h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is a better question than Why does the English hate the French?.

Also why do the Americans think they are better than everyone else? Sorry not all Americans do, but it does seem that way to outsiders.
Why are Germans thought to be unfunny? Why are Aussies thought to be drunken Kangaroo shooting madmen?
Why are the Welsh thought to be sheep shaggers? Why are the Scottish thought to be tight? Why are the Irish thought to be thick, pub loving paddys? Why are the English thought to be all Cockneys or stiff upper lip or football thugs?

It's only when you spend time with these people that you understand that none of these things are true!!

We all put down other countrys to make our lifes in our own countrys seem just that little bit better than theirs, but if you look at it we are all the same in away. We all work to pay the bills, we get taxed, we look after our familys and hope that we get to grow old and see our children have a family of their own.

Look! This is the most neglected thread in the whole "Ask the h2g2 community" bit.

Awwwwww








Oh b****r, not anymore it isn't.

Ah, but if you go to Lord Sin's (long abandoned) space you will find that this is the unwanted twin of a far more exciting thread, with several hidden postings and, presumably, plenty of fur flying.

The subjects have been thoroughly discussed on several threads - dead and alive and half-moderated.

It's a good idea to see how far the mods have got, though, in reviving the old threads. I'm going to the back of the list now to dig up some old memories!

The French hate the English and vice-versa for reasons going back to the dark ages. The Anglo-Saxons never got over those Norman French conquering their country. These things go back a long time. Look at the Greeks and the Turks. I'm Scottish and we also hate the English for much the same reasons. This is difficult for me because my family is English. We don't hate the French and they don't hate us, so it's amusing to get "British" (ie English) newspapers published in Scotland as "Scottish editions" ranting about the French.

The Germans have no sense of humour? Well, I have to say, I've never seen a funny German film. I think German's have developed a sense of humour but it seems to be the younger generations.

The Welsh are a fairly rural Celtic people, so the English probably always have digs at them hence the "sheep-molesting" stuff. The same goes for the "drunken" Irish and the "tight-fisted" Scots.

The English stereotypes are quite modern. Up until about the 1960s British Films always featured upper-crust accented actors and actresses. Hence the perception. Then along came "Mary Poppins" and the gangster films and that established the "cockney" stuff. As for football hooligans. Well, just look at the news.....

One problem (I think) with Britain is that our country is in a bit of a hole and we pretend we're the envy of Europe and indeed the world when we're plainly not.