US citizens view of the British

In my opinion

any country that gave birth

to the genius that is

MONTY PYTHON

is a-ok in my book.

reply to post by LightFantastic
I would have thought that most ATS members were above this divide and conquer nonsense. All people who live in America are not the same, and neither are all people in the UK.

Wouldn't it be better to say that intelligent people are aware that most people are not intelligent, regardless of their ethnicity.
Or better still, wouldn't it be worth discussing the differences between city folk, who are generally far removed from nature, and country folk, who are generally in touch with nature.

well I asked 4 customers today...
3 where Americans - well they are our closesets friends
1 was from Northern South America - they ok,

4 thinks they are harmless adversaries..
but I know better, I have researched their schemes and my gosh,
these people enjoy the mental challenge of manipulation through
various deceptions. London is the center of Finance, Hong Kong was the center of Finance in Asia, Singapore is a powerhouse.... these
are all British, so they control Money or the european method of slavery.
by contolling capital you can control commerce, controlling commerce sets the level of control desired ... so Starvation Slavery is their style and always has been. why room and board your slaves, you can generate money if you control housing - food - fuel... you can profit on what once was an expense. and a life of tax bearing payments from what was once a single transaction of the sale of the slave.

reply to post by Anti-Evil


Hong Kong and Singapore have nothing to do with the British any more.

Sadly, if you have ever been to the United States of Israel, sorry, America, the media there usually only mentions stuff happening outside the US if it involves US citizens, troops, corporations, etc..

Of all the OECD nations the US has almost the lowest level of citizens with passports.

Hence you have a nation with a large number of badly informed citizens.

To highlight this, some time back I contacted a Vietnam Veterans Group seeking information. I was staggered to discover the respondent, himself a veteran, had no idea that 50,000 Australian servicemen and women served in Vietnam.

Another example, in 1977 I was in Klamath Falls, Oregon, waiting for an Amtrak train to SF. With time to kill I went to the local supermarket to get some rations. The young lady, hearing my accent, asked where I was from. When I said Australia, she asked, and I quote, "Where's that?"

Believe it or not, some Americans still think we have kangaroos running down the main street in Sydney!!! Yes Sydney. Not as many as there used to be, however, .......

Oh yes, I should say I am an expatriate Englishman who came to Oz back in 1949.

I used to love visiting the States, but not now. My emails to the White House, etc., would probably see me nabbed at the airport.

Mind you, Britain is becoming as much of a police state as the US is, thanks to Bush, Blair and other War Criminals Inc..

Put me in the stupid American category.

My opinion; the beer is good, hotel rooms are closets, the food is awful, it's a Muslim country run by Sharia law, the British still stubbornly occupy Ireland for no good reason, everyone drives on the wrong side, the electrical engineers failed school (Lucas electronics), none of the cars made there are reliable, and they lost two wars against the US (War of Independence and War of 1812), it's a police surveillance state, the US saved the UK in WW-II, there seem not to be orthodontists or gyms in the UK, the socialist labour party runs the government, the country is broke and going for it's second economic meltdown, the country has a history of empire-building and occupation, and the beer is good.

An you gave us Elvis and they gave the world the Beatles!

Originally posted by Dbriefed
Put me in the stupid American category.

My opinion; the beer is good, hotel rooms are closets, the food is awful, it's a Muslim country run by Sharia law, the British still stubbornly occupy Ireland for no good reason, everyone drives on the wrong side, the electrical engineers failed school (Lucas electronics), none of the cars made there are reliable, and they lost two wars against the US (War of Independence and War of 1812), it's a police surveillance state, the US saved the UK in WW-II, there seem not to be orthodontists or gyms in the UK, the socialist labour party runs the government, the country is broke and going for it's second economic meltdown, the country has a history of empire-building and occupation, and the beer is good.

Just remember what a tiny little country we are, a samll Island in the atlantic that has been punching above it's weight for centuaries.
what is the International language for example? Our music is world renowned our Football league the most watched in the world.

You may like to think you saved us in ww2 but you were nowhere to be seen in Britains most important hour as the RAF took on the might of the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, we were preparing to fight them on the beaches, being trained in Guerilla tactics, to stop a German invaision. So dont expect too much thanks for turning up in the nick of time, after you realised your own country was at war after Pearl Harbour.

Anyway , enough nationalism from me, I don't even drink beer, I prefer a nice red wine, which we dont do here in England

Originally posted by Dbriefed
Put me in the stupid American category.

My opinion; the beer is good, hotel rooms are closets, the food is awful, it's a Muslim country run by Sharia law, the British still stubbornly occupy Ireland for no good reason, everyone drives on the wrong side, the electrical engineers failed school (Lucas electronics), none of the cars made there are reliable, and they lost two wars against the US (War of Independence and War of 1812), it's a police surveillance state, the US saved the UK in WW-II, there seem not to be orthodontists or gyms in the UK, the socialist labour party runs the government, the country is broke and going for it's second economic meltdown, the country has a history of empire-building and occupation, and the beer is good.

Ok I'll bite on this one, don't usually. No one "stubbornly occupies ireland", NORTHERN IRELAND now have their own government and elected representative. Dont forget that whilst the UK was being bombed by the IRA, they were "apparently" being funded by the US. Can you imagine how much the US would spit their dummy out if the same had happened in reverse?

I did loved the Gym quote when it is a well known fact that 67% of males in the US are classed as overweight (taken from the CDC web site) compared to 40% for the UK. The UK was never "saved in WWII", the only reason the US took their head out of the sand in the 40's was down to Pearl harbor when they couldn't just ignor it anymore.

Are you forgetting the US great depression and Black Tuesday? So yeah looks like BOTH the US and UK have had more than 1 economic problem. I am sorry but none of your arguments here are valid as both can be turned round against the US. I have many american friends so am not a US hater or anything stupid like that. What I do completely protest to is the WWII remark. My grandfather was in Aushwitz and my grandmother lost ALL of her uncles and cousins in the War. As we fought on the same side and losses happened all over, no one saved anyone!

I went to England in 1996 to study at Oxford. I was a 20 year old, naive farm girl from Tennessee who'd never been west of the Nashville. It was my second overseas trip, but the first one I'd ever taken by myself.

Anyhoo, once the plane landed at Heathrow, I had been told to immediately go find the buses to Oxford and head to the home the school had rented for me. So I went looking for the bus terminal.

Did you know that Heathrow is rather big?

To make a long story somewhat shorter, I got lost. So I decided to ask a passing worker for help.

I believe the young man in question was Irish, from his accent, but I'm not positive as the only difference I can tell in accents is Southern or Not Southern. Anyway, I asked for directions to the bus terminal.

He politely told me to "Go to the lift."

At which point I promptly turned left, took two steps, and found myself facing a blank wall.

I stared at it in shock. A blank wall? Now what? And behind me I can hear the worker, growing increasingly more agitated, hollering at me, "To the lift! To the lift!"

He eventually came, took me by the arm, and escorted me to the bank of elevators. That's when I realized the British don't speak English.

reply to post by smyleegrl


My husband is always telling me I speak "American" English...

reply to post by sugarmonkey


I had a heck of a time in the grocery store or at restaraunts, trying to figure out what biscuits, crisps, jacket potatoes were....

P.S.

I'm convinced the reason Britain conquered half the world was because they wanted something decent to eat....

Sorry, Brits, but I'm kinda a picky eater.

[edit on 2-3-2010 by smyleegrl]

Originally posted by smyleegrl
I'm American, and as you know, America is a pretty big place.

I get accents from the west and north mixed up..... a lot. It's pretty common, I think.

When I visited England, I loved the people I met but really couldn't stand all the bus exhaust in Oxford (ugh). I loved the Germans, too....everyone was just so nice.

And when informed I was an American, I didn't get any anti-yank spill, or stuff like that. Almost everyone made sure I knew the best places to visit in town, told me what to make a point to see, etc.

Of ocurse, this was 1996. Maybe things change....

But I still think of the Brits as friends, the Scots as the hot guys with the kilts, and the Irish with the delectable accents.....

Oxford is very different to your 1996 trip, the main roads throughout the centre of Oxford are pedestrianised, with the exception of Busses, these now for the most part (not all of them) are eco friendly town Busses, they have duel fuel i.e. they use petrol (gas to you) everywhere apart from the centre of Oxford they then switch to electric throughout the centre area's they are allowed to drive in, I agree it used to be very bad on fumes but with the added catalytic converters now put by law in every vehicle made, and the main roads being totally pedestrianised, it's now quite a pleasant place without the choking fumes you talk of… it's just full of Yanks and Chinese tourists, that's the real problem. j/k

I agree. The British are the most inventive linguists ever.

reply to post by mr-lizard


You will have a long way to go to beat those "cunning linguists" in parliment

Oxford is very different to your 1996 trip, the main roads throughout the centre of Oxford are pedestrianised

reply to post by Majestic RNA


I would dearly love to return and visit Oxford again. It was such a wonderful place, and the people were amazingly friendly.

Anyone want to loan me a ticket?

reply to post by Anti-Evil


After reading through the thread. I decided to do a survey of my own as well. I asked 15 random people and 1 dog I came across over the past few days. I asked two basic questions.

1. If they considered the UK an Allie of the US.

2. If they knew the differences between Irish, Scots and English.


Let's begin with American Seniors. 5 of the 15 were senior citizens. [4 males and 1 female] I asked them if the UK was an Allie of the US I received 3 very quick yeses and two long winded stories of their youth and how rough things were back in the day. [15 miles barefoot, Uphill both ways, five feet of snow, single room school house] then got a yes. SO when asked if they thought the UK was an Allie of the US they all answered in the Affirmative.

Then I asked if they knew the differences between Irish, Scots and English. After much of the same old [15 miles barefoot, Uphill both ways, five feet of snow, single room school house]

The results

A+ for the Allie question.
A- for the difference question. Points deducted due to over worded answers and lengthy stories about their health issues...


Then I asked the middle aged crowd. 5 out the 15 were middle aged. [2 females and 3 males] I asked them if the UK was an Allie of the US I received 4 quick yeses and one no. The "no" came from a lady who made it abundantly clear that she didn't care for the way the "British" Kept Nelson Mandela locked up all those years!

Then I asked about if they knew the differences between Irish, Scots and English. 3 knew the exact differences 1 thought they were like the US, they being just simply states and the [LADY wouldn't shut up about poor Nelson!]

The results

B for the Allie question.
C- for the difference question. Points deducted due to the "They are simply STATES and the lady who wouldn't shut up about poor Nelson"

I avoided the 25 to 30 something year old crowd on purpose.
They are in my opinion still too young and very opinionated

Now on to the 25 year old and younger crowd.

3 males and 2 females were asked the question of whether they thought the UK were our Allies. All 3 males said yes. when asked why, they gave references to "Call of Duty X, Y and Z: Modern Warfare", "Battlefield X, Y and Z" DISCLAIMER Only one of the 3 did I consider as a real GAMER. He played on his home made custom built PC not a LOW Graphics quality gaming Console like the X-Box 360 or the Playstation III etc.

Of the two females both answered yes that the UK is an Allie. [After Explaining to the young Blond] what an "Allie" meant.

Then I asked about if they knew the differences between Irish, Scots and English.

All three males didn't have a clue. :bnghd: [I received a good movie review and critique on Brave-Heart though] of the two females. 1 Knew the exact differences and even gave dates and knew many minor historical details. One answer however floored me. [The Blond again] I asked her if she knew the differences. she asked, the UK? not knowing what it meant. She thought about it for a few seconds finally blurted out "OH English". Yes my family is English! They are Scotch/Irish!


The results

C- for the Allie question. Although I received lots of cool Game Tips!
F for the difference question. To be fair the one girl knew her stuff I felt she deserved an A+

Oh I almost forgot the one dog in the survey.
While polling my next-door neighbor. He was in the Seniors group. His Irish Setter came up to me and as a joke I asked if he felt the UK were our Allies. He licked my hand [A positive IMO] then when asked if he knew the Differences between the Irish, Scots and English he quickly went out into the middle of the yard and took a dump, then came back and sat near us panting happily.

The results

A for the Allie question. Licking the back of my hand was a positive gesture.
A+++ for the difference question. As an Irishmen he knew the differences. Esp between the Irish and the English.


Well there you have it folks.

PEACE

Slay

[edit on 2-3-2010 by SLAYER69]

reply to post by downtown436


Despite my better judgement I'm gonna bite..

*The UK is a depressing dreary place.

Lake District? Scottish Highlands? South Downs? The fields of Kent? Cheddar Gorge? Or did you not visit anywhere? Generalisation based on nothing.
I spent a winter in Boston. Therefore I shall deem the entire US as 'snowy and cold'.

*It is chock full of gutless individuals who bendeth their knees and pay homage to an inbred royal family of parasites who have effectively sucked the very souls out of those same individuals.

As opposed to watching Fox News and believing that "Orange Alert" will save us all? You obviously "misunderestimate" us...
Bendeth?
Joke: What's the difference between California and Yoghurt? Yoghurt has culture.
Tradition and history that goes back farther than 200 years is nothing to sneer at. Or should we just demolish it all and build a mall with a Tastee-Freeze?

*Their banking influence may actually control the US to this day, and therefore maybe we need to re-do the first Revolutionary war. This makes them high on the list of enemies of liberty.

The first revolutionary war wasn't about the banking. If free markets and capitalism are okay, and your banks are "too big to fail" then any control from a 'foreign bank' should be praised as good capitalism, right? Can't have it both ways. Or is it because you can't stand another nation winning? We're number one! We're number one!

*I am pretty sure that the Queen is some kind of reptilian alien. You couldn't be a human and be that evil.

Ladies and gentlemen I offer you the PNAC. Evil? Human? I'm sure they represent the US people as a whole, right?

*Their version of rock and roll is an abomination. The worst part about it is that no matter how much british music sucks, as an American you just can't escape it.

Popular, then? Popular music. Strangely, it seems that anything 'different' comes from Britain. The US is (to generalise) a homogonised mess. All bands don't sound the same, all the songs do!
The British 'sound' is based closer to traditional American musical roots than most American music is today.

*Bad Teeth.

Based on what? A generalisation. I would wager that there are more people in the US with bad teeth (thems that can't afford the Beverly Hills orthodontists), you just don't allow them on television.
Very shallow. Mummy will be proud.

*Ugly women.

Again, a generalisation based on nothing. Some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen were British. Wasn't Vivian Leigh voted by Hollywood as the most beautiful woman of all time? British, you know...

*Brutally abrasive accents.

See previous posts. Yes, and no. Some are, some aren't.
And all American accents are lovely, right?

*Foul mannerisms, customs, standards and practices.

Pray, elaborate on this please. I'm really sure you have no clue what you're talking about here.

*Terrible food.

Describe to me a typically American dish. Not something that's got European or Central/South American origins. Pot roast? Meatloaf? Hot Dog? See, I can generalise too. London, for example, has some of the best dining in the world. Or were you going for the offal variation? Perhaps? Well, why kill an animal if you are not going to eat all of it. Waste....

*Bad booze.

Bud Light? Coors Light? Can they actually be classed as beer?
Or are you basing the British beers on the readily available on the US market brands? Newcastle Brown? Bass? Surprisingly few people drink those in Britain. If you're speaking liquor, have you ever tried a good 18+ year old Single Malt Scotch?

*Did I mention that I dislike empires, and the subjugation of people against their will?

There is no British Empire anymore.
Gonna give back Guantanamo? Guam? Puerto Rico? Virgin Islands? Samoa?
Wherever there's a US military base? Or is that not empire? Iraq? Afghanistan?

*They think that we should be just like them, and we need to get rid of all of our barbaric weapons.

Well, you've got me there. We do. All of us.
Guns don't kill people, right?
It's those bloody bullets!

*Crappy cars.

Which is the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the words, "Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Bristol, and Jaguar." Crappy, right.
We've had our lemons, but the Gremlin, the Pacer, the Maverick, the Edsel etc. Just as bad, if not worse.

*They think all Americans are their friends, and that we are one big happy family.

Many of my friends are Americans. There are many Americans I don't like. However, there are many of many nationalities that I'm not friends with.
Generalisation.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I just want to point out that making sweeping generalisations is not clever. It's ignorant.

I remember going on exercise with the British Army in America.. Wasn't long after the first Gulf war which I was in too... We had a whale of a time!... We wen't drinking in a few bars and clubs, and we kind of played the British card.. We played every english stereotype in the book.. The ladies ate it up! lol.. We all stood up when the ladies came to the table, pulled back the chair for them, opened doors etc.. You get the picture... Lets just say we had a VERY good time with a lot of American ladies!

The only downer was when one lad bought a 66mm rocket launcher and tried to bring it back to the UK... His feet didn't touch the ground..

Good times

reply to post by Yissachar1


Ah, those would be the "Foul mannerisms, customs, standards and practices" that Downtown436 was talking about.

Damn you and your 'pulling out chairs for ladies' antics.

reply to post by Badgered1


I know.... We have no idea how to behave in polite public... You can't take us anywhere!!

But maybe if that guy was to emulate some of those mannerisms, his hooking up ratio would quadruple.... I know... Damnnn Im going back!! American ladies are hot!

Edit to add: Dont tell the missus or God lol

[edit on 2-3-2010 by Yissachar1]