To be beginning to think there is some sort of bot presence here starting threads doing down the UK?

[MrsBixbysMinkCoat]

I am so fed up with it. Nearly every day there is a thread about how awful the UK is. Today it's about how filthy we are compared to other places. A couple of days ago it was about how shyte it is here. Moaning about the NHS, weather, transport, about how Ukrainian refugees feel sorry for us, about bloody everything.

There are lots of things I dislike about Britain in 2024. However, this is still a beautiful country where the vast majority of people live peacefully. The very worst thing about this country is that we don't realise how bloody lucky we are. It's not too hot like Southern Europe (sunning yourself on a beach in 38 degrees might be lovely; working in a kitchen every day much less so), not too cold like Russia or part of Canada. We don't get hurricanes like the Southern US has just dealt with. We don't get floods on the scale of Bangladesh. We don't get earthquakes like Japan or Haiti. We don't have volcanoes like Iceland or Italy. We don't have poisonous snakes and spiders like Australia or India. We don't have wild animals stopping us roaming freely like Africa. We don't have drug cartels running things on a huge scale like parts of South America. Neither do we live under despotic rule like North Korea. We don't live in daily fear or famine like the horn of Africa or of war like the Middle East. Our women are reasonably free and not forced to live diminished lives like in Afghanistan.

We live in a generally benign Western democracy and yes times have been hard and yes some of that has been self inflicted - eg via Brexit - and yes we have struggled with leadership too removed from working class priorities. Yes there are knife crime issues and gangs in some of our cities and towns and I wish there weren't. But on balance in a global scale this is fucking paradise compared to many people's lives.

Please can we have a thread bigging up the UK instead of this constant, neverending, tone deaf whingeing, that really is one of the worst things about the British (and possibly, the English most specifically).

Have you reported your concerns about bots on specific threads OP? MN are good at checking things out if they're brought to their attention.
Also, my username tells you my favourite thing about the UK. 😁

If you think something is AI or bot generated then use the 'report' option on the post. MN HQ can look at the posters history & are pretty quick to remove anything that doesn't check out

So true.

people love to do England down whilst totally ignoring the wonderful aspects about it.

I personally think our weather and seasons is one of the best things about it. Sydney has more rain the the uk! And the extreme weather of Australia would be miserable for me.

I also hugely value our democracy, diversity and freedoms. Yes it’s imperfect, but still a world away from many countries inequality.

Here (especially in London) you can be whoever you want, love whoever you want openly, believe whatever you want and as long as you’re not hurting anyone, will be free to live in peace.

We also have a rich history, culture, beautiful countryside and architecture. Great sense of humour and arts scene. Close proximity to Europe for travel.

Yes of course there are issues but I agree that the image doesn’t reflect my lived experience.

There does seem a relentless and determined push to engineer misery and hopelessness on this site. It doesn't seem to reflect the far more moderate and nuanced perspectives on the ups and downs of life here that you come across in everyday life. I'd be relieved if it were bots.

That thread you mention is an old thread (from June) tbf but yes there are a fair few threads recently knocking the UK. I assumed disgruntled remainders but I suppose it may be bots.

You’re right, OP. The rest of the world (esp France, Germany and the Nordic countries) are seen as a utopia on mumsnet and it’s getting ridiculous. BTW where is the thread about us being dirty, I don’t see it? Assume though it is another long list of English crimes such as not taking shoes off in the house (not true) and using, shock horror, toilet paper instead of a bidet.

Oh, yeah, the dirty one 🙄

I agree OP, I’m not from UK originally so can absolutely reassure that there are problems everywhere , people think that grass is greener somewhere and don’t appreciate how green and beautiful is grass around them.

I think those who repeatedly say they things like 'i don't see it' and 'not in my area' are denying and undermining what others are saying. Just because you can afford inflated food prices, can get a doctor's appointment and the police still respond to call outs in your area does not mean it's the same everywhere in the UK. I am from a shit hole, it's always been a shit hole but I've never noticed it be as desperately bad as it became recently. It's revolting and an awful place to be, truly. I am not exaggerating and everybody is desperate and hopeless.

I am well off (I did not grow up well off) and moved after another particularly distressing incident on the bad area. I now 'don't see it' either. I live in a very nice neighbourhood where my neighbours all know my name. Where it is very safe, it's a gated community. I can easily see the GP, people are much better off and don't seem to be suffering really, yes they complain things have 'gone up' but they aren't complaining that now they have to go without.

It's very easy to turn a blind eye to the poverty in the UK. To avoid areas that look awful and run down and only go to nice places and put it out of sight and out of mind. This does not mean that that these 'bot' threads, are not the lived experience of very real people who are struggling within the UK. In fact is is incredibly narrow minded and shows extreme privilege to be able to assume as much.

Nope, started today (filthy) and 23rd Oct (shyte).

I agree. It's possibly either bots or people who haven't lived outside of the UK. The UK has its problems like everywhere else. It's not a utopia and neither is it a hellhole on a relentless path to self destruction. It's a perfectly nice place to live for the majority of people, and those people who are really struggling in the UK would struggle in any other country, whether that's due to poverty, ill health, mental illness, just plain old miserableness etc. These are problems bigger than the country you live in, and I can't think of anywhere in the world where you wouldn't struggle with those.

Hi, yes I think you are absolutely right. This is along with all the political threads, education threads, US election threads.

I doubt it's bots but there have been these threads for a few years now, usually goady type posters.

Nah I think it's just mumsnet ,some posters love to wallow in misery and at least weekly there are threads about how terrible th uk is compared to the rest of the world .

They seemed to start around about Covid time.

@Anotherparkingthread substitute "uk" for most other countries and your words would still stand. The OP is talking about the relentless threads about how bad the UK is compared to other countries when it simply isn't true. I live in an absolute dump, can't wait to get away. I'd feel the same way if I lived in a dump in Paris or New York or Sydney. It's the nature of big cities, not unique to the UK.

I totally disagree. I grew up in a developing country and I think that living in the UK is incredibly privileged as a starting point.

I do see that we are worn down. I do see that some aspects of life are harder, such as getting a GP appointment. I specifically agree that the government has ignored working class priorities (in fact I said it in my OP) in order to virtue signal middle class values. I have disabled family members who struggled to get benefits etc. However just the fact that benefits exist, that my family member is getting life saving biologic medication delivered to our house for free, when even if we lived in the US we would be looking at copays of
$1,558 per 40 mg dose - which he takes every fortnight -

I mean. How lucky are we!

The problems we face in most things are fixable, and do not diminish the fact that on a global scale, we are incredibly privileged in this country.

The UK is filthy though. Cities, towns and the country. The amount of rubbish strewn around is disgusting. I'm just back from a long stint abroad and it's one of the first things you notice. Rubbish and graffiti.

It is dirty though,councils don’t litter pick any more,everything is overgrown,we have volunteer litter pickers in our village but they shouldn’t have to do that.

Agree and with pp that it started around Covid time

I can only assume you've never been to India or Africa?

As someone who has lived outside of the UK, I agree that people seem to have this view that everywhere else is a problem free utopia. It isn't true.

when even if we lived in the US we would be looking at copays of
$1,558 per 40 mg dose - which he takes every fortnight

What US based insurance coverage would have such an odd copay?

Things are getting shitty for a lot of people, the fact that it could be worse for them elsewhere doesn't change that or the fact that things used to be better for them here. Ignoring that (and adders) doesn't mean they don't exist.

Read/listen to Identify Crisis by Ben Elton.

Really goes into this and makes you think!