British people reveal why they REALLY ‘look down on Americans’
A YouTuber decided to investigate how British people really see Americans by conducting impromptu interviews on the streets of London.
Creator Nathanial Drew admitted that “for as long as I can remember, I've felt like the British have looked down on Americans.”
As evidence, he cited a section of Prince Harry's memoirs, in which the royal admits that, when he was growing up, “people warned me all the time about Americans.” Too loud, too rich, too cheerful. Too confident, too direct, too honest.'
Investigating his hypothesis – that the British look down on Americans and American culture – Nathanial took to the streets of London, where he interviewed passers-by to try to gauge their opinions of their overseas neighbors.
YouTuber Nathanial Drew made a video about his hypothesis that British people 'look down on Americans', which consisted of interviewing passers-by on the streets of London
One man grimaced as he did an impression of a British person meeting an American
'I always find it terrible that everyone's first attitude is: 'Oh, you're from America, right?' Oh, okay,” one man said, grimacing.
A young American woman, when asked how she felt “perceived” by the British population in London, replied “a big, stupid, bellowing bastard… sincerely.” I always feel like I have to apologize for being American.”
An older British woman said of how she perceives Americans, “There's definitely a sense that there's a lot of difficult things going on in America and that America could potentially be quite a difficult place to live, especially if you're of color. or from the Middle East.'
Another woman mused: 'They're too extra. It doesn't seem real.'
She later added, “I don't think people are necessarily stupid, and I don't think it's a matter of being stupid.” I think it's just an idea of, 'Yes, be the best!'
“It's scary to think that depending on where you were born, people in America may or may not have access to care!
“And I don't know how you can talk about being 'the best' if you can't even make sure everyone is taken care of,” the woman concluded.
When asked how he thinks Americans perceive the British, one young man replied: 'They look down on us a bit. I feel like Americans think they're on top of everything. And there is always competition between the two.'
A young man interviewed by Nathanial praised America for having “good music.”
Another woman emphasized that she had “great American friends” who are “fantastic.”
The man added that he thought British people were “more polite” than Americans, but also “more talkative” and “more helpful.”
However, he admitted that Americans are “nice,” “funny” and have “good music.”
Conversely, a man who had lived for a time in the United States – in California, Alabama and Oklahoma in particular – reflected the similarities between Britain and the US.
'Everyone speaks English. Everyone has the same kind of core values. “I'm not necessarily a big Christian person at all, but we all come from these Christian-based countries… Personally, I don't see much difference at all.”
Another woman was quick to emphasize that she had “great American friends… they're great, they're fantastic,” she said.
Contrary to Nathanial's personal suspicion on the matter, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that only 38 percent of people in the United Kingdom had an “unfavorable” view of the United States as of spring 2023.
Americans' views were worse in Sweden, France, Germany, Greece and Spain: 41 percent, 41 percent, 40 percent, 40 percent and 39 percent, respectively, of people in those countries had an “unfavorable” opinion of the US.
The country with the most “unfavorable” view of the US was Hungary, with just over half of those surveyed admitting to having a negative view of the country.