What do Americans REALLY think of Brits.

In My Humble Opinion
21

Black OK??

22

Why not recommend some fine ‘blood pudding’ to him? Good Lord, what’s next? Spleen Sundaes? :wink:

23

We love you guys. I know your Prime Minister is in a bit of hot water as of late, but I have to give him great credit for his speaking ability. His speeches are emotionally stirring and his since of humor is hilarious.

24

Britannica has actually been an American publication for quite some time now. (Did I mention I enjoy studying the history of encyclopediae?)

Encylcopedia Americana is crap.

25

I have known a few Brits in my classes in passing. They were nice enough people, but they don’t seem like outstanding people as individuals; how many do, though? Nothing in particular to do with national character, though, and they’re expats anyway. I am a bit tired of the paternalistic attitude some Brits seem to have towards Hong Kong, where I’ve met them, but it hasn’t really come up with those I’ve known personally.

The British on this board all seem like good people, or at least in a ratio similar to anywhere else.

The Brits on certain expat board that I can’t stop reading despite hating everything about it make me sick, though. They do nothing but take cheap shots at Americans, whether they are relevent to the matter at hand or not. They don’t appear to see any irony in the fact that they’re constantly telling us that we think we know everything about every other place in the world… based on, I suppose, some jerks they met in Lan Kwai Fong. Most of them seem to think Michael Moore’s works are the God’s Honest Truth and proof that America is a horrible hellhole of bloodthirsty, gun-toting corporate pirates, with no redeeming values. The Australians are the same way. Very rarely is there even a voice of moderation when it comes to talk about Americans. I don’t know, I think this board just tends to attract more thinking people from everywhere. There are people here who go into knee-jerk “Great Satan” talk from time to time, but criticisms leveled at the US here are more likely to be based on something real rather than just being a blanket slagging of millions.

I like the British accent on men, tend to not care for it so much on women, (probably nothing wrong with it elsewhere, but in HK it just makes me think of my stereotype of the fat, complaining, won’t-even-think-about-learning-Chinese Expat Wife) dislike it on children (not fair, I know, but it just sounds “cute” and “precocious”) and hate it on Chinese children, especially that little SOB who appears in ads for that crappy-looking show “Dinotopia” on Pearl.

I hate some of the words British people use (nappy, dummy, mum; okay, so “u” or “o” is a minimal difference and I’m being totally arbitrary, I just hate the word “mum.” And a mummy is the walking, bandage-wrapped dead, everyone knows that! ) and selfishly hate that it makes tutoring harder because my students all know “holiday” but look blank when I say “vacation.”

So basically, even though I’m pointing out things I don’t like, in general, it’s just another country to me and I tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt unless they show they don’t deserve it.

26

Now there’s an idea! :smiley:

27

Oh. I also hold the British personally responsible for Monty Python-quoting nerds.

28

I can’t get enough of that British History series on The History Channel. I identify with England’s history as my national lineage pre-1700’s.

I view your rivalries with France and Spain as petty and silly, considering that England is so clearly superior to both.

I am disappointed in the apparent lack of backbone England displays where the USA is involved.

I respect that Rome could not conquer you. That they had to build a wall is so comical it’s almost surreal.

I hate your language’s quirky rules, because they made my early schooling a real pain in the ass.

I cannot stand Americans who speak with fake English accents.

I look down on your sports. Sorry. In particular I hold soccer in contempt, but that really isn’t just yours. Don’t get me started on cricket.

I have nothing but the deepest respect for England’s perserverance during WWII. I consider England our closest and most cherished ally.

You make some nice cars.

Though I could never leave my beloved New England, I enjoy the flavor of movies set in England and could almost consider living there for a while.

I think your tabloids are over the top. In a bad way.

You gave us the Beatles, to name only one great group of many.

To sum up: England’s cool. Not so sure about the British Isles, but England itself is cool.

P.S: On preview, I see new posts which remind me: I want my BBC!!!

29

“The difference between the British and the Americans is that the Americans think that one hundred years is a long time, and the British think that one hundred miles is a long way.”

30

My education and outlook would not be the same English Lit, nor would my general philosophy be the same without writers ranging from Shakespeare to Swift to Tolkien to Douglas Adams, and even H.E.Bravery.

As to the cuisine, I am lucky enough to have a chip shop run by an Englishman nearby, and I simply adore it.

To the OP: Just a few years back, the US Navy named one of my ships for Sir Winston Churchill. That should be some indication of the depth of feeling for our closest ally.

31

Obviously I can’t speak for anyone but me.

I love English/Irish/Scottish foods. There are several small shops around here that carry a small variety. I like custards and clotted cream and curries. I love mincement pies and soda bread and porridge. I absolutely love English teas – my favorite is Yorkshire Gold, and I can only buy it in this one shop whose hours are so strange I barely have time to go. So I stock up!

I love English authors. Douglas Adams, James Herriot, Terry Pratchett, and so on, I’m sure I’m forgetting some authors. I love the Lake Poets and Shakespeare, all the classics…I was an English major!

I love British television and the BBC. I love English movies.

I’ve never actually been to Britain, but I will be going to study in Oxford this summer. I plan to spend a lot of time trecking around the countryside and gawking. I am really looking forward to having pots of tea in the rainy cool climate and hearing people talk in their natural dialects.

I don’t think of Britain as a little brother at all. I think of Britain as a very old friend whom I’ve never met face-to-face before, like we’ve only talked over the phone and sent emails and packages back and forth through the mail. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.

32

My girlfriend seems to find my English accent sexy.

33

Harry Ramsdens!!! (Best int world tha knows)(Yorkshire)
Tony’s Chippie (Rochdale Rd, Oldham)
Dirty Marys (Entwistle Rd, Rochdale)
The Globe (Manchester Rd, Altrincham)

I could go on but these are about the 4 best chippies in the UK

34

I can’t get enough of that British History series on The History Channel. I identify with England’s history as my national lineage pre-1700’s.

I view your rivalries with France and Spain as petty and silly, considering that England is so clearly superior to both.

I am disappointed in the apparent lack of backbone England displays where the USA is involved.

I respect that Rome could not conquer you. That they had to build a wall is so comical it’s almost surreal.

I hate your language’s quirky rules, because they made my early schooling a real pain in the ass.

I cannot stand Americans who speak with fake English accents.

I look down on your sports. Sorry. In particular I hold soccer in contempt, but that really isn’t just yours. Don’t get me started on cricket.

I have nothing but the deepest respect for England’s perserverance during WWII. I consider England our closest and most cherished ally.

You make some nice cars.

Though I could never leave my beloved New England, I enjoy the flavor of movies set in England and could almost consider living there for a while.

I think your tabloids are over the top. In a bad way.

You gave us the Beatles, to name only one great group of many.

To sum up: England’s cool. Not so sure about the British Isles, but England itself is cool.

P.S: On preview, I see new posts which remind me: I want my BBC!!!

35

ELLIS:

  1. Of course we are superior to both France and Spain, they just couldn’t handle it is all.
  2. It isn’t a case of lack of backbone, it’s called loyalty to our ally.
  3. Actually Rome did conquer us, it was the bloody Scots the wall was built for, to keep 'em out
  4. It’s called FOOTBALL not soccer and 95% of countries in the world play it, how many play American Football (a misnomer if ever there was one)
  5. There is only one sport worse than cricket and that’s baseball, for sheer boredom it cannot be bettered unless you include ludo.:smiley:
36

<hijack>
Er…just so you know, the only use of “chippie/chippy/chippies” in the US is as another word for “whore(s)”. :smiley: It’s old-fashioned, but you still hear it once in a while, especially if you read westerns. Chippy Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
</hijack>

37

It’s never ever called blood pudding. I don’t know where the septics got that misnomenclature from. It’s called black pudding and it’s a kind of sausage. Though it is indeed made of what you think it is…

38

Hey, watch it there! I happen to be one of those Monty Python quoting nerds!

bloody vampires!

39

One thing that I have always felt, although I don’t know if this is widespread among other Americans, is that England/Great Britain led the way in fundamental decency in a political/economic sense. That hasn’t always been true, of course - England has some nasty stains on her honor (honour?), as do all nations. But I can’t think of a time in which I wouldn’t have preferred to be a peasant in England to being a peasant in France or Spain. I can’t think of a case where I would have preferred to live in a colony of another European country to living in a colony of England’s.

So much of the best and most decent in our heritage and our system of government here in the US comes directly from you. There are many, perhaps most, countries which could disappear from the face of the earth, and most Americans wouldn’t care much. But England? Losing England would, I think, shake us to the very core. You represent our stability, our heritage.

Plus, the great accents, the villages that are so fucking quaint you can’t stand it, sheep everywhere, bizarre humor, and Yorkshire pud and clotted cream (although not together).

Mmm, clotted cream…:smiley:

40

  1. Bad teeth - not everyone mind you, but those with a bad set of choppers are in contention for a world title.

  2. Awful food - 1 good dish does not redeem your entire cuisine. Putting Fish and Chips aside (let’s face it, you aren’t the first culture to think of frying fish) England’s food just plain sucks. When I landed at Heathrow and went to get a bite to eat, I found a half tomato, a slab of kidney and a pound of bacon floating in a pool of grease, not my idea of breakfast. If it weren’t for Indian food, I would have starved while I was there.

  3. Sexy accents - nuff said.

  4. Man U SUCKS - http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~shane/stasj/div_bilder/95.html

  5. Arsenal OWNS

  6. British TV kicks ass - Ground Force, Changing Rooms, Coupling, Faking It, Waking the Dead, not to even mention the classics of years gone by.

Brits are generally very nice. I really enjoyed the culture when I visited and worked in London. Evertyhing from hitting the pub for a working lunch to knocking off at 5 and hanging out with the gang at the pub for a few more hours. Most americans tend to not socialize nearly as much with thier co-workers. The Brits I had the pleasure of meeting were very friendly and giving, even though I had to keep telling them to stop giving me those crazy entrees.