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Original poster

Do you dislike Americans?

345 replies

Kismett · 21/08/2018 15:07

I feel like I often read posts online that are insulting American people, culture, food, etc. In person people are generally nice to me in the UK, although I do get unsolicited comments about how our chocolate is shit or they'd never want to live in the US. It's not a great feeling, to be honest. But is this how most people really feel?

OP posts:

Stupomax · 22/08/2018 14:07

They are talking about people of Hispanic origin and some Americans do feel threatened by that

Yes - I think many Americans feel threatened by the potential for Spanish to replace English as their national language.

My children are all learning Spanish to improve their employability here in the US.

Andylion · 22/08/2018 16:29

Yeah, these people didn't just mis hear you, or weren't familiar with "UK" rather than Great Britain or England etc. Definitely they were ignorant americans who didn't understand the central importance of the UK in the world.

I'm interested to know if at the time of this encounter you could have named any county in Texas or given any passable precis of the history of this interesting state?

I don't think not knowing what the UK is is equivalent to not being able to name any counties in Texas.

StrangeLookingParasite · 22/08/2018 23:38

I think many Americans feel threatened by the potential for Spanish to replace English as their national language.

There is no official national language in the US.

Trump voters of any regional origin in the US are an exception, however - I truly do despise them and their stupid ignorance that got the US into its current horrible political mess.

I feel exactly the same about leave voters, just sub in UK for US in the last sentence.

Stimmyplip · 22/08/2018 23:45

Yes I feel he same about people that voted for the Torys.

MervynBunter · 23/08/2018 00:02

The ones I meet in our area have. so far, all been great. I suppose there may be some awful ones but I've never met any (or does the USAF run a charm school?)

SheWoreBlueVelvet · 23/08/2018 00:42

I don't think not knowing what the UK is is equivalent to not being able to name any counties in Texas.

Ha ha. I just googled counties in Texas to see if I was right about Austin or whether I had named a city....there's 240 counties! I be bloody surprised if Americans could name more than a couple.

ShadyLady53 · 23/08/2018 00:56

No. I’ve met quite a lot of US citizens and liked the vast VAST majority of them. However, there are popular aspects of the American culture and certain ways of thinking that I do not support and that sometimes make me feel very uncomfortable when I’m over there. However I try to understand why this might be and look for the good in people. There are also similar aspects of other cultures I am not in agreement with and so I’d feel the same way. It’s not exclusive to the USA and it’s citizens. If I say I am a pacifist and a globalist for example you could see why overt displays of glorifying the military and intense patriotism that everyone is seemingly blindingly expected to support would make me feel quite uncomfortable. A good American friend said that she would only hire veterans to carry out repair works on her house because “we have to support our brave servicemen”. Her husband also assured me it was vital that everyone owned at least one gun because “guns keep us safe”. I still like them and am friends with them but I do not support or “like” those views. The fact they are American makes no odds, I’d feel the same way if they were from India or Norway or anywhere. Like them, dislike some of their ways of thinking.

I might add I also have American friends who do not share those views and have more in common with my way of thinking.

pallisers · 23/08/2018 01:14

Ha ha. I just googled counties in Texas to see if I was right about Austin or whether I had named a city....there's 240 counties! I be bloody surprised if Americans could name more than a couple.

probably not. But I wouldn't decide someone was insular, arrogant and ignorant because they knew little about texas. As people here do about americans who know little about the UK.

That Texan asked us where we were from and we replied the UK. She then asked us where that was! "England!" my friend answered. Her husband then asked "Which shire?" My friend replied "Essexshire!" I don't know how I kept a straight face. Yeah, I know that was mean but it was funny at the time.

Just to go back to the original Texas post. The texans the OP was having a chat with (and laughing at) clearly knew where/what England was - hence their question about "shires" (for which they got a cheap shot with essexshire - but they probably knew they were chatting with piss artists so no harm done). They may not have been familiar with the term UK and may not have grasped it in the poster's accent. But laugh away, think those nice people who were having a conversation with you were insular stupid people.

InionEile · 23/08/2018 01:25

@StrangeLookingParasite - Leave voters and Trump voters are cut from the same political cloth, I would say. Same phenomenon on either side of the ocean with similar outcomes too. I'm not from the UK but if I did live there I would have the same opinion of Leave voters.

ScattyCharly · 23/08/2018 01:26

I love America, the people, the culture and the food. The only thing I think if I encounter an American living here in the UK is: what the fuck are you doing here when your country is so much better than ours

IRL everyone in the UK watches American TV/movies and eats American food. And, people would love to do their holiday in America, only it’s an expensive flight so they do EasyJet to Spain or somewhere else in UK/Europe instead.

America is cool OP, as are Americans!

RibbonAurora · 23/08/2018 01:27

I'm married to an American and live in the USA. The people I know here are a mix just like anywhere else. Some I love and some I can't stand but most I like and get along really well with.
Yeah, the chocolate does suck but that's more than balanced out by access to fabulous steaks and pumpkin pie.

InionEile · 23/08/2018 01:37

Mmmm... pumpkin pie...

Pumpkin season is just around the corner and I can't wait! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin soup... and the annual trip to the local pumpkin farms for cute pics with the kids. Love it I would really miss that stuff if we ever left the USA.

Stimmyplip · 23/08/2018 02:03

THERE IS AMAZING CHOCOLATE HERE.

Ahem, sorry.

When I moved here I nearly vomited the first time I tasted pumpkin pie. I couldn't figure out how the fuck even a pig with no taste buds could eat it.

I don't know what happened but now I adore it.

Mrs Myers (which most of my cleaning stuff is) has just come out with a pumpkin range though. Why the hell would I want my dishes, worktops and hands to smell like pumpkin????

RibbonAurora · 23/08/2018 02:06

InionEile Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins! . Our local pumpkin patch is already setting up the corn maze and getting the trailers ready for the hayrides! DH laughs at me and my pumpkin pie addiction but, like I tell him, I have 40 yrs of pumpkin pie deprivation to make up for.

Stimmyplip · 23/08/2018 02:07

This place is on a remote island near me. Their chocolate is the best I've ever tasted. They have a cool book that is

Stimmyplip · 23/08/2018 02:08

Cook book ffs.

midgesforever · 23/08/2018 02:08

Happily I do love pumpkin pie and will be keeping a close eye out for Mrs Meyers pumpkin stuff, my local supermarket has a bar which impacts my shopping efficiency!

Stimmyplip · 23/08/2018 02:09

Corn mazes, hay rides and making apple juice is just one of the best things in life.

Stimmyplip · 23/08/2018 02:11

@midgesforever I'm not sure it will hit many stores. Most of their seasonal stuff never does near us. I order from their website. Last year they did a Christmas orange spice that made me tear up with nostalgia every time I cleaned something.

RibbonAurora · 23/08/2018 02:11

Stimmyplip no I don't want my home stinking like pumpkin either and you can stick yer cinnamon-spiced fucking everything where the sun don't shine! That's one thing I can't get my head around - with cinnamon less is fucking more, people!

midgesforever · 23/08/2018 02:14

Darn, I didn't think I'd seen it yet but with the DC off school it has all been rather smash and grab the last few months!

Stimmyplip · 23/08/2018 02:17

@RibbonAurora yes. Cinnamon can fuck off too!

RibbonAurora · 23/08/2018 02:22

Have to say those chocolates look bloody amazing, which reminds me, despite most chocolate here sucking the big one, I must give a shout out to our local-ish chocolatiers, See's Candies - they blow our other more local (to me) chocolatiers, Ghiradelli, (sorry Stupomax) out of the water.

midgesforever · 23/08/2018 02:26

I'm getting those! I also like cinnamon. However I have tried mainstream Ghiradelli and I wasn't that impressed. However I was still in shock at food prices so expecting something truly splendid for the price.

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