Posted on 07/03/2006 9:26:03 PM PDT by familyop
This is the funniest thread I've read in ages!
I can't believe how delicate freepers sensibilities are - you guys really care what us Brits think don't you? :D
You'll notice the article says Brits tend to think highly of Americans, but not of the American govt and it's policies. If Clinton was still in power you'd be agreeing with them too!
Us British have had to learn over the years that being the worlds policeman doesn't make you popular. Now you need to learn it rather than getting all schoolyard angry every time a poll of 1/30,000th of another countries population doesn't fall at your feet in adoration! :D
I know one thing - we have done nothing to deserve anyone's contempt, especially any of the failed socialist nations of Europe, and so the only explanation for the dislike that I can see is simple jealousy.
Europeans have, since WWII and their embrace of socialism, been on a steady decline while America, notwithstanding a few bumps in the road and one or two felonious and cowardly presidents, has thrived. The very existence of America is a slap in the face to the Europeans who have stupidly chosen, and continue to cling to, a form of government that, everytime it has been tried, has proven to be a dismal failure.
So, we'll go on our merry way with our less than five percent unemployment rate, our booming economy, our courageous president whose decision to go to war and fight Islamic psychopaths on their own territory have kept us safe on our own soil since 911, and our general well-being while Europeans boil and seethe with hatred and envy at our successes.
I really could not care less about the fact that Europeans, including some British, don't like us. I really, really don't care.
Consider the source :)
I agree all the anti Brit comments I see posted on Free Republic is because you are jealous of us.
LOL only joking, but please tell me why is it that Americans always use the jealousy argument.
I have been on FR for over five years now and have spent a considerable amount of time debating with Americans who have very negative views on my country.
But it has never occurred to me that they hold these views because they are jealous, it is more to do with not understanding a country and its view point based on its own political and economic history.
Something we are all guilty off, except me of course otherwise i would not of stayed on this site, but then I have always kept an open mind and debated points on its merits.
More envy than jealousy, in our experience anyway. Usually having to do with lifestyle and standard of living.
He says 85 comments later.
LOL from what I have read on this thread it seems that many Americans care and care deeply.
And also lets address the many anti Brit threads that are posted on this very site day after day.
Americans are just as guilty as other nations in belittling other countries including close allies.
From the comments I read on this site every day by so called allied Americans you would not believe that every very day are soldiers our serving alongside Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan facing the same dangers.
Is that your take on life, its not mine.
Are Americans all jealous of each other.
You disagree with me because you are jealous or envious of me is an argument children use in School.
As an adult I agree or disagree with people based on views not what I think of there life style.
Even on FreeRepublic.
God Bless Britain!
Don't shoot the messenger, tony.
And like I said, envy, not jealousy. And it was good-natured for the most part.
I haven't read beyond your post so maybe this is covered, but you have to wonder how much of their opinion of us is caused by Hollywood. The Brits get our movies and TV shows, looking at those wouldn't you consider us "vulgar"?
As far as colonialism goes, the US has "returned" the only country we've ever taken (The Philippines).
As to our crassness, maybe the Brits are watching too many of our television shows!
Unfortunately Anti-Americanism has gone from being a cult to a fully-fledged industry, with the even the Telegraph wanting their piece of the pie.
I'm sure those FReepers who have travelled to the UK will make up their own minds based on their own experiences, and those that haven't are just as suspicious of our MSM as they are of their own.
Still, Happy Divorce Day cousins! Remember that it turned out as good for us as it did for you - you were far too lively for us to hang on to!
Mac1 and tonycavanagh:
Your replies were well considered and written. Thank you. I agree with you both about media influences on readers. We've seen some of those influences affect portions of populations over the past few decades.
We gather information from various points of view, and also, hopefully, statistics and demographics from a few fairly objective research reports. My personal assessments of Britain are not based on solely negative news.
I've been posting news (intended only for a limited time) about negative western European trends that most Americans don't see. Few Americans know, for example, that France does not have the highest percentage of anti-American sentiment in western Europe. We do know that the percentage is not the lowest. Few Americans are aware of majority Spanish and Italian mindsets toward them.
Have you considered that nearly all Americans are fond of Britons? That's common knowledge here, in the USA.
Most of the articles that I've posted over the past few months, BTW, have been on the topic of Iran.
The hope behind the information effort is that we can effect more understanding and change. Solely positive news about any one country can encourage antagonistic influences in that country against other countries to grow. Solely positive news can also lend to lethargy in concerned citizens who would otherwise try to correct one-sided national opinions of foreign countries.
What if the only view that we Americans had of England were from travel agencies and public relations promoters? Many visitors would likely come back to the USA unhappy and having expected something like a generalized perfection.
What if the only view that we Americans had of England were or from the television soap opera, EastEnders (from cable and satellite feeds here)? ...or of Trafalgar Square only during protests? If all of our knowledge came from either, most potential visitors would avoid European vacations. But that's not the case, because nearly all of the news here from England is positive.
Tony, without opinions from writers like Mark Steyn and Melanie Phillips, what would happen regarding sentiments toward Israel? Would negative sentiments increase, or would they decrease without public criticism?
I deeply appreciate what so many British soldiers and other troops are doing in our allied effort against terrorist regimes. I also understand that with so many in Afghanistan and Iraq, that likely few or none will be sent to accompany our forces in Iran (if that probability happens). We know that a large percentage (even if not majority on some issues, at times) of the English population is pro-American. Many of them are related to us. News and opinions about negative issues do not cloud our knowledge of that, and even I wouldn't intentionally allow it to happen.
I'll post more positive news about Britain, if that will help with understanding (and, of course, if it will keep me from appearing to have the intent of some sort of villain). You'll receive pings to those postings, if you like.
And if you visit the United States, consider avoiding large cities on our coasts. You might have a nicer time in the Rocky Mountains.
So what's the problem? Those figures don't look so bad. We're not gonna marry them.
"America appears to be a class-divided mnd racially divided society"
ROFLOL Obviously they can't see class divisions even when they are staring them in the face. as for race, I've heard the English moning about the Indians, the Hong King citizens, the Moslems, etc. so give me a break.
as for the rest of it, given england's empty churches, high unemployment, high out of wedlock birth and all the rest including bonnie Proince Charlie, I'll take what we have here.
'Europeans have, since WWII and their embrace of socialism'
During the 20th Century Britain had a Conservative govt for 75 years and a socialist one for 25 years. What are the proportions for republican versus democrat in the US?
'I really, really don't care.'
Why post then?
The real gist of my comment was aimed at the laughingstocks like France and it would appear to me that some of that irrationality has found it's way to Britain. If this is what has happened, it's really a disappointment as everything we have been through together over the decades would seem to insulate the British people against the America-hating lunacy that has infected the rest of Europe.
There is, in my opinion, no excuse for the British to buy into the phony, manufactured superiority complex that for some inexplicable reason has been adopted by Europe. I give the British alot of credit for having the intelligence to be above that. So when I see a poll that seems to indicate that not a few of the British have fallen in with the rest of the ignoramuses, it's a huge letdown.
As far as not understanding this country, it's really not rocket science. The notion of self-defense is one of the most fundamental instincts known to man. The notion of people having the freedom to reach thier highest potential in life based on thier abilities and desires without government robbing them of the fruits of thier hard work is fundamental and easy for everyone to understand. The notion that most issues are black and white, not nuanced and shot through with gray areas, is fundamental and easy to understand. And it's okay for a lot of people to have the belief that if a man slaughters innocent human beings he should be forced to forfeit his own life. It's really, really okay to believe that and it doesn't make one primitive and barbaric if they do believe it.
So, from my perspective and the perspective of many other people that the above principles are pretty easy and basic, it becomes almost impossible for me to believe that the British, with whom we have a lot in common, would be incapable of simply not having the ability to grasp the concepts. Therefore, the only explanation left for me as to the disconnect evidenced in the poll is jealousy.
If I'm wrong, so be it. I'd feel better though, if the poll had a question of "why do you hate America" was posed. I'd love to see the responses.
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