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What do you Brits have against Americans?

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Original post by Bloodrazor
Britain is jealous of a stupid country.

win-win?


No one's jealous of your stupid country.

Win.
Managed to convince a couple of Texan 12 year olds on Xbox Live last week; that I lived next door to the Tower of London and had met the Queen on no less than 6 occasions.
I'm sure much of it was done in jest. Especially as compared to typical American humour, British humour is much more sarcastic and self-depricating, so it's seems more natural to tease others as well.

Unfourtunetly some people are just ignorant *****, and you may have come into contact with some of them. Which is a shame.

And it's most likely not against American's themselves. Like, personally, I don't agree with a significant amount of foreign policits, just as I disagree with much of the UK's and other countries politics. If people allow this to colour their own perspectives of people them they are missing out...

And the language this is inhernetly British, sorry! People here are quite proud of their literary heritage and will be defensive about things like 'harbor' and 'harbour'. Again I'm sure it's not meant in a venemous way, but it's something quite ingrained in British culture. The accent shouldn't be a target though, American accents are lush! Many people are also targeted, whether their British or foriegn, for their accent as well. Britiain has a huge amount of reigional accents and dialects in relative to it's size, and it is a source of mocking for many people. I'm sure you will have also come across a lot of Scottish/Geordie/Scouse/Brummie jokes in your time here! If anyone says anthing hurtful just tell 'em, language evolves just like everything else so piss off!
Reply 123
Original post by AdvStudy
Does anyone else think that the Americans sound so monotone when they talk? Ahhhh my goodness.


There are dozens of different American accents that all sound different. That made no sense whatsoever.
Original post by Kdm4life
Because everything he said was true(idk about the accent thing lol).


Ok, fair enough. I could see it two ways so was just checking.
Reply 125
Original post by Ra Ra
No one's jealous of your stupid country.

Win.


Idk if it's specifically jealousy, but there is something going on. Just from reading this thread, I can see that there are a number of you who are extremely anti-america. And another thing is, I think British people talk down about Americans,(not necessarily to their face) much more than vice versa. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in America, besides people who come on this board or something similar, who is talking about anyone in the UK, or anything going on in the UK, in a positive or negative light, unless its Harry Potter or something big like the London riots. Im sure I would be able to easily find people in the UK talking trash about America though, as I saw when I was there. Im not saying its jealousy, but its a one-sided argument between the UK and a largely aloof America, who doesnt know about the argument, or just doesnt care altogether.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by kingkongjaffa
americans think they have culture.

the only culture many US Americans have is in their yoghurt ... :biggrin:

they don't have traditions either just bad habits .... :eek:
Original post by Kdm4life
Im American, and I've always been fascinated by other cultures, particularly the British culture. Naturally, I started doing research, and came across numerous(at least a dozen that i actually watched, but there were plenty more) Youtube videos of British people bashing Americans. At first, I thought these were isolated incidents, then I discovered this site, and also discovered that arguably the majority of the people on this site also seem to have some sort of deep seated hatred of Americans. I didnt let it perturb me however, and decided to Study Abroad in London at KCL. I got there in a joyous mood, but that mood was soon changed when I realised that me and my friends were automatically being categorized as fat, dumb, and unaware of world events, purely because we were American(We are the opposite of all three). We were also criticized for not understanding British slang and for "not speaking proper English".

Can someone please explain to me where this is coming from. I dont like to make generalizations, but all of the experiences that I have had with British people have involved them making fun of the US in some way, shape, or form. Is it jealousy? I personally dont see what there is to be jealous about, but I cant really think of any other reason. I know that you all are not like this, but why do British people take the worst possible stereotypes of Americans and push them on all of us?


Arrogance isn't attractive.
Original post by Kdm4life
There are dozens of different American accents that all sound different. That made no sense whatsoever.


Apologies for making the one and only generalisation in this thread. You have a sharp eye to pick up on my post.
Reply 129
Original post by Bloodrazor
@emcero: No, the person's puny brain was blasted hearing 2 different accents.

British people are soooo jealous of America.

Every country is.


ROFLMAO
Original post by Kdm4life
Im American, and I've always been fascinated by other cultures, particularly the British culture. Naturally, I started doing research, and came across numerous(at least a dozen that i actually watched, but there were plenty more) Youtube videos of British people bashing Americans. At first, I thought these were isolated incidents, then I discovered this site, and also discovered that arguably the majority of the people on this site also seem to have some sort of deep seated hatred of Americans. I didnt let it perturb me however, and decided to Study Abroad in London at KCL. I got there in a joyous mood, but that mood was soon changed when I realised that me and my friends were automatically being categorized as fat, dumb, and unaware of world events, purely because we were American(We are the opposite of all three). We were also criticized for not understanding British slang and for "not speaking proper English".

Can someone please explain to me where this is coming from. I dont like to make generalizations, but all of the experiences that I have had with British people have involved them making fun of the US in some way, shape, or form. Is it jealousy? I personally dont see what there is to be jealous about, but I cant really think of any other reason. I know that you all are not like this, but why do British people take the worst possible stereotypes of Americans and push them on all of us?


Hey I don't hate Americans. You'll realise that a hell of a lot of people on here admire American bands/singers/writers/actors/etc. I'm sure there's actually a small amount of people who hate Americans.
Original post by Kdm4life
Idk if it's specifically jealousy, but there is something going on. Just from reading this thread, I can see that there are a number of you who are extremely anti-america. And another thing is, I think British people talk down about Americans,(not necessarily to their face) much more than vice versa. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in America, besides people who come on this board or something similar, who is talking about anyone in the UK, or anything going on in the UK, in a positive or negative light, unless its Harry Potter or something big like the London riots. Im sure I would be able to easily find people in the UK talking trash about America though, as I saw when I was there. Im not saying its jealousy, but its a one-sided argument between the UK and a largely aloof America, who doesnt know about the argument, or just doesnt care altogether.


As someone else said, arrogance isn't attractive. I've never felt (I can't speak for anyone else here, but it's the general opinion I get off people) that the British are jealous of the Americans, but we do get rather irritated at the level of arrogance that some - not all - of the American population have in regards to their country. I mean, I've lost count of the number of comments I've seen that go something like 'The US has the best healthcare system in the world' (I believe a Justice from the Supreme Court came out with something like that when discussing the healthcare reforms), or that the US is more important than any country.

There's also this strange belief that we're riveted to our screens when anything about America comes on the news. This is partly true actually, if only to laugh about it. We've elected some nutters in our time, but the Republican candidates in particular hold some interest to us because they're so damn crazy. A lot of us - and again, I'm not speaking for everyone here - find it unbelievable that in the 21st century people like Santorum or Palin can spout out some unbelievably backwards bull**** and people elect them to high positions of power. And because we're supposedly some kind of ally of yours, we get slightly worried about it, because that means our government will inevitably back everything the US will do. So you see, it's not jealousy, it's merely a mixture of fear and hilarity.

I can't speak about your experiences over here, but the vast majority of us couldn't care less if you're American, and won't try to lord over you as soon as we hear your accent. However, if you're an American who's arrogant and largely indifferent about other cultures other than your own, then you're in for a rough ride. I've seen the same attitude from Spanish locals towards British tourists once in Granada: British tourists who didn't bother learning the language, were loud, rude and indifferent, and who were generally just annoying little pricks.

Of course, you could have just come across some stuck-up prats, in which case I apologise. We're not all like that.
Reply 132
Original post by Ra Ra
As someone else said, arrogance isn't attractive. I've never felt (I can't speak for anyone else here, but it's the general opinion I get off people) that the British are jealous of the Americans, but we do get rather irritated at the level of arrogance that some - not all - of the American population have in regards to their country. I mean, I've lost count of the number of comments I've seen that go something like 'The US has the best healthcare system in the world' (I believe a Justice from the Supreme Court came out with something like that when discussing the healthcare reforms), or that the US is more important than any country.

There's also this strange belief that we're riveted to our screens when anything about America comes on the news. This is partly true actually, if only to laugh about it. We've elected some nutters in our time, but the Republican candidates in particular hold some interest to us because they're so damn crazy. A lot of us - and again, I'm not speaking for everyone here - find it unbelievable that in the 21st century people like Santorum or Palin can spout out some unbelievably backwards bull**** and people elect them to high positions of power. And because we're supposedly some kind of ally of yours, we get slightly worried about it, because that means our government will inevitably back everything the US will do. So you see, it's not jealousy, it's merely a mixture of fear and hilarity.

I can't speak about your experiences over here, but the vast majority of us couldn't care less if you're American, and won't try to lord over you as soon as we hear your accent. However, if you're an American who's arrogant and largely indifferent about other cultures other than your own, then you're in for a rough ride. I've seen the same attitude from Spanish locals towards British tourists once in Granada: British tourists who didn't bother learning the language, were loud, rude and indifferent, and who were generally just annoying little pricks.

Of course, you could have just come across some stuck-up prats, in which case I apologise. We're not all like that.


Lol trust me, it's unbelievable to me too.
Original post by Kdm4life
Whats wrong with that? I personally dont believe it, but why cant someone have national pride and believe their country is the best? I know there are plenty of people in the UK, and other countries around the world who believe their country is the best country in the world, whether it actually is or not.

Nothing wrong with patriotism, in moderation. However, arrogance/excessive pride and the inability to see flaws in your own country are undesirable traits. I'm proud of the UK but we definitely have flaws and most of us can accept that.

Original post by Bloodrazor
I think the British accent is the most annoying thing I've heard in my life. And there are people mocking the American one.

And someone said British humour is regarded as the best in the world....

That was the only funny joke I've seen

Ignorance, pure and simple.

I'm not an expert on accents but according to some sources we have more accents in the UK than the US and only a fifth of the population.

Original post by Kdm4life
Idk if it's specifically jealousy, but there is something going on. Just from reading this thread, I can see that there are a number of you who are extremely anti-america. And another thing is, I think British people talk down about Americans,(not necessarily to their face) much more than vice versa. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in America, besides people who come on this board or something similar, who is talking about anyone in the UK, or anything going on in the UK, in a positive or negative light, unless its Harry Potter or something big like the London riots. Im sure I would be able to easily find people in the UK talking trash about America though, as I saw when I was there. Im not saying its jealousy, but its a one-sided argument between the UK and a largely aloof America, who doesnt know about the argument, or just doesnt care altogether.

Being against things associated with America and being against individual Americans or Americans before you get to know them are two completely different things. I agree with a lot of the things said in this thread however I'm always keen to meet Americans.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone in America, besides people who come on this board or something similar, who is talking about anyone in the UK...
All that suggests to me is that Americans are more insular than British people.

Trashing America[ns]? :facepalm2: Please clear this up? Because I get the sense you still haven't understood British attitudes or humour.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Kdm4life
Idk if it's specifically jealousy, but there is something going on. Just from reading this thread, I can see that there are a number of you who are extremely anti-america. And another thing is, I think British people talk down about Americans,(not necessarily to their face) much more than vice versa. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in America, besides people who come on this board or something similar, who is talking about anyone in the UK, or anything going on in the UK, in a positive or negative light, unless its Harry Potter or something big like the London riots. Im sure I would be able to easily find people in the UK talking trash about America though, as I saw when I was there. Im not saying its jealousy, but its a one-sided argument between the UK and a largely aloof America, who doesnt know about the argument, or just doesnt care altogether.


that's because the UK politics doesn't have such an influence on the world compared to american politics ( and tbh americans probably dont talk about or care about any other country, which is probably part of the problem). saying that i think americans do get far too much bashing, although most of it is in jest.
Reply 135
Purely banter.
Reply 136
Oh - I can't think of a SINGLE reason why. *sarcasm*

*cough* 1,200,000 Iraq civilian deaths as a result of the war
Tuskegee syphilis experiment
Nagasaki
Hiroshima
No Gun Ri Massacre
My Lai Massacre (There are 320 alleged US War crimes during the Vietnam war - excluding Lai Massacre)
Agent Orange
500 civilian deaths as a result of the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia
Project 4.1
Project MKULTRA
Unit 731 - might be Japanese but the Americans granted the commander immunity so he never really faced any jail time.
The Phoenix Program
During WW2 United States military personnel mutilated dead Japanese service personnel.
Abu Ghraib
Drones strikes in Pakistan
Guantanamo Bay
The Unfair US-UK Extradition Treaty

You know despite all this I can not even conceive why the rest of the world views America in such a negative light.
Reply 137
Original post by RadiantA
Oh - I can't think of a SINGLE reason why. *sarcasm*

*cough* 1,200,000 Iraq civilian deaths as a result of the war
Tuskegee syphilis experiment
Nagasaki
Hiroshima
No Gun Ri Massacre
My Lai Massacre (There are 320 alleged US War crimes during the Vietnam war - excluding Lai Massacre)
Agent Orange
500 civilian deaths as a result of the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia
Project 4.1
Project MKULTRA
Unit 731 - might be Japanese but the Americans granted the commander immunity so he never really faced any jail time.
The Phoenix Program
During WW2 United States military personnel mutilated dead Japanese service personnel.
Abu Ghraib
Drones strikes in Pakistan
Guantanamo Bay
The Unfair US-UK Extradition Treaty

You know despite all this I can not even conceive why the rest of the world views America in such a negative light.


All of these things were done by the government, not the people. Im being criticised because of things that my government did, even though I wasnt alive for most of it, and i dislike most of it probably more than you do. I personally had absolutely nothing to do with any of his, and i (and quite frankly anybody I know)didnt even elect the officials who authorized these events.
Most British people don't hate America - they're just tired of our Government acting like everything America does is the best thing since fried bread. I'd rather they spent time fixing up our country' problems. Personally, I've always been fascinated by Americans I've met over here, and vice versa. You get racist morons everywhere - but the majority of stuff the British say about Americans is just our banter and sarcastic sense of humour. Unless of course, we meet an American who acts arrogant and rude to our face - but that's the same as anyone, regardless of nationality. Rudeness isn't tolerated.
(edited 11 years ago)
America is the saviour.

If Britain doesn't submit to us, we'll run them down, blitzkrieg style :smile:

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