What do you dislike about your country's culture?

[WomenHour]

I would say the binge drinking culture of the UK

@HopeClearwater

Daily Mail readers: If you don’t like it then leave.

Except that Daily Mail readers make an exception for those from downtown Damascus, in which case you're meant to brave the bombs and stay in the rubble in order to build a new city literally from the ground up.

I always want to ask them where I'm supposed to go, exactly.

@derxa

‘If you don't like it then leave‘ is a perfect example of the kind of arrogant, Daily Mail attitude that pisses me off. You might meet this attitude on MN or on social media but do people really come up against all this awfulness in daily life. Honestly?

Yes, and it's one reason why I quit my job. Not going into detail in case my ex-colleagues are on here.

Poland - Overt racism/homophobia, bluntness.

UK - Extortionate cost of good quality food, everything being served with chips.

British exceptionalism.

We’ve been told throughout our lives that Great Britain has “the best” health service / history / sense of humour / standard of fair play / police / pop music / tolerance / landscape / language / TV / newspapers / beer / driving standards / Parliament etc. etc. etc.

This blinds us to the reality of our place in the world and what we can learn from it, culminating in the clusterfuck of Brexit.

Yes, and it's one reason why I quit my job. Not going into detail in case my ex-colleagues are on here. That's awful. I'm sorry that you suffered from bullying.

To all the people complaining about this thread: why don't you make a thread about things you love about your country's culture?

@derxa

Yes, and it's one reason why I quit my job. Not going into detail in case my ex-colleagues are on here. That's awful. I'm sorry that you suffered from bullying.

Thanks. It was pretty awful. Being the youngest, fairly new and a minority painted a big target on my back, shall we say.

@Byallmeans

I’d love to know where all these bad horrible British people are. Are they on the news? Daily mail? Facebook? Your neighbours? Is it the people on here nodding in agreement?

The area I live in is actually well kept. No litter. If you drive in to the inner city then it can get bad.

When we travel abroad we eat the local foods. It’s a big part of our holiday.

Drinking culture has really calmed down. I was in my friends bar/pub on Saturday and there was a few new babies in there. Very child friendly, great chilled atmosphere.

What I hate about U.K. ‘culture’ is - is the need for people to constantly hate the very people they live amongst. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it any where else. It’s truly unique.

The U.K. isn’t a bad place.

I don't think anyone is saying the UK is bad. The question was what do you dislike about your culture and people are listing the things they dislike. Saying you dislike the drinking culture or littering doesn't mean you're saying you hate the UK as a while, but I don't think it's productive to claim that everything is rosy. It's only if we take the time to reflect on what could be improved upon that we can hopefully make a change for the better.

I've lived in a few other countries and have visited an awful lot more. Like a pp said, there is good and bad in every country. There's a lot I like about the UK and England, but there's also other things we could do better at. Like most other countries. Those who claim their countries are the best are doing themselves a disservice because there is always room to do better.

Being forced to send my non catholic child to a catholic school in a country that lauds itself as so "progressive" these days

The sheer amount of non-religious parents still blindly following the sacraments with their DC thus perpetuating the status quo - drives me crazy. IRELAND

Littering
Ugly buildings

Alcohol and binge drinking
Bullying those who are different
Yobbish behaviour - from all kinds of people
Lack of intellectualism
Rubbishy popular culture - slebs, crap music, disposable fashion, eyebrows etc.
Poor manners and needless aggression

What @LockdownMayhem said. There's a lot I like about England: our sense of humour, football, the countryside, tacky seaside resorts, the local markets and small businesses, Manchester's response to the MEN bombing. But this thread asked people what they don't like about their country's culture and we responded. Yes, England is better than Syria or Uzbekistan or Mexico but there are things that need improvement.

England. Lack of respect. Just about covers everything:

Lack of respect for:

the education system (schools, staff, other pupils & hard graft while you're there)

other people generally (neighbours, fellow drivers, those providing customer or public service, the elderly, children )

other people who are outwardly different to themselves

law & order (including the police, but also just what is deemed socially acceptable in a law-abiding, considerate society)

our environment & local areas of ourselves & others (I can't stand the complaints about litter and fly-tipping in the local paper, many of it seems to be carried out by people shoving their waste over their back yard wall into their OWN entries. We have good city waste collections including bulky items - if local residents don't use them, then yes, that area will become filthy. Don't then moan about the council not doing enough. Stop littering your own backyard!!!)

the need to have professional pride, no matter what your role

oneself

Football. Fucking football. Multi multi millionaires who literally kick a ball for a living. It’s pathetic and utterly baffling that it’s some sort of bloody national religion.

Best thing about lockdown and me now cutting DH hair is he’s forever free of the fear of sitting down to immediately be asked if he “saw the match”. He’s never seen a sodding match. Liking football, or any sport, is a deal breaker for me and thankfully he detests it as much as I do.

It’s a fucking game! Played by primary school kids outside my house! That’s fine. Don’t pay people quarter of a million a week to do it and use the results of these games to love or loathe other nations.

What culture in particular. There are many cultures in the UK?

@WitchenKitch

"What culture?"

• New Zealand

There is a distinct lack of White culture.

Sexism in all the countries I've lived in, and internalised misogyny (including England).

The culture of lying by politicians, the police (Hillsborough and various miscarriages of justice, where some misfortunate gets fitted up for a crime), public services (like social services, the DWP including the Pip assessors) either to get the public off their backs or to save public money at the expense of the poor, vulnerable, disabled, etc.

Historically, this was a “Christian” country - a religion, which preached honesty and compassion; the values which we see flouted by so much of the Establishment and public so called services.

Lol! There is certainly a distinct Kiwi culture that hits you bang smack in the face when you go home after time away. But I don't think there is generally such a difference in the lives of many urban Pākehā poor and Māori poor, esp where the latter are raised without benefit of te reo or wider tikanga Māori.

Mainstream NZ culture has definitely absorbed a fair bit from Māori culture. I don't think anyone prominent or with a bit of local knowledge would go and sit on a table in NZ, for instance, and it's definitely getting really socially unacceptable to mispronounce Māori place names the hideous Anglicised way. When you hear someone say Mow-ree or Wai-tang-ee or Parra-par-AM, most people do flinch!

The acceptance of sleaze and the government lying to us, and also the notion that if you are middle class/posh that you somehow deserve to be in charge.

I do love our self-deprecating humour, beautiful countryside and beaches.

Vandals and yes to the drinking culture but I think that might taper off a bit ( until the nightclubs open anyway) I'm not anti drinking , but it is a menace in some places.
Why do they want to smash up bus stops and benches and kids playgrounds ? I was a bored teen at times but I wouldn't have done that. It is mindless.

@DDemelza

Lol! There is certainly a distinct Kiwi culture that hits you bang smack in the face when you go home after time away. But I don't think there is generally such a difference in the lives of many urban Pākehā poor and Māori poor, esp where the latter are raised without benefit of te reo or wider tikanga Māori.

Mainstream NZ culture has definitely absorbed a fair bit from Māori culture. I don't think anyone prominent or with a bit of local knowledge would go and sit on a table in NZ, for instance, and it's definitely getting really socially unacceptable to mispronounce Māori place names the hideous Anglicised way. When you hear someone say Mow-ree or Wai-tang-ee or Parra-par-AM, most people do flinch!

Quite. I'd no sooner sit on a table than I would keep my shoes on in the Marae.

I hate the way people and the media seem to hate public sector workers and blame them for everything. You see it on here all the time with teachers being demonised.

The way we doff our caps to the posh idiots in charge and instead of looking to the real problem of structural inequality and decimation of public services blame everything on 'immigrants' or 'benefits scroungers'.

Over-reliance on cars and poor/expensive public transport.

The way we (UK, particularly England) mock our traditional culture. Morris dancers, maypole dancing etc all get seen as embarrassing hobbies for those experiencing mid life crises. Most other countries celebrate their traditional culture, are proud of it and promote it where possible.

This! We are very supportive and encouraging of other cultures but tend to mock our own. I’m British and Caribbean and love both my cultures/heritage but I feel like it’s acceptable and even encouraged to mock the British side.

General lack of respect and consideration for others. (British) It's a minority though.

It manifests in littering, abuse of the countryside, drunkenness, and 'me first' selfishness.

@LioneIRichTea I agree. I think a lot of Brits are just not proud of being British in the same way as most other countries are. Which is such a shame.