# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/41 "2015-03-02T15:14:33Z")
Briton who lives in the states here. I’m voting for the Texas thing. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/42 "2015-03-02T15:32:52Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > it would probably be a whole lot more pleasant if I just pretended to be Canadian Don’t. Just don’t. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/43 "2015-03-02T15:40:30Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > 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 🙂 We used to have London dopefests about once a year but there hasn’t been one for 5-6 years now. Get organizing! 🙂 I moved to the UK from Texas about 20 years ago. I’ve never encountered more than good-natured piss taking. ---
**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, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/44 "2015-03-02T16:14:10Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Briton who lives in the states here. I’m voting for the Texas thing. I remember as a kid there were jokes about everything being bigger in Texas, but that’s possibly due to the fact that Texas Instruments had a plant in my town. As a 6-7 year old I always thought they were busy making violins and trumpets. I don’t think that the average Brit has a problem with Texans, but the OP has either misunderstood the (admittedly) rather coarse language which the Brits use (It ain’t all Downtown Abbey 'ere, me old china), or has been introduced to people who think \*The Guardian \* is a sacred text. I for one welcome all foreigners to come and visit. Except Australians of course… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/45 "2015-03-02T16:36:40Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > things have changed since I left in 1992. You can’t think of _anything_ post ‘92 that _may_ have changed foreigners’ perceptions of Americans? Although it sounds to me like it is more likely the Texas thing… ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/46 "2015-03-02T18:02:12Z")
I found every single Brit I met there really nice and excited to talk to a Yank. Of course that \*was \*some 25 years ago and the US \*has \*done quite a few shitty things since then. The only thing I noticed was that whenever anyone tried to imitate an American accent, it came out sounding Texan. For some reason they think or default accent is Foghorn Leghorn. These days my English boyfriend regularly comes out with criticism of the US, despite the fact that he’s lived here almost 25 years :rolleyes: To which I reply, loudly and often, “suck it, Nigel” or “blow it out your scone hole” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/47 "2015-03-02T18:05:51Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I’m an American who has traveled in Canada and hasn’t encountered any significant anti-US bias directed my way. Of course not. We’re more likely to apologise for not agreeing with US foreign policy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/48 "2015-03-02T18:13:46Z")
Sorry about the jerks. I hope we’re not all that bad! It possibly is a weird combo of both the Texas thing and the customary piss taking. I’d suggest perfecting a cough that sounds like ‘Tony Blair’. The richer a place is, the more comfortable we feel taking the piss about it, and our stereotype of Americans in general and Texans in particular is frankly based on celebrities and sitcoms, and you all own oilfields. We can also kind of feel Americans look down on us, and can try ‘get in first’. I hope the tea was good at least. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/49 "2015-03-02T18:16:39Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Of course not. We’re more likely to apologise for not agreeing with US foreign policy. 🙂 I met a rude Canadian once. It was one of your customs or border patrol type people who handle traffic at the border. My wife and step-daughter, who were both Ukrainian nationals at the time, were in the car with me. We were crossing the Rainbow Bridge on our way to Niagara Falls. The Canadian woman in the booth asked me what our destination was, I told her Niagara Falls. She asked about the purpose of the visit, and I replied “To see the waterfalls.” She went off on me about my “attitude,” ranted for a while that she didn’t have to let me into her country, and then topped it off by pulling me out of line and having my vehicle and luggage checked. She was every inch the power-tripping, jingoistic, minor bureaucrat. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/50 "2015-03-02T18:47:34Z")
Reminds me of when I was out with the wife in a pub in Dublin (I am from Dublin and she is American). An old “friend” of mine came up and said hello. Then he started abusing my wife for everything and anything the US has ever done. As he finished his rant, he exclaimed “and you’re all so fucking stupid! Irish people are a lot smarter and that’s a fact!”. To which my wife replied, how many Irish people have walked on the moon? She then went back to her drink and ignored him. I was in stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/51 "2015-03-02T18:58:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You can’t think of _anything_ post ‘92 that _may_ have changed foreigners’ perceptions of Americans? Well, Canadians inflicted Bryan Adams on the world around that time but they seem to have gotten a pass. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/52 "2015-03-02T20:11:48Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I met a rude Canadian once. It was one of your customs or border patrol type people who handle traffic at the border. My wife and step-daughter, who were both Ukrainian nationals at the time, were in the car with me. We were crossing the Rainbow Bridge on our way to Niagara Falls. The Canadian woman in the booth asked me what our destination was, I told her Niagara Falls. She asked about the purpose of the visit, and I replied “To see the waterfalls.” She went off on me about my “attitude,” ranted for a while that she didn’t have to let me into her country, and then topped it off by pulling me out of line and having my vehicle and luggage checked. She was every inch the power-tripping, jingoistic, minor bureaucrat. ## I can remember a British humorous columnist from long ago, in an awful rag I won’t name, — who also described the centre of Australia as 500,000 square miles of kitty litter — writing of going to Niagara Falls ( _where my grandparents were married, I believe_ ) and before crossing to Canada engaging with a waitress. “_When you get over there, they’ll ask you what you think of them_.” “_Don’t tell them_.” ---
**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, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/53 "2015-03-02T20:41:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, Canadians inflicted Bryan Adams on the world around that time but they seem to have gotten a pass. Now, now, the Canadian Government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions. ---
**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, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/54 "2015-03-02T20:46:37Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Now, now, the Canadian Government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions. What about Robin Thicke? ---
**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, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/55 "2015-03-02T20:53:31Z")
It’s possible that the Canadian Government has also apologized for Robin Thicke. Honestly all Canadians look alike, with their beady little eyes and flapping heads. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/56 "2015-03-02T21:01:31Z")
Thanks for all the kind words. I did enjoy my visit over all and will just have to grow a thicker skin. I’m used to teasing once you get to know someone, but in Britain it seems to start right out of the gate so I need to get used to that. And it was only a few of all the people anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/57 "2015-03-02T21:09:14Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > 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. I can’t put a gun rack on my Rascal? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/58 "2015-03-02T21:13:48Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Now I finally understand all of the Americans who pretend to be Canadian when traveling abroad. It gets depressing constantly having to apologize for all the crappy things America has done and dealing with all the head shakes and rolling eyes every time my local friend would introduce me as his friend from Texas. > > … Arew you sure that it wasn’t because you were from Texas? Be careful about Canada, least they mention Rob Ford. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/59 "2015-03-02T23:13:25Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Americans are lectured how much more polite the British and Europeans are Hold on. By who? It’s surely not by anyone who has actually spent any time there? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997/60 "2015-03-03T01:07:32Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Be careful about Canada, least they mention Rob Ford. You mean the guy who is selling off the sweat pants he wore to Walmart? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-an-american-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-stinks/713997.md?page=4)