What do you dislike about your country's culture?

[WomenHour]

I would say the binge drinking culture of the UK

The attitude towards alcohol in Britain (not just binge drinking) like it's some kind of God given right or absolute essential rather than a leisure activity and controlled by law substance that causes so many problems and that it's ok to be a twat when you're drunk because you're drunk in an eye rolly, pat on the head "What you like" way.
The way people are so fond of demanding their rights but forget their responsibilities and always blame someone else and bleat how it's not their fault or they're having a bad day.
Interesting that some people say customer service, I'd say it's got better from when I was younger. I'd say customer behaviour has declined a lot though. Why do shops and other places like buses and trains need signs up warning people that abuse of the staff won't be tolerated? It shouldn't need to be pointed out that abusing people is wrong! Yes it's even wrong when you're the customer and it's directed at someone serving you!!
The lack of community or thought for other people and lack of concequences for things that make others lives a misery, no one seems to care about anyone else or consider their actions and how they affect others - selfishness is at the heart of British culture.

Being bullied for actually wanting to do well and get good marks was one thing I never understood at school. I don’t understand why it made me a bad person.

I also don’t get why shagging a footballer is seen as something to aspire to, given how many of them cheat on their partners (including the one I’m named after, he was screwing an Instagram model behind his wife’s back) and treat women like shit.

English exceptionalism

Also, patriotism has been tainted for me by the far right. The Patriotic Alliance, that nasty little prick Mark Collett’s party, and people like them who think that because I’m Jewish I’m not a real Brit and should fuck off to Israel.

I've lived in three countries.

Everywhere has good and bad!

Before anyone starts going ‘oh shut up you stupid woke bitch’ or whatever, there’s plenty I do like about England. It’s just that this isn’t the thread for it.

Attitude towards drinking.
Football- attracts some of the worst behaviour and mindsets (also involving alcohol!).

English.

Agree with this

UK benefits culture

Lived places where drink culture is frowned upon. People hid whiskey bottles in their closets, hid them from the bin men, drank alone, judged all the neighbours so no one would notice them. Alcoholism, depression and suicide were much worse.

@MrsTerryPratchett

I've lived in three countries.

Everywhere has good and bad!

Several countries same

@squeekums

australias beer love - why, its foul

Well I don't love Australian beer generally there is one or two I like

@notangelinajolie

UK benefits culture

Agree. It's got so bad, the UN commented on it. How shameful. The culture of demonising disabled people, the culture of blame directed towards those made redundant, the 'sanctions', the cuts, benefits below subsistence levels. We used to have a welfare state and a department of social security. No more.

Why are disabled people so hated?

Phil I don't know. It's very depressing.
Perhaps subconscious fear? Disability so frequently means losing your freedom, your agency, your control.

In my part of the UK I'd say my most hated thing is territory marking with flags, and what-aboutery. For a small but vocal section of the population, even the most mundane issues (parking, roads maintenance, leisure facilities, speed cameras, anything and everything) descend into sectarianism. And both sides are convinced that the other side have it easy and only their side are affected by the problem.

There is a lot of positive stuff too, but that aspect of our culture is frankly embarrassing.

Are you from Belfast by any chance?

@PhilSwagielka

Are you from Belfast by any chance?

Near enough.

How did you guess?

@Rhynswynd 100% agree. The racism towards indigenous Australians is horrific.

When I lived in the UK the xenophobia got me down. People would be shitty to me when they thought I was American but treat me completely differently when they found out I was Canadian. Canadians don’t like American politics or gun culture either but we aren’t rude to individual Americans. The drinking culture often made me uncomfortable too as I can barely manage a half pint of cider in a 4 hour period and I’d get hassled about that. In general I love British culture.

Canada! Don’t get me started!! Okay, do. I dislike our massive fear of intellectualism. Our mania for fitting in: if you don’t like hockey and bad coffee and worse doughnuts then you’re pretentious because having different tastes than the masses means you’re doing it just to annoy them (that’s right, I’m secretly depriving myself of hockey and doughnuts just to make you hate me). The classism based solely on income that goes both ways. The middle classes hate the poor, the rich barely know the poor exist, and the poor (more understandably) see the better off as a monolith of arrogance and delusion.

I dislike that we (in Canada) won’t admit to our class problem & that we’re lumbered with a system that funnels kids into jobs where everyone hopes they’ll be able to pay their bills with little thought given to having a working life of stimulation and contribution and the ability to share in decision-making. Did I mention our work culture is very hierarchical? Denmark we are not.

Also, where I live, we’ve had a massive opioid crisis for about 20 years and it just gets worse every year. That is really getting to me. Maybe not cultural, but we seem just about able to tolerate having x amount of our people turned into homeless addicted zombies who steal, prostitute themselves and die young. The national media keeps claiming we’re all concerned but it never gets fixed.

We have a lot of work to do.

Where do I start?

• USA

Colonialism

And regionalism! I never understood the snobbery towards different areas/cities which to me seems to be based just on where they are located i.e. southern = good / northern = bad 🤷🏽‍♀️

The patriarchy, homophobia and outright sexism.

I hate that it's a tradition for women and children to bow to men when they enter a the room (certainly in my family line).

Imissmoominmama
The lack of collective responsibility. There are a few who ‘do’, whilst the rest just expect.

^ I agree

The arrogance and selfishness of particularly English culture has shown itself during the last six months

I think binging is part of our culture now we binge on take aways/food rather than alcohol