Why are British people reserved and not outgoing?
I'm asking this as a tourist in England. I'm Canadian, by the way. I've been in England for the past four weeks. Been to London, Birmingham, Manchester and now I reside in the outskirts of London. It has been an amazing trip, but I noticed that the British people are pretty reserved and introverted. Small talk is not common in England. For example, I was at the train station waiting with some 8 strangers. I expected somebody to small talk with someone about the weather, their day, or whatever, but there was a pin drop silence. I have a feeling people in this country don't think like winners. In Canada, and in the USA as well, we are raised as extroverts (as a society) and we are taught to think like winners. "You CAN achieve anything you dream." "Do NOT let anyone defy you." "You CAN write history." "You ARE a champion." This is reflected in the way we talk and carry ourselves. And in the sports we play - usually physically challenging ones like ice hockey, American football, basketball, la crosse, UFC (mixed martial arts). But why is this not the case with England? I think partly it's because the ones who founded USA and Canada were free-thinkers, and wanted a society that had separate ideals and beliefs.
I got told i look like i have Swedish heritage today were they trying to offend me?
Or is it a good thing? What are the typical characteristics of a Swedish female? I don't think i have any Swedish blood in me as far as i know my heritage is British. :S
Does saying “Merry Christmas” really offend some people in the UK/USA?
We need to talk about the war on Christmas.I am from the UK. From a very multicultural city, and I have never heard of, let alone experienced, anyone being offended by ‘Merry Christmas’. The so-called “war on Christmas” is simply non-existent.But it’s not just a myth; there’s more to it.For far too long, Christmas – a time for peace, love and respect – has been used as a weapon to propagate hate through ignorance and fear. Like in the US, the media use exaggerated, if not completely fabricated stories to divide society and engender racial tension.No, that is not a satirical piece; that is a genuine UK newspaper article. The far-right use cultural differences to scare people into believing their culture is at risk. From fringe-fascists to the President of the United States—everyone who benefits from their voter-base being scared into supporting hateful politics uses this tactic.Trump claims Obama refused to say ‘Merry Christmas’, despite him doing it in every single presidential Christmas address. He treats ‘Happy Holidays’ as an anti-Christmas, anti-Christian, and (let’s be frank) anti-White phrase, when in fact it is simply designed to wish everyone, irrespective of faith, a peaceful and special time. It didn’t start with Trump, however; the UK sees threats about ‘offended muslims demanding Christmas trees be taken down’ every year. They are lies, they misrepresent the views of the vast majority of the population, and their sole purpose is to alienate minorities and spread hate.We need to tackle this narrative. It is toxically powerful. One of the most successful tools in Trump and co.’s arsenal is the suggestion that the minority pose a threat to the majority’s livelihoods.Sure, many non-Christians don’t celebrate Christmas. After all, Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday. But traditionally is the operative word; I am an atheist, and I have always celebrated it. The same can be said of many Muslims, Jews, Hindus and all other religions and cultures that are united by the values Christmas represents.It’s kind of what Christmas is all about.
I'm apparently far too blunt and hurt people's feelings..how do I fix this?
For ages, people have told me that I say blunt, insensitive things without thinking about them. And the truth is, I do briefly think about them, but I really don't think they would hurt other peoples' feelings, until they end up doing so. I'm apparently a bad judge of how people will react to certain things. I mean, I know I wouldn't get offended by the supposedly "blunt" comments I make, but other people very often do and I don't realize it. I'm apparently quite unpleasant to be around as a result...and I'd rather not be... (Ex. There was someone I knew who looked like she had powder or something on her face, but it looked intentional, like make-up or something. So I asked "What did you do with your face?", she apparently was privately offended and told other people how rude I was.) I'm really not trying to be rude...I'm just sort of observing... I truly don't see why anyone would get offended over anything that's too blunt, so I'm a rather bad person to judge. (also, please don't just focus on the example..)
Autistic spectrum "disorders" - is this pathologising masculinity?
Evidence is growing that the brains of autistic people are hyper masculine in character. Do you think that "autistic spectrum disorder" is only considered a problem in a society which values empathy over raw intellect and as such is this a cultural change driven by feminism? It is said that Albert Einstein was almost certainly on the autistic spectrum and the same was probably true of Isaac Newton and the inventor of the electronic computer Alan Turing. Do you think if we were living in a masculinist society it would be over emotionalism that was being pathologised instead? Let me know what you think about the implications of pre natal screening for autism, please. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090112/hl_afp/healthautismbritain_newsmlmmd "The study highlights for the first time the association between foetal testosterone and autistic traits, and indicates that foetal testosterone not only masculinises the body, it masculinises the mind". Baron-Cohen said this needed to be debated. "If there was a prenatal test for autism, would this be desirable? What would we lose if children with autistic spectrum disorder were eliminated from the population?" he said.
Do Hong Kongers feel superior because they were colonized by the British?
Yes. In some segments of society, but the psychology is complicated.The thing about this sort of thing is that most Hong Kong people don't realize that this psychology exists, but it's pretty obvious to anyone from the outside. It also is very different among different generations, and the since of superiority is strongest in the HK legal profession, and in some segments of the politicians. It's very weak among young people, and also relatively weak in the area of business and finance. The idea behind the British Empire was that the British would civilize the heathen races. This got ingrained in Hong Kong society, where the idea was that being under British rule made Hong Kong Chinese, better Chinese, with a duty to civilize the barbarians in the north. The area in which this is strongest is in the legal profession and among older bureaucrats. This sense of superiority is rapidly declining, and some of it is being replaced by resentment (i.e. we should be superior so how come everything sucks).You have people in Hong Kong who were educated in the UK and overseas, and you will find that they do think that they are "better" because they went to Oxford or Cambridge. Then you have the "sandwich class" of people who weren't educated in the UK. They are annoyed and angry at the upper class, but since the upper class runs things, then can't express their anger at them, so they find a scapegoat who they can get mad at, and that tends to get directed at Mainland China.I tend to notice this sort of thing because I'm an American. Also since I grew up in the American South, there are a lot of patterns that I've seen in the American South that resemble what I've seen in Hong Kong.Also, I'm in fintech, and one thing that I have noticed is that there seems to be this attitude that the British way is so superior that Hong Kong has nothing to learn from Mainland China when it comes to financial regulation. This is ironic, because HK regulatory policy is substantially different than the UK, and HK isn't copying the UK either.
Why do people apologize for things they didn't do?
Because ‘I'm sorry’, like many expressions in the English language, has more meanings than just ‘express regret for something that one has done wrong’.Yes, it means that. ‘I'm sorry I hit you with my car’.It can also mean ‘express sympathy and regret for a bad thing that has happened to someone else, that one had no role in’. ‘I'm so sorry for your loss’.It can also mean ‘express regret for something has happened to me that affects you, but that I have no control over’. ‘I'm sorry, I have to cancel our meeting today - I'm sick’.It can also mean ‘please repeat that, I didn't hear you’. ‘I'm sorry?’It can also mean ‘I can't believe you just said something awful’. ‘I'm sorry?!’It can also mean ‘I need to get past you and you're in my way’. ‘Sorry… sorry…’It can also mean ‘I'm British and you just stepped on my foot’. ‘Oh I'm sorry!’Some languages have different expressions for all these functions. Others, like English, have one expression that covers several or all meanings.Refusing, or being reluctant, to use ‘I'm sorry’ for ANY meaning, especially to express condolence, tells me that you're one of those extremely arrogant people who believe that they should never have to apologise for anything, or even say the words that are used for apologies, even when they mean something else.Socially, that makes you unpleasant to be around. Linguistically, it makes you ignorant.