Bigotry against Americans – FROM MY FRIENDS!?!

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Good for you! And bigoted is right. The Brits have never really gotten over not being an Imperial power any longer and the soul of the nation has rotted due to youth alcoholism and their obsession with royalty; glitz without substance. I’d say this person has serious personal issues that expresses itself in such slander. Both countries have their good sides and their bad sides, but one cannot, without sacrificing personal integrity, make broad sweeping statements like that and be taken seriously any longer. Oh and we don’t move to England to become British or “to convert” to British ways. We move to England, or whatever country is required, because that’s where our loved one is.

“and the soul of the nation has rotted due to youth alcoholism
and their obsession with royalty; glitz without substance.”
“but one cannot, without sacrificing personal integrity, make broad sweeping statements like that and be taken seriously any longer.

Indeed, we all have to be careful of making sweeping statements, for two reasons. 1 Because they are never true, and 2 because they will do nothing but antagonise their target. Now that’s fine if that’s what we’re trying to do, but it doesn’t seem to me to achieve much; in fact it’s destructive.
”
“There’s a level of political distrust in the country broadly that makes a kind of
reasonable formation of political consensus extremely difficult.”
Francis Fukuyama

And if that’s true of the States, it’s true of international political discourse as well.

As a Brit married to an American, I hold this to be self-evident. The balance of power in the world changes over time, and always will. In trying to analyse that change, it’s very difficult for us to tell the difference between what’s really true and what we would like to be true. It was very hard for my forebears to come to terms with the decline of the British Empire. Personally, I’m delighted that my country no longer claims some god given right to dominate others for our own economic benefit. I’m quite happy to be a citizen of a small offshore European island with a fine tradition of culture and thought.

I thought Justin Webb did a good job in presenting the various opinions surrounding “Declinism” in the States, and I found it informative.

As an outsider, combining Mr Fukuyama’s plea for calm consensus with Ms Slaughter’s optimism and faith in what’s great aboutb the american liberal tradition, sounds like a good idea to me.

Whenever Brits accuse America of raping the earth, plundering, imperialism, etc., I tell them we learned from the best – them! America didn’t invent Western Civilization. I also make it a point to say that I agree on a lot of issues and that America can do better. That acknowledgement goes a long way in revealing that Americans are intellectual, we don’t just agree with everything our government does, but that we also won’t stand for hypocritical and ignorant criticism.

OK, I acknowledge my assertion that sweeping statements are “never true”, is itself a sweeping statement. Inconsistently, I stand by that one.

Wow. I’m not surprised by the attack, but I am surprised by its vehemence. Moreover, the personal attack that followed is truly outside the British character. What is not outside the British (ugh and American) character is the belief that one’s own beliefs are shared by the vast majority of one’s country men.

Your friend was right about one thing I think: “Be the Great British institution you are and hate the stupid place like most of the people you represent do.” The BBC is great in many ways, but I have found that they are bias against America more times than not. I’m tired of it personally. They spend more time talking about America than any other country. They are obsessed with us. Why is that? Because we are a super-power and they want to see the decline of it.

I feel you, sister. In my ten years abroad:
- I’ve had a pint of beer thrown at my head
- I’ve been kicked out of 7 bars in 4 countries for my accent
- I was asked to leave a cocktail party at a diplomat’s house because one of the more important guests found my accent and presence ‘offensive’
- I’ve had numerous heated discussions with people who, like your friend, have sweeping, negative views of America and Americans – but “you don’t count because you’re kind of British now” (hmmm…maybe your fb ‘friend’ and my acquaintances know one another?)
- And just last week at my book group, was slagged off for the way Americans eat; was told by an English woman “I usually don’t like your kind”; was told about New Zealanders that “they’re really truly nice, not fake nice like Americans”. Yep, with ‘friends’ like these…

Thank you Rachael, since I do feel a strange urge to apologise on behalf of the entire British nation, for the kind of oafish discourtesy reported in some of these comments.
This human need for a scapegoat on which to blame all the perceived wrongs in the world is one of our less endearing features as a species. People from high profile nations are unfortunately more likely to be selected for this role.

We can all be annoying of course, and our particular national culture may influence the form which that takes. You shouldn’t have to put up with this kind of thing of course, but I hope the fact that defining someone by their nationality indicates extreme stupidity is some small consolation.

Can’t believe your FB friend. Like you’re American but saw the light, so are OK…

I have always been completely befuddled by the relative social acceptance of stereotyping Americans. Stereotyping and insulting whole groups of people in any other category is met with loathing, at least in public; whereas, I have encountered many individuals who feel it is quite alright to lump Americans into one big pile. One big crappy pile. Get it together people. Americans are as diverse as the globe itself.

To avoid adding fuel to the fire, I think it’s important that articulate Americans ensure to greet anti-American comments with a calm demeanor and to carefully deconstruct insults — so as to educate others to our diversity and disprove the the basis of the hatred. It is especially important not to fall into the trap of “I know you are, but what am I?” So in that vein, I’d like to point out that I have met many many people from many nations (including England!) who have welcomed me and been kind to me and had lovely things to say about Americans and time spent living and traveling in the U.S.

kristin, WTF? seriously? None of this surprises me. I understand that british people have a bitter taste in their mouth (still) all these hundreds of years later . . . they need to get over it and move on. America is not perfect, but it is a wonderful place – yes it has its problems but can you show me a country that doesnt?

what i still do not understand is why americans are so warm and welcoming to brits, and brits are such a-holes and snobs. they need to seriously get over themselves.

Quote from George Orwell is apposite here regarding the cycle of abuse in the comments between Britons and Americans.

`But it is a bit different when you meet somebody who laughs at it from the outside;
just as we spend our lives in abusing England but grow very angry when we
hear a foreigner saying exactly the same things.`

[...] time America is in the news, I find myself unfriending someone else from  Facebook.  I’m starting to see a pattern [...]