Six things I just don't get (about Britain)
Taking on Daniella's challenge, I've decided to tweak it to satisfy my own wanton desires...I will NOT focus on what people are wild about and I am not, but instead on what I don't get about Britain
1) The Hatred of the Ginger.
In North America, we call this species the redheads. In general, we don't have any specific disdain for redheads, in fact, a lot of women dye their heads red (myself included once upon a time ago) because we like the colour. Red haired boys can be quite attractive, as I think back to a particular specimen I knew some time ago. In short, they are alright.
HOWEVER, in the UK I have heard more than enough derogatory comments regarding the reds....I'm dating this boy, he's wonderful, but he's a ginger....She's really pretty for a ginger.....I would never go for a ginger....My brother's fat and a ginger...My wife is ginger and I'm ginger, we could only get eachother I suppose, tough for our children....
I have asked many about this but to no avail....there is no explanation yet how I long for one.
2) The total distrust of anyone not from 'here'.
Here, usually the north, particularly in Liverpool. I could say the distrust of other races, but as I've also learned, distrust includes, religion, postal code, accent, socio-economic status, etc. More than enough times I've experienced what I guess could be termed racism until I pointed out I wasn't American, but Canadian, to which I received marginally better responses. I can only be so lucky that I was not my poor Mexican friend, H, who apart from being attacked physically, also was verbally attacked, being told to go home to China. As he later stated, at least get it right if you're going to hate me!
3) The Working Class Aspiration
I am NOT middle class...how dare you, how very dare you!
What gives? Who cares if you are working or middle class or upper class? I'm used to aspiring out of one income bracket to a higher one so one can go buy their new escalade with spinning rims, so it boggles my mind when people are insulted at the prospect that they might earn more money than another. And I've yet to meet anyone who claims to be middle class, as if its an insult, one that burns through the skin to the bone...as if being part of a family that didn't rely on benefits is a bad thing.
4) Quitting School at 16
The British educational system is a lot different than the North American. At sixteen a lot of kids quit formal, academic training and opt instead to work, apprentice or just plain go on benefits. At my illustrious job I work with a variety of 16 and 17 year olds, who have decided not to learn Shakespeare but instead float from £3.50 job to £3.50 job (oh and minimum wage is age based, meaning full min wage doesn't kick in till you are 21!).
I really believe that the more education you get, even if it is just history, algebra and poetry helps you to make informed decisions later in life. I think that everyone should be in a position that with time, they could opt to readily go to college to further their careers, without having to first get their 'highschool' because they dropped out to early. I don't like seeing 16 year olds building houses full time or trying to act as customer service reps because they just don't, dare I say it, have the general knowledge to really do the job right....phew...that took courage to get it off my chest!
5) Wearing black and brown together
Females of the world unite against this atrocious behaviour! Please! The fashion misfits of England must learn!
Living in DC where conservative dress rules and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, looks good, all of the time, it has been a shock to come to the loose ways of the UK. I can get over the boob tubes with gypsy skirts and cowboy boots. I can even get over the mini skirt/belt, ugg boot and flowy top, but I cannot get over the brown and black combos these women put together.
Now I know that certain browns and blacks can look good together (take a riding outfit for example)...but to pretend that dark brown is black or that brown skirts can be paired with black shoes and a black top is a cardinal fashion sin. So please please stop...it doesn't work and to top it off, it clashes with the oh so lovely orange skin colour that UK women flaunt.
6) Paying lotsa de casha for lotsa de crapa
Things here are overpriced. Way too expensive...revolt people. Toothpaste should not cost you £3.00. Sheets with no thread count should not be £30.00 nor should a pair of no - name, payless equivalent shoes be £45.00.
That is all.
Now I'm not hating on the UK but these are things I just don't think I'll ever get over. So I apologize. Because my ranting gets tired and old and I know that. So I do feel bad but I just need to vent sometimes.
If challenges exist, I of course ask M to contribute (either to the original or to a made up version of his own), as well as my little brother and perhaps, if she ever reads this, Miss Spiggy...because my fake brother sure has gone off blogging.
1) The Hatred of the Ginger.
In North America, we call this species the redheads. In general, we don't have any specific disdain for redheads, in fact, a lot of women dye their heads red (myself included once upon a time ago) because we like the colour. Red haired boys can be quite attractive, as I think back to a particular specimen I knew some time ago. In short, they are alright.
HOWEVER, in the UK I have heard more than enough derogatory comments regarding the reds....I'm dating this boy, he's wonderful, but he's a ginger....She's really pretty for a ginger.....I would never go for a ginger....My brother's fat and a ginger...My wife is ginger and I'm ginger, we could only get eachother I suppose, tough for our children....
I have asked many about this but to no avail....there is no explanation yet how I long for one.
2) The total distrust of anyone not from 'here'.
Here, usually the north, particularly in Liverpool. I could say the distrust of other races, but as I've also learned, distrust includes, religion, postal code, accent, socio-economic status, etc. More than enough times I've experienced what I guess could be termed racism until I pointed out I wasn't American, but Canadian, to which I received marginally better responses. I can only be so lucky that I was not my poor Mexican friend, H, who apart from being attacked physically, also was verbally attacked, being told to go home to China. As he later stated, at least get it right if you're going to hate me!
3) The Working Class Aspiration
I am NOT middle class...how dare you, how very dare you!
What gives? Who cares if you are working or middle class or upper class? I'm used to aspiring out of one income bracket to a higher one so one can go buy their new escalade with spinning rims, so it boggles my mind when people are insulted at the prospect that they might earn more money than another. And I've yet to meet anyone who claims to be middle class, as if its an insult, one that burns through the skin to the bone...as if being part of a family that didn't rely on benefits is a bad thing.
4) Quitting School at 16
The British educational system is a lot different than the North American. At sixteen a lot of kids quit formal, academic training and opt instead to work, apprentice or just plain go on benefits. At my illustrious job I work with a variety of 16 and 17 year olds, who have decided not to learn Shakespeare but instead float from £3.50 job to £3.50 job (oh and minimum wage is age based, meaning full min wage doesn't kick in till you are 21!).
I really believe that the more education you get, even if it is just history, algebra and poetry helps you to make informed decisions later in life. I think that everyone should be in a position that with time, they could opt to readily go to college to further their careers, without having to first get their 'highschool' because they dropped out to early. I don't like seeing 16 year olds building houses full time or trying to act as customer service reps because they just don't, dare I say it, have the general knowledge to really do the job right....phew...that took courage to get it off my chest!
5) Wearing black and brown together
Females of the world unite against this atrocious behaviour! Please! The fashion misfits of England must learn!
Living in DC where conservative dress rules and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, looks good, all of the time, it has been a shock to come to the loose ways of the UK. I can get over the boob tubes with gypsy skirts and cowboy boots. I can even get over the mini skirt/belt, ugg boot and flowy top, but I cannot get over the brown and black combos these women put together.
Now I know that certain browns and blacks can look good together (take a riding outfit for example)...but to pretend that dark brown is black or that brown skirts can be paired with black shoes and a black top is a cardinal fashion sin. So please please stop...it doesn't work and to top it off, it clashes with the oh so lovely orange skin colour that UK women flaunt.
6) Paying lotsa de casha for lotsa de crapa
Things here are overpriced. Way too expensive...revolt people. Toothpaste should not cost you £3.00. Sheets with no thread count should not be £30.00 nor should a pair of no - name, payless equivalent shoes be £45.00.
That is all.
Now I'm not hating on the UK but these are things I just don't think I'll ever get over. So I apologize. Because my ranting gets tired and old and I know that. So I do feel bad but I just need to vent sometimes.
If challenges exist, I of course ask M to contribute (either to the original or to a made up version of his own), as well as my little brother and perhaps, if she ever reads this, Miss Spiggy...because my fake brother sure has gone off blogging.
posted by Lyla @ 11:29 AM
2 Comments:
At 12:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
I am equally shocked and horrified at each of your list items...except the black and brown thing! I stand firmly by the classiness of black/brown combinations...although, you may be right about only certain blacks and browns actually looking good.
On the other list items: how can anyone dislike ginger? It's my favorite hair color! And what the hell is wrong with being middle class? Is this a lingering reaction to Victorian middle-class values? What gives? And as to the hatred of people not from "here"--I am not surprised. At the risk of being controversial: Europeans are in denial about the level of racism in their societies. I have British cousins who heard "Paki go home" on the playground as children--hello, they're Ecuadorian, not Pakistani. As your friend said, get it right. Not to mention the problems in Paris or the problems I saw in Oslo when I lived there (between "Norwegians" and "the other Norwegians"--Pakistani immigrants).
Equally not surprised at the quitting school at 16 given that being somewhat educated and having enough money to buy that 3 pound toothpaste without government assistance seems to be, from what you pointed out, undesirable.
At 7:12 AM,
Martyn said…
To begin with, we don't hate gingers. Really we don't, we just like to take the piss out of them. They're an easy targe, and the way they burn when inn the sun for any longer than five minutes is hilarious.
I don't trust anybody, least of all myself!
The working class apiration. This is known as 'seeking covert prestige.' You L, do this a lot of the time. Everytime, you talk like your from some sort of fucking ghetto, you aspire to be woring class. You, L are about as white as you can be without being transparent. Yet at times you choose to talk like a poor black kid from the 'hood. Why? Because you want to be accepted by a culture that you don't belong to. Anyway, back to the point. Money is everything in North America, and don't try to argue L, I've heard you enough times, "My friend's house is this big, they earn this much money. Isn't it great having friends who are worth $$$" Over here it's different, money matters, but not as much as some things. I hope I've helped you understand this?
Quitting school at sixteen. There needs to be an elite. Labour want 50% to go to universities, so the majority can study piss poor degrees that won't get them anywhere. Whereas if you leave school at sixteen you can learn a trade. You don't realise how much manual labour pays in this country. Anyway, they have the choice to stay on at school. Kids are evn paid by the government to stay on at school now (another policy that I don't agree with.)
Back in black and brown.
We pay over the top here so that when we go abroad we get favourable exchange rates. It's also to keep out the fucking foreigners that we seem to hate so much!
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