The English Vs. the British Vs. the Rest of the World: That Old Chestnut

Brits.

Comedians from abroad like to poke gentle fun at us – a major disaster occurs and an Englishman raises an eyebrow and mutters ‘Really?’ This is changing. The truth is that there is an Englishman or Brit for every point of view.

My view is that the English are probably grown up as a national identity and as such, are bored with something that’s been done years ago. Not all, but a generalisation.

We are accused of being snooty, imperialistic, chauvinist and cold. We are unresponsive lovers and intolerant of foreigners.

1. Snooty. We laugh at snooty but love the Queen. We dislike her courtiers as the sycophantic climbers they are. Why do they climb when they are already there? Why do we hope they will fall?
2. Imperialistic. We see the world do its strange things like starve, fight and allow warlords to prosper. When we were in charge, if we didn’t cause it, we tried to stop it happening. Even to the extent of fighting for it. When we didn’t have enough men or resources we just let them die overseas and got the press to martyr them. End of story for the government of the day. Literary fodder and almost legendary status for ever for an Army officer or a civil servant who would otherwise have dissolved into the mists. Name a single American, French, Italian or Australian civil servant martyred for their cause. Cuba have Che Guevara.
3. Chauvinist. A self defence for which the French, Spanish, Italians and Americans are praised and the English scorned. The former being naughty precocious children; the latter, the grown ups.
4. Intolerant of foreigners. Our more belligerent newspapers and commentators say something like this: ‘They come over here intolerant of our ways; they eat food killed, cooked and prepared in mystic laid down ways. They erect strange shaped buildings of worship, talk about a God with a different name and modified rule book. They accept the offer of accommodation and inclusion in society. To the English this is like being invited round for Sunday dinner and bringing your own sandwiches or fish and chips. Not only doing so but insisting which TV channel to watch while they eat off a tray on the sofa.’ The English are brought up to follow house rules and would go to great comical lengths to smuggle fast food into a hotel after hours. Even a spare kettle and a pot noodle are baggage contraband

Wrong, wrong and wrong again. To answer the question from a Gulf Arab who has never been to visit –‘What is Britain like?’ We are Bedouin, a mix and strange match of people who coincidentally inhabit the same island; like their desert. The same probably applies to every nation. Tell an Arab that the Brits dislike each other intensely; that they fear and distrust people from the next village while we have London with seven million people is to invite surprised doubting query.