Brits: how much do you hate Americans

[Undertoad]

Please tell me whether this FrontPage article is just a bunch of right-wingish fear mongering and not representative as a whole of Brits attitudes towards Americans and/or Jews.

...and as the bus driver and passengers laughed, she screamed into the American’s face ‘I wish every one of you would leave this country and not set foot in it ever again,’ and Mrs A began to wince, crying. ‘Thank you for ruining my day and my trip.’ At this point Lady E lunged at the American and began to shake her. I jumped up and shouted at the top of my voice for the driver to stop and for her to leave the woman alone, prompting Lady E to come over to me and grab me. ‘Another bloody American accent! You come here and think you can strut about, well, you are scum.’ Thankfully, the woman next to me pushed her away. I left the bus as the American woman sat sobbing.

..The English are not known for public displays of fury except perhaps at soccer matches, but there is something about an American accent that brings out their pent-up rage.

[slang]

First of all, I deal with Brits online quite a bit in BBSs. I make it a point to put the fact that I am pro-Bush and pro-Iraqi Freedom in the profiile or at some point in my introduction. It may be true that many of their members avoid me but I havent noticed.

Secondly, if it is that big of an issue, lets show support for your particular postition by selectively spending your money with "your own". If we Americans are such bastards, then dont do business with us, dont take our money. That applies not just with Brits but everyone. If we are truly at odds with so many people in the world, fine, show it by exercising "selective spending".

[slang]

Yah, I know, this is for the Brits only.


I can trace my name to a town in England. Does that count?

[Cyber Wolf]

Well...my parents went to London and were there for 4 days last year. I don't know if being black had anything to do with it, but I'd wager their American accent was as noticable as a British accent is here and they didn't have any trouble while they were there.

The war in Iraq has cut European favorable attitudes toward the US in half: http://people-press.org/reports/disp...3?ReportID=206
I talked to two Polish immigrants yesterday who have lived in the US for 20 years, become naturalized citizens, and raised their two children here. They are actually thinking about going back to Poland and feel that the EU has a stronger economy than that of the US and that the US is fast loosing support among the EU's member states. The polls above would seem to back their perceptions up. (pun unintended!)

[OnyxCougar]

Being a "half-breed", as it were, and living in both countries for some time, I have experienced more prejudice in England as an American than I have in America as a Brit.

The cab rides are more expensive, service (like waiters/waitresses) slower, and sly looks between salespeople followed by snotty remarks as you leave a store are common.

Then, a few months later, I went in to the same store using a British accent and magically I was well taken care of, by the same two people. The cab ride (same company, same pick up and drop off point) was half the price.

When I came back to America (British accent habitually in place), I didn't get a second look.

I don't know if ALL Limeys (not OUR Limey...) hate Yanks, but certainly many in the Cambridgeshire/Peterborough area do.... Of course, last time I lived over there was...May 97, so it could be different...

[vsp]

1 - Consider the source, a Horowitz rag that still prints Coulter.
2 - There are indeed some irrational and prejudicial people in every country. The key word is "some."
3 - 90% of the article is made up of hearsay anecdotes.
4 - Consider the source, a Horowitz rag that still prints Coulter.
5 - Anti-American hostility in other nations is not exactly what I'd call "a new thing," much less a Bush-specific thing. Whether it's reached the exaggerated proportions suggested by this article is another matter, though American foreign policy during Bush's term certainly hasn't helped.
6 - An entire busload of Brits laughing and encouraging an abusive verbal tirade against a polite, elderly American woman... well, it doesn't exactly pass the credibility sniff test without corroboration.
7 - Consider the source, a Horowitz rag that still prints Coulter.
8 - Air-drop a French person with a distinct French accent into many parts of Good-Ol' God-Fearin' Flag-Wavin' Fox-News-Watchin' America. Watch what happens.
9 - The video store guy's "Is this another one of your Jewish-Holocaust things?" tirade... c'mon. While I don't doubt that there are people in the world who believe the kind of swill put into the video store guy's mouth in this article, how often do visceral tirades of that nature just pop up out of the blue, without provocation, without reason? Let alone for "twenty minutes or so" in the middle of a public shop? Who would stand there and take that kind of verbal abuse for twenty minutes, anyway?
10 - Consider the source, a Horowitz rag that still prints Coulter.

Can I sum it up with a general "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" gut-laugh directed at the original author?

[Radar]

Sorry, but I've been around the world and seen anti-American sentiment all over the place; especially with all of the atrocities at the hands of Bush and his administration. I'm proud to be a zionist, an American, an atheist, and a libertarian and I don't care who knows. I'd also end up kicking the shit out of a lot of brits if they got in my face for any one of those.

[russotto]

Originally Posted by marichiko

The war in Iraq has cut European favorable attitudes toward the US in half: http://people-press.org/reports/disp...3?ReportID=206

"Does anyone say ‘George W Bush’ or ‘Donald Rumsfeld’ or Dick Cheney’ when they fly into these tirades? No. In fact, the visceral, hurtful and in-your-face America-hatred goes back long before the days of the Bush 43 regime. "

I talked to two Polish immigrants yesterday who have lived in the US for 20 years, become naturalized citizens, and raised their two children here. They are actually thinking about going back to Poland and feel that the EU has a stronger economy than that of the US and that the US is fast loosing support among the EU's member states. The polls above would seem to back their perceptions up. (pun unintended!)

If they go back to Poland because they think the economy is stronger there, they're justifying a rather large number of Polack jokes.

Originally Posted by russotto

"Does anyone say ‘George W Bush’ or ‘Donald Rumsfeld’ or Dick Cheney’ when they fly into these tirades? No. In fact, the visceral, hurtful and in-your-face America-hatred goes back long before the days of the Bush 43 regime. "

Perhaps, although when I traveled last in Europe - more than ten years ago, now - I saw little evidence of anti-Americanism. Everyone was pretty nice, all in all. I experienced the "ugly American" syndrome only when I traveled to foreign countries at the height of Vietnam. I have no recent experience overseas, so cannot comment further than that. If you look at the link I gave above, however, you will note that it consists of research done by a reputable outfit concerning changes in European attitudes since the beginning of the war in Iraq - not historical outlooks, but recent.

Originally Posted by russotto

If they go back to Poland because they think the economy is stronger there, they're justifying a rather large number of Polack jokes.

No, I think they are reflecting the man in the street's dismay over outsourcing. The wife is a skilled craftsperson and artist. Her local job got outsourced and she feels pretty fed up. Poland is joining the EU and its economic prospects look brighter than they have in years.

[Roosta]

Being a Brit, i'd say the report is a crock! I travel thousands of miles all around the UK every year. I certainly wouldn't say that of the hundreds of people I meet, any were anti American. The company I work for is based in Indianapolis so the conversations I have with people invariably involve talking about our American parent division and it's employees. Most are just interested to find out how different things are done over there.
I've only been to Indianapolis once. It was great fun, plenty of beer and nice folks.

[flippant]

The article seems to propose that Europeans hate americans because we like jews? Europeans are jew haters? Upper class jew hating? Can this be for real? I've been to other countires and their distaste for americans was firmly based in practicalities. Hmmm......suspicious of a human rights group to attack someone at a meeting for being an american. Maybe it's this specific american that's the problem........and not for any of the reasons mentioned in the article. Maybe the woman in theater is being Dramatic?

[DanaC]

The "dialogue" sounds totally unconvincing to me in both the bus incident and the shop incident.

There is an undercurrent of anti americanism .......but it isnt that overt and it isnt that angry. Most people I think have the capacity to say anti american things in discussions but if presented with an American in their midst are more likely ( in my experience) to be curious about them and explore their views.....There really is very little a Brit likes more than a heated debate. ......Also much of what is said which could be seen as anti American is really anti American foreign policy or a knee jerk response to the worlds current Empire in residence.

To compare the Jews of pre holocaust Germany with an American in London I think is falling into a journalistic trap which merely serves to diminish the horror of the Holocaust. Time marches on and generations go through their schooling ....Dont think that the emotional response of a ten year old today upon hearing tales of the Nazi crimes is in any way the same emotional response that you had....or that I had, or that our parents had. In these days of mass media where genocide is a semi regular feature on the news, how can children grasp the scale of a holocaust 2000 years in the making if it is used so casually to illustrate a point ?

My main problem though is that the article sounds false. I can well believe Onyx's description of anti american sentiment, with the low kew unfriendliness and whispering and so on. But then people can be rude. That's about being different I think. I have had similar experience as an eczema sufferer. There have been a couple of occassions where I have had to interract with new people whilst in the midst of a flareup and they've been downright rude ( as per Onyx's story) and then a few days later had cause to interract with them again ( in one case to return an item to a catalogue shop) and they've not recognised me ( I assume) and been all smiles and good customer servce.

There is I think for many people here a default setting of cynicism and suspicion when it comes to America in theory ........ but when presented with a real live breathing, bonafide American theyre far more likely to be either dazzled by the excitement of having someone new and interesting to add a little spice to their day or studiously unimpressed ......or directly challenging about America and it's role in the world. I simply do not believe the visceral attacks were as described in that article. That kind of venom most Brits reserve for "bogus asylum seekers " and even then it's usually only the paid up fascists who'll shout about it.

I think the majority though seperate their view of the administration and certain aspects of the culture from their view of the people themselves. They dont apply the same modes of thought that they apply to people they see as fundamentally different. Most Brits I think have a sense of Americans as more alike than different culturally, whereas they may not necessarily see that same balance of difference when it comes to a Pakistani immigrant.

For some people America seems more like us than does France or Germany for others it is the opposite way around.....all depends on how they define their Britishness (does parity in language and humour mark like to like or is parity in political or religious sensibilities more relevant)

My guess is she has probably encountered some people who have tried to debate with her on some issue and it's drifted onto the topic of Palestine and then the standard British/European position on the Middle East problem has been argued and misinterpreted as anti Jewish sentiment. Being against the actions of the current Israeli administration does not equate to being anti Jewish, no more than being anti bush equates to being anti American.

[be-bop]

The whiff of Bullshit that comes from this article is just too much.
I'm just glad you don't have scratch and sniff on this computer.
There is great Anti-war/Anti Bush/Blair feelings over here at present and some feelings are running high after Ken Bigley was killed,but berating an elderly lady on a bus where other passengers and the driver were laughing Crap never happened.
If any one has ever been on a London bus/tube if anything happens the fellow passengers are usually breaking their necks trying to look the other way in embarressed silence.

Nope this never happened because if it did it would have made the news over here.

Most Brits don't hate Americans,just very wary of your government.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Most Brits don't hate Americans,just very wary of your government.

As well you should be, I certainly am.