Posted on 11/05/2004 5:53:39 AM PST by navyguy
I am an American currently working in England. I have been here for the last month and thought you might like to know what I've been seeing here...
Let me first say that the Brits are great people! They are cordial, giving, inviting and very decent people. I myself have old family roots here. There ARE some very vocal Socialists here, but I have no issue with the British people.
First, the pre-election media coverage of the election was totally skewed against President Bush. There wasn't even an attempt to hide it. As the election drew closer the coverage grew increasingly hostile. Further, the tone transformed from criticism of Bush to berating not just the president but anyone who supported him. In nearly every story I saw Republicans were characterized as complete religious zealots. In fact, like the US, leftists here believe that ALL conservative are Christian fanatics. I actually had to correct several Brits here that this was NOT the case. They seemed shocked. The tone rapidly descended into simple insults, with average americans routinely being called 'idiots', 'morons', 'stupid', etc... This tone continued, night after night for at least 10-12 days. If a european tells you they aren't anti-AMERICAN I can tell you they are lying. They simply do not like us, anything we do or anything we represent. I never saw a single postive word about Americans or America as a whole. I was told that were were 'too hung up on the US Constitution." This, above all, really disturbed me.
I never saw a single story about ANYTHING positive happening in Iraq. Ever.
I now know that europeans, for all of their 'sophistication' and 'worldliness', harbor serious misconceptions about America. For example, I saw New Mexico described as "a relatively small, mostly poor state." In fact, I saw a 1 hour documentary done by a Brit travelling through the states that essentially described America as a boiling cauldron of poverty, racism and violence. I could not believe what I was seeing. I saw southerners (I live in North carolina) described as "backwards", "fundamentalists" and "stupid". Farmers in the mid-west were described as "simple folk". There were many other examples as well. I now understand that europeans are half as sophisticated and worldly as they think they are. Most of them do NOT understand America. I finally got some of my coworkers here to admit as much.
There is a TOTAL anti-gun bias here. I saw it in the media over and over again. They are now trying to ban knives, BB guns and replicas of guns as well.
The Nanny State reigns supreme here. I predict that in 25 years the UK will be totally Socialist. If you want to see what the US would be like after 50 years of total Liberal domination come here for awhile. You won't like what you see.
After the election the anti-american torrent CONTINUED. Unreal.
The Guardian is viewed as MAINSTREAM MEDIA here.
It will be awhile before I return here. I love England and its people and its great and honorable history, but it is only a shadow of its former self.
Thank God for the Daily Telegraph.
Just thought you'd like to know. Cheers!
Hey folks... this is Navyguy.
I should have been clearer... the media here is UNBELIEVABLY anti-american.... FAR in excess of anything we see in the states. Our jokes about the French are positively sedate in comparison. Its like Moveon.org runs the media here. I see serious insults to americans on TV every single night. I explained this to some coworkers here and 2 of them are hard Socialists and even they agreed the media was being quite out of line with insults to american citizens. The BBC is quite bad.
I should have made clearer just how bad it is here.
Thanks for letting me vent!
So, I guess, bottom line, it might be best to say to hell with those who would stab us in the back so callously. I just hope the next time they get themselves in a jam and are looking for someone to pull their nuts from the fire, they remember what they've said and done.
It is time to call them on the carpet about it, the time has passed for us to "explain ourselves." As much as I admire GWB, I doubt if he undertakes this task, I sure he has his reasons but to is in the long term not wise to allow this to fester. WE need to start a containment policy for the EU now while we are in a position to do it.
When I was in Florida last month I found that probably half of the people there were British. They were everywhere. I found that odd since I hadn't known that Orlando was such a huge British tourist destination.
I didn't have the opportunity to talk to any of them, though. I did notice that they dress strangely. The men wear tight plaid shorts and sleeveless shirts all the time. The women like to wear spaghetti strapped shirts that show most of their bras and see through shorts with a thong. It was as if they just weren't accustomed to dressing for warm weather. They were easy to spot.
Thank God for George Washington and the Valley Forge guys who got us out from this den of iniquity , snobbishness , and accent ...England went soft in the outhouse back in the 60's ...
By the way, your starting comment is not the least bit incongruous (SP?) to me, on a personal level I also found the English people to be the most polite and charming on earth. Also - given the entirely accurate background you have just described - I think most AMericans have no idea just how far Tony Blair went out on a limb in supporting Bush in the war against overwhelming public opinion against it. He deserves a huge amount of creeit in my opinion . and in fact he has presented the case for the war with a much more convincing manner than the US President.
Ping
How many anti-Brit posts are there today?
For the record. the most vociferous critics of America in England are Americans.
One thing I've learned from FR though is that Americans are prone to over-statement. So I take this sort of criticism with a pinch of salt,. They love us really. ;-)
I'm sorry to hear that they hate us so much. I've always been an Anglophile myself. Is it just the media, or are the people becoming that way too?
The Lord knew this was coming.
It was His will that we break from them and provide an oasis for folks.
Your a peein's have always hated the USA---until they need something.
My father-in-law is 89, fought in WWII (Siegfried Line, Battle of the Bulge, Nuremberg judge). He would agree with you.
Their media elite is way worse than ours. They don't ever hear the truth, or both sides. I love the Brits so I try to keep that in mind. Their views are shaped by propaganda and they probably don't even know it.
Not a bad little base.
I liked the school and the map of America on the playground.
The Yanks Go Home were not local people but Greenham common supporters.
Tony
Go over to DU and see who hates Amerika. You'll find an awful lot of Americans. What does that prove? The British do not hate America. Have a look at investment in the US by the UK and vice versa. Have a look at tourism from the UK to the US. Have a look at record sales, book sales, TV show sales, clothes, cars. I'm not sure what you guys are missing here. You want to find bad things? You'll find them.
Oh no we wont
Your turn
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