Do Europeans hate the Brits?

[Floofydawg]

We're in Spain at the minute and have encountered some pretty hostile behaviour. Not so much from the Spanish, as we speak the language, but from other Europeans. We've been coming here many years and I've never before encountered such hostility. It got me thinking, do many Europeans dislike the Brits?

We’ve all replaced our blue British passports with lovely burgundy Irish ones.. one of the (few) perks of living in NI!

Completely agree. I make a point of saying I'm Welsh for exactly the same reasons.

Nope. I’m from NI, many people here would identify as British.

I took DS to the Algarve this summer. Lovely beachfront hotel in a small town. Mostly other Portuguese, a few other overseas visitors.

We are English and were treated with the kindest and warmest welcome everywhere we went.

But we didn't get drunk, throw up in the street, or scream and shout at 2am.

I think there is a growing intolerance for howling drunk hen & stag parties, and generally vile behaviour. It is the behaviour, not the nationality that is disliked. And rightly so.

I've travelled to Europe on multiple occasions in the last two years: Greece, France, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Norway. No animosity at all. We tend to be quiet, try to speak the language where we can and perhaps are obviously just there to enjoy the culture, landscape and/or climate. If anyone hates for us being Brits, they've been keeping it very well hidden!

I agree. Attitudes change very quickly once they hear I'm Scottish and not English. My only recent experience has been France and Spain though.

I had to endure an hour in a taxi in Athens with the driver telling me how wonderful England is, what a great man Boris Johnson us, and how his community want to follow suit and have their own Brexit. It doesn't make me think that the majority of Greece agree with him though!

Not in my experience (and I work with people from all over Europe).

So they’re xenophobic?

Never had it happen and we go to all different countries and places all the time.

I think there was one bad reaction once and that was because it was a bunch of tour guides were competing trying to meet people from every US state, and obviously us being English were useless for that!

Maybe something about what you're doing?

I don't understand why some people hate England for colonising and invading countries in the past, but they don't hate all the other countries in Europe who have colonised and invaded countries. England weren't the only one to do it.

Spain for example invaded and colonised lots of countries in the past.

Isn't that nasty to England though? __

Nope, I’m simply stating fact - along with the other posters from Wales + Scotland who have backed me up on it.

Do you ever stand up for England?

I'm from England and I always speak really positively about Wales and Scotland.

I didn't argue that it was fact. I know anti -english sentiment is out there.

I said it's wrong.

Do you ever stand up for England?

I wouldn't like to hear people say bad things about Scotland or wales

In France they seem to like us although they do check we aren't American!

This. It’s probably because it’s more widely talked about. There were some horrifying atrocities counted by other European countries throughout history against other countries. Also the fact until recently the villains were mostly British (posh english) in many big American movies - it’s j credibly sad but I think some ill feeling comes from this stereotype 🙄😒

Take it up with the Europeans who perceive England in this way. Don’t shoot the messengers..

Never noticed it. The only thing we get now is sympathy or humour for the absolute clusterfuck which was Brexit.

Same as pp, we get some mild animosity, but it all disappears as soon as they find out we're Scottish not English. Not a sentiment I personally share at all, but it does appear that it's actually the English that have a bad reputation rather than Brits as a whole. Probably unfairly, unless as pp mentioned it's to do with football fans?

they don't, it's another invention.

they hate England for specific reasons depending on who they are. For example France hates England because England wrecked all the fishing, doesn't keep to the levels of migration help/security they are supposed to offer. Isle of Man hates England because of all the nuclear waste going into the sea from Cellafield. Spain hates England because of all the violent football tourists etc. etc.

The passport staff in Portugal do. Miserable bastards.

I've travelled all around the world and lived in France for a bit. The only place I've ever heard a lot of anti British sentiment was Australia. Never in Europe.

People saying that Europeans hate the English because of the Brits abroad stereotype, well unless OP's family have been embodying it too, it doesn't really follow that she should be disliked or treated badly. It's just plain xenophobia.

But do you ever stand up to the people who say bad things about the English out of interest?

I've heard people slagging off Polish people for example. And I stood up to them and called them out on it.