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England and America are friends and allies but there...
Seems to be alot of anti-american feeling in the UK.
Is most of this aimed at our government or does it run deeper?
My view is that most americans view the English very favorably.
So its somewhat one-sided.Any thoughts?
I noticed you just mentioned England, is Scotland included too?
I'd have to say most of the ill feeling from us was due to Bush and was for Bush only, not the people.
Don't forget about the Scots, the majority love Americans My fiance has lived here for 3 years since moving from MS and he has been treated like one of our own.
From experience there is generally speaking a lot of goodwill and affection towards the US but I would put a caveat about American Foreign Policies ( this goes for most of Europe , not just the UK).
Europeans tend to like Americans but are not so keen on the Bush administration however. I suspect British and other European people have as many cliches ( good and bad) about Americans as Americans do about Europe.
The US has had a very bad press in the last few years because of the so called "war" on terror but Americans are still viewed rather favourably.
I think also that British people/Europeans are generally more politicised and more critical of both their own and other governments and what is just outspoken is often misinterpreted as being anti- American when it is nothing of the sort.
Political satire here can be extremely savage and we Europeans/British people sometimes feel America is a bit thin skinned and not prone to understanding a certain sarcastic sense of humour.
Some American people can view any criticism of any aspect of American life as a terrible insult to their National pride when it is not intended to be so.
I think many Americans also feel their country is always the best at everything, the greatest, the most successful etc.. and it can be grating to people who are just as proud of their Nation as you are for example.
Most of it in my experience comes from a lot of cultural misunderstandings but I still believe Europe/Britain is , and always will be a good friend to America. This does not mean it will always agree with it nor should it. The best friends are those who are honest enough to stand up to you.
I think if you look on the forum there is also a lot of anti-European or anti-British views but I don't take it as a slight, just a few people's opinions.
I lived in the US for 3 years and visit every year, my grand-Father was American and I know it very well and love it but there are also things which I find culturally baffling and yes sometimes annoying , infuriating and grating.
But then again there is where ever you go and I have learnt to take the rough with the smooth . Disapproving of some aspects of American life of foreign policies does not mean you dislike American people just certain aspects of the culture and mores.
European can be snooty about America , like old people we can often feel we know everything and the young should always listen to us ( I don't always agree with that view by the way) but then again America is also rather adept at trying to impose its will on others and cultural imperialism has had a huge impact on us too.
So basically it goes both ways but in my opinion all the negative attitudes tend to be rather superficial .
Britain/Europe does not have the monopoly on being right all the time but neither does America and I sometimes feel some Americans have a hard time stomaching that truth.
I think we certainly work better as allies as we would do as enemies.
People in Europe (and most of the world for that matter) are just angry about the hidden agendas of the neo-conservative (even if they don't know it by that term) lobbyists. I think most people understand they are a tiny minority who have become the voice of America through foreign policy. The Bush administration has done a lot of damage to American reputation.
Europeans would have liked Ron Paul. I think Americans won't need to call themselves Canadian with Obama as president.
People in Europe (and most of the world for that matter) are just angry about the hidden agendas of the neo-conservative (even if they don't know it by that term) lobbyists. I think most people understand they are a tiny minority who have become the voice of America through foreign policy. The Bush administration has done a lot of damage to American reputation.
Europeans would have liked Ron Paul. [b]I think Americans won't need to call themselves Canadian with Obama as president[/B].
You think Americans "wont need to call ourselves Canadian with Obama as pres?" Hmmm, don't know any American who has ever considered themselves a Canadian and with good reason.
Last edited by Alaskapat528; 01-16-2009 at 06:56 AM..
Reason: add
You think Americans "wont need to call ourselves Canadian with Obama as pres?" Hmmm, don't know any American who has ever considered themselves a Canadian and with good reason.
This is of course true, but 'Internat' is talking about it from a European perspective of Americans. The vast majority I know who travel to Europe have been embarrassed to tell anyone they are American because of Bush. His point is that they will/should no longer feel embarrassed with Obama as President.
This is of course true, but 'Internat' is talking about it from a European perspective of Americans. The vast majority I know who travel to Europe have been embarrassed to tell anyone they are American because of Bush. His point is that they will/should no longer feel embarrassed with Obama as President.
That is indeed what I meant. I wish I was joking. I know several Americans who felt the need to call themselves Canadian. One Hungarian-American from Cleveland living in Hungary did it all the time. There were guys who wanted to fight him. We encouraged him to call himself American. It was just easier for him to call himself Canadian. Most Europeans cannot tell apart an American a Canadian accent. Anyway, I thought it was a well known phenomenon. I do not think ordinary Americans deserve such a treatment. They aren't spokesperson for what the Bush administration has done during the last 8 years.
In my experience, when I was in Cheshire, I noticed lower class Brits are more pro-American and anti-French. It's the other way around among the upper middle and upper class.
Apart from the bad blood Bush created in Europe, I've always thought some Europeans and that includes Brits as somewhat jealous of America or have an inferiority complex
Apart from the bad blood Bush created in Europe, I've always thought some Europeans and that includes Brits as somewhat jealous of America or have an inferiority complex
I get the impression that you have an inferiority complex from some of the other posts you have written.
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My fiance has lived here for 3 years since moving from MS and he has been treated like one of our own.
