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I would cut these young Brits some slack as, like US youth, they often have little knowledge of events beyond thier own lives. The biased news there and here doesn't help.

My wife and I were in London when 9/11 happened and our flight home was delayed 3 days due to the airline shutdown.

We walked up to the American Embassy on the Friday after and were impressed by the flowers laid at the MacArthur statue in the square outside. There was a line blocks long of locals waiting to sign a condolence book to express their grief over the horrible event. The London folk we talked to were very sorry for us. One elderly lady said she was in the Blitz and 9/11 was just as bad. I told her thanks and both were bad, but London suffered the Blitz for years and at least we only had one awful day.

The fine behavior we saw the days in London after 9/11 make me feel most Brits are OK.

The fine behavior we saw the days in London after 9/11 make me feel most Brits are OK.

We were in Ireland at the time and felt overwhelming sympathy and a strong sense of alliance with us. They recognize that America has been good to the Irish.

I think your equally positive experience in England, though, was probably provided courtesy of the older generation. The younger folks -- like so many worldwide -- are cynical and ill-informed. The western media can congratulate itself for a brainwashing job that Goebbels would have envied.

I would cut these young Brits some slack as, like US youth, they often have little knowledge of events beyond thier own lives. The biased news there and here doesn't help.

I would tend to agree with you. We live part of the year in Thailand where to people are inclined to like Americans. When we were last there this past May, some friends said we should move and live there full time. When I asked why, the said that they understood from the newspapers that the USA had bombed their own buildings to get support for a war to take over the Mideast oil. They went on to say that they had read that a French book proved this. I then described just what I saw on 9/11,12,13,14. They accepted what I had to say as they had always been suspicious of Islamic propaganda but thought the Europeans to be usually accurate.

Interesting that those most inclined to like USA are questioning us. The quotes from our own left wing press do not help.

I've been travelling to London for more than twenty-five years (I like the theatre) but I've had to put up with more than my fair share of guff on the part of Britons. Oddly, they often seem to think American visitors are quite deaf - as well as dumb - because they will say the most appalling things within earshot. My favorite was the tour guide at Oxford who began her spiel with the immortal words: "I hate to take Americans around - they're so childish." At an Italian restaurant in Covent Garden, a woman at the next table was very annoyed at the oh-so-American habit of engaging the waiter in small talk. In a loud voice, she announced that Americans were so stupid "they didn't even know how to elect a president." Sometimes my husband and I confront them and sometimes we let it slide. If you confront them with their bad behavior, they often fold like paper angels.

On my last trip, a friend of mine complained about British bad manners and I said offhandedly "Oh, I've had to deal with it for years. You really have to get used to it." The look of embarrassment, shock and shame on the face of a mutual friend after I said that - a British woman - was priceless. I honestly think they don't think we hear them!