Unconscious bias. 

I disagree. I know my own subconscious well enough to (mostly) correct my attitude in the moment and certainly when any emotion has ebbed away. These four people-driven moments were the only ones that pissed me off in a busy city and all four were perpetrated by Americans.

I can usually find four Brits to grind me gears before I get to the office at 8am.

Me too (in the days when i didn't predominantly work from home, at least). But most of those would have been driving related and I'm not sure how it is relevant.

Incidentally, I left out the bunch of American teens in the sports bar who took over an entire section like an invading army and were generally loud and a bit pushy. That's because it was not a scenario that would have been much different with anyone else and it was that kind of place. We only went in because my lad wanted to watch some of the golf.

Other meals had Americans in attendance. One was youngish couple - he was American, she was Dutch, an early relationship date by the look of it - both very nice, seemingly.

We only had one very loud and obnoxious table of fellow diners in a restaurant - Americans. We were only once rudely barged and pushed on public transport - Americans. We only had one couple dive into a lift jumping the queue - Americans.

Sorry, but I'm pretty much obsessively objective, and these were my experiences.

🤷‍♂️

1/ Amsterdam trams are pretty confusing, not being able to get out of a front door is widespread but not being able to get out of double doors further back is unusual. The ticketting system is crap too, you can't use the same credit card for two transactions within a time limit, then when you've got the ticket it's not obvious what to do with it.

2/ Loud I'll give you. I used to think it was because they were speaking English so I tuned in to what they were saying easily and understood. I've since revised to accepting the loud stereotype is accurate.

3/ I always take the stairs when available. Not much experience of lifts.

4/ People laughing and joking in the street is like the noise of children playing, something positive in my life. I found the Brummy you-look-at-me-and-I'll-stab-you silent scowl/death look more worrying. Whatever happened to the place I was born? But yes they do tend to be loud.

Trams are a bit confusing, but they didn't have to be so rude and pushy. They were next to the conductor booth thing, so could (and should) have asked. I'm sure the scenario happens a lot. But their attitude was pretty disgraceful.

We were only taking the lift because it was oppressively hot and we'd been walking all day. They absolutely should not have barged in front of the disabled guy, end of.

I didn't major on the being loud in the street thing because, compared to the others, it is a lesser thing. But no one else was doing it and no one else was so jarringly loud and out of place. My wife works in a hospital and has to put up with all manner of shit. She is not easily annoyed by people, but she had a rolleyes moment at the same time.

I can continue to expand on my basis for commenting about my recent experiences if you like. But I think the vast majority of folk on here would rather just read the posts in their own right rather than have me recite a minute-by-minute account of my recent holiday. Up to you guys.

Back on the subject of trade wars and blackmail... the latest n the UK-USA trade relationship:

Starmer told UK must repeal hate speech laws to protect LGBT+ people or lose Trump trade deal

‘Good chance’ of agreement, says JD Vance – but sources say his concerns over Britain’s hate speech laws ‘are still a red line’

I thought we took back control of our sovereignty, though?

2/ Loud I'll give you. I used to think it was because they were speaking English so I tuned in to what they were saying easily and understood. I've since revised to accepting the loud stereotype is accurate.

I think this cultural, you’d love it in Spain when people get excited 🙂

Its easy to assume they are the same as us due to the shared language but there are subtle and unsubtle differences.

I tend to think we English are terribly soft spoken and prudish and tbh some of us may be terrible fun suckers and sticklers for the unwritten rules  🙂

Posted by: Oakwood

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I thought we took back control of our sovereignty, though?

Sovereignty is all sunshine and roses, until you realise you are a small nation trying to negociate with super-powers and huge trading blocs.

until you realise you are a small nation trying to negociate with super-powers and huge trading blocs.

If only we were part of a huge trading bloc.

That er may honour its existing agreements and not wake up one morning and on a whim whack 10% tarrif on for giggles

I spend a lot of time in Spain. 🙂 In the mountains you often hear them before you see them. It's often quite joyous.

I'm reminded of being in a supermarket in Chamonix and hearing a voice bellowing all the way along the shop "Hey Mary, your chocolates are over here".

On the other hand I worked for an American civil engineering consultants in Saudi Arabia and my American colleagues were quite pleasant. All a bit mad in their own way but quite pleasant.

Posted by: mattyfez

↑

Back on the subject of trade wars and blackmail... the latest n the UK-USA trade relationship:

 

Starmer told UK must repeal hate speech laws to protect LGBT+ people or lose Trump trade deal

‘Good chance’ of agreement, says JD Vance – but sources say his concerns over Britain’s hate speech laws ‘are still a red line’

I'd like to hope that we put our principles above the (accepted) need to trade with the US.

If only we were part of a huge trading bloc.

Don't be daft. Who'd want that?

I'd like to hope that we put our principles above the (accepted) need to trade with the US.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I've only met one American recently and funnily enough it was in a café /bar in Spain.

I'm familiar with the area and this bar is pretty much my local when I'm there. Great family run bar.. Great service... Even if the service is a bit Spanish style if know what I mean!

Anyway this guy is new to the area and we got chatting a bit about local stuff, just general chit chat really and he seemed nice if a little bit of a jock in attitude... You can see where this is going!

He ordered an English breakfast and he was full of compliments about it.. Then he just kind of changed attitude and got a bit rude with the staff... I honestly can't remember what set him off.. But it was something really insignificant such as they didn't bring him a full condiment selection.. It's was just one of the those salt/pepper & vinigar caddies..

He kind of turned to me and said 'I can be a real asshole if I want to be' in a kinda joking way...loud enough for the owner to hear.

I know the owner pretty well so we're both just kinda tolerating this and exchanging smirks and sideways glances.

No harm done at the end of the day but it was just completely unwarranted.

Only a sample size of one... But it was just such a stereotype /cliche it was almost funny.

The bar owners are really accommodating to any request unless you act badly.. Then you get the worst service in the world and probably overcharged to boot.

Posted by: Steve

↑

Posted by: mattyfez

↑

Back on the subject of trade wars and blackmail... the latest n the UK-USA trade relationship:

 

Starmer told UK must repeal hate speech laws to protect LGBT+ people or lose Trump trade deal

‘Good chance’ of agreement, says JD Vance – but sources say his concerns over Britain’s hate speech laws ‘are still a red line’

I'd like to hope that we put our principles above the (accepted) need to trade with the US.

 

Indeed.. If anything, this kind of attitude from the USA should make it an easy negociation... If changing our laws is a demand than that should be the end of the discussion.

Posted by: mattyfez

↑

Indeed.. If anything, this kind of attitude from the USA should make it an easy negociation... If changing our laws is a demand than that should be the end of the discussion.

And that goes for food safety and animal welfare laws as well.

Posted by: Steve

↑

Posted by: mattyfez

↑

Indeed.. If anything, this kind of attitude from the USA should make it an easy negociation... If changing our laws is a demand than that should be the end of the discussion.

And that goes for food safety and animal welfare laws as well.

 

Yep... I'd rather not have meat that's such poor quality they have to bleach it to make it safe ... Lol!

I'd like to hope that we put our principles above the (accepted) need to trade with the US.

I don't know if you had noticed, but Starmer's principles are not exactly robust, personally I am not sure he actually has any, but we have seen with his attacks on immigration and disability benefits that he is actually more likely to screw the UK to appease the US than actually stand up for what most people would consider principles of fairness and equality..

McSweeney will be in his ear too - making sure he doesn't upset any Brexity types in certain seats.

👍

Sorry, but I'm pretty much obsessively objective, and these were my experiences.

Whereas my recent experiences were pretty much the polar opposite of yours. Perhaps that tells us to not reach conclusions from a small pool of anecdotes.

I've worked with hundreds of americans over the years, they have broadly fallen into two camps, those that would feature on "shitamericanssay" on reddit and those who are reasonable and well put together.

The first group usually arrive at work, decide they are going to put the world to rights (or turn it into a US territory), end up doing 60+ hour weeks, haranguing others to do the same, then proceed to produce less work than the rest of us, which is in most cases, of far lower quality. Usually needs reworking before it can be used, and that quite often only takes a fraction of the time it originally took.

They also seem to take their US rules with them, especially if they are in senior roles. Sacking someone in a meeting because you set unachievable goals doesn't fly in civilised countries. Also, expecting someone to spend two or three hours a day preparing for tomorrows daily update means that they don't also have 40 hours *to actually do the work*. That particular director was walked off site and eventually sacked after he did it again, and again at other parts of the company. The poor bugger he sacked was back the following Monday with a nice fat compensation cheque and an NDA.

Had similar experiences with multiple people/employers from multiple states over the years.

The other group seem to be here to get away from the first group and do their best to integrate. They do like their trucks though.

Posted by: MonkeySpacePilot

↑

I'd like to hope that we put our principles above the (accepted) need to trade with the US.

 

I don't know if you had noticed, but Starmer's principles are not exactly robust,

Robust or not...think of his position.. I dare say it's not even in question, but..

If Starmer wewre to row back on fundamentals like equal rights and food standards, that's political suicide...

The Human rights aspect should be obvious. but even if we as the UK were to accept low quality forr from the USA, that would also make us a toxic choice for food exports into the the (EU for example), so it would be a doubly bad move.

Starmer needs to stand up to trump, and be public about it,and fast, lest he wants to make the UK a vassal state to the USA....

Rejoining the customs union with the EU, and the single market is the obvious next move here. That would still be the 'light brexit' people voted for - it would be a sound strategy on many levels.

Of course they want to axe teh department that counters disinformation

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/16/1115256/us-office-that-counters-foreign-disinformation-is-being-eliminated-say-officials/

Whereas my recent experiences were pretty much the polar opposite of yours. Perhaps that tells us to not reach conclusions from a small pool of anecdotes.

It probably does. I hope you're not suggesting that I have reached any such conclusions or suggested them to others. Because I haven't and I didn't.

He is literally giving Starmer every excuse to turn back to Europe as a matter of necessity. Pity that the bloke doesn't seem to want to take them. He's got to realise that he's on borrowed time, that 2028 will roll around in a matter of moments, and he needs to have some kind of genuine economic progress to offer to the electorate. 

We know what happens when the voters feel ignored, or that nothing makes any difference to their lives and public services. We will have a Reform-led coalition government.

So what's the conclusion, are we supposed to like or dislike Americans, what does stw say? Or is the jury still out whilst they consider the personal experiences of various individuals?

Posted by: ernielynch

↑

So what's the conclusion, are we supposed to like or dislike Americans, what does stw say? Or is the jury still out whilst they consider the personal experiences of various individuals?

Well the leader of America is *checks notes* a convicted sex offender and a financial fraudster on multiple counts. So what does that tell you about the reliability of the USA?

So what's the conclusion, are we supposed to like or dislike Americans, what does stw say? Or is the jury still out whilst they consider the personal experiences of various individuals?

Oooh, i dunno. You could just take each one at face value?

Another point is that IMO, resisting Trump as he takes the US towards fascism, as well as reform, AFD, Oban, RN etc should be a much bigger priority than trade with the US. Failing to stand up to far right populism, the oligarchy and the rise of fascism will be far far worse in just a few years time than the economic hit we will take now.

The damage being done to the world economies currently is due to the ideology of power lust and greed. If we want to preserve anything like our way of life, even in our currently flawed system, then the ideology and its leaders has to be beaten, the economic system will not survive anyway if we don't, and what they will replace it with will make 99% of peoples lives absolutely ****ing miserable from cradle to grave.

Oooh, i dunno. You could just take each one at face value?

That'll never catch on! On the subject of countries' democratically elected leaders, if we choose to judge Americans then we may wish to consider Italians, Hungarians, Finns, Slovakians, Croatians and Czechs.

I still haven't forgiven the Germans for Adolf Hitler.

What a shower of ****s

Posted by: ernielynch

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I still haven't forgiven the Germans for Adolf Hitler.

What a shower of ****s

Last time I checked, Adolf hitler wasn't running Germany...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MckCZ9iLAyI?app=desktop&cbrd=1

Last time I checked, Adolf hitler wasn't running Germany...

Well this is confusing, were the Germans instantly forgiven after Hitler popped his clogs?

Is it the same rule for Americans..... right now they are a bunch of loud offensive gits who apparently dive into lifts after jumping a queue, but if they vote correctly at the next presidential election all will be forgiven?

Posted by: ernielynch

↑

Last time I checked, Adolf hitler wasn't running Germany...

Well this is confusing, were the Germans instantly forgiven after Hitler popped his clogs?

Is it the same rule for Americans..... right now they are a bunch of loud offensive gits who apparently dive into lifts after jumping a queue, but if they vote correctly at the next presidential election all will be forgiven?

 

Hey.. You can learn! That's a solid first step!

Keep it up, champ!

Posted by: MonkeySpacePilot

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as well as reform, AFD, Oban, RN etc should be a much bigger priority than trade with the US.

There's a few islanders will be unhappy if we break ties with Oban. 

Posted by: mattyfez

↑

If Starmer wewre to row back on fundamentals like equal rights and food standards, that's political suicide...

The Human rights aspect should be obvious. but even if we as the UK were to accept low quality forr from the USA, that would also make us a toxic choice for food exports into the the (EU for example), so it would be a doubly bad move.

Starmer needs to stand up to trump, and be public about it,and fast, lest he wants to make the UK a vassal state to the USA....

I am that disappointed Starmer supporter, and while I'm pissed off with some of the shit decisions they've made so far, to row back on human rights and food standards would be political suicide. Some on here have said that kissing Trumps arse just has to be done due to Americas power, but if Starmer capitulates there will be huge protests and I'll be there protesting.

Starmer told UK must repeal hate speech laws to protect LGBT+ people or lose Trump trade deal (from The Independent)

It's important to understand what "the deal" entails. Even prominent US legal firms get caught out by what they thought they agreed to and the reality

But the emerging gap between what the firms initially thought they agreed to and what Mr. Trump says they can be used for shows how the deals did little to insulate them from his whims. Further demands on the firms from Mr. Trump could raise the potential for conflicts with paying clients and could further fuel internal dissension.

“They thought they made one-shot deals which they would fulfill,” said Harold Hongju Koh, a professor of international law at Yale Law School who was an author of a paper that called executive orders targeting the firms unconstitutional retaliatory measures. “But the administration seems to think that they have subjected these firms to indentured servitude.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/us/politics/law-firms-deals-trump.html

Posted by: Steve

↑

Posted by: mattyfez

↑

If Starmer wewre to row back on fundamentals like equal rights and food standards, that's political suicide...

The Human rights aspect should be obvious. but even if we as the UK were to accept low quality forr from the USA, that would also make us a toxic choice for food exports into the the (EU for example), so it would be a doubly bad move.

Starmer needs to stand up to trump, and be public about it,and fast, lest he wants to make the UK a vassal state to the USA....

I am that disappointed Starmer supporter, and while I'm pissed off with some of the shit decisions they've made so far, to row back on human rights and food standards would be political suicide. Some on here have said that kissing Trumps arse just has to be done due to Americas power, but if Starmer capitulates there will be huge protests and I'll be there protesting.

 

I've acutally just written my (labour MP), on this matter, this is the first time I've ever felt motivated enough to write to an MP.

Chances of getting a reply? I'm not holding my breath - I've had an auto-reply saying how busy they are, lol.

Everyone I meet hates trump. Telling him to do one would do Starmer a lot of good.

Posted by: zippykona

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Everyone I meet hates trump. Telling him to do one would do Starmer a lot of good.

 

I think it would be a huge vote winner in the UK... it would alienate some hardcore labour voters who are inherently racist and nationalistic, but everthing comes at a cost.

Finally some good news:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/homeland_security_funding_for_cve/

Sometimes it seems like half our time is spent on CVEs.

This should save us loads of time (that we can spend shitposting on Reddit instead)!

Posted by: BruceWee

↑

Finally some good news:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/homeland_security_funding_for_cve/

Sometimes it seems like half our time is spent on CVEs.

This should save us loads of time (that we can spend shitposting on Reddit instead)!

Ah crap..this really means I'm gonna have to pull all my backups off the cloud and buy a RAID NAS?

https://www.skynews.com.au/opinion/rita-panahi/clearly-on-a-high-trump-hits-record-high-approval-rating-amid-tariff-turmoil/video/50655ce260c54e432ca6e35841ec6284

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/musk-trump-increasingly-unpopular-new-poll-1235317605/

Or, from a non-Murdoch outlet: [Edit: cross-posted with ernie's above.]

https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker

Well this is confusing, were the Germans instantly forgiven after Hitler popped his clogs?

 

Is it the same rule for Americans..... right now they are a bunch of loud offensive gits who apparently dive into lifts after jumping a queue, but if they vote correctly at the next presidential election all will be forgiven?

A strawman, a non sequitur and a Godwin.

Hattrick!

⚽️⚽️⚽️

Would I respect the average American more if they hadn't voted a convicted felon and (highly likely) sex offender in as president - twice?

Well, yes, of course I would. And I'd expect any sane person to do the same.

Did I try to avoid acknowledging my Britishness amongst foreigners when we elected known liar and all-round shit Boris Johnson as PM? Yes, I bloody well did. I was ashamed of this country and I still am due to our refusal to stop being performatively ****ish towards the EU.

Would I respect the average American more if they hadn't voted a convicted felon and (highly likely) sex offender in as president - twice?

 

 

What???? According to your posts the basis of your lack of respect was to do with, among other things, Americans being allegedly "loud  and a bit pushy"  and rudely barging and pushing on public transport, and being obnoxious to other diners in a restaurant.

Are you seriously suggesting that you would not have had a problem with any those issues if Kamala Harris had won the last US presidential election?

And how the hell do you know how those individuals you described voted? Every single one might have been a Kamala Harris voter.

Don't try to dress up your anti-american bigotry as some sort of political issue, from the very clear examples which you yourself give it has absolutely nothing to do with politics.

Point of order.. Donald Trump forcibly inserted his fingers into an unwilling participant. In the jurisdiction he was on trial that doesn't technically count as rape, as he didn't put his penis into her, just his fingers. That's rape, in my book.

I dunno what other conclusion anyone can come to unless they are the sort of people who agree with this kind of thing.