# Being an American in the UK on a visit stinks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2015, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997 "2015-03-02T08:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/21 "2015-03-02T12:09:47Z")
If I ever make it to the UK, I want to go to some of the NON touristy parts. I’d like to hang out in a hole in the wall pub in a town that nobody has ever heard of. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/22 "2015-03-02T12:18:12Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > If I ever make it to the UK, I want to go to some of the NON touristy parts. > > I’d like to hang out in a hole in the wall pub in a town that nobody has ever heard of. Do you have a death wish? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/23 "2015-03-02T12:31:26Z")
> [@BOOM](#): > > It’s a democracy, what is being done to the world _in their name_ is unacceptable to civilised people, so visiting Americans - yeah, they can explain their opposition or apolgise. It’s a simple, black-and-white world, innit? Why can’t everyone see that? :rolleyes: :smack: ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/24 "2015-03-02T12:51:03Z")
I can only apologise to the OP for the dickishness of some people here in the UK. I’m sure if we ever had a Doper-meet in London or something we could give OP a proper welcome 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/25 "2015-03-02T12:52:30Z")
> [@BOOM](#): > > US foreign policy is not popular pretty well anywhere. What do you want people to do instead of letting an American know that? Not being jerks is on the list. Americans are lectured how much more polite the British and Europeans are, but the second an American is in a social situation with Europeans, s/he is suddenly the representative of all of the horrible things that the US has ever done, is doing, or will likely do. Because obviously _ **s/he** _has personally created and condoned every bit of idiocy the US government has come up with. Nobody likes it when Americans stereotype Europeans (smelly, smelly French!\* Nazi Germans!_) or the British (OMG, bad teeth!)_, so don’t do it to Americans. We are not all obese, Twinkie-scarfing, medical-scooter-riding, gun-waving, religious zealot, tea-party-member rednecks. \*Yes, I’m aware that all three of these stereotypes are outdated. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/26 "2015-03-02T12:58:07Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Ah, I see. This is a meta-comment, demonstrating exactly the thing that the OP is complaining about. It’s showing what a knee-jerk response to the superficial aspects of the person looks like, how to identify when a person’s response is not worth valuing, and I assume, eventually he’ll explore the ill-conceived motivations of this hypothetical person. > > Well played, sir, well played. I look forward to phase 2. Spoiler alert: phase 3 is where he gets banned, then creates another sock and we’re back to phase 1. There will never be a phase 4. It’s a stupid waltz that never ends. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/27 "2015-03-02T13:06:39Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > If I ever make it to the UK, I want to go to some of the NON touristy parts. I hear that Brixton, Peckham, and Barking are nice. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/28 "2015-03-02T13:50:28Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > I hear that Brixton, Peckham, and Barking are nice. He asked for a non-touristy area, not a law firm in a Dickens novel. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/29 "2015-03-02T14:26:34Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > I hear that Brixton, Peckham, and Barking are nice. They’re all full of hipster entrepreneurs opening up breakfast cereal cafés. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/30 "2015-03-02T14:29:52Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I always figured that I would do my best to represent America positively when visiting other countries but it would probably be a whole lot more pleasant if I just pretended to be Canadian. It got to the point where I asked my friend to stop introducing me that way! > (snip) Yeah, don’t do that. To me, this would be akin to stolen valour. You’re not able to claim a respectable status falsely without seeming like a giant scum bag. I don’t want to get all teary-eyed and flag-wavey with some grand statement about our ancestors dying for the right for Canada to be recognized and appreciated internationally, but we’ve worked hard to be good to our neighbours on this Earth. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/31 "2015-03-02T14:33:21Z")
I agree with **Boom!** , random individual Americans should have to apologize for their government’s foreign policy, just as random individual Muslims should have to apologize for ISIS, random individual Brits should have to apologize for Ireland, random individual Chinese people should have to apologize for Tibet, and random individual black people should have to apologize for Kanye West. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/32 "2015-03-02T14:34:35Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > …Take it as a compliment that they feel friendly enough towards you to insult you ;)… That’s my take on it. Of course, like any country, there are bigots like **BOOM!** who pre-judge people based on their nationality. Thankfully, relatively few. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/33 "2015-03-02T14:37:56Z")
**BOOM!** Stop threadshitting and being a jerk. If you want to have a debate about U.S. foreign policy or rant about it we have forums set up just for that purpose. You should know better. Warning issued. ETA: This is your 4th warning. Your posting privileges are being discussed. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/34 "2015-03-02T14:42:37Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Ah, I see. This is a meta-comment, demonstrating exactly the thing that the OP is complaining about. It’s showing what a knee-jerk response to the superficial aspects of the person looks like, how to identify when a person’s response is not worth valuing, and I assume, eventually he’ll explore the ill-conceived motivations of this hypothetical person. > > Well played, sir, well played. I look forward to phase 2. > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Spoiler alert: phase 3 is where he gets banned, then creates another sock and we’re back to phase 1. There will never be a phase 4. > > It’s a stupid waltz that never ends. I’m sure this isn’t some meta version of junior modding. No warning issued but knock it off. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/35 "2015-03-02T14:47:04Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I think it may have been the Texas part more than the American bit. You’re probably onto something with that. > > I’m also aware that British humor revolves a lot around taking the piss, and they don’t necessarily mean anything really. I bet that was it; every time I’ve been there, everyone’s been unfailingly polite, if not exactly friendly in the way that I’m used to. But after you get to know them a little, there’s a great deal of piss-taking that goes on, and it’s not always with a wink and a nod, so it’s easy to think they’re serious. That said, being from Texas did cause an unwelcome interaction when I was over there for a summer in grad school. We were in a bar, and were trying to chat up some stunningly hot Swedish women, and the really hot one (not stereotypically Swedish- she looked kind of like Olivia Munn or maybe Tera Patrick), just blurts out with “You’re from Texas? Don’t you still have the death penalty? Why is that?” Talk about a way to torpedo all the slightly drunken flirtation that was going on… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/36 "2015-03-02T14:55:32Z")
I’ve visited the UK several times and never encountered this problem. But maybe it’s because I don’t go out of my way to hang out with jerks. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/37 "2015-03-02T15:00:41Z")
I lived in the UK for 4.5 years. I never felt the need to apologize for the USA. The people that I met, from Scotland to the Isle of Wight and in Wales were mostly interested that I was from the USA or didn’t care. I remember a few good discussions about the USA while having a pint of bitter or three at a pub, but they were good discussions. I really enjoyed living in the UK. Maybe you are too sensitive; hang out with a strange sort of people in the UK; or things have changed since I left in 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/38 "2015-03-02T15:01:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m sure this isn’t some meta version of junior modding. > > No warning issued but knock it off. Understood, sorry for engaging him. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/39 "2015-03-02T15:05:51Z")
I’m an American who has traveled in Canada and hasn’t encountered any significant anti-US bias directed my way. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/40 "2015-03-02T15:13:04Z")
As others have said, there are two possibilities here, each as equally likely as the other: Scenario 1: You encountered some really close minded and bigoted people. Unfortunately, such people exist in the UK just like they do in other countries. Scenario 2: You misunderstood British ‘banter’ and what you took as an insult was actually intended to be humorous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997.md?page=3)