Why are British people so rude?

Question

When I went over to visit the UK, many of the people where so rude. No respect at all. People just push past you on the streets, and they don't even say sorry. Especially in London. I went into a McDonald's, and they basically threw the meal in my face.

Not all British people are like this, but many are and it's very noticable. Must be all those depressing days of rain?

Answer 1

I don't find the British any ruder than any other nation. If you are judging the whole of the country on London (which I suspect you are) you probably met very few British people anyway.

I'm guessing you're American (by the punctuation) - do you think people in New York are incredibly friendly?

To say many British people are like this is very exaggerated - how many of the 56 million did you actually meet?

Answer 2

I don't think that is is just people in Great Britain (Not necessarily BRITISH people) who are rude. I have found that, when visiting Spain, locals will ignore you unless you are buying something off them. Italians will most definitely try and run you over on their scooters as you use a crossing. I also personally think that many Scots dislike the Brits. Are there people in your cities that would treat you as you have been treated here? I think so.

What is that saying involving Tarring with the same brush........

My, aren't you lucky to have all the sun.

Answer 3

Busy people, especially in London, may appear rude. I've lived in London for 10 years, and at first I thought this. But this really isn't the case, just a bad first impression. The respect is there. But as someone said earlier, the same can be said for other nations too. There would hardly be a Brit who didn't find other people just as rude. In the quieter outlets of MacDonalds you would find more courtesy I guess. Its just hard to be polite when places are busy, people want to get somewhere quickly.

Answer 4

You should try living in Germany where they don't queue, will carry on a conversation in a shop rather than serve you, and basically have no customer service at all.
Levels of politeness are all relative to where you come from and what your percieved understanding of politeness is.
A little more flexibility all round wouldn't harm.

I don't find Brits any more rude than any other nation, and sometimes when I'm in Germany or Holland I long to return home to the apparent politeness of the English queue and conversations about the weather.

Answer 5

Hmmm, I always thought that Brits had to have that Victorian attitude of keeping a 'stiff upper lip' ol' bean, to show courtesy and politeness but to remain aloof? This is true of my Ma & Pa and they tried to bring me & my siblings up the same way. Suppose thats quite stereotyped but things like this dont tend to apply in the 21st century now. Women can vote and everything.

Of course, times are a changing and we have such an eclectic mix in towns as well as the large cities, trends change but as others have said, you may not have been encountering british people. And hey, even if you did, the Brit stereotype is to maintain a distance, maybe they felt they were invading your personal bubble and were too embarrassed to apologise, as that would be admitting it was their fault.

Different horses for different courses ol bean.

Answer 6

yes, in places like London, a lot of people can be like that. Not all of them, many people can be nice and polite, but walking through London, you can;t help but find someone who seems rude. Some could be in a rush to get to work or something like that.rain isn't depressing. It waters the plants and it doesn't happen too often

Answer 7

You don't say where you are from, which would be interesting. I agree, the manners of some British people are appalling, but I have found just as much rudeness in other parts of the world. The place I found people to be most helpful and friendly was Australia, which surprised me slightly (although I can't say why it surprised me). I am a Scottish expat, incidentally.

Answer 8

Many cultures have many different modes of conduct. For instance, some cultures have a smaller 'private space' than others... I find this uncomfortable, as we subconsciously have our own parameters... I feel that they are 'in my face' and I have to step back. As for the pushing... I attribute that to many countries that have crowding issues and have become conditioned to this behaviour. I try not to let it offend me, as hard as it may be, but it still provokes a negative response from me... whether it be a look or I may even tell them that I think it's rude. The same could be said for loud interrupting talkers....

Try to be understanding.... even though it's hard sometimes... one of these days, someone will do the same for you!

Karma is a *****..... always remember that!

Answer 9

i'm not rude neither is everyone in my classification. you'll be questioning of soccer Hooligans and punks. Please do not choose each and all the British with the aid of the strikes of a few. you particularly could come to a cricket journey some day. it somewhat is the place the human beings who're polite are to be got here across. Edit: i'm not asserting that i'm posh in any way. asserting that i'm greater like Richard Bucket could be closer to the certainty.

Answer 10

Perhaps you forget that many of the people who you happened across in the UK are not even indigenous to these islands...we have an awful lot of foreigners here now. Besides that, there are many here who are rude, but doubtfully any ruder than a great deal of people from other countries...

Answer 11

How Rude...are you .What do you mean especially in London. Did you visit any other cities?
We had a holiday in the U.S.A and we couldn't move with out a pocket full of change for tipping.What's that all about? Why should they EXPECT a tip for doing their job.
We had a meal in Denny's (for the Brits it's a cafe ) When we went to pay the bill the waitress said "shall i add the 10% to your bill" as we know you Brits are not accustom to our ways..We exchanged a few words and never went back. Now that's Rude.