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NorthernGent -> RE: ouch- USA people hated (1/31/2008 4:41:30 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: kittinSol
The temptation to bash 'America' as a concept is immense, but I think your positive attitude is wise, NorthernGent.
Well, I don't think it's the English way to bash anyone (except the French), because we're indifferent to all of them - Chinese, Americans, Fijians - they're all just another bunch of people getting on with their lives thousands of miles away.
Of the people I know, I'd say most like American films - they're currency around the world - but don't know much else of what goes on inside the four walls of the US.
quote:
ORIGINAL: kittinSol
I'm franco-british living in the States (but I never tell people of my French heritage, for the Frogs are seldom understood anywhere around the world - indeed, they're probably the second most disliked nation on the planet [:D] ),
The French?, well.....what's that famous quote, "the best thing between England and France is the sea". There are no other two countries in the Western world who share such a deep-rooted, mutual suspicion as the English and the French. No part of our language is reserved for the Germans - except German measels, which is fairly tame by comparison - whereas with the French: French leave, French postcards (porn), French prints (porn), French consular guard (prostitutes), French knickers (prostitutes' underwear), French lessons (using a prostitute), the French disease (syphillis), French gout, French pox, French marbles, French aches, a French compliment, a French crown, French pigs, a French letter, a French safe..........even a lucky snick through the slips in 1940s cricket was known as a French drive.
Centuries of animosity........
Personally, I've found the French very similar to us in one crucial area - we're both a very self-confident people who are largely indifferent to other nations.
One huge difference is the French faith in the state, in comparison with the English love of the home.
quote:
ORIGINAL: kittinSol
This can be a pain in the arse when people constantly tell you to 'have a nice day'
I can imagine......"what exactly do you know about my day? get the fuck out of my face."
quote:
ORIGINAL: kittinSol
What grates for me is a lack of curiousity about the world beyond the national borders of the country
I reckon that's harsh. Most Europeans know nothing of that outside of Europe, and we most be a comparable size.
quote:
ORIGINAL: kittinSol
The jingoism and attachment to the flag really fucks me off,
Yeah, that flag thing is a bit weird, but, then again, if you look back at the esttablishment during the British Empire, the Americans are following a similar pattern; they too believed the English were God's chosen people (to the extent where a significant monority believed England was actually inhabited by the lost tribes of Israel - no joke).
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