Calling all immigrants. Any aspects of British culture you struggle with?

[FishCanFly]

I will start:

• Kids bedtimes. I've been called neglectful.
• School uniforms. I could buy many more clothes within reasonable fashion.
• Film\game ratings. Like if Skyrim would harm a 12yo

*uninterestingly not interestingly

SummerSix read the thread, then you'll know. Have you never complained about anything yet continued to use/ put up with it? Have you ever complained about the country of your birth? Ever tried living anywhere else? If you don't try, you can keep your mind nice and closed I guess...

nothingsreallynewunderthesun

This is still a bit confusing because I thought it was about where a person is born/raised rather than lineage? If a Scottish family moved to England, had children in England, and those children had Essex accents, wouldn't they just be classed as English? Its like at some point there is a transition, isn't there? It's why people roll their eyes at Americans for "claiming" to be something other than American.

In my experience, English people who prefer to call themselves British tend to also be a bit sad that they don't have an empire anymore. The Irish, Scottish and Welsh, somewhat naturally, aren't so bothered as they tend to never really have thought of themselves as British anyway.

Dont like Briton or british people, sod off.

That's exactly what Brits who emigrate to other places and then vent their frustrations get very pissy at being told.

They seem to think it's somehow 'different' for/from them, lol.

LegallyBritish not necessarily. Most educated people are fairly mobile and moving around is common.

Ever heard of third culture kids? Lots of people aren't both born and raised all in one place, move countries as children and aren't born and/ or raised in the country either parent comes from.

Claiming the nationality of one of many equally distant ancestors you have neither met nor inhabited the planet at the same time as, and a country you first visit as an adult on holiday and have no contact with living relatives in, because it's cooler or more romantic in your view, isn't the equivalent of acknowledging that you have parents from more than one British country. The equivalent in the example of Americans claiming Ireland when they're 1/16 Irish and the rest English, Dutch and German would be identifying as European. That also sounds stuffy and boring though, I suspect...

@LegallyBritish - I think a lot of English people identify as (with) their city or county, rather than saying they're English or British.

I really didn't think we had a particular queuing reputation, but while waiting in queues at airports this summer, I kept hearing other people (also waiting in the same queue) taking about how much the British love to queue. Don't people queue in supermarkets in other countries? I've noticed that they do.

No one ever got slimmer by having someone else tell them they're fat
How do you know that though? You can't speak for all overweight people (assuming you're overweight yourself).

In my experience, English people who prefer to call themselves British tend to also be a bit sad that they don't have an empire anymore.

How have you experienced that? Have people said to you ‘I’m British’ and then followed it up with ‘I miss the British Empire’? I call myself British because it’s my nationality - it’s on my passport. It never occurred to me that someone would judge me as some kind of mourning colonialist for that

I'd actually say I'm English, if asked. I only use British when that is the only option.

No one ever got slimmer by having someone else tell them they're fat.
No one ever got slimmer by calling someone else a skinny bitch either, but it's socially acceptable enough to be very common.

@Aberhonddu

No, a few pages back someone said that British kids are too fussy and won't eat eat adventurous foods like broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, pesto... I replied even as an adult I don't like most of those things they just taste urghhh

There's also the simple fact of not feeling a particular attachment or sense of belonging to any one country due to moving around/ mixed nationality parentage and giving your nationality simply as listed on your passport - there's no English/ Welsh/ Scottish passport (yet)

Scottish and Welsh people often have a stronger sense of national identity. I disagree with ContessaLovesTheSunshine and think she has it backwards - though "make British great again" might be a slogan of UKip Brexiter types that's just for the handy pathetic "play" on Great Britain. Your typical xenophob nostalgic for a supposedly great past is more likely to call themselves English.

If people have a sense of regional identity they might identify as a Yorkshireman/ woman, or Cornish, or whatever. England is too populous and bland and has too shameful, unromantic, privileged a history to have the appeal of the strong identity.

People who feel to diluted to claim Scotland or Wales, or no claim on those countries, and no strong sense of English national identity are more likely to say British than English just because meh, that's what's written on the passport imo.

@feelingverylazytoday I find it really prevents people getting fat in the first place if see what I mean. Which is much better for your body than getting fat and then having to do something about it. Much better to loose 5 pounds than 5 stone.

Dont like Briton or british people, sod off.

Lol, you love "Briton" so much you can't even spell it properly.

Why be an immigrant in our country then whine like a little bitch at us.

Criticism of some national quirks can be very constructive, it’s not all whining and bitching. Nowhere is perfect.

Also, if having a good rant was a bad thing than MN wouldn’t be exist at all.

Dont like Briton or british people, sod off.

Don’t worry, as soon as I’ve finished my degree I’ll be gone!

When I say "stiff upper lip" I mean the sheer apathy of people towards things that enrage them (or rather those responsible), such as shambolic train services or the right wing coup that Brexit is turning out to be. They call it a 'disgrace' or 'blow to democracy' but not many write complaints to the train operators or riot in the streets. I believe this is one of the main reasons why Britain is less efficient than for example Germany or Switzerland, where people just don't take all that shit.

@JingsMahBucket

Need some RTG lessons up in here

Never mind the comments on kids going to bed early/shops closing before you want them too/someone saying "You alright?". not telling you like it is- why is there such hatred for baked bean and sweetcorn????!!!

I hate baked beans. Horrible stuff, sweet, gloopy and pointless.

Sweet corn has its place though. In the bin.

feelingverylazytoday and ItIsWhatItIs telling fat people they are fat is not telling them something that they haven't noticed. People are overweight for all sorts of complex reasons and if the solution was just hearing that from a third party, everyone would be slim. All it does is hurt people and make them feel worse about themselves.
I wouldn't tell a person that they were ugly or bald or had terrible dress sense or that their hairstyle didn't suit them. All those things might be factually correct but it would be massively rude and unnecessary to tell them!
If it's especially British not to say these things then I'm grateful for my nationality.

Some people use the “English” word erroneously, though.

For instance only a few days ago on one of the Royal threads, a person declared that one day Prince William would be King of England.

She got very uppity when informed there was no such title otherwise King of Scotland or King of Wales would make just as much sense.

It is a fact that some people - predominately English - use English when they mean British. It is stupid and extremely irritating.