Why are Gibraltarians so easily offended?

One thing that has puzzled me ever since I realized ‘gibbo’ was not the equivalent to ‘kiwi’ or ‘aussi’ is why Gibraltarians are so overly defensive and patriotic about Gib, why they seem to take anything regarding Gibraltar personally.

Even writing this is making me think “oooh hope they don’t get upset”…

If one were to complain lets say about the UK, making a comment like - there are no decent restaurants in the UK, the food is just awful! I doubt that many British citizens would feel personally hurt and offended. However substitute UK for Gib and the response you are likely to get from your fellow Gibraltarian is ‘why don’t you go to Spain then if you think Gib is so bad!’ One does not quite expect Gordon Ramsay to say, well why don’t you just go and eat in France then if it is so terrible in the UK!

Now I have nothing against patriotism (except perhaps for the American Christian fundamentalist one) but there is a line between patriotism and taking criticism against your country personally. Why should I not be able to say the food is shit, that there is no shopping and wonder why the only famous person coming out of Gib is John Galliano (yes, I do know that John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married here but that doesn’t quite count) without being accused of saying hurtful things about Gibraltarians?

One could say that by knowing that Gibraltarians get hurt by complaining or criticising about Gib one should not do so out of concern for them. But any politically minded person would of course not abide to such a silly claim, because there is a different between being hurt and being offended and being critical against a country does not constitute being hurtful to an individual.

I do understand the defensive approach Gibraltarians have against anything anti-Gib to some extent. I understand that the victimisation felt by Gibraltarians explain a lot about their defensive approach and how they feel about the rock. Although (and I realise I am treading on thin ice now and might be deported for saying so) it is time to get over the fact that the border was closed for 20 years and stop using it as an excuse in every matter.

Also the fact that the Gibraltarians complain and criticize the rock just as much as any other foreigner makes it hard for them to explain why anyone else living here should not be allowed to.

Please do fill me in on why Gibraltarians are so easily offended, my conclusion is it’s a bit like family, you can have a go at them but it’s not OK for your mate to slag off your mum.