Why are the British so rude?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like the Brits. Many I've met have that dry sense of humor.

very witty

I can appreciate smart humor!

They say something insulting or mean spirited and then defend it by saying it's their "British humor".

Wit is smart, being condescending or insulting under the guise of 'humor' is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:an older British woman at Tysons butted in when I was paying and was astounded I got out a lot of coupons mailed to me and was like.... 'you have so many coupons! where did you get those?'. Then she stood there next to me and stared as I paid with my coupon and money the whole time as if I was doing something wrong.

And? Do you extrapolate from this that all British people are rude?

This thread is awful - I'm British and offended by it.

That's understandable. It's wrong to generalize and stereotype about any nationality, race, or ethnicity. As someone earlier said, we're talking percentages, but no body

That said, here's Brit A.A. Gill on engrained British anti-Americanism: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/07/america-with-love-aa-gill-excerpt/amp. Gill has a whole book (The Angry Isle or something like that) on why he thinks the British are always so angry.

I'm the pp with anti-American Scottish relatives, and I remember Gill because he pretty much nailed my relatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say this as someone with British blood, so it pains me to even say this. But lately I've noticed how incredibly rude and obnoxious many (not all) Brits are towards Americans. Lots of underhanded comments and snideness. I mean, what gives? I thought they were our major ally. I've lived in several foreign countries and never seen that level of condescending rudeness

Seeetie, British blood doesn't exist. Perhaps you perceive Brits to be rude because you have internalized all American PC bull and see anyone who hasn't as either a) US nazi or b) rude Brit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Brits. Many I've met have that dry sense of humor.

very witty

I can appreciate smart humor!

They say something insulting or mean spirited and then defend it by saying it's their "British humor".

Wit is smart, being condescending or insulting under the guise of 'humor' is not.

That particular aspect of British humor is called "winding you up" or "taking the piss" and it's practically a hobby. Not to be confused with the Monty Python-type wit you're probably also familiar with, or even something like Absolutely Fabulous.

FWIW, The British version of The Office is a lot darker than the American Version (which Gervais contributed to, btw).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Brits. Many I've met have that dry sense of humor.

very witty

I can appreciate smart humor!

They say something insulting or mean spirited and then defend it by saying it's their "British humor".

Wit is smart, being condescending or insulting under the guise of 'humor' is not.

That particular aspect of British humor is called "winding you up" or "taking the piss" and it's practically a hobby. Not to be confused with the Monty Python-type wit you're probably also familiar with, or even something like Absolutely Fabulous.

FWIW, The British version of The Office is a lot darker than the American Version (which Gervais contributed to, btw).

I loooove the British Office (and think it far superior to the [quite frankly horrendous] American version) but this is not about that. I'm good at "taking the piss" as well, but that's different from being outright rude and condescending. That's not a different kind of humor, that's being a jerk.

Many, many Americans really enjoy and understand dark humor- hence the popularity of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Curb Your Enthusiasm. But Americans still manage to retain a level of friendliness to their fellow man which I frankly don't see in Britain (generalizing, of course)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:an older British woman at Tysons butted in when I was paying and was astounded I got out a lot of coupons mailed to me and was like.... 'you have so many coupons! where did you get those?'. Then she stood there next to me and stared as I paid with my coupon and money the whole time as if I was doing something wrong.

And? Do you extrapolate from this that all British people are rude?

This thread is awful - I'm British and offended by it.

That's understandable. It's wrong to generalize and stereotype about any nationality, race, or ethnicity. As someone earlier said, we're talking percentages, but no body

That said, here's Brit A.A. Gill on engrained British anti-Americanism: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/07/america-with-love-aa-gill-excerpt/amp. Gill has a whole book (The Angry Isle or something like that) on why he thinks the British are always so angry.

I'm the pp with anti-American Scottish relatives, and I remember Gill because he pretty much nailed my relatives.

I'm the PP - I loved AA Gill too and I agree with a lot of what he said. What I am finding offensive on this thread is the purely anecdotal approach - "I met a rude British person so all British people are rude" - and I'm surprised by how many are happy to make these generalizations which usually get stamped on - e.g. there was a thread in Travel about "ugly Americans" and the reaction to that was generally outrage that the behaviour of some Americans should be attributed to all. I feel the same way about this.

And as for the specific kind of humour - well, it is a bit different. And some Americans get it and some don't, and I do understand that it can appear rude if that is not what you are used to.

[Anonymous]

I love Keeping Up Appearances, re-watched it recently. I do like the humor and you the line between condescending and rude seems quite blurry to me.

[Anonymous]

^I am the OP of this thread and of course I didn't make it based on "one British person was rude to me one time". Actually I frequent the Daily Mail, and, while of course the comment section there is notorious trash, I am shocked by the level of highly upvoted comments bashing Americans. You don't see the reverse. Yes, it's a British paper- but comments bashing Brits wouldn't make it to the top of any American newspaper I can think of. Another thing- last season of Big Brother, the American contestants, with one exception, were all voted out first. The nice ones, who did nothing to rock the vote- out. Of course, we can talk all day about CBB being lowest common denominator- but these are platforms that have mass audiences, that truly check the pulse of a nation and the deeply ingrained beliefs. When article after article has Brits upvoting rude remarks about Americans (and, btw- down voting any comebacks Americans give, so it's not just about a sense of humor) and the widely viewed television shows target Americans, then we have a real anti-American sentiment that isn't even attempted to be covered up.

Additionally, if you can't already tell, I watch a lot of British television and read a lot of British work and I think "rude" is exactly how I would class a lot of the behavior. Of course there is an argument to be made for "television is not representative of a nation" but in a way it is- just as it says something about America that Carrie Underwood is the most successful American Idol of all time, etc.

Also- my personal experiences have also borne this out. I would generally not ever try to make that kind of observation unless I had viewed it across multiple platforms, not just- oh, i met this lady once who had a British accent and she was rude. I'm genuinely curious as to this cultural difference that I (and others) have observed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Brits. Many I've met have that dry sense of humor.

very witty

I can appreciate smart humor!

They say something insulting or mean spirited and then defend it by saying it's their "British humor".

Wit is smart, being condescending or insulting under the guise of 'humor' is not.

That particular aspect of British humor is called "winding you up" or "taking the piss" and it's practically a hobby. Not to be confused with the Monty Python-type wit you're probably also familiar with, or even something like Absolutely Fabulous.

FWIW, The British version of The Office is a lot darker than the American Version (which Gervais contributed to, btw).

I loooove the British Office (and think it far superior to the [quite frankly horrendous] American version) but this is not about that. I'm good at "taking the piss" as well, but that's different from being outright rude and condescending. That's not a different kind of humor, that's being a jerk.

Many, many Americans really enjoy and understand dark humor- hence the popularity of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Curb Your Enthusiasm. But Americans still manage to retain a level of friendliness to their fellow man which I frankly don't see in Britain (generalizing, of course)

I'm the PP who posted about the British Office and I like it a lot too. But it is a lot darker. The long moments when Gervais' character humiliates the Pam
character are just painful, but there's more real drama there too. I also enjoyed the American Office. Somebody did a comparison of national identities based on their versions of The Office (the French Office is really bureaucratic, apparently). I think the author concluded the American version was more optimistic about finding happiness in the workplace, whereas other nationalities were pretty pessimistic. I'm at work now, and I provided the AA Gill link, so if anybody else is interested they will have to dig it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^I am the OP of this thread and of course I didn't make it based on "one British person was rude to me one time". Actually I frequent the Daily Mail, and, while of course the comment section there is notorious trash, I am shocked by the level of highly upvoted comments bashing Americans. You don't see the reverse. Yes, it's a British paper- but comments bashing Brits wouldn't make it to the top of any American newspaper I can think of. Another thing- last season of Big Brother, the American contestants, with one exception, were all voted out first. The nice ones, who did nothing to rock the vote- out. Of course, we can talk all day about CBB being lowest common denominator- but these are platforms that have mass audiences, that truly check the pulse of a nation and the deeply ingrained beliefs. When article after article has Brits upvoting rude remarks about Americans (and, btw- down voting any comebacks Americans give, so it's not just about a sense of humor) and the widely viewed television shows target Americans, then we have a real anti-American sentiment that isn't even attempted to be covered up.

Additionally, if you can't already tell, I watch a lot of British television and read a lot of British work and I think "rude" is exactly how I would class a lot of the behavior. Of course there is an argument to be made for "television is not representative of a nation" but in a way it is- just as it says something about America that Carrie Underwood is the most successful American Idol of all time, etc.

Also- my personal experiences have also borne this out. I would generally not ever try to make that kind of observation unless I had viewed it across multiple platforms, not just- oh, i met this lady once who had a British accent and she was rude. I'm genuinely curious as to this cultural difference that I (and others) have observed

If you think the Daily Mail is bad, you should have read the Guardian comments section back in the day, before they clamped down. After 9-11 there was a thread about "Kentucky Fried Americans."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^I am the OP of this thread and of course I didn't make it based on "one British person was rude to me one time". Actually I frequent the Daily Mail, and, while of course the comment section there is notorious trash, I am shocked by the level of highly upvoted comments bashing Americans. You don't see the reverse. Yes, it's a British paper- but comments bashing Brits wouldn't make it to the top of any American newspaper I can think of. Another thing- last season of Big Brother, the American contestants, with one exception, were all voted out first. The nice ones, who did nothing to rock the vote- out. Of course, we can talk all day about CBB being lowest common denominator- but these are platforms that have mass audiences, that truly check the pulse of a nation and the deeply ingrained beliefs. When article after article has Brits upvoting rude remarks about Americans (and, btw- down voting any comebacks Americans give, so it's not just about a sense of humor) and the widely viewed television shows target Americans, then we have a real anti-American sentiment that isn't even attempted to be covered up.

Additionally, if you can't already tell, I watch a lot of British television and read a lot of British work and I think "rude" is exactly how I would class a lot of the behavior. Of course there is an argument to be made for "television is not representative of a nation" but in a way it is- just as it says something about America that Carrie Underwood is the most successful American Idol of all time, etc.

Also- my personal experiences have also borne this out. I would generally not ever try to make that kind of observation unless I had viewed it across multiple platforms, not just- oh, i met this lady once who had a British accent and she was rude. I'm genuinely curious as to this cultural difference that I (and others) have observed

If you think the Daily Mail is bad, you should have read the Guardian comments section back in the day, before they clamped down. After 9-11 there was a thread about "Kentucky Fried Americans."

Oh yes. That's what's really gotten me. Seeing nasty comments after the hurricane hit Houston- I mean seriously? What is wrong with you? Of course there are nuts in every comment section but you would see these comments get heavily upvoted, and of course Americans being referred to as "dumb yanks" and people would up vote it. I truly cannot imagine, after a massive tragedy, Americans uprooting comments about "Dumb Brits" and being really vicious about it. In fact, I was trying to think of a slur for Brits- and we don't even have one!! That's proof right there of the difference...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Brits. Many I've met have that dry sense of humor.

very witty

I can appreciate smart humor!

They say something insulting or mean spirited and then defend it by saying it's their "British humor".

Wit is smart, being condescending or insulting under the guise of 'humor' is not.

That particular aspect of British humor is called "winding you up" or "taking the piss" and it's practically a hobby. Not to be confused with the Monty Python-type wit you're probably also familiar with, or even something like Absolutely Fabulous.

FWIW, The British version of The Office is a lot darker than the American Version (which Gervais contributed to, btw).

I loooove the British Office (and think it far superior to the [quite frankly horrendous] American version) but this is not about that. I'm good at "taking the piss" as well, but that's different from being outright rude and condescending. That's not a different kind of humor, that's being a jerk.

Many, many Americans really enjoy and understand dark humor- hence the popularity of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Curb Your Enthusiasm. But Americans still manage to retain a level of friendliness to their fellow man which I frankly don't see in Britain (generalizing, of course)

I'm the PP who posted about the British Office and I like it a lot too. But it is a lot darker. The long moments when Gervais' character humiliates the Pam
character are just painful, but there's more real drama there too. I also enjoyed the American Office. Somebody did a comparison of national identities based on their versions of The Office (the French Office is really bureaucratic, apparently). I think the author concluded the American version was more optimistic about finding happiness in the workplace, whereas other nationalities were pretty pessimistic. I'm at work now, and I provided the AA Gill link, so if anybody else is interested they will have to dig it out.

I just finished the AA Gill link, and it was wonderful and I agreed with all of it. This is what bothers me so much about all the dismissal of Americans as being "dumb"- it seems so patently, obviously untrue. As are most generalizations, seeing as it's a country of 300 million people that spans across a continent and has vastly different climates and states. But it's just kind of accepted "dumb Americans"- and if you object, you're in denial or obnoxiously patriotic.

I can definitely see that generalization of the different versions of The Office. I've also heard that British humor is mostly characterized by "a sad man getting beaten down time and time again" (as you see in The Office) and American humor is kind of characterized by "stupid underdog wins in the end"- I'm paraphrasing, but that does seem to be true in a sense, and certainly holds to the "American optimism" that most people observe. Curb Your Enthusiasm and other shows that buck that trend aside...


BTW, for some reason that link (thank you for sharing, btw- really, really wonderful and a great informative read) did not work for me and said the article was removed, which i think has to do with some weird hotlinking glitch thing happening. If anyone wants to go through google, it shows up easily, and the title is "America the Marvelous" by A.A. Gill. Definitely worth looking up and thanks to the PP for sharing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^I am the OP of this thread and of course I didn't make it based on "one British person was rude to me one time". Actually I frequent the Daily Mail, and, while of course the comment section there is notorious trash, I am shocked by the level of highly upvoted comments bashing Americans. You don't see the reverse. Yes, it's a British paper- but comments bashing Brits wouldn't make it to the top of any American newspaper I can think of. Another thing- last season of Big Brother, the American contestants, with one exception, were all voted out first. The nice ones, who did nothing to rock the vote- out. Of course, we can talk all day about CBB being lowest common denominator- but these are platforms that have mass audiences, that truly check the pulse of a nation and the deeply ingrained beliefs. When article after article has Brits upvoting rude remarks about Americans (and, btw- down voting any comebacks Americans give, so it's not just about a sense of humor) and the widely viewed television shows target Americans, then we have a real anti-American sentiment that isn't even attempted to be covered up.

Additionally, if you can't already tell, I watch a lot of British television and read a lot of British work and I think "rude" is exactly how I would class a lot of the behavior. Of course there is an argument to be made for "television is not representative of a nation" but in a way it is- just as it says something about America that Carrie Underwood is the most successful American Idol of all time, etc.

Also- my personal experiences have also borne this out. I would generally not ever try to make that kind of observation unless I had viewed it across multiple platforms, not just- oh, i met this lady once who had a British accent and she was rude. I'm genuinely curious as to this cultural difference that I (and others) have observed

If you think the Daily Mail is bad, you should have read the Guardian comments section back in the day, before they clamped down. After 9-11 there was a thread about "Kentucky Fried Americans."

Oh yes. That's what's really gotten me. Seeing nasty comments after the hurricane hit Houston- I mean seriously? What is wrong with you? Of course there are nuts in every comment section but you would see these comments get heavily upvoted, and of course Americans being referred to as "dumb yanks" and people would up vote it. I truly cannot imagine, after a massive tragedy, Americans uprooting comments about "Dumb Brits" and being really vicious about it. In fact, I was trying to think of a slur for Brits- and we don't even have one!! That's proof right there of the difference...

That would be "Limeys". Signed, AA Gill poster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Brits. Many I've met have that dry sense of humor.

very witty

I can appreciate smart humor!

They say something insulting or mean spirited and then defend it by saying it's their "British humor".

Wit is smart, being condescending or insulting under the guise of 'humor' is not.

That particular aspect of British humor is called "winding you up" or "taking the piss" and it's practically a hobby. Not to be confused with the Monty Python-type wit you're probably also familiar with, or even something like Absolutely Fabulous.

FWIW, The British version of The Office is a lot darker than the American Version (which Gervais contributed to, btw).

I loooove the British Office (and think it far superior to the [quite frankly horrendous] American version) but this is not about that. I'm good at "taking the piss" as well, but that's different from being outright rude and condescending. That's not a different kind of humor, that's being a jerk.

Many, many Americans really enjoy and understand dark humor- hence the popularity of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Curb Your Enthusiasm. But Americans still manage to retain a level of friendliness to their fellow man which I frankly don't see in Britain (generalizing, of course)

Not US-born, but liked Always Sunny. I found the British Office painfully un-funny LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^I am the OP of this thread and of course I didn't make it based on "one British person was rude to me one time". Actually I frequent the Daily Mail, and, while of course the comment section there is notorious trash, I am shocked by the level of highly upvoted comments bashing Americans. You don't see the reverse. Yes, it's a British paper- but comments bashing Brits wouldn't make it to the top of any American newspaper I can think of. Another thing- last season of Big Brother, the American contestants, with one exception, were all voted out first. The nice ones, who did nothing to rock the vote- out. Of course, we can talk all day about CBB being lowest common denominator- but these are platforms that have mass audiences, that truly check the pulse of a nation and the deeply ingrained beliefs. When article after article has Brits upvoting rude remarks about Americans (and, btw- down voting any comebacks Americans give, so it's not just about a sense of humor) and the widely viewed television shows target Americans, then we have a real anti-American sentiment that isn't even attempted to be covered up.

Additionally, if you can't already tell, I watch a lot of British television and read a lot of British work and I think "rude" is exactly how I would class a lot of the behavior. Of course there is an argument to be made for "television is not representative of a nation" but in a way it is- just as it says something about America that Carrie Underwood is the most successful American Idol of all time, etc.

Also- my personal experiences have also borne this out. I would generally not ever try to make that kind of observation unless I had viewed it across multiple platforms, not just- oh, i met this lady once who had a British accent and she was rude. I'm genuinely curious as to this cultural difference that I (and others) have observed

If you think the Daily Mail is bad, you should have read the Guardian comments section back in the day, before they clamped down. After 9-11 there was a thread about "Kentucky Fried Americans."

Oh yes. That's what's really gotten me. Seeing nasty comments after the hurricane hit Houston- I mean seriously? What is wrong with you? Of course there are nuts in every comment section but you would see these comments get heavily upvoted, and of course Americans being referred to as "dumb yanks" and people would up vote it. I truly cannot imagine, after a massive tragedy, Americans uprooting comments about "Dumb Brits" and being really vicious about it. In fact, I was trying to think of a slur for Brits- and we don't even have one!! That's proof right there of the difference...

That would be "Limeys". Signed, AA Gill poster

The history of that term is interesting. It had to do with the Royal Navy providing lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy.