Mick Hartley

A Loathsome, Naive, Petulant Bunch

Written by

Mick Hartley

in

American Caroline Cox moved to London a year ago and is “shocked at the amount of abuse she receives because of her nationality”. The Beeb asks for comments:

I would agree that in general Americans are a loathsome, naive, petulant bunch, but then the fact that we in Britain allow ourselves to be so influenced by them makes us 10 times worse.
Craig Eastman, Liverpool, UK

I feel no pity for Americans working abroad – they get to see first hand what their foreign policies are doing to the rest of the world.
Ian Anderson, Aberdeen, UK

Ms Cox shouldn’t really be surprised in the current climate. More and more people are coming to realise the US administration is the biggest terrorist organisation in the world…
John Lockett, Burnley, UK

Rose Judson clearly has the right approach:

I usually defuse the situation by saying “Yes, I’m an American – and I’d like to apologise”.

Comments

  1. dearieme Avatar
    dearieme

    Vee need a vinal solution, a holocUSAt.

    Reply
  2. Sluggo Avatar
    Sluggo

    Loathsome and petulant, surely. But naive? That hurts.

    Reply
  3. Eamonn Avatar
    Eamonn

    Oh dear Craig Eastman of Liverpool. Well at least they don’t nick your wallet and car wheels, as regularly happens in your neck of the woods.

    Reply
  4. Bill Preston Avatar
    Bill Preston

    The selfsame British compatriots of mine might like to know that the same principle applies in Holland to the British as well. You can get your head kicked in for no good reason, simply because of your nationality. Happened to me in an alcohol-fuelled attack. Shame the culprits don’t realize that I have more than 200 blood relatives in the UK and the USA between the ages of 20 and 50. Vendettas can be hard to stop. But really, I see it as little more than a sad attempt to transfer the anger towards those who would destroy our society to those who function within it and respect the law. It’s easier to lick upwards and kick downwards, to paraphrase a Dutch expression. Take some crap at work from someone you fear, come home and beat up your kids. Big man.
    I have been assaulted twice in the Netherlands, once after the Beirut bombings and the second time a year to the day after 9/11. And I’m not even American. Not enough to establish a clear causal link, I admit, but enough to take the necessary precautions and means of defence.
    My first reaction to the BBC article itself was somewhat cynical. I thought it was a self-congratulatory pat on the back (i.e. how years of hate prop can compel otherwise reasonable people into an agressive posture). There is it would seem now only one legally-sanctioned form of xenophobia in the west.

    Reply
  5. Damian P. Avatar
    Damian P.

    Here’s my favorite:
    “I honestly think its all about the tone and volume. Americans are always WAH WAH WAH on the train, in the restaurants. You can hear them a mile off. …Don’t get me wrong, I love Americans, I never generalise, but I have met many arrogant ones and it is such a shame they give this impression.
    Stevo, London, UK”

    Reply
  6. Juan Golblado Avatar
    Juan Golblado

    I put the paragraphs below in the BBC comments box.
    I think Christian is just hanging around with the wrong people. That and perhaps she feels a little ashamed of being a US citizen. I’ve lived in London for years and am fully proud to be a US citizen.
    And I suppose I would be rude as hell to anybody who was rude to me for being a US citizen. Which may be why I can’t remember anyone every doing it. If they ever get close I let them know how I will take a bigoted insult.

    Reply
  7. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    Blah, blah, blah is all I hear. If I wanted to play tit for tat I could cite chapter and verse on how the Brits are the real reason these problems exist, but that wouldn’t be productive now would it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts

Powered by