Why isn't it more popular? The more I think about it, the more I realize how many bad things in the world exist because of British Colonialism and Imperialism in the 19th and early to mid 2th century.

Got damn British.

8/15/2006 2:19:38 PM

and the Spice Girls

8/15/2006 2:23:07 PM

I don't think god likes having his name misspelled.

god damn those mid 2nd century bastards. Damn you for being under Roman control.

[Edited on August 15, 2006 at 2:23 PM. Reason : .]

8/15/2006 2:23:23 PM

b/c they contributed the most to the development of global capitalism, really. can't insult that now, can we?

also, look at British Africa compared to French Africa or, even scarier, Portuguese and Belgian Africa.

And the Commonwealth is doing pretty well for itself when not trapped between radicals and revolutionaries (see: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, parts of South Africa).

[Edited on August 15, 2006 at 2:26 PM. Reason : .]

8/15/2006 2:23:32 PM

GOD I CANT STAND HOW THEY HAVE THOSE ACCENTS...WHY CANT THEY FUCKING TALK NORMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

8/15/2006 2:25:22 PM

those fuckers with their tea time and their god damned horrible dentistry or lack thereof

8/15/2006 2:26:00 PM

i say gg britain. it's the reason the world is half way civilized.

8/15/2006 2:26:26 PM

fuckers

8/15/2006 2:27:19 PM

OH YEAH, AND THEYRE IN IRAQ TOO!!!1 OUR BESTEST FRIENDS!

8/15/2006 2:27:38 PM

Britain bashing IS popular -- in Europe.

Remember, nowhere is America bashing more popular than in America, and probably a few durka durk countries.

8/15/2006 2:29:28 PM

Quote :

"also, look at British Africa compared to French Africa or, even scarier, Portuguese and Belgian Africa"

um....you can just delete all that. No African country that has been under European influence/rule at some point in their history has ever amounted to what they could have been.

8/15/2006 2:33:04 PM

Hey, im probably one of the few people on here who thinks Winston Churchill was a bastard. His actions as defense minister in Ireland just after WWI are unforgiveable. he authorized the Black and Tans to move through Ireland, searching and killing civilians suspected of possibly being involved w/ the IRA and the Irish Republic at their own discretion. No decent Irish American can ignore his authorization of those bastards.

^ok...but compare Ghana to Mozambique or the Congo.



[Edited on August 15, 2006 at 2:37 PM. Reason : .]

8/15/2006 2:34:34 PM

Comparatively speaking....I agree.

I remember watching a National Geographic documentation on Sierre Leon. Holy shit that place was a hell hole. The cameraman and US aide workers got caught in the middle of a civil war in the capital. They started driving all over the city in distinguished SUVs and had to go through several "checkpoints" when entering different faction-led territories within the city.

One such checkpoint was being manned by a group calling themselves the "Whig brigade" because they stole a bunch of whigs from a local salon during the rioting and started wearing them as uniforms. The next checkpoint was literally the "naked clan" manned by guys who were butt naked except for AK 47s and claimed to be invincible

The last checkpoint was gruesome though. The rope used to stop the SUV with the cameraman was actually the intestines of some poor dude who crossed into their territory. He was STILL ALIVE on the side of the road with a huge hole in his belly and his guts pulled out across the road to the other side while being taunted by the guards as he was dying.

8/15/2006 2:44:09 PM

To be fair, whats the point of bashing a country for moral mistakes that dead lawmakers made centuries ago?

Thats akin to bashing Spain and Portugal for all of the problems in latin america.

8/15/2006 2:53:09 PM

Good point Joshua. God damn those porteguese and spaniards. I'm blaming the coke-trade on them now...

8/15/2006 2:57:15 PM

Quote :

"Remember, nowhere is America bashing more popular than in America, and probably a few durka durk countries."

and most of europe

8/15/2006 3:00:47 PM

Don't forget South America.

Quote :

"To be fair, whats the point of bashing a country for moral mistakes that dead lawmakers made centuries ago?"

I just realized how much shit they are responsible for. You can certainly blame countries for errors and problems they created after the men that created them die.

8/15/2006 3:30:33 PM

Of course you can, hindsight is 20/20.

8/15/2006 3:32:49 PM

Quote :

"after the men that created them die."

womenz too.

8/15/2006 3:37:46 PM

Quote :

"Britain bashing IS popular -- in Europe."

Britian is kind of like Japan in Asia: strongly disliked by its neighbors and viewed as being barbaric and crude yet they put up with them because of their economic strength. The continental Europeans like to bash the British for their comparably more free-market economy and reluctance to fully embrace the EU, yet Britian is now one of the number one destinations for young people who are looking for work, including French nationals.

The fact that their foreign policy is more closely aligned with the United States compared to the rest of Europe doesn't do them much good either.

8/15/2006 5:40:25 PM

Stop making sense around here. Its because Britains are bad...plain and simple

8/15/2006 7:40:41 PM

^^ Screw that.

Americans can't afford anything British anymore. That's why we don't like them.

8/15/2006 7:45:26 PM

BRITS HATE FREEDOM

ERRRRR

8/15/2006 7:52:30 PM

Quote :

"Thats akin to bashing Spain and Portugal for all of the problems in latin america."

I do that on occasion. It's always understood that you're talking about the past.

And to answer the original question about why it isn't more popular to bash Britain...Britain humbled itself and continues to every day.

[Edited on August 15, 2006 at 11:39 PM. Reason : sss]

8/15/2006 11:39:28 PM

Who should I bash for making BridgetSPK such a cunt snorkling dyke dime whore?

8/16/2006 3:41:50 AM

Being part Irish, I both despise and respect certain elements of the Brits (hard seeing as how its hard to hate the other half of your heritage). Better than being in with Gerry Adams, I suppose.





[Edited on August 16, 2006 at 11:41 PM. Reason : .]

8/16/2006 11:23:41 PM

a few years ago when tony blair coined the term cool britannia, i think he was right. i like it!
Look at all their wonderful contributions:
David Beckham
Spice Girls
umm..Madame Tussaud's...
the english bulldog
doc martens
the rolling stones
see! they're great. i mean yeah their government is kind of lame and they waste tons of money on silly things for the monarchy, but it's nostalgic, kind of. i'd love to live there if it wasn't so bloody rainy and cold all the time and things weren't so expensive.

8/17/2006 12:15:40 AM

^I'm confused. By typically Western standards, they've contributed so much more than that. Are you being sarcastic or something?

8/17/2006 12:31:02 AM

Quote :

"their government is kind of lame "

what's so lame about representative democracy?

Quote :

"things weren't so expensive."

some things are, some things aren't. you can get a loaf of bread for roughly 75 cent american at the avg. supermarket.

[Edited on August 17, 2006 at 12:43 AM. Reason : .]

8/17/2006 12:42:21 AM

Yes, bread might be cheap, but the general cost of living there is very high, in terms of maintaining the kind of lifestyle we're used to here. Gas is expensive, housing is too. I've been there several times and just don't really care for it. My mom is from Germany and I like it a lot more there.

Anyways, I agree with your original post, slackerb. Have you ever read the book, i think it's a people's history of the united states by howard zinn? i think britain pretty much fucked the whole world over with their sense of entitlement to well..everything. resources, people, land.

While they do have a representative democracy, I feel like their monarchy is just unnecessary at this point in time and doesn't really serve a purpose for anything...people decide so much for themselves, but I feel they should have a total democracy. While i like all those things above about Britain, they are still kind of old fashioned in a lot of ways. While they shouldn't abandon their traditions, the queen already uses her royal perogative based on the advice of people in the parliament - so how different would it be if they eliminated her as a puppet of sorts? the royal family is a joke over there these days, but maybe in a few generations they will be free of scandal, but that's doubtful.

8/17/2006 1:05:57 AM

other than your flaw in thinking anyways is a word...

Marry Me

8/17/2006 1:11:23 AM

Quote :

"Natalie0628: While i like all those things above about Britain, they are still kind of old fashioned in a lot of ways."

What are you talking about??? This is what you listed as far as as things you like about Britain:

Quote :

"Natalie0628: David Beckham Spice Girls umm..Madame Tussaud's... the english bulldog doc martens the rolling stones"

WTF, B? And the Stones shouldn't even be on that list, by the way.

Quote :

"Natalie0628: Anyways, I agree with your original post, slackerb. Have you ever read the book, i think it's a people's history of the united states by howard zinn? i think britain pretty much fucked the whole world over with their sense of entitlement to well..everything. resources, people, land."

I wouldn't get too carried away with that.

(And, LOL, it's impossible make it through college without reading that book, and I've only read bits... )

Quote :

"Natalie0628: I've been there several times and just don't really care for it."

You just said you'd "love to live there if it wasn't so bloody rainy and cold all the time and things weren't so expensive."

Quote :

"Natalie0628: While they do have a representative democracy, I feel like their monarchy is just unnecessary at this point in time and doesn't really serve a purpose for anything...people decide so much for themselves, but I feel they should have a total democracy. While i like all those things above about Britain, they are still kind of old fashioned in a lot of ways. While they shouldn't abandon their traditions, the queen already uses her royal perogative based on the advice of people in the parliament - so how different would it be if they eliminated her as a puppet of sorts? the royal family is a joke over there these days, but maybe in a few generations they will be free of scandal, but that's doubtful."

I agree with a lot of this, but I hesitate to bash other countries' cultures.




Anyway, you're making a lot of sense and no sense at all at the same time. I think I'm like too stupid for you or something.

[Edited on August 17, 2006 at 2:16 AM. Reason : sss]

8/17/2006 2:13:59 AM

Quote :

"While i like all those things above about Britain, they are still kind of old fashioned in a lot of ways. While they shouldn't abandon their traditions, the queen already uses her royal perogative based on the advice of people in the parliament - so how different would it be if they eliminated her as a puppet of sorts?"

I fell that a lot of Americans seem to have difficulty understanding just how powerful these symbols are, even if they appear pointless and archaic. The United States is a young country built upon a common ideology, whereas the majority of nations like Great Britain are built around common ethnicities and cultures. These sorts of national symbols, like having the queen open Parliament, help reinforce the binding national culture by providing a sense of continuality with their history. Think of the monarchy as a living museum that helps people remember their common past, much the same whay nations maintain historical sites like historic palaces, forts, cathederals, and plazas.

Why else do highly progressive and democratic nations such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada or third world nations like Jamaica and Belize continue to recognize the British crown and maintain Governor-Generals? Or for that matter, why do nations like Japan, Norway, and the Netherlands, all thoroughyl democratic states, maintain their monarchies?

8/17/2006 10:42:33 AM

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of Desire;
Bring me my Spear; O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of Fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant Land.


[Edited on August 17, 2006 at 10:47 AM. Reason : .]

8/17/2006 10:45:52 AM

Quote :

"you can get a loaf of bread for roughly 75 cent american at the avg. supermarket."

i was there last summer, and a loaf of bread was between $1 and $2, depending on quality. anyway, it is a horribly expensive place.

[Edited on August 17, 2006 at 11:12 AM. Reason : ]

8/17/2006 11:10:07 AM

im going out on a limb and guessing you were in the major cities in england. the best areas to live are wales or northern england. ireland is better than both of those places, however

8/17/2006 11:26:03 AM

The cost of living is relative to what you've been brought up in. You can't be an American and go over there and say "oh, it's expensive to live here."


Yeah, it is, because you're exchanging dollars for pounds sterling at almost a 2:1 ratio. Exchange rates make it hard for Americans to transition their lives there. That does NOT mean it's hard to live there. There is a huge difference.


Not to mention the fact that your standard American way of life is considered extremely extravagant there. Not everyone has a car. Public transport is the rule, rather than the exception. Travel, in general, is still cheaper than it is in America.

Quote :

"While they do have a representative democracy, I feel like their monarchy is just unnecessary at this point in time and doesn't really serve a purpose for anything...people decide so much for themselves, but I feel they should have a total democracy. While i like all those things above about Britain, they are still kind of old fashioned in a lot of ways. While they shouldn't abandon their traditions, the queen already uses her royal perogative based on the advice of people in the parliament - so how different would it be if they eliminated her as a puppet of sorts? the royal family is a joke over there these days, but maybe in a few generations they will be free of scandal, but that's doubtful.""

Oh... sort of like the president? Seriously, you're 19, and I KNOW you've got no idea how a Constitutional Monarchy works. You try to apply what little you've heard about it in school to something, and it comes out like the shit you've just spewed all over my monitor.

And the Royal Family is a joke? Really? How many British people have you talked to that hold this sentiment? Did you conduct a formal poll?

I know whenever I go there or call family, I never hear anyone complaining about the Royals at all. Ever. The only people who think the Royal family are a joke are.... surprise, surprise.... MISGUIDED AMERICANS.

I could go on and on about this topic, but the point I'm trying to make is people like Natalie0628 don't have half a fucking clue as to what they're talking about.

8/17/2006 12:06:48 PM

i must admit, most of my exchanging here is based on my knowledge of the euro. not quite as much the sterling. last time i was in europe, i just used a check card where the sterling was in use and the euro elsewhere. now, i know for certain that i could get bread for 30 cent euro a loaf at tesco...ive spent a ton more time in ireland.

[Edited on August 17, 2006 at 12:12 PM. Reason : .]

8/17/2006 12:10:09 PM

Quote :

"The cost of living is relative to what you've been brought up in. You can't be an American and go over there and say "oh, it's expensive to live here.""

Too true, but I can look at statistics and judge a place that way.


(source: CIA World Factbook 2005)

8/17/2006 12:24:46 PM

Bloody Wanks!

8/17/2006 12:27:27 PM

hey, food wise, i still lived cheaper in cork than i do here. it all came out even in the end, tho, as all money saved went to the charitable folks at the Al Key Hall Fund

8/17/2006 12:34:40 PM