The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #55429   Message #862073
Posted By: GUEST
08-Jan-03 - 07:24 PM
Thread Name: BS: Who loathes the USA: A quiz from the BBC
Subject: RE: BS: Who loathes the USA: A quiz from the BBC
What is more in line with this thread, is to do a google search with this:

"anti-Americanism in Britain"

You will see that the media reports this as being a phenomenon mostly of the left, and a few on the right. However, if you keep searching, you can find plenty of statistics, polls, opinion pieces, etc. to show that anti-Americanism is one of the most socially acceptable cultural prejudices in Europe today. Now, as an American, I'm not shocked by that, and I do understand it politically. But the social prejudice is just hate and bigotry, dressed up in politically acceptable terms. Like telling an anti-American, obviously bigoted joke, and then excusing it by following it up with a statement about Bush. Heard it often when I was there. Another thing is, many Brits can't wait to tell visiting Americans how hated they are. Encountered this in the pubs, the B & Bs, everywhere.

It is a deeply held cultural prejudice in Britain, and can't all be blamed on the 2000 election. This hatred of Americans in Britain has existed on the ground for as long as I can remember (my first trip to Britain was in the late 60s).