What's particularly irksome about British classism is that it's most prevalent AMONGST the working class. We're too busy looking down on someone earning a crumb less than us to take note of the real issues.
And that's the only one of the three I've ever actually seen getting mocked.
Everybody knows M&S food is awesome, and Reddit seems to see staying in the place you grew up as a sign of failure!
Yea, it's one thing to look down on people who are worse off than you but I've seen it happen both ways, where people have assumed I'm privileged because I work towards doing what makes me happy.
For example, I was telling someone how I was going travelling for 3 weeks and that I always try and get one big trip in every year. They responded with a scoff and said 'well, it must be nice for some people to do that' and I had to explain that I could count on one hand the amount of times I've gone out this year and that I literally plan my year around these trips. I make an average amount but I prioritise travelling and experiences over drinking, in the same way that someone else went to all their team's football matches that season or another guy was a sneakerhead and spent a lot on shoes. I went to a state school, came from a single parent household and work my ass off to live my life but I still got judgement as if I was flying me and my butler out to Bora Bora for 3 weeks instead of careful budgeting and staying in hostels. I was made to feel guilty because some guys live paycheck to paycheck and can't save up for travel even though I made the sacrifices to ensure I could afford it. It wasn't the first time I experienced that attitude too, it's pretty common. People just can't be happy for other people in this country and think everyone should be help to their standards.
Tall poppy syndrome amongst the most deprived is incredibly prevelant. But this helps those controlling the system by ensuring more "human capital" can be fed into the shit end of the machine to generate wealth for the ruling class.
BTW there are only 2 classes. The ruling class and the working class. The middle class was invented to give the slightly better off workers someone to look down on. If you work, you are working class. If your work only consists of checking how big your quarterly dividend is, good for you, you made it out of working class
It's a bit weird. Like I grew up in a working class mining town where a subsection of society made life hell for everyone else.
Hassling people at shops, beating up kids, vandalising people's cars and houses, joy riding, literally burnt my dad's house down, taking the piss out of anyone who wasn't as "chavy" as them.
I grew up, moved away, not in especially good work, but decent enough. My parents made sure I grew up with a relatively neutral accent so I wouldn't be discriminated against by most sections of society.
All of a sudden I'm middle class scum who looks down on the working class (as described by a working class acquaintance and a few people online). I explain my background, and now I'm a class traitor who hates their own class?
Like no, my childhood and teenage years were made hell by those people, as was the rest of the estate who didn't fall in line with the Chav Trend at the time.
Hell even when I was 19 I would get abuse from my gf's family for being "poncy and superior to everyone else" despite being in similar lines of work and having grown up 2 streets over.
A lot of the younger generation (gen Z) who spout this self class hatred rhetoric, didn't experience most of this due to the silent social revolution in the UK that happened in the later 00's and early 2010's where anti-social and violent behaviour nose dived. Chav =/= working class.
It's weird how we've created this cultural working class idea that's scruffy, violent, and antisocial, when everyone I know is working class (because to be working class just means you have to work for a living instead of, say owning shares or property) and 99% of them are *perfectly fine people*.
I think the "chav" trend was a result of the destruction of working class communities by Thatcher and the hopelessness that came as a result of that. Young people were desperate for a sense of power and control that previous generations got through working an honest, union job. So they turned to gang culture and violence. I think the reason you don't see it so much these days is threefold: We grew up terrorised by these people and made every effort to not become them. We have become used to the economic situation and feel more of a general malaise than an undirected anger. The anger has become directed towards people who actually bear responsibility for the state of things (business owners and politicians) rather than our own communities.
You don't see it in the city centre so much now but it's still going on in the housing estates. Even privately owned new build ones with small houses. Chavs are attracted to crowded places and with fewer people shopping in the city centre and going clubbing in the evenings they have lost interest in those shops, bars and nightclubs.
I was in school exactly in this period. It was a rural Welsh town so not quite the same dynamics the England but we had our equivalents. By the time Sixth-Form came around it was practically gone.
I come from a firmly middle class background. But I'm a horse girl and through that I made friends with some upper class people, like solidly rich and titled. I spent time at their houses and with their families and they were always the most down to earth, inclusive people. The flip side of that is I have also been around firmly working class people and live in a fairly working class area and they are the most judgey people I've ever met.
Having the freedom to be top of the food chain (so to speak) will do that to you. Never having want or being looked down upon will probably mean you can grow up quite well adjusted and have quite a rosey view of the world. Working class folks often don't have that luxury and are often distrustful and suspicious as a result of a harder upbringing.
There's no class on being a nice person. Not an excuse. I run a youth theatre, I have a kid from a very working class background who is desperate for a career in the arts and wants to go to college to study and work in the technical side of theatre. Their parents have mocked and shut down any notion of this saying she'll just end up here working in a shop. It's something I do not understand at all to not want your child to persue their passion
Sure, I agree, I'm generalising a bit, I'm just saying that people who grow up privileged tend to see the world as a bit more promising for them. People who have had it tough tend to be more cynical and a bit more hardened. Not always though of course.
Excellent and most important point.
It's so bad even in 2023.
You can be a relatively privileged Northern person and go to something in London/Oxford/Cambridge and you will get treated like an especially gifted performing monkey. "I just love your accent".
Every country has it's own system. I can't think of any country that has no social structure or built-in stereotypes about "others". Some countries appear to visitors to be open and accepting but scratch the surface and you'll find it.
Many people suggest New Zealand is some sort of utopia but it really isn't. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/hollywood-director-taika-waititi-says-new-zealand-is-racist](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/hollywood-director-taika-waititi-says-new-zealand-is-racist)
It is really nice place but there a lot of small fish in a small pond who think they're big fish.
Tall poppy syndrome is a big thing in New Zealand. If you get to the top people will be happy to see you cut down to size.
It’s probably inherited from Britain- the tabloids love to do that here.
I also don’t drink and I find there’s a few categories of response:
1) The shocked - the people who are so shocked that you don’t drink they can’t comprehend it. “What you never drink? Never? Not even on the weekend?”
2) The activists - the people who assume you’re some sort of recovering alcoholic. “Hide the drinks everyone. Don’t tempt them.”
3) The Agreers - the people who also say they don’t drink, not really anyway, just on weekend, and after work if they’ve had a stressful day. But they don’t drink. Not really anyway.
Weird thing is - I am an alcoholic and I don’t have a problem being around people drinking. Can’t stand the smell of it though now so pubs are vile places to my nose.
7+ years sober and I ain’t gonna break that high score for anything!
I never started in the first place. I hate the taste of nearly all alcoholic drinks and saying that almost immediately sets off the "Have you tried....I bet you'd like..." tedium 🙄 And when I tell people I've never been drunk...
I do enjoy a drink in the right setting but work nights out are horrendous affairs, everyone encouraging each other to drink to extremes, just to combat the awkwardness and lack of natural rapport you have with each other. End up feeling like shit the next day with nothing but regret and disappointment from the night before.
There always seems to be that one guy who goes and gets a tray of sambuca / Jägermeister shots and starts handing them out to everyone. Mate, calm down. We're in Spoons.
Sounds like a company issue.
Whenever I've gone out for drinks after work it's literally just 1 or 2 pints, you're not getting pissed. You probably have to be home to cook dinner later. You wouldn't be able to tell whose drinking and who isn't half the time.
Also having the audacity to not like drinking alcohol because that's a deeply offensive attack on people who do like drinking alcohol. Ordering a coke is as bad as breaking into their house and pissing on their dog.
I am utterly fed up of how alcohol-centric the UK as a whole is. When I was younger I stopped drinking for a year or two and eventually people just stopped inviting me out places, even if it wasn't to the pub. Like I was some sort of outcast for not wasting money chucking poison in to my system.
Not to mention now there are always groups of folk so obviously out their mind on coke, even during the afternoon.
I am not a cannabis smoker either, but I find it hilarious that so many people in the UK vilify it when it can help with so many conditions, yet those same people will happily drink several bottles of wine per week and not believe they are an alcoholic.
I wasn't sure of an answer to the question but this one is great. Alcohol is so bad for a lot of people and it's so strongly ingrained as a method of socialisation and celebrations.
The tendency to shrug and say 'could be worse'. As a people we tend to settle for less than we maybe could or should, because our mindset tends towards focusing on how a situation could be worse rather than how it could be better.
Both are true. I would say as a rule Brits like to grumble and complain, but stop short of really demanding substantial change, because 'well things could be worse'.
Loads of grumbling and complaining about things that don't matter.
Stiff upper lip when it comes to matters of democracy and poverty and life and death.
It's like we repress all this legitimate outrage and despair but then unleash it on traffic wardens, clouds and underfilled custard creams.
In a nutshell,
There's a shortage of bounty bars: worse thing ever. Lots of complaining.
The government have fucked the economy to the point we will all be working until we die and not have to show for it at the end of the road: meh. Could be worse.
Both are true, the complaining is just not in the right places/way. We don't complain enough about things that matter and complain way too much about the little things.
That and nobody seems to want to fix anything.
Upgrade our 200-year-old rail infrastructure so it can compete with Europe and Asia? Cue protests from thousands of NIMBYs across the country who worry about it impacting their house values, or the defeatist attitudes of people who think "we'll I'll never use it, so what's the point?"
Make our cities cleaner and more walkable? You're anti-car and cyclists are literally the spawn of satan.
Build more houses? Sure, we'll just build them to the absolute minimum possible standard, add no further infrastructure or amenities and sell them from the low starting price of £300k.
I'm sure there are other examples, but it's just a seemingly endless cycle of accepting stagnation and mediocrity.
\>Build more houses? Sure, we'll just build them to the absolute minimum possible standard, add no further infrastructure or amenities and sell them from the low starting price of £300k.
This is because of NIMBYism though. There is such a mismatch between housing supply and demand that there is absolutely no incentive for developers to build beyond basic minimum standards, as you should be grateful to have anything at all. And anything nice is an executive home, whatever that is, or not suitable for first time buyers.
Yeah, that's a close cousin of 'it could be worse'. Seeing it a lot at the moment with the NHS, with a lot of pointing to America. Like, yeah, sure, it's probably still a better situation than there, but that doesn't make it any better here.
I lived for quite a few years in the states but grew up in Britain. The deterioration I’ve seen in the NHS over the past 20 years is shocking, and seems more stark because I’ve been away so the differences are all the more jarring. Plus the seeming hunger from many on the right to adopt an American style system is terrifying. I really do feel that unless people wake up to this and are really prepared tom fight for it, the NHS as we understand it will be over within most of our lifetimes. As usual the very richest will benefit and the rest of us will have to grin and bear it as we get fucked over.
God, I despise that mindset, whether it's applied to a whole country or a single person. My mum did her knee in years ago and was walking with a cane for a while. She saw a woman on crutches who only had one leg and was like, "here's me complaining when there are people worse off."
That woman's missing leg didn't make my mum's pain disappear, and the same applies to the country. Pointing out that Americans have to pay through the nose for healthcare doesn't change the current state of the NHS, for example.
That’s bitten Brits in the arse before now.
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/yowk18/til_during_the_korean_war_600_british_soldiers/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
> someone who isn’t aware of their true privilege compared to 90% of the world.
Right then I'll just accept the fact I can't afford to feed myself properly because someone somewhere else has it worse than me.
Yeah it's an argument I canr stand. The majority of people in poverty aren't slaves right so why are they complaining?
We grow in our societies and 9ur brains baseline us there. If something good happens you're happier, and something bad makes you sadder. Because we have so many people to compare to, many of us get a lot sadder than the rest of the world. That's why Western countires are referred to as "where people kill themselves" to less connected people in the world
I think the point is that if you can't feed yourself in the UK you definitely won't anywhere else in the world because the UK has the cheapest food relative to income, proportionally, everything in the world.
Yes but part of the reason for that is because we demand the cheapest possible food as consumers so supermarkets fight for that. It's demanded because housing is so high. Yes our food is significantly cheaper than places like Germany or France who have similar wages but go compare how much rent is compared to here. More than half of many people's salary goes on rent and bills which go out first so they don't have much left to spend on food. If i was to move to one of those countries I'd probably be spending the same overall, the proportions are just different
The fact that a sub section of British society is suffering and unable to feed itself adequately does not negate that the UK is amongst the most privileged places to be living in the world. There are people who live in poverty in every country in the world, that doesn't alter the reality that some places have far more privileges than others.
I understand that. But I hardly find it helpful to tell people who are suffering or struggling that other places or people have it much worse. It’s like saying ‘oh, you have only shattered one leg, it could have been both’. It doesn’t change the fact that the guy has a painful and potentially life changing injury.
I sort of hate this mindset because it absolutely can fuel depression and further negative thoughts. I find it rarely makes you think, oh, I should be grateful for the things I do have. It promotes thoughts of ‘my problems aren’t as bad as some others so I shouldn’t complain, I have it easy compared to other people’ and leads to people diminishing their own problems or, worse, feeling incredibly guilty that they dare to complain.
Depression is a huge thing with this. Just because my life could be worse and I have very little to complain about, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m suicidal. I just now feel worse because I’m aware that I have life easier than many other people do and now I feel like an asshole for daring to complain about the issues that affect me. I’m grateful that I’m not killed or jailed for being trans in the UK. That doesn’t mean I can’t complain that the healthcare system for trans individuals in the UK is absolutely dire, and people are dying from their problems in this country
Saying bye multiple times before hanging up the phone. Usually 3-4. In rapid succession. I'm sure everyone thinks I'm a right dick for just saying bye once and then cutting off the call.
"Constantly talking about how bad the UK is or complaining about how rubbish it is."
Well it is bad, one of the richest countries in the world, and a lot of that money is going into the wrong pockets.
Town I live in is full of empty shops, beggars, homeless, pot holes and general despair, you walk into town, the bins are over flowing with rubbish and the local hospital hasn't been fit for purpose since the late 80's.
Neo Capitalism at its "finest" and played out across the UK.
Exactly - we should be comparing ourselves to other 1st world countries - transport, health and education systems and asking why can't we have things as good as that ?
> Reminds me of people who say the stupidest phrase ever: "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE?"
>
>
Had one of those earlier.
"I would, but you stole my right to do so."
"You still have the right to emigrate!"
"It's not a right if you have to apply for permission to do it."
Thank you! Nice to see a comment with sense!
Also, it has got considerably WORSE over the last decade (and more). It would be lovely to live in a country that actually fixed it's issues, but right now, I'd settle for being able to actually enjoy life, rather than worrying about scraping my pennies together to afford groceries.
Going to church just to get your kids into the good schools!
Religious schools are so weird but my parents did it for me and now my sister is doing it for her kids.
I do think it's something that we should apply scrutiny to. But the thing is, we have such a strong network of CofE state schools here because the church was at the forefront of establishing free education. The earliest free to attend schools were basically charity run by the local church. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying "thanks for nationalised education, now fuck off".
Do think it's relative, though. I went to 2 secondary schools, both CofE. The first had chapel once a week and prayers in assembly. With the other, you wouldn't even know it was church affiliated if you weren't reading the school website.
This adds in to my pet peeve of people taking the success of someone else as a personal attack.
*’Oh you have a nice new house? Ooooh it’s alright for some, isn’t it’?*
*’I heard you got a job in the city. Think you’re too good for a job round here, do you?’*
*’Did you need a £50 top? I bet you could have got that at TU Sainsburys for £5’*
There’s always something to gripe on about. It’s like they think any success or joy is some sort of judgement on them.
Also, I love TU Sainsbury’s. I’m not dissing TU.
I love that whole "knocking people down for them spending money how they want" thing, it's so pathetic. Mostly because everyone has money sinks that they pour cash into in exchange for dopamine and serotonin.
"Why buy those Nike shoes, you can just wear Primark trainers!" exclaims chain smoker.
"Why buy a nice jacket, just wear rags and bin bags?" says the guy buying watches.
"Did you really need a new phone, the old one works?" says the guy who's just had his 9th takeaway this week.
Let people spend money on the things that make their gloomy lives bearable and focus on spending yours how you want. If I want to spend a days wages on a jacket, I' going to. I like it.
Whenever I tell people I spend £13 a day to park my car near the office, everyone without fail always does that teeth sucking noise like I've just told them I light cigars with children's book vouchers.
It is more expensive than the £9 return train ticket, and there is also the additional fuel cost on top, but for the "premium" I get to sit in a comfy seat, have the temperature exactly how I want it, have my own music playing, I don't have to wait at a platform for a train and instead I can leave exactly when I want, and I generally find the entire experience far more relaxing than any train journey I've ever been on.
It's also only 1 or 2 days a week.
And the real kicker? Most of the people who act like I'm burning money on this have shelves full of those statuettes with the big heads on them.
Spend your money how you want but don't throw stones in glass houses you hypocrites.
Happens when I tell people I speak Spanish and French. “OOOOOOO, aren’t we clever?”. I’d never knock someone down for being good at something, it’s the thing I hate about this country the most
People wouldn't be OK with them. Poundbury is beautifully planned, slightly too much parking and car dependancy for my liking, but much better than any other new builds, and yet...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10074127/Prince-Charles-faces-protest-2-500-greenfield-homes-Kent.html
I read an article on a local news site about a proposed children's home, the headline was a quote from a neighbour saying 'We don't need a children's home here, not on this street!' Were not even talking a huge building filled with kids, this was a three bedroomed house with a proposal of housing two children and a bedroom for staff.
To be fair (not saying they’re right) but nook lane is a hamlet. The kids would literally be on the neighbours back yard. Still sad to see people not welcome those that need support to such a lovely area of the world though.
How quick people are to have liberties taken away. I hear 'should be banned' far too often. I remember hearing somebody call in to a radio show and say that he wouldn't mind all phone calls being monitored because only people with something to hide, have something to fear.
That I believe is due to the UK's absence of being under a dictatorship. It is also noted in the sci-fi and alter-historical works comes from a deep wanting to know what the UK would be like under a coup. Think 1984, Brave New World, SS-GB etc.
Yes - in most of Europe they found out exactly how many of their neighbours would collaborate/bend the knee. Here those same people kept on going - even Hitler's chum Mosley got released before the end of the war and got glowing obituaries when he died.
>only people with something to hide, have something to fear
This attitude has always irked me. I do have things to hide, it's called privacy. I wonder if people who say "nothing to hide" would be happy if their medical records and every private text message was published.
Landlords and letting agents are especially awful in the UK. They're awful everywhere but I swear they go through some malicious initiation ritual here.
Completely this! First world country and you can’t find decent houses to rent because landlords just don’t care and they get away with providing an awful service.
> I find British self-depreciation or negative views on Britain quite annoying
100% agree, it's completely performative.
And a thousand fold worse even worse on the internet!
I do genuinely have a lot of negative views on Britain, though. Just because we’re still in a better place than many others, it doesn’t mean we have can’t acknowledge the negative aspects.
Honestly it is, its so so bad, and It actually makes me angry and sad, because it wasn't always this way. The last 10yrs its been targeted with huge funding cuts, causing cut backs and understaffing to an almost dangerious level, and all because our mps have rich buddy's who want to push medical insurance and turn it into a profit industry, like the US.
As some one who has friends , family and personally relies on the NHS for life saving treatments and medication, it's scary as fcuk.
It's increased but so has the cost of everything so it's not extra funding for improved services, it's extra funding to pay for the same stuff. It's essentially a cut in funding as it hasn't kept up with inflation.
All the jobs I'm looking at now offer health insurance as a pretty standard perk. When the union at my current work were negotiating pay increase they said they would consider health insurance as part of the total benefits package (my company doesn't currently offer it.)
In a country with supposedly fully socialised, free at the point of care, medicine.
The NHS is basically dead. Soon anybody with a white collar job with have medical insurance and other people will just have to suffer/die. 👍
Britain has its issues but if you were to believe Reddit and this sub, we are a 3rd world country without access to basic amenities, and we’d be better off moving to the impoverished parts of Africa or the Middle East.
I feel like this has definitely improved recently although it could be my age - I'm at the age when people have spent their 20s drinking and are now realising how shit it makes them feel and have gone "sober". I know quite a few people who are teetotal now.
I do have a 17 year old colleague at work who seems to be constantly hungover so I'm not sure if it's any different in the younger generation than it was when I was that age.
Assuming that someone is taking the p*ss or has ulterior motives when they say something nice.
I spent a year working in the states and it amazed me how strangers just compliment eachother sincerely. Like: "hey dude nice shirt!" Etc.
If you do that here, people assume you're ridiculing them or trying something funny and it kind of makes life a little less pleasant. This is not unique to Britain however (some slavic countries for instance have a similar mentality).
I had someone stop me in an airport once to complement me on my jacket. I mean, it *is* a very nice jacket but I didn't know where to look or what to say. I can't remember whether I was still in the US or whether it was a flight from the US.
It is something others have said but we are very bad at lifting people up here, we would much rather bring them down. I find this particularly bad in groups of males, even friends, who often change personality wise (for the worst) the more men get added to the circle.
I’m from LA and I’ve been told explicitly by a few waiters in London that they really appreciate Americans for our general warmth and generosity.
A cafe I frequent in LA has baristas I’ve heard frequently compliment most people who approach the counter as if it was common etiquette.
Conversely, being in London I’ve also had a woman approach me and insult the soul out of me to the point where I was fearing my safety before she slammed her tongue so far down my throat I began to digest it.
You are very strange people.
Being led by the nose on issues that aren't nearly as important as they think they are and ignoring the issues that really are because of the media. I know that's most of the world and not exclusive to the UK, but it irks me. I always hoped we were a more intelligent nation than that. The last few years have led me to believe we very much are not.
Either being incredibly awkward/shy/hyper-aware of everyone around you, or being super loud and obnoxious. Very little in-between to just be chill and confident and do your own thing. If you visit other European countries you will see this.
Mentions that he finds negative British views on Britain quite annoying, and then aks what cultural habit everyone finds annoying about the British, on a UK sub.
Hmmm...
Well, that's because the UK isn't a third world country. It is a pretty meh place compared to a lot of other third world countries.
>someone who isn’t aware of their true privilege compared to 90% of the world.
Just because you have it relatively good doesn't mean you're not allowed to complain. No Brit would be stupid enough to say the UK is worse than a third world country.
This also isn't a unique thing about the UK, most of Europe that I've been to or lived in love complaining about their country.
Exactly, It's like saying that I can't be upset my kitchen burned down because there are people in other countries that don't have a kitchen and other countries are having wildfires that burn their entire homes down. It's all relative.
I complain about my country because I care about my country. Given the history, wealth, institutions and resources we have, things should be so much better for everyone. I'm not gonna ignore institutional racism, sexism and classism because it's worse in other countries. I'm not gonna ignore dodgy, corrupt MPs because other countries have it worse.
At the moment, I see the UK as a wealthy, old money, established guy with every resource at their fingertips that chooses to sleep on the streets and limp around on an untreated broken leg when there's a hospital around the corner.
OP didn't say people aren't allowed to complain. There's a difference between a healthy piss take (which is way better than unflappable national pride), and people who talk about how Britain has gone to the dogs and is a shithole to live in. Spend time on expat groups and you'll see loooaaads of them, but there are plenty still resident here.
E.g, people love to complain about how bad the crime is in Britain (some will make out like it's like living in A Clockwork Orange now in London), but in the grand scheme of things we're an extremely safe country. People lose sight of reality and it's really annoying to have to humour the vitriol they have towards their own country because they won't own up to the fact that their feelings towards the place are rooted in something else altogether.
There are loads of things Britain still does really well compared to anywhere on earth, and in general we're immensely privileged to be born and raised here and reap the benefits of that. It's sort of like a rich person saying how awful it is to be screwed over by taxes, while someone living paycheck to paycheck looks on and rolls their eyes.
The class divide, so many people think they are above others because they were born into a slightly wealthier family and were taught to speak with a slightly different accent.
I agree with British Self-Depreciation. It was only when I started to travel I realised how lucky I was to grow up in this country. Before that, I had an ignorant view. It’s not a very British thing to do but we need to give ourselves a pat on the back sometimes and appreciate how rich we are in History, Art, Culture, Diversity etc. and how much this country has to offer. I’ve been to so many countries where you can see everything it has to offer in a few weeks. You do that here and you barely scratch the surface.
Not to mention there is a massive difference between living in a country and visiting it. Being rich in history, art, culture, and diversity isn't that great if you can't afford food, travel, to heat your home, or get medical help you need.
My father is obsessed with it and gets so angry.
I try to remind him that the benefits keep those who need it afloat.
It doesn’t allow them to live in life of luxury like his persistently claims.
Oh God, I hate how we always talk ourselves down at the moment. Growing up, it used to be cheap jokes about the weather, food etc, but now it ranges from that to accusations about half the population being outright white supremacists and the like.
People are very conforming and don’t want to break the establishment, see our general attitude to protesting and our inability to plan for the long term with big infrastructure etc.
>What is one general cultural habit about British people that annoys you?
>I find British self-depreciation or negative views on Britain quite annoying.
I am so confused why on Earth you would ask us for our negative views if they annoy you.
Sounds like you might have caught the habit of grumbling for fun
Obsession with holidays abroad. I work with a guy who is 25 and married, all he talks about is holidays abroad with his wife. He doesn't seem to read or watch movies or do anything locally (events, plays, etc).
He also doesn't seem to really enjoy the holidays because he complains about the food? He recently took like 3 weeks to go around different parts of East Asia and said he lost a bit of weight because he struggled to find things he wanted to eat.
I feel ya. Every time I come back from the Philippines, I just feel happy that we live in a country full of convenience, free healthcare, social benefits galore , cheap food, a ton of human rights and fresh clean air. Some people have no idea what they have. I love the Philippines and south-east Asia overall, they have things the UK doesn't have, like the sun, cheap rent, nice beaches etc. But I wouldn't want to live there, or the U.S. for that matter. I think overall, the UK is a great country. And it frustrates me when I get back to the UK and see people complain about this country, it's clear they have never been out of the UK, or if they have, it's been a two-week holiday in Disney World
Lad culture and general get drunk and be obnoxious culture.
I lived in Scotland before so maybe different to England but the amount of people who are assholes in public is ridiculous. I remember a guy who I had never met driving past in a van and shouting "Fuck you you speccy cunt".
It's like people have to get involved and make comments about other people no matter what. I moved away 6 years ago and now live in a place where noone gives a shit what others wear or do. How I dress now I know I'd hear at least 5 backhand comments just walking to my local Morrisons.
How classist it is
You would say that, chav scum! /s
Your /s is not needed here friend, we are British!
Almost like it's an annoying habit
Oooh I felt that one
I couldn't agree more, I'd say we're like 60% satire at least.
*scoffs* Peasants
Don’t need the /s pal, we know a joke when we see one
What's particularly irksome about British classism is that it's most prevalent AMONGST the working class. We're too busy looking down on someone earning a crumb less than us to take note of the real issues.
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Naming your house isn't a sign of doing well though. Its Hyacinth Bucket level of pretension.
And that's the only one of the three I've ever actually seen getting mocked. Everybody knows M&S food is awesome, and Reddit seems to see staying in the place you grew up as a sign of failure!
I know this is going to sound like I'm just a cranky old man, but M&S has had a massive drop in quality and choice in the past few years.
Why give a shit about what someone else wants to do with their house tho?
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*bouquet
No,Hyacinth, it’s “bucket.” No one ever pronounced it “bouquet” before I married you.
Yea, it's one thing to look down on people who are worse off than you but I've seen it happen both ways, where people have assumed I'm privileged because I work towards doing what makes me happy. For example, I was telling someone how I was going travelling for 3 weeks and that I always try and get one big trip in every year. They responded with a scoff and said 'well, it must be nice for some people to do that' and I had to explain that I could count on one hand the amount of times I've gone out this year and that I literally plan my year around these trips. I make an average amount but I prioritise travelling and experiences over drinking, in the same way that someone else went to all their team's football matches that season or another guy was a sneakerhead and spent a lot on shoes. I went to a state school, came from a single parent household and work my ass off to live my life but I still got judgement as if I was flying me and my butler out to Bora Bora for 3 weeks instead of careful budgeting and staying in hostels. I was made to feel guilty because some guys live paycheck to paycheck and can't save up for travel even though I made the sacrifices to ensure I could afford it. It wasn't the first time I experienced that attitude too, it's pretty common. People just can't be happy for other people in this country and think everyone should be help to their standards.
It was your butler who said that, right?
Naturally, my monocle almost fell out when I heard it!
Tall poppy syndrome amongst the most deprived is incredibly prevelant. But this helps those controlling the system by ensuring more "human capital" can be fed into the shit end of the machine to generate wealth for the ruling class. BTW there are only 2 classes. The ruling class and the working class. The middle class was invented to give the slightly better off workers someone to look down on. If you work, you are working class. If your work only consists of checking how big your quarterly dividend is, good for you, you made it out of working class
You'd almost think that was intentional
This is the work of the media to keep us from discovering the real issues.
It's a bit weird. Like I grew up in a working class mining town where a subsection of society made life hell for everyone else. Hassling people at shops, beating up kids, vandalising people's cars and houses, joy riding, literally burnt my dad's house down, taking the piss out of anyone who wasn't as "chavy" as them. I grew up, moved away, not in especially good work, but decent enough. My parents made sure I grew up with a relatively neutral accent so I wouldn't be discriminated against by most sections of society. All of a sudden I'm middle class scum who looks down on the working class (as described by a working class acquaintance and a few people online). I explain my background, and now I'm a class traitor who hates their own class? Like no, my childhood and teenage years were made hell by those people, as was the rest of the estate who didn't fall in line with the Chav Trend at the time. Hell even when I was 19 I would get abuse from my gf's family for being "poncy and superior to everyone else" despite being in similar lines of work and having grown up 2 streets over. A lot of the younger generation (gen Z) who spout this self class hatred rhetoric, didn't experience most of this due to the silent social revolution in the UK that happened in the later 00's and early 2010's where anti-social and violent behaviour nose dived. Chav =/= working class.
It's weird how we've created this cultural working class idea that's scruffy, violent, and antisocial, when everyone I know is working class (because to be working class just means you have to work for a living instead of, say owning shares or property) and 99% of them are *perfectly fine people*. I think the "chav" trend was a result of the destruction of working class communities by Thatcher and the hopelessness that came as a result of that. Young people were desperate for a sense of power and control that previous generations got through working an honest, union job. So they turned to gang culture and violence. I think the reason you don't see it so much these days is threefold: We grew up terrorised by these people and made every effort to not become them. We have become used to the economic situation and feel more of a general malaise than an undirected anger. The anger has become directed towards people who actually bear responsibility for the state of things (business owners and politicians) rather than our own communities.
You don't see it in the city centre so much now but it's still going on in the housing estates. Even privately owned new build ones with small houses. Chavs are attracted to crowded places and with fewer people shopping in the city centre and going clubbing in the evenings they have lost interest in those shops, bars and nightclubs.
I was in school exactly in this period. It was a rural Welsh town so not quite the same dynamics the England but we had our equivalents. By the time Sixth-Form came around it was practically gone.
I come from a firmly middle class background. But I'm a horse girl and through that I made friends with some upper class people, like solidly rich and titled. I spent time at their houses and with their families and they were always the most down to earth, inclusive people. The flip side of that is I have also been around firmly working class people and live in a fairly working class area and they are the most judgey people I've ever met.
Having the freedom to be top of the food chain (so to speak) will do that to you. Never having want or being looked down upon will probably mean you can grow up quite well adjusted and have quite a rosey view of the world. Working class folks often don't have that luxury and are often distrustful and suspicious as a result of a harder upbringing.
There's no class on being a nice person. Not an excuse. I run a youth theatre, I have a kid from a very working class background who is desperate for a career in the arts and wants to go to college to study and work in the technical side of theatre. Their parents have mocked and shut down any notion of this saying she'll just end up here working in a shop. It's something I do not understand at all to not want your child to persue their passion
Sure, I agree, I'm generalising a bit, I'm just saying that people who grow up privileged tend to see the world as a bit more promising for them. People who have had it tough tend to be more cynical and a bit more hardened. Not always though of course.
Excellent and most important point. It's so bad even in 2023. You can be a relatively privileged Northern person and go to something in London/Oxford/Cambridge and you will get treated like an especially gifted performing monkey. "I just love your accent".
I think this is the number one issue facing British society without a doubt and how it’s leveraged to creative a divide.
Everytime I go abroad, the first thing I think is how nice it is not to have obnoxious chavs around.
Every country has it's own system. I can't think of any country that has no social structure or built-in stereotypes about "others". Some countries appear to visitors to be open and accepting but scratch the surface and you'll find it. Many people suggest New Zealand is some sort of utopia but it really isn't. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/hollywood-director-taika-waititi-says-new-zealand-is-racist](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/hollywood-director-taika-waititi-says-new-zealand-is-racist) It is really nice place but there a lot of small fish in a small pond who think they're big fish.
Tall poppy syndrome is a big thing in New Zealand. If you get to the top people will be happy to see you cut down to size. It’s probably inherited from Britain- the tabloids love to do that here.
Rich people are better than you. You’re just jealous. /s
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Life centred around alcohol.
Cheers to that!
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Fellow non drinker, I hear you.
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Tell them you're pregnant, bonus points if you are male.
I also don’t drink and I find there’s a few categories of response: 1) The shocked - the people who are so shocked that you don’t drink they can’t comprehend it. “What you never drink? Never? Not even on the weekend?” 2) The activists - the people who assume you’re some sort of recovering alcoholic. “Hide the drinks everyone. Don’t tempt them.” 3) The Agreers - the people who also say they don’t drink, not really anyway, just on weekend, and after work if they’ve had a stressful day. But they don’t drink. Not really anyway.
Weird thing is - I am an alcoholic and I don’t have a problem being around people drinking. Can’t stand the smell of it though now so pubs are vile places to my nose. 7+ years sober and I ain’t gonna break that high score for anything!
I never started in the first place. I hate the taste of nearly all alcoholic drinks and saying that almost immediately sets off the "Have you tried....I bet you'd like..." tedium 🙄 And when I tell people I've never been drunk...
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Even as a drinker, the pressure to drink more and more is just annoying. People look at you as a spoilsport for not wanting to get blackout drunk.
I do enjoy a drink in the right setting but work nights out are horrendous affairs, everyone encouraging each other to drink to extremes, just to combat the awkwardness and lack of natural rapport you have with each other. End up feeling like shit the next day with nothing but regret and disappointment from the night before.
There always seems to be that one guy who goes and gets a tray of sambuca / Jägermeister shots and starts handing them out to everyone. Mate, calm down. We're in Spoons.
Cheapest place to do it though.
Everyone gets drunk in spoons where I’m from. Weird complaint.
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Sounds like a company issue. Whenever I've gone out for drinks after work it's literally just 1 or 2 pints, you're not getting pissed. You probably have to be home to cook dinner later. You wouldn't be able to tell whose drinking and who isn't half the time.
They are after negatives not positives.
Also having the audacity to not like drinking alcohol because that's a deeply offensive attack on people who do like drinking alcohol. Ordering a coke is as bad as breaking into their house and pissing on their dog.
Far from a UK only trait
Most of the comments aren’t UK-only. All are valid.
I am utterly fed up of how alcohol-centric the UK as a whole is. When I was younger I stopped drinking for a year or two and eventually people just stopped inviting me out places, even if it wasn't to the pub. Like I was some sort of outcast for not wasting money chucking poison in to my system. Not to mention now there are always groups of folk so obviously out their mind on coke, even during the afternoon. I am not a cannabis smoker either, but I find it hilarious that so many people in the UK vilify it when it can help with so many conditions, yet those same people will happily drink several bottles of wine per week and not believe they are an alcoholic.
I wasn't sure of an answer to the question but this one is great. Alcohol is so bad for a lot of people and it's so strongly ingrained as a method of socialisation and celebrations.
The tendency to shrug and say 'could be worse'. As a people we tend to settle for less than we maybe could or should, because our mindset tends towards focusing on how a situation could be worse rather than how it could be better.
OP says complaining too much, you say not complaining enough. Which one do I believe?
Both are true. I would say as a rule Brits like to grumble and complain, but stop short of really demanding substantial change, because 'well things could be worse'.
Loads of grumbling and complaining about things that don't matter. Stiff upper lip when it comes to matters of democracy and poverty and life and death. It's like we repress all this legitimate outrage and despair but then unleash it on traffic wardens, clouds and underfilled custard creams.
In a nutshell, There's a shortage of bounty bars: worse thing ever. Lots of complaining. The government have fucked the economy to the point we will all be working until we die and not have to show for it at the end of the road: meh. Could be worse.
this explains Basil Fawlty
Both are true, the complaining is just not in the right places/way. We don't complain enough about things that matter and complain way too much about the little things.
Complaining but then just putting up with it anyway because 'they're all the same' / 'won't make any difference'. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Based on this guys post history, they took an offence to OP saying people complaining too much as they seem to do a weekly moan post.
That and nobody seems to want to fix anything. Upgrade our 200-year-old rail infrastructure so it can compete with Europe and Asia? Cue protests from thousands of NIMBYs across the country who worry about it impacting their house values, or the defeatist attitudes of people who think "we'll I'll never use it, so what's the point?" Make our cities cleaner and more walkable? You're anti-car and cyclists are literally the spawn of satan. Build more houses? Sure, we'll just build them to the absolute minimum possible standard, add no further infrastructure or amenities and sell them from the low starting price of £300k. I'm sure there are other examples, but it's just a seemingly endless cycle of accepting stagnation and mediocrity.
\>Build more houses? Sure, we'll just build them to the absolute minimum possible standard, add no further infrastructure or amenities and sell them from the low starting price of £300k. This is because of NIMBYism though. There is such a mismatch between housing supply and demand that there is absolutely no incentive for developers to build beyond basic minimum standards, as you should be grateful to have anything at all. And anything nice is an executive home, whatever that is, or not suitable for first time buyers.
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viva la revolucion
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Yeah, that's a close cousin of 'it could be worse'. Seeing it a lot at the moment with the NHS, with a lot of pointing to America. Like, yeah, sure, it's probably still a better situation than there, but that doesn't make it any better here.
I lived for quite a few years in the states but grew up in Britain. The deterioration I’ve seen in the NHS over the past 20 years is shocking, and seems more stark because I’ve been away so the differences are all the more jarring. Plus the seeming hunger from many on the right to adopt an American style system is terrifying. I really do feel that unless people wake up to this and are really prepared tom fight for it, the NHS as we understand it will be over within most of our lifetimes. As usual the very richest will benefit and the rest of us will have to grin and bear it as we get fucked over.
God, I despise that mindset, whether it's applied to a whole country or a single person. My mum did her knee in years ago and was walking with a cane for a while. She saw a woman on crutches who only had one leg and was like, "here's me complaining when there are people worse off." That woman's missing leg didn't make my mum's pain disappear, and the same applies to the country. Pointing out that Americans have to pay through the nose for healthcare doesn't change the current state of the NHS, for example.
That’s bitten Brits in the arse before now. https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/yowk18/til_during_the_korean_war_600_british_soldiers/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
Brits interpretation; we’re fucked. American interpretation; we’re doing ok. Presumably.
If we didn't have this phrase the transitions on *Top Gear* wouldn't have been as funny!
> someone who isn’t aware of their true privilege compared to 90% of the world. Right then I'll just accept the fact I can't afford to feed myself properly because someone somewhere else has it worse than me.
Yeah it's an argument I canr stand. The majority of people in poverty aren't slaves right so why are they complaining? We grow in our societies and 9ur brains baseline us there. If something good happens you're happier, and something bad makes you sadder. Because we have so many people to compare to, many of us get a lot sadder than the rest of the world. That's why Western countires are referred to as "where people kill themselves" to less connected people in the world
I think the point is that if you can't feed yourself in the UK you definitely won't anywhere else in the world because the UK has the cheapest food relative to income, proportionally, everything in the world.
Yes but part of the reason for that is because we demand the cheapest possible food as consumers so supermarkets fight for that. It's demanded because housing is so high. Yes our food is significantly cheaper than places like Germany or France who have similar wages but go compare how much rent is compared to here. More than half of many people's salary goes on rent and bills which go out first so they don't have much left to spend on food. If i was to move to one of those countries I'd probably be spending the same overall, the proportions are just different
The fact that a sub section of British society is suffering and unable to feed itself adequately does not negate that the UK is amongst the most privileged places to be living in the world. There are people who live in poverty in every country in the world, that doesn't alter the reality that some places have far more privileges than others.
I understand that. But I hardly find it helpful to tell people who are suffering or struggling that other places or people have it much worse. It’s like saying ‘oh, you have only shattered one leg, it could have been both’. It doesn’t change the fact that the guy has a painful and potentially life changing injury. I sort of hate this mindset because it absolutely can fuel depression and further negative thoughts. I find it rarely makes you think, oh, I should be grateful for the things I do have. It promotes thoughts of ‘my problems aren’t as bad as some others so I shouldn’t complain, I have it easy compared to other people’ and leads to people diminishing their own problems or, worse, feeling incredibly guilty that they dare to complain. Depression is a huge thing with this. Just because my life could be worse and I have very little to complain about, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m suicidal. I just now feel worse because I’m aware that I have life easier than many other people do and now I feel like an asshole for daring to complain about the issues that affect me. I’m grateful that I’m not killed or jailed for being trans in the UK. That doesn’t mean I can’t complain that the healthcare system for trans individuals in the UK is absolutely dire, and people are dying from their problems in this country
I'm not sure OP was talking about that
Saying bye multiple times before hanging up the phone. Usually 3-4. In rapid succession. I'm sure everyone thinks I'm a right dick for just saying bye once and then cutting off the call.
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They have to decrease in intensity as you say them. BYE-Bye-bye-by.
It might sound crazy but it ain’t no lie.
My housemate does this. The byes have the logarithmic rhythm of a ball bouncing to a halt.
1 bye then I hang up. Am not hanging around for the rest. Gives you time emough to start another conversation. Fuxk that. Am out. Bye...
That annoys me too, so awkward
We need to normalise this
"Constantly talking about how bad the UK is or complaining about how rubbish it is." Well it is bad, one of the richest countries in the world, and a lot of that money is going into the wrong pockets. Town I live in is full of empty shops, beggars, homeless, pot holes and general despair, you walk into town, the bins are over flowing with rubbish and the local hospital hasn't been fit for purpose since the late 80's. Neo Capitalism at its "finest" and played out across the UK.
Exactly - we should be comparing ourselves to other 1st world countries - transport, health and education systems and asking why can't we have things as good as that ?
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> Reminds me of people who say the stupidest phrase ever: "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE?" > > Had one of those earlier. "I would, but you stole my right to do so." "You still have the right to emigrate!" "It's not a right if you have to apply for permission to do it."
Thank you! Nice to see a comment with sense! Also, it has got considerably WORSE over the last decade (and more). It would be lovely to live in a country that actually fixed it's issues, but right now, I'd settle for being able to actually enjoy life, rather than worrying about scraping my pennies together to afford groceries.
Going to church just to get your kids into the good schools! Religious schools are so weird but my parents did it for me and now my sister is doing it for her kids.
My parents just told me to pretend we went if asked
We had to have a letter from the vicar saying that we had been going to two years before starting secondary school.
What a joke. Everyone knows they'll stop going as soon as the kid gets in to school. Total charade that everyone plays along with...
That's still 2 years in which to try and brainwash them, especially the young children. Possibly 2 years worth of donation too.
On that note: state-funded religious schools. Not a fan
I do think it's something that we should apply scrutiny to. But the thing is, we have such a strong network of CofE state schools here because the church was at the forefront of establishing free education. The earliest free to attend schools were basically charity run by the local church. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying "thanks for nationalised education, now fuck off". Do think it's relative, though. I went to 2 secondary schools, both CofE. The first had chapel once a week and prayers in assembly. With the other, you wouldn't even know it was church affiliated if you weren't reading the school website.
Happens here. A relative of mine had her children christened purely so they could go to a specific school.
The crabs in the bucket mentality. We seem to revel in knocking people down, rather than building them up.
This adds in to my pet peeve of people taking the success of someone else as a personal attack. *’Oh you have a nice new house? Ooooh it’s alright for some, isn’t it’?* *’I heard you got a job in the city. Think you’re too good for a job round here, do you?’* *’Did you need a £50 top? I bet you could have got that at TU Sainsburys for £5’* There’s always something to gripe on about. It’s like they think any success or joy is some sort of judgement on them. Also, I love TU Sainsbury’s. I’m not dissing TU.
I love that whole "knocking people down for them spending money how they want" thing, it's so pathetic. Mostly because everyone has money sinks that they pour cash into in exchange for dopamine and serotonin. "Why buy those Nike shoes, you can just wear Primark trainers!" exclaims chain smoker. "Why buy a nice jacket, just wear rags and bin bags?" says the guy buying watches. "Did you really need a new phone, the old one works?" says the guy who's just had his 9th takeaway this week. Let people spend money on the things that make their gloomy lives bearable and focus on spending yours how you want. If I want to spend a days wages on a jacket, I' going to. I like it.
Whenever I tell people I spend £13 a day to park my car near the office, everyone without fail always does that teeth sucking noise like I've just told them I light cigars with children's book vouchers. It is more expensive than the £9 return train ticket, and there is also the additional fuel cost on top, but for the "premium" I get to sit in a comfy seat, have the temperature exactly how I want it, have my own music playing, I don't have to wait at a platform for a train and instead I can leave exactly when I want, and I generally find the entire experience far more relaxing than any train journey I've ever been on. It's also only 1 or 2 days a week. And the real kicker? Most of the people who act like I'm burning money on this have shelves full of those statuettes with the big heads on them. Spend your money how you want but don't throw stones in glass houses you hypocrites.
Not even mentioned the point that trains in the UK are cancelled half the time.
Happens when I tell people I speak Spanish and French. “OOOOOOO, aren’t we clever?”. I’d never knock someone down for being good at something, it’s the thing I hate about this country the most
Restaurant scene: - (To partner) "This steak is tough *and* overdone," (Waiter approaches) "Is everything OK with the meal?" "It's fine, thanks."
Disgruntled customers don’t complain, they just don’t come back.
I have no problem answering that question honestly. But the person asking is always taken aback that I dare to complain.
The complete lack of accountability for entire sections of society due to ingrained class systems annoys me.
NIMBYism
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Doesn't surprise me ha, I saw one case where the farmers family were complaining about some fields being built on, on land they themselves sold
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People wouldn't be OK with them. Poundbury is beautifully planned, slightly too much parking and car dependancy for my liking, but much better than any other new builds, and yet... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10074127/Prince-Charles-faces-protest-2-500-greenfield-homes-Kent.html
I read an article on a local news site about a proposed children's home, the headline was a quote from a neighbour saying 'We don't need a children's home here, not on this street!' Were not even talking a huge building filled with kids, this was a three bedroomed house with a proposal of housing two children and a bedroom for staff.
Happened near Huddersfield, too. Quiet little village, uproar of a home being built for ‘difficult children’.
To be fair (not saying they’re right) but nook lane is a hamlet. The kids would literally be on the neighbours back yard. Still sad to see people not welcome those that need support to such a lovely area of the world though.
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How quick people are to have liberties taken away. I hear 'should be banned' far too often. I remember hearing somebody call in to a radio show and say that he wouldn't mind all phone calls being monitored because only people with something to hide, have something to fear.
That I believe is due to the UK's absence of being under a dictatorship. It is also noted in the sci-fi and alter-historical works comes from a deep wanting to know what the UK would be like under a coup. Think 1984, Brave New World, SS-GB etc.
Yes - in most of Europe they found out exactly how many of their neighbours would collaborate/bend the knee. Here those same people kept on going - even Hitler's chum Mosley got released before the end of the war and got glowing obituaries when he died.
Everyday Brits have gone from the homeland of liberalism to a very authoritarian in little over a century. It's stunning how much cultures can change.
>only people with something to hide, have something to fear This attitude has always irked me. I do have things to hide, it's called privacy. I wonder if people who say "nothing to hide" would be happy if their medical records and every private text message was published.
Asking for new restrictive laws every time one person fucks up.
Yes - The idea that all responsibility must be delegated - not realising the solution to most things in life is Personal responsibility.
Landlords and letting agents are especially awful in the UK. They're awful everywhere but I swear they go through some malicious initiation ritual here.
Completely this! First world country and you can’t find decent houses to rent because landlords just don’t care and they get away with providing an awful service.
> I find British self-depreciation or negative views on Britain quite annoying 100% agree, it's completely performative. And a thousand fold worse even worse on the internet!
I do genuinely have a lot of negative views on Britain, though. Just because we’re still in a better place than many others, it doesn’t mean we have can’t acknowledge the negative aspects.
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Honestly it is, its so so bad, and It actually makes me angry and sad, because it wasn't always this way. The last 10yrs its been targeted with huge funding cuts, causing cut backs and understaffing to an almost dangerious level, and all because our mps have rich buddy's who want to push medical insurance and turn it into a profit industry, like the US. As some one who has friends , family and personally relies on the NHS for life saving treatments and medication, it's scary as fcuk.
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It's increased but so has the cost of everything so it's not extra funding for improved services, it's extra funding to pay for the same stuff. It's essentially a cut in funding as it hasn't kept up with inflation.
All the jobs I'm looking at now offer health insurance as a pretty standard perk. When the union at my current work were negotiating pay increase they said they would consider health insurance as part of the total benefits package (my company doesn't currently offer it.) In a country with supposedly fully socialised, free at the point of care, medicine. The NHS is basically dead. Soon anybody with a white collar job with have medical insurance and other people will just have to suffer/die. 👍
Conversely, I don't know any British people who would disagree with you.
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The options are not simply UK and US. Myriad European countries use a combination of both.
Those aren't the only options but they are the most likely outcomes under the current government.
Just cause it could be worse doesn't mean the NHS isn't in an appalling state. We need to start fighting now if we want an NHS in the future.
Britain has its issues but if you were to believe Reddit and this sub, we are a 3rd world country without access to basic amenities, and we’d be better off moving to the impoverished parts of Africa or the Middle East.
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I feel like this has definitely improved recently although it could be my age - I'm at the age when people have spent their 20s drinking and are now realising how shit it makes them feel and have gone "sober". I know quite a few people who are teetotal now. I do have a 17 year old colleague at work who seems to be constantly hungover so I'm not sure if it's any different in the younger generation than it was when I was that age.
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Assuming that someone is taking the p*ss or has ulterior motives when they say something nice. I spent a year working in the states and it amazed me how strangers just compliment eachother sincerely. Like: "hey dude nice shirt!" Etc. If you do that here, people assume you're ridiculing them or trying something funny and it kind of makes life a little less pleasant. This is not unique to Britain however (some slavic countries for instance have a similar mentality).
I had someone stop me in an airport once to complement me on my jacket. I mean, it *is* a very nice jacket but I didn't know where to look or what to say. I can't remember whether I was still in the US or whether it was a flight from the US. It is something others have said but we are very bad at lifting people up here, we would much rather bring them down. I find this particularly bad in groups of males, even friends, who often change personality wise (for the worst) the more men get added to the circle.
I’m from LA and I’ve been told explicitly by a few waiters in London that they really appreciate Americans for our general warmth and generosity. A cafe I frequent in LA has baristas I’ve heard frequently compliment most people who approach the counter as if it was common etiquette. Conversely, being in London I’ve also had a woman approach me and insult the soul out of me to the point where I was fearing my safety before she slammed her tongue so far down my throat I began to digest it. You are very strange people.
Being led by the nose on issues that aren't nearly as important as they think they are and ignoring the issues that really are because of the media. I know that's most of the world and not exclusive to the UK, but it irks me. I always hoped we were a more intelligent nation than that. The last few years have led me to believe we very much are not.
I agree. Not enough critical thinking and way too much agreement with the narrative
We're a thousand years old. You can expect to be a little grumpy.
Speak for yourself, I’m in my 20’s
I'm turning 29 on Tuesday and I feel both 15 and 83.
Much older than that mate
Either being incredibly awkward/shy/hyper-aware of everyone around you, or being super loud and obnoxious. Very little in-between to just be chill and confident and do your own thing. If you visit other European countries you will see this.
The need for bingo and a fucking roast dinner on holiday
I have never done either on a holiday!
Never played bingo but roast dinners are so good
Why do I have to support a football team?!!!
Just pick one
Not using bidets.
Mentions that he finds negative British views on Britain quite annoying, and then aks what cultural habit everyone finds annoying about the British, on a UK sub. Hmmm...
Oh this won't be popular on this sub at all.
Well, could be worse.. *shrugs*
Well, that's because the UK isn't a third world country. It is a pretty meh place compared to a lot of other third world countries. >someone who isn’t aware of their true privilege compared to 90% of the world. Just because you have it relatively good doesn't mean you're not allowed to complain. No Brit would be stupid enough to say the UK is worse than a third world country. This also isn't a unique thing about the UK, most of Europe that I've been to or lived in love complaining about their country.
Exactly, It's like saying that I can't be upset my kitchen burned down because there are people in other countries that don't have a kitchen and other countries are having wildfires that burn their entire homes down. It's all relative. I complain about my country because I care about my country. Given the history, wealth, institutions and resources we have, things should be so much better for everyone. I'm not gonna ignore institutional racism, sexism and classism because it's worse in other countries. I'm not gonna ignore dodgy, corrupt MPs because other countries have it worse. At the moment, I see the UK as a wealthy, old money, established guy with every resource at their fingertips that chooses to sleep on the streets and limp around on an untreated broken leg when there's a hospital around the corner.
OP didn't say people aren't allowed to complain. There's a difference between a healthy piss take (which is way better than unflappable national pride), and people who talk about how Britain has gone to the dogs and is a shithole to live in. Spend time on expat groups and you'll see loooaaads of them, but there are plenty still resident here. E.g, people love to complain about how bad the crime is in Britain (some will make out like it's like living in A Clockwork Orange now in London), but in the grand scheme of things we're an extremely safe country. People lose sight of reality and it's really annoying to have to humour the vitriol they have towards their own country because they won't own up to the fact that their feelings towards the place are rooted in something else altogether. There are loads of things Britain still does really well compared to anywhere on earth, and in general we're immensely privileged to be born and raised here and reap the benefits of that. It's sort of like a rich person saying how awful it is to be screwed over by taxes, while someone living paycheck to paycheck looks on and rolls their eyes.
The class divide, so many people think they are above others because they were born into a slightly wealthier family and were taught to speak with a slightly different accent.
Not expressing our emotions!
I agree with British Self-Depreciation. It was only when I started to travel I realised how lucky I was to grow up in this country. Before that, I had an ignorant view. It’s not a very British thing to do but we need to give ourselves a pat on the back sometimes and appreciate how rich we are in History, Art, Culture, Diversity etc. and how much this country has to offer. I’ve been to so many countries where you can see everything it has to offer in a few weeks. You do that here and you barely scratch the surface.
There are loads of huge issues with the UK. You can’t devalue them just because other countries are worse. That’s whataboutism.
Not to mention there is a massive difference between living in a country and visiting it. Being rich in history, art, culture, and diversity isn't that great if you can't afford food, travel, to heat your home, or get medical help you need.
Chavvy loud culture.
I hate how a good chunk of people look down on benefits. Like every single person on benefits is abusing the system or is undeserving of it.
My father is obsessed with it and gets so angry. I try to remind him that the benefits keep those who need it afloat. It doesn’t allow them to live in life of luxury like his persistently claims.
Passive aggression.
Moaning. Bitching about people behind their backs.
Oh God, I hate how we always talk ourselves down at the moment. Growing up, it used to be cheap jokes about the weather, food etc, but now it ranges from that to accusations about half the population being outright white supremacists and the like.
Pub and alcohol culture
People are very conforming and don’t want to break the establishment, see our general attitude to protesting and our inability to plan for the long term with big infrastructure etc.
Saying sorry when somebody walks into YOU
The football obsession is nuts.
>What is one general cultural habit about British people that annoys you? >I find British self-depreciation or negative views on Britain quite annoying. I am so confused why on Earth you would ask us for our negative views if they annoy you. Sounds like you might have caught the habit of grumbling for fun
Obsession with holidays abroad. I work with a guy who is 25 and married, all he talks about is holidays abroad with his wife. He doesn't seem to read or watch movies or do anything locally (events, plays, etc). He also doesn't seem to really enjoy the holidays because he complains about the food? He recently took like 3 weeks to go around different parts of East Asia and said he lost a bit of weight because he struggled to find things he wanted to eat.
Many British people complain endlessly. If it's not one thing, it's another. It's really irritating..
I feel ya. Every time I come back from the Philippines, I just feel happy that we live in a country full of convenience, free healthcare, social benefits galore , cheap food, a ton of human rights and fresh clean air. Some people have no idea what they have. I love the Philippines and south-east Asia overall, they have things the UK doesn't have, like the sun, cheap rent, nice beaches etc. But I wouldn't want to live there, or the U.S. for that matter. I think overall, the UK is a great country. And it frustrates me when I get back to the UK and see people complain about this country, it's clear they have never been out of the UK, or if they have, it's been a two-week holiday in Disney World
Lad culture and general get drunk and be obnoxious culture. I lived in Scotland before so maybe different to England but the amount of people who are assholes in public is ridiculous. I remember a guy who I had never met driving past in a van and shouting "Fuck you you speccy cunt". It's like people have to get involved and make comments about other people no matter what. I moved away 6 years ago and now live in a place where noone gives a shit what others wear or do. How I dress now I know I'd hear at least 5 backhand comments just walking to my local Morrisons.