Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 5 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 10 months ago by
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I have been to a few places in the world and seen quite a few people of different nationalities in the last few years, and I’ve got to say, we Brits have to be among the most unfriendly people there are. I stayed in a youth hostel in London and shared a room with two American visitors. When they saw me, they smiled and introduced themselves with handshakes, etc. Brits would never be like that. They would more likely give you a mean look if you stared at them too long.
Put a Brit in a room with two other Brits and they would more than likely ignore each other. Paranoa would probably exist, too. It’s like if someone were on holiday in Arizona and they hailed from California. A local would probably say to him, ‘Hi buddy, how ya doing?’ and they would open up. If a local in England did that to another Brit, they would probably stare at them like they had just fallen out of a dog’s bottom. Why is this?
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Name : Rob S., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Poole, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom,I am shocked that you find your countrymen so unfriendly. I am British, and I’m about as friendly as you can get. Whenever I encounter other Brits here in the United States (of all races), I always talk to them, and they are always extremely friendly. Whenever I go back home with my boyfriend, he loves it, says he gets treated like a king by all. He also says that whenever he meets English people and tells them his girlfriend is from England, there’s an immediate bond. The British in general are more reserved than Americans, but you shouldn’t misconstrue that as hostility; they just take more time to warm up to strangers. Conversely, some Americans are so friendly it can be overwhelming, a little too-much-in-your-business.
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Name : Jay31106, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I’ve noticed the same thing. As a South American living in the United Kingdom, I sometimes feel deeply depressed with the unfriendliness of the people. If I leave this country it will be for this reason alone. Not even the weather is so unwelcoming. I’ve been living in a small British city for the past four years. I still don’t have close friends in this country. I keep trying to make friends, but it is hard. Brits really like to keep to themselves. Because this is not my country and the people are not my countrymen, I try to follow conventions. But I know sometimes my behavior is inappropriate according to British standards. And I feel my attempts to make friends are met with a lot of suspicion.
Please don’t take me wrong. I like many things about Britain; otherwise I would not live in this county. Of course I know many Brits who are kind people; most are. But they are just that: kind neighbors or acquaintances. They are not my friends and couldn’t care less about me. Or if they care, they surely know how to hide it.
Everywhere I go I find people to be friendlier than Brits. Even travelling in France without speaking a word of the language, I found the warmth and friendliness that I don’t find in Britain. I’ve lived in the United States for a couple of years, and the people were absolutely great. I totally agree with you about North Americans being friendlier than Brits.
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Name : Maria22233, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, Age : 37, City : A small British city, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Software developer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,My generalization about the UK is pretty different from yours. I have found people of the UK to have, on average, a greater sense of decency, civility, and propensity to be clever than Americans, which I find rewarding and refreshing. Granted, these differences are much less severe if you compare Brits to parts of the American West (excepting Southern California) as opposed to the East Coast, which can be downright abominable. I might not be able to bank on a ‘Have a Nice Day’ from a Brit, but given the simple choice with no more information, I’d rather have a beer with a Brit than an American.
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Name : J21183, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 32, City : New Haven, State : CT, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,On the occasions when I encountered the British, on holidays in the United Kingdom and in business contacts, I didn’t find them unfriendly. But perhaps this is because I am a German (and a North German at that), and we might have other expectations than Robert or Maria (one of the people who responded). We don’t expect people to bare their souls on a casual acquaintance, either (and to the ‘How ya doing’ of Robert’s example, my reaction might be: Well, the honest answer would be, ‘Not good, I am frustrated and irritated right now,’ but that wouldn’t do as an answer to a stranger, and ‘Fine’ would be superficial, so I’d better ignore him). Perhaps what Robert and Maria complain about could be explained by the British following a mode of behavior that I am very much used to in relations with other Germans: a longish period of polite, reserved relations, followed by opening up when you have achieved an insight into the other guy’s character. Of course, if the other guy has been put off by the first stage, you never get to the second one.
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Name : Tomas S., Gender : M, Age : 37, City : Tübingen, State : NA, Country : Germany, Occupation : electrical engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I’ve founds Brits to simply be reserved. It’s a quality I actually find appealing since I’m a bit uptight myself.
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Name : Matt22012, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 25, City : Sacramento, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Software Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,
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