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Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

2. Political Corectness Brigade. "ooo the state of our prisions is appalling for inmates" It's supposed to be appalling.... Its a Prison for Feth's sake.

3. Chav's, and anyone participating / watching the Jeremy Kyle show. Its basically a Holding Pen for council estate Chav's.

I'm going to cheat and comment on other countries now...

Japan; working hours too long, deeply personal relationships were you still don't know the other person. But v safe, seems v equal.

America; people happy to insult the English people to your face as if you'll laugh along with them. Everyone is a tough guy. But v cheap, good access to the best of everything, the tough guy thing can be a plus as well.

Dubai; guido's with money. Too hot. No gambling. The plus is the money.

In regards to people's comments on England, although some other countries are more violent, it sucks for England because things are getting worse. Honestly my flat was broken into and used for parties when I went on holiday, the police just don't care, they even told me they knew who did it, but couldn't do anything. It is a council house area but still. You just get tired of adjusting your life to avoid being threatened.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

dogma wrote:Why is that offensive to you?

I'm honestly asking, because it doesn't even make me blink.

As a 3rd generation American I grew up around grandparents who were proud to have come to this country, learned English, and become naturalized citizens. The current (what I see as) pandering to Latino votes and fear of being politically incorrect has led to a society where there is no common tongue. As such we have lost the strongest possible factor in establishing commonality between the various culture's in America. No national language means no national identity.

Again, middle America is the exception to this, but they are still a relatively homogeneous culture.

Current immigration policy, and the complete lack of public understanding about what immigration has and still does mean to keeping our culture from stagnation is a total roadblock into really starting to assimilate the Asian and Latin subcultures into the fabric of American society. Without immigration reform and establishment of a national language we will always be fractured and easily polarized.

agroszkiewicz wrote:
Again, middle America is the exception to this, but they are still a relatively homogeneous culture.

I'm from Middle America, and I don't think that's true at all.

Maybe its just me being weird, but there isn't a ton of predictable homogeneity in any of the various Middle American places that I've lived; and they've all been very different from one another where cross-comparison is concerned.

For example, Chicago isn't very much like St. Paul, and St. Paul isn't very much like St. Louis.

I live in Sweden, and there's really nothing wrong with it except for the climate, the growing racism and the current political situation...actually, that's a lot of wrongs :S

dogma wrote:

agroszkiewicz wrote:
Again, middle America is the exception to this, but they are still a relatively homogeneous culture.

I'm from Middle America, and I don't think that's true at all.

In comparison to the number of separate cultures represented in the west and eastern seaboard, yes middle America is very homogeneous. Out here not being bilingual in English and Spanish/Cantonese/Filipino/whatever makes it inordinately harder to find a job due to the incredible amount of folks that flat out cannot speak a lick of English, and utterly refuse to even attempt to learn.

Its the same in any major metropolitan area, which is where the vast vast majority of citizens make their home.

I'm not talking about one city being like another, I'm talking about the fact that the overall culture is the same. Make sense?

agroszkiewicz wrote:
In comparison to the number of separate cultures represented in the west and eastern seaboard, yes middle America is very homogeneous. Out here not being bilingual in English and Spanish/Cantonese/Filipino/whatever makes it inordinately harder to find a job due to the incredible amount of folks that flat out cannot speak a lick of English, and utterly refuse to even attempt to learn.

Have you ever lived in Middle America? Its the same way here.

agroszkiewicz wrote:
I'm not talking about one city being like another, I'm talking about the fact that the overall culture is the same. Make sense?

No, not really. That's why my examples were, undetailed, cities.

In all seriousness, one thing that really irks me is how overall American culture/society scorns actual thinking. Engaging in thought provoking activity is generally something most people avoid at all cost, at least in my experience.

I have met maybe one or two people my own age that I can have a genuinely intellectually stimulaing conversation with. While this may be in large part due to my only having been around for 17 and half or so years, it is still a bit disheartening that the vast majority of my peers' conversations involve the latest episode of Jersey Shore, or their plans for getting wasted over the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for partying and having a good time, but everything in moderation.

Sometimes I would prefer to talk about more stimulating topics than reality TV, sports, or Lil Wayne.

Unfortunately, most of the people I have encountered in my lifetime have viewed thinking as one of those things that you do when you absolutely have to, but try to avoid as much as possible.

TheSecretSquig wrote:Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

My mam was a teenage mother. She worked hard, and now we live in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood.
Perhaps you should check your facts before slinging stereotypes around.

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:

TheSecretSquig wrote:Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

My mam was a teenage mother. She worked hard, and now we live in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood.
Perhaps you should check your facts before slinging stereotypes around.

Oh snap.

Da Boss wrote:It is hard for the junior partner to fight anything though, without threatening the "nuclear option" of bringing down the government. At this stage, I think it's easy to see why a responsible party wouldn't do that.
The lib dems may have "betrayed" their base, but if they did it was only by going into power with the Conservatives. The base have to accept that as a small party they are going to have some issues that don't get through, and some that do. It's fair to be annoyed at them, but consider the alternative if they hadn't gone into coalition- would any of their policies (such as electoral reform) get through? I'd be annoyed in your situation too, but I'd mostly be annoyed at the Tories, not the lib dems.

Oh, I just don't like any of the major parties. Not the Tories, not the "oh, but we're left-wing, HONEST" Labour lot, nor the Lib Dems.
Still, given that the minor parties will never get a say in power with the current system (and I disagree with many of them anyway), and therefore my choice of an effective vote is somewhat limited to the three, this leaves me in a pickle.

rubiksnoob wrote:In all seriousness, one thing that really irks me is how overall American culture/society scorns actual thinking. Engaging in thought provoking activity is generally something most people avoid at all cost, at least in my experience.

I have met maybe one or two people my own age that I can have a genuinely intellectually stimulaing conversation with. While this may be in large part due to my only having been around for 17 and half or so years, it is still a bit disheartening that the vast majority of my peers' conversations involve the latest episode of Jersey Shore, or their plans for getting wasted over the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for partying and having a good time, but everything in moderation.

Sometimes I would prefer to talk about more stimulating topics than reality TV, sports, or Lil Wayne.

Unfortunately, most of the people I have encountered in my lifetime have viewed thinking as one of those things that you do when you absolutely have to, but try to avoid as much as possible.

Lemme, guess, you live in the Raleigh-Durham area?

Stormrider wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:In all seriousness, one thing that really irks me is how overall American culture/society scorns actual thinking. Engaging in thought provoking activity is generally something most people avoid at all cost, at least in my experience.

I have met maybe one or two people my own age that I can have a genuinely intellectually stimulaing conversation with. While this may be in large part due to my only having been around for 17 and half or so years, it is still a bit disheartening that the vast majority of my peers' conversations involve the latest episode of Jersey Shore, or their plans for getting wasted over the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for partying and having a good time, but everything in moderation.

Sometimes I would prefer to talk about more stimulating topics than reality TV, sports, or Lil Wayne.

Unfortunately, most of the people I have encountered in my lifetime have viewed thinking as one of those things that you do when you absolutely have to, but try to avoid as much as possible.

Lemme, guess, you live in the Raleigh-Durham area?

Nope, Charlotte.

rubiksnoob wrote:

Stormrider wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:In all seriousness, one thing that really irks me is how overall American culture/society scorns actual thinking. Engaging in thought provoking activity is generally something most people avoid at all cost, at least in my experience.

I have met maybe one or two people my own age that I can have a genuinely intellectually stimulaing conversation with. While this may be in large part due to my only having been around for 17 and half or so years, it is still a bit disheartening that the vast majority of my peers' conversations involve the latest episode of Jersey Shore, or their plans for getting wasted over the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for partying and having a good time, but everything in moderation.

Sometimes I would prefer to talk about more stimulating topics than reality TV, sports, or Lil Wayne.

Unfortunately, most of the people I have encountered in my lifetime have viewed thinking as one of those things that you do when you absolutely have to, but try to avoid as much as possible.

Lemme, guess, you live in the Raleigh-Durham area?

Nope, Charlotte.

I'm sorry

One of my closest friends has lots of family in NC, and most of them aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree.

I LOVE AMERICA!

Wait...anything bad?

NOPE. Even the things I hate are awesome.

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:

TheSecretSquig wrote:Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

My mam was a teenage mother. She worked hard, and now we live in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood.
Perhaps you should check your facts before slinging stereotypes around.

If she just worked hard then Kudos to her. What a marvellous woman, send me her address and ill mail her a Christmas card.

If she didnt just work hard and also got hefty subsidies (child support, income support, housing benefit) from the state then his stereotype is entirely justified. I dont think we should give a single penny in child support to anybody under 21, and frankly i think we should forcibly sterilise half of the toothless one eyed simpletons that inhabit this stinking island.

You know what I hate about my country? Whiny fething pussies who don't know how good they have it.


Don't make personal attacks please !

mattyrm wrote:

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:

TheSecretSquig wrote:Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

My mam was a teenage mother. She worked hard, and now we live in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood.
Perhaps you should check your facts before slinging stereotypes around.

If she just worked hard then Kudos to her. What a marvellous woman, send me her address and ill mail her a Christmas card.

If she didnt just work hard and also got hefty subsidies (child support, income support, housing benefit) from the state then his stereotype is entirely justified. I dont think we should give a single penny in child support to anybody under 21, and frankly i think we should forcibly sterilise half of the toothless one eyed simpletons that inhabit this stinking island.

Albatross wrote:You know what I hate about my country? Whiny fething pussies who don't know how good they have it.

It's rare that I come across posts that I love this much, but one after the other?

Brilliant!

mattyrm wrote:

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:

TheSecretSquig wrote:Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

My mam was a teenage mother. She worked hard, and now we live in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood.
Perhaps you should check your facts before slinging stereotypes around.

If she just worked hard then Kudos to her. What a marvellous woman, send me her address and ill mail her a Christmas card.

If she didnt just work hard and also got hefty subsidies (child support, income support, housing benefit) from the state then his stereotype is entirely justified. I dont think we should give a single penny in child support to anybody under 21, and frankly i think we should forcibly sterilise half of the toothless one eyed simpletons that inhabit this stinking island.

I would send that address right on, except this is the internet. Know what I mean?

Stormrider wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:

Stormrider wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:In all seriousness, one thing that really irks me is how overall American culture/society scorns actual thinking. Engaging in thought provoking activity is generally something most people avoid at all cost, at least in my experience.

I have met maybe one or two people my own age that I can have a genuinely intellectually stimulaing conversation with. While this may be in large part due to my only having been around for 17 and half or so years, it is still a bit disheartening that the vast majority of my peers' conversations involve the latest episode of Jersey Shore, or their plans for getting wasted over the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for partying and having a good time, but everything in moderation.

Sometimes I would prefer to talk about more stimulating topics than reality TV, sports, or Lil Wayne.

Unfortunately, most of the people I have encountered in my lifetime have viewed thinking as one of those things that you do when you absolutely have to, but try to avoid as much as possible.

Lemme, guess, you live in the Raleigh-Durham area?

Nope, Charlotte.

I'm sorry

One of my closest friends has lots of family in NC, and most of them aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree.

Ehhh. It's not too bad. It gets too cold in the winter, but that's about my only complaint about living here. Oh, and it's not by the beach. That's two complaints.

And the distribution of ignorant mouth-breather types here is just about the same as most anywhere else I've been. In fact, there are more interesting people here than Chicago, where I used to live.


It's hard to generalize about the overall intelligence of people in such a large area like a state. The fact that your friend's relatives aren't too bright probably has more to do with genetics than geography.

I was more referring to how American popular culture cultivates the attitude that thinking is dumb. That's actually a direct quote from a peer of mine.

Me: "I really liked x movie."
Mouth-breather: "Naw, that movie was lame"
Me: "Really? I liked it. It really made you think."
Mouth-breather: "Thinking is dumb. I don't want to have to think when I see a movie."

Later in the conversation I inquired as to whether he had read the book, or something along those lines. I was asked in reply, "Who reads?"

Albatross wrote:You know what I hate about my country? Whiny fething pussies who don't know how good they have it.

Yes...their emus are probably quite heavy.

Whoah, emus.
Now that's scary.

Seriously, they're vicious.

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:Whoah, emus.
Now that's scary.

Seriously, they're vicious.

I know. We should import them to America and use them as a means of clean transportation:

I can see this having... interesting consequences.

Rampant hypocrisy......and on a completely unrelated subject, the south in general. Not a hate but a firm dislike.

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:I can see this having... interesting consequences.

Yes...such as employment for street crap cleaning that could number in the hundreds of thousands of jobs, and the revitalization of the local feather mattress market right here in America.

And any left overs go to KFC.

Element206 wrote:Rampant hypocrisy......and on a completely unrelated subject, the south in general. Not a hate but a firm dislike.

Clearly you've never had really good Barbecue.

Gorskar.da.Lost wrote:

TheSecretSquig wrote:Things I hate in the UK....................

1. Having to go to work in order to have some of my hard earned $$$$$ taken off me to pay for all the people who don't work. Stuggling with a Mortgage whilst single teenage Mums get a house for free with every Mod-Con avaialble for doing absolutly nothing.

My mam was a teenage mother. She worked hard, and now we live in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood.
Perhaps you should check your facts before slinging stereotypes around.

My mate worked with a guy I used to go to school with, a year after school he and his 16 year old girlfriend had a child. They now have 3 and the guy and his misus now live in a house thaty they get for free and live very comfortably. I on the other hand work full time for the NHS and cant afford to move out from my parents house. Is that a fact you'll except?

Why not? It happened, didn't it? I'm just saying that it isn't every teenage mother.

The Midwest is only homogeneous in the same sense that the south is mostly populated by racists.