Why is it always the British who use this (greatly exaggerated) statistic smugly, as if it somehow proves us to be so much less ignorant than them? Um, it doesn't. We need passports just to get over to France for 40 quid on the Eurostar — otherwise we'd end up camping in our own gardens twice a year.
I realise it's incredibly fashionable to hate America at the moment, but, as you can probably tell by my comfortable jeans, I'm not a very fashionable person. Brits who accuse Americans of xenophobia need to have a long hard think about irony, I reckon. As Chris Cope says, "Most criticisms of the United States can be applied to the United Kingdom. You are also consumer-driven over-eaters who enjoy making fun of Germans."
And before the finger is pointed back at me for generalising about the British, I should remind you that I'm allowed to because I am one. If you don't understand that it's okay to slag off your own country then you're probably Welsh.
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All very true I'm sure if you did a survey of Brits who hadn't left (the united states of) Europe, you would get a similar statistic.
ReplyDeleteAfter previously spending a few years living in Wales the last line really made me chuckle too. I did find your fellow country-people a touch patriotic (in a nice way!)
They deserve it, and by it I mean them and by them I mean, you know.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, every blogger that has word identification is a fucking cunt. Present company excluded (by not really). I hate that crap. It serves no purpose.
Um, I'm not deleting 200 comments a day offering me complicated sex-aids and tablets, even if it will make me look very popular at first glance.
ReplyDeleteMy advice to you is don't comment.
James, I'm working on your header. I did one sketch but I'm not sure I like it. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you.
Now I feel bad. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteNo worries.
ReplyDeleteAnnie,
ReplyDeleteWhen confronted by such rationale I always find it a comfort to think of Keats, Byron and Rolf Harris. Nationalism does poke its ugly head up everywhere in the world, unfrotunately this is often aligned to skin colour and cannot be accepted anywhere. However, the truth as wel all know is that 40.35% of all statistics are made up and that goats live forever in the US as they do here.
May peace be upon you
Here's the thing though, how come loads of blogs like mine don't have word ID and don't get swamped with spam comments?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Annie. It is so easy to bitch about the U.S. what with the leader being a drunken knuckle dragger but there's more to the country than the obvious stereotypes. You can find something wrong with any country as well if you look hard enough.
ReplyDeleteI think it's always easy to poke fun at bigger and more powerful neighbours. Be it the Brits against the US, Iceland against Brits, Wales against England. I think it's a general relief mechanism by people. It even happens on a personal level (see Bill Gates as an example). America is having more than its fair share of 'hate' at the moment, probably because it's currently so successful. But i bet people will start to shift their focus to new superpowers such as China in the near future...
ReplyDeleteNot only is America more powerful than us ("But WE wanted to rule the world!") but they're currently making much better television than us too, thus ruining any British claims to having a better sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie -- been reading for a few months, first comment here. I in the US have always heard that 20% of Americans do have their passports -- and I think that number is going up as now we need them to even get to Mexico and the Bahamas -- so all the cruisers (even if they haven't been anywhere else) now need passports. I guess we're trying to fix that stat...in vain! haha.
ReplyDeleteOn the passport 'fact', this page may go some way to helping: Turns out somewhere between 20 and 34% of Americans have passports:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2003/01/31/how_many_america.php
I don't get this obsession Britain seems to have with passports, like they're as vital to existence as your liver or something. I have reached the grand old age of 24 without having one. I am greeted with at best utter incomprehension and at worst snorting rudeness by people like bank employees who request my passport as a form of ID. It was murder proving my identity for my criminal records bureau check for my job, I sent off about twenty different documents including birth certificate and got them all returned a month later with a letter written by someone who dots their i's with big circles saying "Thank You. Please forward a photocopy of your Passport for the Attention of Myself." Aaargh. Having two weeks in Benidorm every August isn't the centre of everyone's universe you know. And some scary little peasants can't afford holidays or are too sensuble to just whack it on the credit cards, stop and marvel at the concept.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I got a bit carried away there, didn't I?
ReplyDeleteI hate America, but I can say that because I'm American, nyah-nyah!
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think the current USA-hating trend is wholey unjustified; it's pretty fucking horrible.
ps. good post, annie. i think you get the award for the most national stereotypes crammed into one post.
ReplyDelete"And I don't think the current USA-hating trend is wholey unjustified; it's pretty fucking horrible."
ReplyDeleteMy problem is mainly with people hating Americans, rather than hating the American government. If somebody judged me by what Tony Blair did I would be most cross.
Feel free to get carried away Violet... I do.
Hello CK and welcome.
Thank you for that HDYLI — interesting.
Not just the American Government, but the Christian right wing in general. What has that to do with Christianity?
ReplyDeleteIf Obama wins next year, are we all supposed to start loving Americans again?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Annie -- hate the government, not Americans. Although, here in Canada, mocking America is our national pastime. Lots of fun -- easy target and all that. But the really funny part is how little they care -- we're not really on their radar.
ReplyDeleteAnd damn right, James. Freaking scary religious right... hope it doesn't spread north any more than it already has.
Honestly, most Americans don't have a passport because it's too expensive to go anywhere that you would need one. Until recently you didn't need one for Mexico or Canada. As you mentioned, a short trip for Brits or anyone in Europe really will require a passport. In the US you can drive for 4000km and still be in the US.
ReplyDeleteOddly, you don't need a passport to go to Antarctica.
I didn't think it was fashionable to hate America. I thought it was fashionable to think Bush was a twat.
ReplyDeleteBecause he is.
So la fille mariee: I guess I don't care if Canadians mock us because I mock Canadians. And many funny people come from up north. I may notice you more because I live in Montana.
ReplyDeleteSo Annie Rhiannon: It is odd that US citizens are hated in my opinion because there are so many different types. Me personally I dislike the smelly hippies and the loud red necks. Oh and the yuppies driving up house prices... Um I think that may be it. No wait the snobby artists bringing all the yuppies in... Yeah i think that is all... Anyway I think this goes nicely into your previous posts about Americans talking about thier heritage other than just America. Like me I have Welsh and Swedish blood. But that was more important to me as a child. Now I am just a US citizen.
I am one of the proud and few with my passport. I got my first one when my grandma shipped me to Paris and London for my senior in high school trip. I though {Paris had nicer people than London. Cute American teenagers must just get a warmer reception in France. Though I bet not anymore.
My favorite story to share from London was the Scottish chaperone that responded to the accusation that his drunken Scottish holligans ran around and busted stuff up with the quip "It wern't mine. It were them bloody New Worlders"
I dunno Annie.I like passports so much I've got three.Not only do they clear up acne and halitosis but they also whiten teeth and make you lose weight.
ReplyDeleteAlso the merest glimpse of any one of them by Third World cab drivers doubles the fare.
's Magic.
When Obama gets in America is going to be HIGHLY fashionable and popstars will sing happy songs about the place again.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean he won't get in?! You think America isn't ready for a black President? They've already had one — I saw it on 24.
Bock, you are Irish, it's a different story.
I wasn't aware of that statistic, I don't think it's ever been used in my presence - mainly because I have a tendency to say "Prove it" when someone does blind me with a fact.
ReplyDeleteI like Americans, and America - but I can't really say that either, can I?
What do you mean that it's okay to slag off your own country?! I can't BELIEVE you're being so nasty to the Welsh - quite possibly the greatest group of people on the planet, we've never done ANYTHING wrong. ;)
Thanks for this one Annie. I can only hope that more people get the point that mocking or bitching about one's own country is an inalienable right, but cornering some poor yank (me) in some pub (Sirkus) and going on and on (hours!) trying to "educate" him (30yrs)about the problems of his home country (which your 19yr old ass has never set foot in) in that condescending tone that certain Europeans reserve for people from "backwards" (not Western Europe/Japan) countries and former colonies is a level of festering wankerdom that should require daily palm shaving.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, if they don't have government ID and aren't in the military, then most Americans you meet abroad will more than likely agree with you on most things.
If they are military or government, then and only then can you give free rein to your Inner Avenging Angel of Eurotrash Indignation.
And Germans who loudly accuse me of supporting Bush and therefore genocide simply because I was born in the States need to have their fucking lederhossen set on fire while being beaten about the head with some sort of sausage with a funny sounding name...
Annie,
ReplyDeleteI wasn't thinking you had forgotten me. No rush and don't spend too much time on it or I'll feel guilty about it.
Feel free to pop over any work in progress if you fancy bouncing any ideas of my totally inept creative mind.
I have Irish, Canadian, and American passports. In each country that I've lived in, there's always another country that you are supposed to dislike in order to retain your citizenship:
ReplyDeleteIreland - you dislike England
Canada - you dislike America
America - you dislike France
There's also a smaller element inside of each country that you should actively tell jokes about:
Ireland - people from Kerry
Canada - people from Newfoundland
America - people from Alabama
It's all just part of the cycle of life (or something stupid like that).
PS - I love word verification, but I also love sex toy offers. It's a tough choice.
But it's so much fun to slag off Americans, please don't take the fun away from us... ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's too easy. Be creative, slag off more popular nationalities. The Irish, or the Icelanders, for example. Go.
ReplyDeleteWell I could give you a dose of moaning about the Italians? Or why not Swedes, plenty of material there. And perhaps Belgium for dessert?
ReplyDeleteOh, now you've wetted my appetite!
la fille mariée: "here in Canada, mocking America is our national pastime."
ReplyDeleteHowever, the government mandates 60% Canadian content, so that portion of mocking is devoted to Newfie jokes.
Bush is a twat, Bock.
ReplyDeleteI have (and use) a passport, but I also haven't seen most of my own country. I'm afraid I don't make fun of Germans. I'm afraid most of the humor is reserved for Canada. I really like Canada, though.
Thank you Annie!
ReplyDeleteMost of my friends here are English and I fucking hate when they use that line about the passports.
1. If we want to see Europe, it's going to cost us close to a grand to go and come back. And that's just the flight. We don't have 20 quid flights from NY to Paris, for fuck's sake. And we sure can't drive there like y'all can.
2. America is a MASSIVE country, with 50 million cultures, and several different climates/types of terrain. Desert, mountains, massive canyons, blizzard alley, tornado alley, the Everglades, to name a few.
The Brits are fond of popping over to France and the rest of continental Europe cos the year long climate of RAIN gets boring after awhile, as do the two types of landscaping y'all have. Which would be fields and rocky coastline!
We don't have passports because we could spend a lifetime exploring our own country and never experience all of it.
It always amazes me, that with all the conquering the crown did, the British chose to keep the UK for it's own.
The only place it rains more frequently is a carwash.
Oy, let me stop before I lose my temper. ;)
Xenophobia is the last resort of scoundrels....
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, that's patriotism. Sorry, I'm getting confused by all the bullshit shoveled into my brain by the media and the government.
Wait a minute! The government and the media are seamless anymore. No one wants to rock the boat and get uninvited to parties or not get embedded.
I'd rather be in bed (with someone attractive).
Found you from LFM. We're friends and all.
Hi there TP! Croeso.
ReplyDeleteHelo Rhiannon,dyma fy ymateb cyntaf i dy flog di :)
ReplyDeleteI live 'next door' to America, and until recently a Canadian ID card was all that was needed to cross the border,and vice versa, but now we all need passports.
Shame really ...
Helo Linda, a chroeso i fy mlog.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I believe each nation has the government they deserve. It isn't good enough to put the entire blame on a government, saying "oh but the majority are good people who hate their government, when people can't be bothered to go and vote." This does not relieve any of us from our responsibilities as citizens and fellow human beings. The statistics I most want to know is what percentage of Americans (or others that bitch the same) who constantly whine about their government have actually voted in the elections?
ReplyDeleteSecondly, as Turkish-born Australian citizen I have to say; with my pathetic Turkish passport which I had since age 14, I had to sit in front of a racist/patriotic pig who made me feel like I was some potential immigrant, everytime I wanted to travel to see a different country.
And thirdly, whatever America does America will be criticised. They just can't win, "Go, now go and fix things in ........" "No, stop! Bad America! Stop now, get out of ......."
Shall I tell you what I really think? Great post Annie, sorry my comment is longer than your post!
PS: "Make love, not war" It's the best motto I have ever heard, too bad no one that actually has the power to make a difference follows it.
ReplyDeleteAs an American with a passport, who has actually used it (twice!), I don't take any offense when folks from other countries speak badly about us. We do some pretty bonehead things.
ReplyDelete(for the benefit of the US gov't censors who monitor internet traffic, the above statement has nothing to do with our glorious leader, Emperor Cheney, or his wise and benevolent domestic and foreign policies. Amen. Foreverandever.)
xoxox
Alex
Thank you for posting this in your blog, Annie. I'm an American currently living abroad in Germany, and didn't even realize that an alarming number of Americans don't have passports. My family has been traveling internationally since I was three, and my sis and I went with our Mum and Dad excepting my Dad's trip to Nicaragua--and thank goodness, he was there for the earthquake in the '80s. We're not wealthy, lower end of middle class (my Dad's a pastor), so finances and economy never really went into play. Here in Germany, many Americans on the military bases are afraid to travel outside the gates for fear of terrorism. The Army also forces families through an intensive "terrorism briefing," citing kidnappings in Italy and other countries. The result is, so many Americans have this hyper-sensitivity to terrorism, which is purely rediculous because Germany is much safer than the states. Here, I can walk downtown at night without fear of muggers or rapists, whereas a woman in Austin or NYC wouldn't dare do so without at the very least, a spraycan of mace.
ReplyDeleteP.S. For the record, I think Brits have much better tv. We Americans have been ripping off British shows, like Whose Line is it Anyway? and Big Brother, for years. And who doesn't like the classic Brit coms, like Are You Being Served?, Keeping Up Apperances, and Waiting for God. British humor rocks!!!
Gaye, how exactly am I getting the government I deserved considering that I elected Kerry and am electing Obama in November? So, all of us Liberal anti-injustice protesters out there that are busting our asses trying to get Bush impeached because....well, we deserved him anyway? Are you kidding me?
ReplyDeleteOut of eligible voters, 60.7% showed up to vote. Go yell at the 30% who didn't. The rest of us care about our lives.
That overused $3 line, "you get the government you deserve" is so incredibly foolish too because what about all those neo-cons that voting Bush in? Eh? What do you think about that? They voted for him, and most are HAPPY with him. That is just like telling me that I got the bonus at work I deserved. I wanted that bonus. My boss gave it to me. I got what I deserved?
Try something more clever next time, Gaye.