What do you dislike about your country's culture?

[WomenHour]

I would say the binge drinking culture of the UK

@Franticbutterfly

Wokeness. Also the virtue signalling and narcissism on social media.

What do you mean, being angry about racism? Why is that bad?

@sst1234 I believe Morrissey had a song about that. The crab bucket mentality is poisonous. Like, sorry some of us have ambitions and want to work hard and do well out of life. I worked bloody hard for my degree, I had a hell of a time because I had a mental breakdown and nearly dropped out of uni, and I'm glad I can speak different languages. I don't get how that's a bad thing.

One more for the U.K.: Passive aggression

I'm proud of the Scottish Enlightenment
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Enlightenment

Kiwi here.
I wonder if those saying we don't have a culture maybe don't see it because it's just 'the way we are'.
My husband's not Kiwi and he would say we definitely do- the number 8 wire mentality, the way we raise our kids (much less mammy-ing than his Irish upbringing), etc.
And like someone said up thread- I've been out of the country for years and still cringe every time I see someone sitting on a table.

Having said that, the thing I really hate about NZ is the rate in which we kill our children. The scourge of domestic violence.

Live in France so, xenophobia and racism. Also rudeness

Mylittlepony374, I hear you. Tautoko.

James Whakaruru - I hope you sleep safely now. Ditto, Delcelia Witika. And far, far, too many others.

The fact that nobody is ever happy for other people’s success.

Get a pay rise, better job, bigger house etc and people just bitch about you.

That we don’t do enough during childhood to get working class kids out hillwalking, kayaking etc and enjoying our free scenery and boosting skills and health simultaneously . There’s no bad weather. Just bad clothes and all that jazz. There’s so much to do and it’s a pity we don’t see it/ take pride in it collectively. Like it’s for the rich and not all of us.

But who is saying this is just for the rich?! I saw a programme recently trying to get BAME kids out into the countryside. They were interviewing the kids who loved it and said “we didn’t think this was for us and it was heart breaking but no one is telling them it isn’t for them. Where are they getting this from. It’s just an assumption, people are limiting themselves and putting up their own barriers.

Apart from the politics which others have covered on many other threads. Things include:

Unwillingness to make an effort with other languages when abroad.
Putting the clocks back in the winter.
The metropolitan dominance- there is life outside London and other large cities.
So-called fashion- we are the most ill-dressed nation in Europe.

@eveningsong, when it comes to fashion, you may feel ill-dressed compared to the rest of Europe, but one of the things I love about being in the UK, is being 'dressier' than in NZ (uniform of jeans and T), and how my girls have relished and felt free to explore some fairly out there (certainly for NZ, I think they'd have got beaten up, quite frankly) fashions.

UK - This is what I don't like.

• Passive aggressive.
• Polite to your face/trained to say the right things but backstabs/gossips about/bashes you behind your back FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN IT IS WHAT WE DO.

• Underhandedness/cowardice in the guise of 'we are reserved, we don't like confrontation'.

• Covert racism.

• Rigid class system and the class system in general.

• Politics.
• Bandwagon/Follow your leader/'Yes' men/women.

• 'We are expats, everybody else is an immigrant'.
• 'We tolerate people, not accept them and you'll know the difference once you misbehave/do what Brits normally do.

• Entitled, arrogant, endless whinging.

• Don't know much besides what's happening at their front door/not knowledgeable enough about other cultures (as much as others are about them).

• Celebration of dowdy, old, crumbly houses in the name of Upper class stately homes.

• Abysmal decor.
• Shit properties in the guise of 'properties with character' or quirky.
• Terraced houses.

• Bar/pub-hopping/binge drinking/lad culture.

I have things I like but this isn't the thread for it. One thing Brits are great at is they can big themselves up, so that even shit can be hyped as gold and others will accept that it's gold.

The monarchy

But who is saying this is just for the rich?

These things cost, you know. Even for just walking you need to have somewhere to walk around and that may mean transport out of a city. If it needs equipment that costs. Even walking is more comfortable when you can afford £50+ for decent boots and the same for decent waterproofs.

Generally the idea of wandering around in the countryside is thought of as weird by some or just is not on their radar though. Football is the culture you are raised in, and you are weird if you don’t like it.

• Disrespectful and ill mannered school-aged children/teens.

• Bland food - mostly revolves around flour, sugar, salt and pepper.

• Sugar in every damn thing, even salt.

• Right-hand drive cars.

Or snobby. “Think you’re too good for us do you”

Racism
Benefit Culture
Loss of emphasis on family (read school pressures)
Piss heads
Lack of grooming in a lot of older women (what's with the short man vut as soon as you turn 60?)
I'll stop now as this just sounds mean.

Lack of respect for education. We have it so easy here compared to other countries and, while it isn't perfect and definitely needs some improvements especially in terms of accessibility, we completely take it for granted.

I'm talking about the UK by the way.

@Pepperwort

Generally the idea of wandering around in the countryside is thought of as weird by some or just is not on their radar though. Football is the culture you are raised in, and you are weird if you don’t like it.

Some people can be so narrow-minded about others' hobbies. Like the woman who plays the Sims and was humiliated by her partner for it and she had posters telling her she was wasting her life and should be doing interior design or keep fit instead.

I like football but FFS, it's not the end of the world if people don't like it! Cricket bores me rigid and loads of English love it, same with tennis. We would be a boring lot if we all had the same tastes.

Scotland:

• tribalism. People only socialising with their family, living next door to their mom and across the street from their aunty. Stay within family bubble as a kind of protective measure I suppose
• definite belief in the state and 'cradle to grave' support without any concern for Scotland's mammoth debt
• lack of intl outlook
• shocking dietary habits
• drug use
• avid dislike of the English and complete refusal to visit England. Just weird.
• socialist crony culture. Everyone knows each other and there absolutely is a political and cultural elite, but no one will admit it.

Football. An excuse for men to be twats

@PhilSwagielka

Why are disabled people so hated?

Most of it goes back to Little Britain. People took it seriously.

Croatia - corruption and the general acceptance that’s how life works there.

NZ - my DH is a Maori (MIL is a Maori). Personally I found the Maori/Pakeha get on very well. But in general I was disappointed that the society is not more equal. A lot of crime, gangs?!, fights after the nightclubs close, having a security guy escorting you to your car from the library at the Waikato Uni as it’s unsafe to walk there by yourself after dark. Blatant racism towards Asians. Mind you, unlike in the U.K., no one in NZ was racist to me as an Eastern European. Many didn’t even know where Croatia was!

U.K.- people’s acceptance of the class system. Completely nuts. Oh and the single sex schools...