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Foreigners skewed perceptions of the UK

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Original post by gman_123


Our universities are slipping down the world ranks, our state school system is in an absolute mess; god forbid any poor child who has to attend school in any of the major UK cities.



Isn't that most of the country's children then?
Reply 21
Original post by gman_123
What I find most interesting about people's perceptions of the UK is this:

Our European neighbors, continental Europe are so used to the British behaving poorly abroad. The Spanish Costa's attract the worst of the worst type of Brit; either the youngsters who go there every summer and wreak havoc in previously sleepy Spanish towns, vomit everywhere and take up all the ambulance and police time.

Over there, wearing clothing with the union jack is synonymous with cheap tacky behavior

On the flip side, in places like Cuba, the Indian subcontinent (India & Pakistan) etc; they have a high regard for England. They mostly associate England with London. It's the place to be, the place of opportunity where they regard the streets as paved with gold (literally). One Pakistani friend of mine who moved from Islamabad told me when he came over to East London for the first time, he rang all of his jealous friends who were incredibly eager to know how London was. When he told them that it actually wasn't as great as they thought they told him they "did not believe him and that he was trying to steal their dreams from them".

Cue that with the actual state of London; extreme social issues and segregated communities (not that you can blame the expats as British people create ghettos where they go abroad, it's human nature to be drawn to those who are similar to you so why would you want to live among a culture that is alien to you) there is high crime rate, some areas in London resemble the third world. Every Friday night in the central areas the British who are so elusive during the day are pissing and vomiting in the streets.

It's a wreck, sure you have your nice parts but these are fewer inbetween than the scummy areas. And its the same in every British city.

Even in Spain, there are some immensely poor areas. But the communities have a sense of pride and the streets are clean, people are friendly, violence relatively low and the buildings relatively attractive.


generally the Europeans have seen us as rivals. Britain used to be known as a place with morals and manners but that was a long time ago

Original post by gman_123
Why is the UK in such a state of urban decay?


We have been wasting money on the EU and public sector waste

Original post by gman_123
Then the Americans, who have this romantic view picturing Chelsea and picturesque villages, only to come over to London and realise it's grey suburbia sprawling many miles out filled with Islamic extremists who the state openly allow free reign.

Free reign to post stickers of "sharia zones enforced here" in the poorer areas of London. The only areas that students, most migrants expats can afford. Yet the government is to afraid to do anything because they prefer to be politically correct. What a stupid sad weak state of affairs.

What is happening? This is unheard of in other countries. Every time I go abroad it seems they are further advancing and the UK is regressing.


I agree multiculturalism has somewhat failed, we should have used a British culture approach like Australia does to help social cohesion.

The Oldham riots are another example of a failing of multiculturalism

Original post by gman_123
And sure you still have your trouble free areas, your nice traditional pretty areas (Wales & Scotland on the whole) but in England with urban decay, mass migration which the state cannot support as all their services from housing to the NHS are vastly overwhelmed.


Are you serious, have you seen the rough parts of Glasgow or South Wales?

Oxfordshire and most of the home counties are far from urban decay ?!

The NHS does need urgent reform

Original post by gman_123
And it will continue to get worse. The state's policy seems to be one which is intentionally destroying Britain; mass unsustainable immigration, green policies which don't have any net benefit, enforcing EU policy which our continental neighbors disregard which has a detrimental effect, the massive social welfare system which is exploited (and it could be reformed to be made far more efficient, people who are of working ability should be made to plough fields or clean up the streets in exchange for their handouts)


You have a point here- immigration should be controlled by London, not Brussels.

We should leave the EU

the Green lobby have been undermining the UK economy for years.


I agree with you about benefits (http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2290229)

Original post by gman_123
Our universities are slipping down the world ranks, our state school system is in an absolute mess; god forbid any poor child who has to attend school in any of the major UK cities.*


That's why we need a reform of government finances- spend less on welfare and more on education

Original post by gman_123
We consider ourselves a first world country, but we are beginning to look more and more third world.


This was somewhat true up to the Thatcher years!

Though we are in relative decline now :frown:


Original post by gman_123
What are your opinions on the above? Thanks for reading :smile:


Some of it is reasonable and some seems like you just dislike the UK , as it you were denied a visa or something lool!
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 22
You exaggerate about there being 'free reign' to shariah law and 'extremism' and you wonder why people have a bad opinion of the UK, when attitudes like yours openly make such sweeping generalisations.

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some over-exaggerated views but its true to say modern urban britain is a **** hole.

all of britain's major cities are **** holes.
I never used to really be patriotic. Then I went to America. I'm very excited to come home.
OP I totally get you. Although I don't blame immigration. The problems here are just a cultural byproduct of rampant capitalism. It has caused individualism and in turn the crumbling of communal ideologies that you rightly say are still so apparent in other countries. I've been to India and Spain and you're totally correct. Their view of the uk is childishly utopian. The reality is hilariously different. I met Asians from the Indias and the Orient and they were all shocked when I described everyday British life. There was no mention of the queen, Davis Beckham, Mr.bean, big ben, Buckingham palace, or any other standard uk icon. We're just another country, with a culture of over-inflated senses of entitlement because everyone still lives in the shadow of the now-dead British empire and the romantic ideals of WW2 glory. It's not awful here, but we're led to believe life can only be good if we get rich, which is impossible for everyone to achieve so instead most of us feel miserable and don't understand why life isn't happening how they said it would when we were in school. It's all money money money here, community is wayyyyy at the back of the priority list, and that's the problem.

Sorry text chunk. I'm writing on my phone so too lazy to edit.

Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 10 years ago)
13 years of Labour folks.

All I have to say.

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