Stereotypes, don't you love them?

[bluespoke]

An extract from the Herald (a Glasgow newspaper).

John McCulloch was on a bus tour of London when the tour guide pointed out the Church of St Clement Danes, the RAF church, adding that it had been restored following its near total destruction by German bombs during the Second World War. At this, an American woman fixed the guide with a sceptical glare, before uttering an accusatory statement: "I didn't know Britain was in the war."



Don't take offence, I just thought it was amusing.

 

[juicylips]

Ha. Ha. Ha.


How ya been, b?

JL

 

[bluespoke]

Ha. Ha. Ha.


How ya been, b?

JL

Busy, chasing my tail. Damn near caught it twice!

 

[SINthysist]

She had probably been taught that it was England that had been in the war .

 

[bluespoke]

She had probably been taught that it was England that had been in the war .

Sadly that is probably true.

 

[juicylips]

.

 

[freescorfr]

Makes me want to see "reach for the Sky" again and the "Dambusters"

 

[bluespoke]

Let me continue this dumb American theme you have going.

Starblayde told me that one time a group of Americans were asked to pick out the country of England on a map. They picked Greenland!!!! I guess most believe that a country with such a reputation ( I mean that in a nice way) had to be bigger than what it is.

JL

Something to do with - 'England's green and pleasant land' (William Blake) maybe?

 

[SINthysist]

Something to do with Trivia not being part of the American Educational Curriculum...

 

[juicylips]

Something to do with - 'England's green and pleasant land' (William Blake) maybe?

I seriously doubt that. It has more to do with the shitty public school system where geography isn't really taught. Not the world kind. You learn to sing the "State Song" and sent merrily onto the next grade. Makes me ill.

JL

 

[peachykeen]

when my husband and I first moved to London, it seemed everywhere we went we were stuck behind large groups of large Americans talking way too loudly about ridiculous things (and embarrassingly dressed, may I add). So we would pretend we were German, since it's the only other language we can both speak passably. We were telling one of our new mates from Yorkshire about this and he just shook his head and said "Bloody hell, you know it's bad if you have to pretend you're bleedin' GERMAN to disassociate yourself."

 

[InnocentAngel81]

there was a state song??? grr i had to learn the states by time zone shape and size in my own. i kept forgetting new jersey

 

[Coolville]

I actually had an American - one of the few educated ones - ask me, in all seriousness, what we, in Denmark, do about the Viking problem. Do we keep them on reservations like the American Indians? For the first time in my life, I was speechless. I couldn't even muster a sarcastic comment.

A friend of mine was a tour guide in London and one day there was a particularly irritating American couple on board. The man pretty much pissed everyone off from the word go. No matter what they drove past, he would comment loudly on it.

This is the River Thames... "That's not a river! Now in 'Merica, we have real rivers!"

or

The House of Parliament: "Our capital building is much bigger"

and so on.

Then when they got out to Windsor, she told everyone about Windsor Castle, the history, etc. and that it was situated under the approaching flight path of Heathrow airport.

"That's typical of those stupid British! Building a castle so close to an airport"

He said it, not me.

 

[Lust Engine]

As much as we rail against stereotypes, they are based on some truths.

 

[juicylips]

Coolville..that last post left me totally speechless. Unbelievable the stupidity of some people.

JL

 

[Lasz]

Hey I know my states and capitals I just get New Hampshire and Vermont mixed up all the time.

 

[peachykeen]

From my observations too it is a "grouping" problem. Anytime you have a bunch of Americans together in another place, they will act like a bunch of loud dopey cows. And a group of Brits will act like a mob of drunken yobs. And a pack of Germans will be organized, orderly and steal all the deck chairs by 6am. And a flock of French folks will be impossibly rude and self important. And so on and so forth.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I'm willing to bet that the "real 'Merican" who had "real rivers" was from Texas.

I've heard, "Nope. Now, this ain't a blizzard. Down in Texas we have real blizzards." It was simply snowing in Fairbanks, Alaska. No one thought is was a blizzard to begin with.