Serious question about Brit Bashing on Free Republic...

[BritishBulldog]

Just lately (noticeably since the US election result) there seems to be an awful lot of anti-British sentiment on here (there always was a little but I put that down to a handful of xenophobic kiddies)

What I would like to know is do most Freepers now share the low opinion that some (many) on here seem to have of our nation or is it just a small (but very vocal) minority of morons?

I've enjoyed this forum (for the relatively short time that I've contributed) and have always liked Americans in general, but I now find myself reconsidering my thoughts on both.

If we Brits are not liked or wanted around here, I think I'll probably discontinue my involvement.

[aculeus]

Cool off. We love american-supporting Brits. We even -- believe it or not! -- support that fiery young pro-American Frenchwomen. (As soon as I remember her name I'll post a link.)

As others have said, checkout MadIvan.

[deJaz]

Sorry if you feel that way.You should read all the trash on Canadians.I am a Canadian not French Canadian,but I was taught at a very young age to respect others.I am also very glad that President Bush was re-elected but putting down other United States citizens because they don't agree with his policies is just not very Patriotic.So Freepers maybe it's abought time we stop all this mud slinging and remember one thing we are not the enemy.God Bless the USA.

[cake_crumb]

You're rather new to be claiming such an observation. I have seen no less support for our British allies since last Tuesday than I have for the past 6 years. I believe you're trying to start trouble.

[gortklattu]

They drive on the wrong side of the road too, don't forget that.

[cake_crumb]

"I got excited - I thought this was about Brit Hume bashing (seriously)."

Seriously, so did I.

[cake_crumb]

FOUR THREADS, out of HOW MANY THREADS POSTED PER DAY, and you get all offended and waste bandwidth? Oh cut mne a break. You need a life.

[Max Combined]

Thanks Leapfrog, for the heads up and for the support.

I never go looking for articles that say bad things about the Brits and I have never posted any articles that are anti-British. For that matter, I cannot ever remember reading anything in any American media source, no matter how liberal or how conservative that ever hinted at anything remotely derogatory about the British troops in Iraq.

I do get ticked off when I read quotes in British papers of British officers and troops that slam American troops that others post on this forum.

I don't see why so many Brits seem to think that it is not enough for them to be proud of the accomplishments of their troops, but must at the same time put down American troops.

I do not start anti-British threads but I do sometimes respond to threads in the British press that are anti-American. My people are from the Isle of Skye via Canada, but unfair criticisms of American troops tend to get my Irish up.

If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

[FreedomCalls]

Why should he personally apologize for the press in England?

Because that's what he is asking of us. He wants us to apologize for the remarks of fellow Freepers. It's the "shoe on the other foot" deal.

I've enjoyed this forum (for the relatively short time that I've contributed) and have always liked Americans in general, but I now find myself reconsidering my thoughts on both. If we Brits are not liked or wanted around here, I think I'll probably discontinue my involvement.

[StayAt HomeMother]

Another Anglophile, and another MadIvan fan, checking in.

(A lot of us missed you, Ivan, when you almost stopped posting for a while.)

[cake_crumb]

"Oh, and all that being said, please stick around! From what I've seen of your writing, you don't fall into that hack columnist mentality."

The existance of this thread would appear to prove you wrong.

[canalabamian]

I wouldn't take anything too personal if I were you. If you don't think that 59 million of US are idiots, then you aren't lumped into the Limey crowd. Instead, like Mrs. Thatcher and Mr. Blair, considered a friend. IMO.

[FreedomCalls]

That would be like him asking you to apologize for CBS

If CBS were to viciously attack British public figures like the Guardian has attacked Bush or if CBS had called half of the population of Britain stupid for voting Tory in a lead story -- yes I would apologize for them.

[Dog Gone]

Basically we hate your British media, but don't feel picked upon. We hate our media, too.

[McGavin999]

Your type of Brit is not only wanted around here, you are the type we have always loved and felt kinship with. It is the Guardian type that we are bashing.

Just as you feel hurt at the insults that are hurled, we feel hurt at the nasty things that are said about conservatives and about our President.

Don't leave, you're one of us.

[benjaminjjones]

One of the best Americans I know is a Brit emigre.

Heck, we all came from somewhere else.

Don't sweat it, the hate is mostly towards the leftwing parts of the Brit press, not the Brit people.

Most of us remember the Maggie Thatcher/Ronald Reagan partnership that helped bring down the Evil Empire, and those of us that can read (lol), remember WWII.

Despite the fact that we might not have the same bloodlines anymore, we were once the same people, and I think we still have the same values and ideals.

So chill cuz, it's not like we're treating you like Bloody Frogs, LOL.

[broadsword]

No, I know that there are no discernible racial characteristics.

Well, you are wrong there. Black folks tend to have darker skin than Swedes, believe it or not! Wow! And Watusis tend to be taller than Bushmen. germany tends to produce better generals and officers (most of America's great generals were of German descent). LOL! And, no, I'm not German either.

And there have been numerous studies to show that twins and even regular siblings separated at birth and raised by other families have very similar tempramental charasteristics, likes, propensities, etcetera.

It's a fact, your denials notwithstanding.

[The Loan Arranger]

A lot of us ARE Brits (English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, Scottish, Irish descent, etc..)so why would we put down our ancestors? No, it's the smarmy, self-righteous, patronizing Brits that we abhor!

[Joe Miner]

Brits are welcome I think, now if you were French you might have a legitimate beef. Brit women are cute and shave their armpits and bathe more than once a month.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

I try to be as honest as I can, though I would never delude myself by thinking that I am, or anyone is for that matter, 'perfectly honest.' I have seen such posts, but I believe you may be taking them out of context. Those are usually in response to a beheading or a car bombing by the Islamofascists. The round-em-up sentiment is also usually as an outcry to the overwhelming number of Muslims who are good people yet who remain alarmingly silent in their public denunciation of terrorism. I know they're afraid. But fear is no reason not to do the right thing, which is to denounce and expose the culprits so that we will all be safe and free. If America refused to denounce evil because we were all afraid, we'd all be speaking German.

Don't get me wrong, of course there are a few over-the-line posts. When a web site is posting in the tens-of-thousands per day, some utterly -IST (sexist, racist, etc.) comments will slip through. But I think you'll have to admit, if you're honest, that by and large, 99.9% of the posts here are not of the -IST sentiment and that the Admin Mods do a pretty good job of yanking the posts that are over-the-line.