Are British people more sophisticated than Canadians and Americans?
As with any population there are highly sophisticated people and not so sophisticated in Britain.I would say as a population, the British are a bit more reserved and formal in their approaches. That said my grandparents were from there and they were plain working class folk with not an over abundance of airs and graces. The Brits as a race however can be painfully reserved and small minded at times. But as you'll see so can the Canadians and Americans.I grew up in Canada and lived there mostly between age 8 and 46. Canadians tend to be very polite and less structured, but historically Canada hails from British (and French) origins although more so in recent years a good mix of people from all over the world. They believe in an organized society and are a nice blend of polite and laid back. A Canadian will give you the finger if you cut them off and some of them are downright jerks, but its a minority and usually either those that overly entitled or less educated.Americans, I find, are very laid back and cut from a different cloth all together. (I live in Tampa, Florida now) Their revolutionary history makes them very forthright, very opinionated, but also very approachable and less structured socially. They also wear their hostility on their sleeves, which can be both refreshing and off-putting.
Why are Britons so accepting of surveillance?
As an American moving to London in 1993 I became aware of the surveillance cameras being absolutely everywhere. The second week here, IRA terrorists laid bombs on the train lines out of Victoria train station. The station was closed and within no more than 5 minutes, the entire population within the station -- huge numbers -- were safely evacuated. Brits initially accepted surveillance because of this very real threat of bombing by the IRA. Having become accustomed to something that was vital to protecting their lives, over the decades it has now mainstreamed into everyday existence. We don’t even notice the cameras around us.There is a great deal more positive than negative about the surveillance. Britain is an extremely safe place to live because of it. We haven't got guns to protect us on the streets -- they are strictly illegal and this includes the police, although increasing terrorist incidents means we are sadly seeing many more guns belted to their sides. So surveillance has been our alternative to police toting guns. Having grown up in the terrifying gun culture of Detroit, I find British surveillance to be easier to live with. You don’t walk down the street having to visually scan for potential gun threats — I use to do that all the time in Detroit.I don't mind the cameras because I feel happier that police will catch terrorists with it, that murderers and rapists have to contend with the knowledge that these cameras are all over the place...it's made it really hard to get away with criminal acts.Yes, I do have some reservations about the invasions into our privacy but the British police are amongst the best forces in the world, and the phone hacking scandal made clear the utter disgust of the public for violating personal privacy. It ruined several high flyers, who never thought that such a huge outpouring of contempt would happen.In other countries surveillance would be a disaster (I’m not even sure it could work in the USA given its geographical size) but here it is excellent. Between the cameras and being an island, it is not easy to breach our security. Look how the recent Olympics went -- without incident.
Why don't Brits revolt against their corrupt government?
Perhaps it might help to mention that Britain is, as far as I am aware, the only country to celebrate, with fireworks, a revolution that failed!?The UK is extremely unusual in that it has no ‘national day’ (I think Denmark doesn’t either, but that’s about it); instead it has it’s annual ‘fireworks celebration’ on November the Fifth to celebrate a failed royal assassination and botched parliament bombing.Any country that revels in the failure of revolution is unlikely to engender the desire for revolution in it’s citizens!Of course: We have come CLOSE a few times, but our (unwritten) constitution and our legislature (plus the courts, the crown and the ‘fourth estate’) mean we pretty quickly sort out anything too troubling for the people and avoid bloody warfare. Because, when the fanatics did finally get their English and Irish civil wars; hundreds of thousands died. And the British people, on reflection, find that sort of thing rather revolting. We prefer our well-won methods of fighting corruption, injustice and unfairness:A fabulous example of how genuine British style ‘revolt’ became a parliamentary act and law can be seen in the The Swing Riots of the 1830s - A particularly English ‘revolt’ in that, although violent, had just cause and was resolved with very little loss of life.In fact, it is fair to say the 1830s is one of the most incredible periods of ‘revolt’ in British, or indeed world, history - the calm version of British ‘revolt’ led to the formation of the trade unions, true workers rights, children's rights, voting rights, the reform acts and, vitally, the abolition of slavery.I love this quote about how outraged the good people of Bridport, Dorset were regarding slavery, from abolitionist William Forster in 1833:“Almost everybody seemed ready to give their names with their whole hearts. Many who could not write seemed as if they thought the blood of all the Negroes would be on them if they did not make their mark.”That’s how and why we don’t ‘revolt’ - we simply do not need to. We empathise, we complain, we sign a petition, we march, we have a fund-raiser, we join a union, we insist on justice for all. It has been hard-won but it is the way we do things, and the rest of the world has either caught, or is catching, up.
Do Russian people like British people?
If you really want to know what Russians think of the English and Englishness, watch the Russian version of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson series. It was made in 1980s but is still extremely popular with the Russian audience. This is exactly how Russians feel about the English. They may have different ideas or knowledge or experience related to Brits. One the most beautiful emabankments in St. Petersburg is called the English Embankment with a row of mansions built by noble families. The English Club and the Anglican Church were among the first intsitutions to open in the newly build city. There were times when Englishness was very popular with noble families and they hired British tutors to raise their children, Nabokov is one well-known product of this fashion. I had an English boyfriend and this memory is still the most romantic experience in my life.Still, most Russians know Brits by this film, which they love. Many phrases became memes still very much in use. Ask any Russian what the English eat for breakfast, and you will hear “ovsyanka, sir” (porridge). Enjoy this film and you will know exactly what Russians think of Brits.
Are English people as cricket crazy as Indians?
Do you recognize these persons? I hope most of you do.In case you don’t, On the left, it is John Cena, the WWE star. On the right, it is Alastair Cook (Former England batsman and Captain, and also the leading run scorer for England)In 2014, when Cook was the captain of the national team, his popularity in England was challenged with that of John Cena. A survey in 14 different cities was conducted to find who is more popular among the two. And do you know what was the result of the Survey? Any guesses? Most Englishmen didn’t even know Alastair Cook. And here we are talking about the person who is the leading run scorer for England, and who captained the team to win the Ashes two times. While most Englishmen could identify John Cena, even though he is an American. If the former captain and the leading run scorer of England cannot be recognized by majority of Englishmen, then you can understand how “crazy” are English people about Cricket. In other words, cricket in England is as popular as Hockey in India, where majority of Indians don’t know Manpreet Singh, Ohh….let me google to find who he is. The situation is even worse among the kids of age below 15. In the same year 2014, ECB conducted a survey where children between age of 6–15 were asked to tell their favourite sport. And guess what? Only 2% of them called Cricket as their favourite sport. Yes sir, just 2% of the kids. Which means most of cricket followers in England are adults. You can see the “bright” future of Cricket in England. Infact, I won’t be surprised if the English Cricket team (after say, 20 years) will consist only of ethnic South Asians, or South Africans. The most popular sport in England is the Football, particularly the Premier League which is the third most attended sports leagues of the world. It attracts a crowd of 35000+ per match. Even the average English footballers are more popular than the best English Cricketers. Barring Indian subcontinent and Australia, Cricket is as popular as dart games in rest of the nations. It's high time that in India too, other sports get the attention they deserve from the public. Cricket is hardly played in 10–12 nations and not more than 4–5 nations take it seriously.Footnotes:-WWE wrestlers 'more recognisable' than England captain Alastair CookBreaking the grass ceiling
Are Britons proud to be British?
Honest answer? Sort of.You have the gung-ho Anglo Saxon, stereotypically from Essex or Kent, who proudly supports the NHS, the military, and the England national team in any sport… But for all his noise he doesn't really SERVE his country in any way.Most Brits see patriotism in genuine service to this country: The British-Asian family who have run the local post office for thirty years serving their community, the bus driver who has been driving around London for forty years, the Nurses, Firemen, Police, all serving their communities.I think Brits prefer to DO patriotism rather than brag about it.For me personally? When in another country, I apologetically say I am over from London when asked where I am from. This saves aggravation as I hate labelling myself as English and too many people get the wrong impression if you identify as “British”.Ideally I would just identify as European to be honest… But I am quietly proud of my home cities of London and St Albans and my home town of Watford.
Jokes: What are some dumb questions you have been asked?
I live in Niagara Falls, Canada and work at a large hotel in the city. Most of the visitors to the hotel are American and they provide the greatest questions... I was asked at what time of night the Falls gets turned off. Yeah, as in the guy that flicks a switch and magically the water stops flowing down river. My reply was dumbfound silence. (There's a set of spotlights that shine on both the American and Canadian falls to light them up in different colours at night). I was asked what they use and how they dye the water the different colours. My reply was dumbfound silence. I was asked if people can go swimming at the base of the Falls. My reply was that if you don't want to come back from that swim then be my guest. Finally (and this happens at least once a year) a car comes over the border during summer with skis etc on the roof, winter tires on and the occupants all dressed up and ready for the cold. They check into the hotel and look around mystified at people in shorts and t-shirts and ask - Tourist - "Where's the snow? I thought this was Canada"Deadpan me - 'correct, this is Canada' Tourist - "But where's the snow? It's a;ways freezing cold and snowing in Canada" Sad but true.