A British perspective on Americans

a recent piece from a British expat in the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/books/review/Dyer-t.html?em

Very fawning, and not exactly fair to the French, IMHO.

Yes, this is the bright secret of life in the United States: Americans are not just friendly and polite — they are also charming*. And the most charming thing of all is that it rarely looks like charm. The French put a rather charmless emphasis on charm, are consciously or unconsciously persuaded that it is either part of a display of sophistication or — and it may amount to the same thing — a tool in the service of seduction.

* Rolls eyes

I really liked the article when I read it this weekend in the Times.  In particular, I found this paragraph struck a chord with me.

Across the board, the grounds for all our feelings of superiority have been steadily whittled away. It turns out that the qualities that make us indubitably British — that is, the ones that we don’t share with or have not imported from America — are no longer conducive to Greatness. They actually add up to a kind of ostrich stoicism that, though it can be traced back to our finest hour (the blitz, the Battle of Britain), manifests itself in a peculiar compromise: a highly stylized willingness to muddle on, to put up with poor quality and high prices (restaurants, trains), to proffer (and accept) apologies not as a prelude to but as a substitute for improvement. We may not enjoy the way things are, but we endure them in a way that seems either quaint or quasi-Soviet to American visitors.

I don't know. Some of it is spot on, some isn't and some is downright silly.

It's just one person's opinion. I don't really get these articles where one person talks about their experience with the people of another country as though theirs is the definitive experience.

I could just as easily talk about my experiences with British people. That doesn't mean the British people I've dealt with are representative of the entire nation.

I probably shouldn't say this, but there is a certain kind of Brit who uncritically sucks up to Americans, who thinks that the sun shines out of Uncle Sam's @ss, always running Britain and Europe down, which I really cannot stand.

This struck a few chords with me as well,
I just did a blog post "griping " about some of Englands "lets suffer on" ideals.

One of the comments I received was from a British woman who said
 "Despite being raised with all those shortcomings, I so agree with you on all points !
You see it's all about stiff upper lip and all that, we usually find it "soft" to be so pampered or "life made easy".
I think the British pride theirselves with enduring the rough road, it's what has given them their strength these last one thousand years."

You can see the post here: http://catsonthecounter.blogspot.com/2010/01/dear-so-and-so.html

(It was all in jest BTW)

I haven't really met anyone yet here in England ,but I have spoken to people ,(like, "can you tell me when we get to the train station? do you know if this bus goes to Fareham?")
I have also bawled my head off in front of people (when my cat was put in quarantine) everyone I have talked to has been totally nice , sympathetic and helpful .

I just haven't figured out how to actually meet anyone.

An example: next door to us is a young couple ,probably in their 20's. One day they put a Christmas card through our mail slot. Signed "your next door neighbors"

We have never met them. A couple days later I rang their doorbell ...all balled up ready to introduce myself with a card and a plate of cookies. No answer. I left the plate and the card outside their door.

Still haven't met them ,nor have I gotten my plate back. lol

I have also lived all over America. Some places ,my neighbors became great friends, some places I never even met them .


I also have a library card and have read all I can find about the Blitz and the war and all the history. Ok England, haven't you suffered enough? It's ok to have modern conveniences now.

I probably shouldn't say this, but there is a certain kind of Brit who uncritically sucks up to Americans, who thinks that the sun shines out of Uncle Sam's @ss, always running Britain and Europe down, which I really cannot stand.

I can't stand that type of person either.  Nor can I stand the certain type of American who does the same with the British and is a US-hater.

I can't stand that type of person either.  Nor can I stand the certain type of American who does the same with the British and is a US-hater.

Ditto

Agree that there is something unappealing about a person who fawns over another nation while denigrating his own. That much of what he wrote seemed, as they say, spot on to me, right down to the chattiness I maintain en route back to Britain which mysteriously vanishes within days, is just more evidence that the U.K. is just not the place for me. Though what he says about bartenders is just plain stupid. Of all the slow, mediocre or inattentive service I've had in London, very little of it was from bartenders, who offer their wares with humor and enthusiasm, even if they have no idea how to mix a bloody mary.

I'd rather live in Paris. 

I'd rather live in Paris. 

For me it's Madrid.

I think it's just the "grass is always" greener syndrome.  People who fawn all over countries haven't actually lived there - just getting the view from TV or from short visits.

Spend a few years living in any country and I am sure you will have at least some complaints about people, service, transportation, the food available in shops, etc., because there is good and bad everywhere.

For me it's Madrid.

I'd forgotten how much I love Seville until your post reminded me.

In fact, my mother would move with us if it were Seville!

The article seemed to me to be a light-hearted attempt to counterbalance some common negative American stereotypes by noting that actual experience often does not conform to the preconceptions. I doubt that the author thinks America is a flawless society or that Britain is without its virtues.