to wonder if British people who go on holiday in the States deliberately seek out the stupidest...

[AtheneNoctua]

people they can find so they can come back and tell everyone how stupid all Americans are.

I've always wanted to be first to post this.

YABU

HTH

Not stupid. Mostly ignorant about the world, though.

Izzit cos we is fick?

And if you think Americans' ignorance about the UK is staggering, wait until you hear their 'views' on the rest of the world.

I don't know. There's another thread going that has some quotes I would be hard pressed to consider anything but down right stupid.

It's a big place there will be lots of thick people, just like in the UK, lots of average people, just like in the UK and a few really quite bright ones ....... just like in Italy

"few really quite bright ones " Is that as far as the top end of the scale goes? DOn't you mean "and loads of downright geniuses who don't spend their time talking to tourists at Disney World"?

As you are talking about my thread...

No I didn't. I have been to the States four times and this has only happened this time so perhaps there was some kind of a finction going on at Disney

And I didn't add on my thread, but certainly should have, that whilst i was genuinely at the various things we were asked I also thought that most of the people we met were totally charming.

We were probably caught in conversation more this time as I have a chatty DD and several people also satrted conversations to ask me about my DS2's special needs ( in a 'what is wrong with him' kind of way).

So no. Didn't seek anyone out. Liked them all very much in spite of their lack of knowledge in certain areas. And actually could have posted WAYYYYYY more questions comments but didn't. And think that British people probably just as dense but we never strat conversations with anyone from abroad if we can help it.

Like at the Laugh Floor animation when the monsters asked audience to name countries
" america. Africa. Europe.......er"
DS1 got snotty and started shouting "Afghanistan, Nigeria, Chile, Andorra.."

The child behind us shouted at him " thats cheating. you can't just make them up"

AtheneNoctua - almost without exception, every American I have met (and I have met an awful lot) has been intelligent, educated and very aware of what goes on in the rest of the world. So I do wonder where these people come from.

bad form thread

why not either post something more generic

or post something on the thread.

aren't there unwritten rules about starting a thread about a thread?

Too bad we cannot all be intelligent like Jade Goody, Katie Price, and Kerry Katona.

Walk around some of the council estates in Yorkshire and ask general knowledge questions.

Sorry just noticed there was another thread on this and have posted there.

I think I just said that didn't I?

The thread was lighthearted and many people on it have made the point about context and about equal levels of stupidity in Britain.

hee hee

lol @ "poe faced fuckers"

Love it.

Yes. It is very unreasonable and downright bonkers of you to think that people take a holiday and spend it searching for stupid people.

YABU, as Hecate said.

We are British, we don't seek out anyone! We are very reserved, dontcha know?

The great thing about USA is you don't have to seek anybody out. You just have to exist and they present themselves to you!

Anybody who speaks out loud in any European accent will get onslaught of very friendly and disarming chat from gushing Americans, which will often be hilariously misguided, such as 'Gee I love your castles' or 'oh my god you guys have like Starbucks over there?' etc.

But I have yet to meet an unfriendly American, which is what makes holidays there so much fun, as opposed to touring the great cities of Europe where you will be sneered at and ripped off at every turn.

You takes your choice.

Seems that British people are so suspicious of people who are friendly - so easy to be snide, cynical and sarcastic.

There have been so many anti American threads recently...

Well done Athene

Oh, and YANBU

closeminded, or just a bit sheltered? Americans very much think locally, not globally (or even nationally, except for a sort of generic patriotism).