Do you dislike Americans?

[Kismett]

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?

When I've visited the USA, taking long-distance trains coast to coast (an amazing way to see the wonderful, varied landscapes of this beautiful country) I've never failed to be impressed and warmed by the remarkable politeness, curiosity and friendliness of the American people I've met and travelled with. Had some wonderful conversations with Americans of all types and walks of life and often left with the feeling that any number of them could have been a good friend, had we not been just Strangers on a Train, so to speak.

If Mumsnet is anything to go by, I'd feel well within my rights to observe that the British are class obsessed snobs, dismissive and ridiculing of anything that's seen as an American influence. Yeah! Cos that's not at all dismissive, ridiculing etc. Juding the UK by Mun=msnet is proably only 1 step away from judging us by Jeremy Kyle... no, wait...

Baby showers, "gender" reveals, naming conventions (ewww, Madison is just soooo American sounding"), Halloween, Santa To be fair they are Americanisms that either have age old UK versions tha thave been usurped by American tv or are just excuses for a party, again suggested by the vast amount of American tv we get.

Madison, for example, is a bike race or an English surname that is popular in the US because of place names etc. And it is a female version of Matthew, apparently!

Again, it is just different social mores that become jarring out of context, the more so due to a common language and expectations of similarity!

I can see why it is so irritating. It's not like we don't have a shitload of history over here in the first place!

Well that's exactly my point. I don't judge everyone in the UK by Mumsnet (which as a whole is massively class obsessed) because I know better.

Yet people seem to judge America and Americans negatively based on American television. Which isn't real.

Like anywhere it has its fair share of knobheads, weird food and strange customs.

Right now though, I'm not fond of much of the American political system. Or the people who vote for removal of women's rights....but they're quite in the right to pont out the mire of shite that is BREXIT.

So, I'm not casting any stones.

Sorry Stroke I did understand you, and agree with you, just pharsed it poorly and relied heavily on the

Oh hahaha!! 🤣

No, I think a lot of American culture is fantastic. The melting pot has produced some very cool and interesting places and people. New Orleans, jazz and blues, soul food, literature.

I find the narrow minded religious or conservative Americans very annoying though... but I feel the same about British extremists. Also find the stand out middle-American tourists annoying - am sure I just haven't noticed the quieter more modest American tourists but many of them seem to be rude, shouty, aggressive.

I think those two categories are over represented here so all Americans have been tarnished by the brush of a bad minority.

I've lived about half my life in the US and half in the UK at this point, and the vast majority of things people are complaining about Americans and America can be said about plenty of Brits and the UK.

Absolutely. I live in the US and whenever I encounter groups of British tourists it's frankly embarrassing not only how loud they are but how loudly they seem to think it's OK to swear, without ever thinking about the people around them.

It's cringeworthy. They think they're just so cool and clever, when in fact they're just completely ignoring the cultural norms of the place they're visiting.

No, I think American culture is hugely underrated due to the British propensity to dismiss anything American as “silly”

Can you give me some examples of American culture? I'm not being shady just genuinely asking which parts of American culture you find underrated

Tailgating, potlucks, 4th of July barbeques, Superbowl parties...

Tailgating is not American culture!

I've experienced this in Canada, UK , NZ, Aussie, and most terrifyingly, Italy. . .

I think driving arseholery is fairly universal. . .

I like the general celebration of friendships on Valentine's Day, it is much more inclusive.
I like the way so many people decorate their houses at Halloween and sit outside handing out sweets, even 20 something flat sharers dress their dogs up and do this, sitting in the street.

Tailgating is having a party out of the back of your car/truck.
A cross between a picnic and a barbecue.

Talking about Americans is like talking about Europeans as if they are all alike, POP of US 300 million, pop of U.K. 70 million. You can fit 3 and a half UKs in the area of Texas. One state in bigger than 3 UKs. Ridiculous to generalise about them.

Oh, right, sorry!

Tailgating is not American culture!

Bless your heart :-D

I have American family and also worked with America in work.
In terms of family, they loved their origins.
Colleagues were pushy.
I like americans. To me they're the people who think they know everything but you don't enlighten them on their ignorance. I suppose I see them as the less educated cousins who you mind?

We spend a great deal of time in the US and despite our house there being in a Republican stronghold, I like pretty much every American we know.

I loathe Trump though.

I was in America 3 years ago, found the people very friendly, i was glad to get home though not used to so many people on the streets all the time, i wouldn't like to live there no NHS , i don't understand the gun culture all the school shooting's in the past and politician's still allow ordinary people to have gun's, scary, i know we have homelessness here i seen tripple what we have in one day in America

Bless your heart :-D

LOL. Just shows how a very simple thing can become a cross cultural misunderstanding, hey?!

I don't get it - people in the US vary just as much as people do everywhere. I would find high property taxes a worry and don't like the chocolate much but I can't see any reason to dislike them. Donald Trump might be a twat, but politicians can be obnoxious anywhere

It's not that we don't 'get' sarcasm, it's more that sarcasm not really expected of adults. If you indulge in sarcasm in front of an American, that blank stare you get in return means they're embarrassed for you. Grown-ass people have no business trying to be sarcastic.

I've always found it a bit odd that people think Americans don't do sarcasm, considering that was pretty much the entire basis of Chandler's character.

It's not that we don't 'get' sarcasm, it's more that sarcasm not really expected of adults.

Oh. . . is that why when grown-arsed Americans (some of them) attempt to indulge in sarcasm, they're really bad at it then? Lack of practice?

I did love Chandler's Sarcasm 101 class where he asked a class participant to use sarcasm in describing English food and she said 'The food is SOOOO there.'