Cultivated Loathing

A FEW years ago, having observed the forced expressions on the faces of the English football fans as a new generation did their best to look angry and struggled to understand why it is necessary to despise their German cousins to such an extraordinary degree, I was reminded of a scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian in which the hero of the film is selling food to a group of revolutionary spectators at the Colosseum.

BRIAN: Can I... join your group?

REG: No. Piss off.

BRIAN: I didn't want to sell this stuff. It's only a job. I hate the Romans as much as anybody.

JUDITH: Are you sure?

BRIAN: Oh, dead sure. I hate the Romans already.

REG: Listen. If you wanted to join the People's Front of Judea, you'd have to really hate the Romans.

BRIAN: I do!

REG: Oh, yeah? How much?

BRIAN: A lot!

REG: Right. You're in.