutes ago "So , given your thread on icons of Sunderland, what is the one present day thing which you think will unite all Mackems in pride for their city ?" The answer should have been obvious whatever it is, but it seems a long time coming. Sunderland has a fantastic history but nobody under 35 can actually remember seeing a shipyard in use on the Wear so their heart is hardly going to bust out of their chest when you talk about the history of shipbuilding.
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The obvious things are the skills of the workforce in the area. The pride of the people and the willingness to get off their arses and re-utilise old skills in new areas.

People are the City and pride is a two way flow. History should have an impact it keeps going in the right direction and allows us to make choices.

History is written by the winners so is written from a different perspective. But you can read between lines.

There are a wide diversity of skills and attributes in Mackems we breed true. That is somethong to be proud of and embrace and take forward.
 

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