Why are the British seen as "cultured"?

[Doctor Placebo]

Pretty sure britain's worst crime was not completely wiping out chinks/chink culture given recent events...

>Mainland China
>Chink culture
Pick one. The CCP did a much better job of destroying Chinese culture in the mainland than Britain ever did. The only reason they probably spared the Forbidden City and all the cool bling there is because Mao saw a chance to turn it into a monument to his ego.

 

[Slap47]

Stereotype of American media.

Brits are disgusting, degenerate creatures. That's why Americans wanted to separate from them. They were the Brits and Europeans that hated other Brits (sort of in the way that Chris Rock separates black people and niggers).

It was mostly about taxes.

Yes but we are talking about the negatives of british culture/history here.


Pretty sure britain's worst crime was not completely wiping out chinks/chink culture given recent events...

IMO its a consequence of the UK power structure during/after the enlightenment.

In france/germany/italy/whatever it was entirely feasible for someone like Mozart or Michelangelo or Wagner to get sponsored by an ultra-rich and powerful monarch or nobleman, who due to the whole "divine right of kings and aristocrats" thing would be able to actively or passively exert a lot more influence on the lesser aristocrats and the masses beneath them to also patronise the artist and thus give them the funds and resources to fully explore their vision without any inhibition.

In bongland however, due to the somewhat more egalitarian power structure caused by the magna carta/enforced by Cromwell and friends and the rapid growth of a monied middle class, this deal was far less common far less generous with a few exceptions like Shakespeare, which led to these areas stagnating in comparison to the continent, although on the flip side this same societal structure had the eventual effect of causing a golden age of british literature due to how novels, either in whole or serialised in a magazine, were extremely accessible and potentially extremely profitable which gave an incentive for decent works to be produced.

The role of religion is also relevent here since the continent was still largely dominated by the catholic church, of whom wealthy members were famous for bankrolling many of the greatest works of art produced in this era and giving them societal legitimacy with such patronage, while britain had the famously anti-glitz church of england and then the hilariously killjoy puritans holding sway and going out of their way to discourage anything they saw as frivilous, leading to the uk lagging even further behind

Robinson Crusoe alone is better than all of French culture tbh.

But they did more invasions and destruction of indigenous people and their cultures in various continents. Ask the Iranians, the Indians, the Africans, heck ask the freaking Chinese.

The British usually just coopted local rulers and collected a tax. The puritan experience is kinda an exception and even then it took 2 generations for the wholesale genocide to begin.

Their empire was about securing markets and using local leaders as buffers for the centers of trade.

 

[The Pink Panther]

It was mostly about taxes.

uhhhhhhhhh

 

[Dom Cruise]

I mean, they used to be, didn't they? But not so much anymore.

In my opinion Britain didn't go full retard until they elected Tony Blair, who doubled down on immigration sending things out of balance and leading to the nightmare situation of today.

 

[AnimeGirlConnoisseur]

I couldn't tell you. I don't even know why the Br*tish are even considered human.

 

[Feline Supremacist]

19th century robber barons that married off their daughters to cash strapped British nobility.

Also PBS.

 

[Emperor Julian]

Our culture is ancient and our contributions in art and learning are second to none. Since America is young and the predominant culture on earth which makes it feel like it has no identity due to it being everywhare.

Plus Americans like easy mental shortcuts when dealing with other nations. Because it saves time getting to know them.

 

[Webby's Boyfriend]

It's the same way Hollywood depicts Californian cities is as fun, pleasant, and predominantly white.

Like Duckburg?

Since America is young and the predominant culture on earth

That's why so many people hate America, they hate her for her freedoms and cool stuff, because they don't have it.

 

[Idiotron]

It's the accent, it makes them seem more classy than they are.
Sargon is seen as an intellectual by many but, if he had a Bible Belt American accent, everyboy would think he's a moron.

 

[MrJokerRager]

India today would have been a lot poorer without the railways, land irrigation, and ports that the British built for them, as would present day Africa without modern agriculture and access to education. Life in Hong Kong is considerably better than life in mainland China, largely thanks to the British political influence, and the current situation in Iran is mostly the fault of the United States, not Britain (though the British certainly didn't help).

In addition, just about all of the prosperous nations in the New World wouldn't exist if it weren't for the British, and while the indiginous people definitely got a raw deal out of colonialism, they still ended up being materially much better off than what they would have been without it. This is not a defense of colonialism, but I don't think it's something that should be blithely dismissed either.

You do realize the Silk Road went through India and it already had wealth, after the British Empire and East India Trading Company destroyed the Mughal Empire, they took all that wealth out of the country. They made it poorer to enrich themselves with additional shit like the salt tax. India also already had ports before the British showed up as they were trading with the Portuguese, the Chinese and Arabs.

 

[Cat Menagerie]

In addition, just about all of the prosperous nations in the New World wouldn't exist if it weren't for the British, and while the indiginous people definitely got a raw deal out of colonialism, they still ended up being materially much better off than what they would have been without it. This is not a defense of colonialism, but I don't think it's something that should be blithely dismissed either.

Okay, I'm going to say something as a Native/French (Métis) person. The Natives got along with the French just fine. The relationship even had a name: The Franco-Indian Alliance.

Out of all the early European settlers, it was only the French who treated Natives like human beings. They were doing a pretty good job of slowly introducing European ideas and innovations and vice versa, and trade was prevalent. Intermarriage was common.

When they arrived, they brought Jesuits to convert the Natives, but in a peaceful way. Those who became Catholics were considered natural Frenchmen. Anyway, point is, nobody needed the English settlers to save us from our savage ways.

 

[LullerDerbyRollin]

Okay, I'm going to say something as a Native/French (Métis) person. The Natives got along with the French just fine. The relationship even had a name: The Franco-Indian Alliance.

Out of all the early European settlers, it was only the French who treated Natives like human beings. They were doing a pretty good job of slowly introducing European ideas and innovations and vice versa, and trade was prevalent. Intermarriage was common.

When they arrived, they brought Jesuits to convert the Natives, but in a peaceful way. Those who became Catholics were considered natural Frenchmen. Anyway, point is, nobody needed the English settlers to save us from our savage ways.

Another Franco-Indian? Greetings brother! Wanna join me in laughing at modern day Frenchies n' Limeys?

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

In some ways they are.

The Western World has long looked back to the Hellenic world as the foundation of our culture, the glory of Rome, the scale of the empire, the depth of their culture....

And yet people, especially within Britain itself, seem to forget that Britain triumphed and superseded Rome on every single front. It wasn't the only European power to do this, but it was undoubtedly the most successful of them even if by chance.

The British have a long history; not merely reaching back far in time but also the founding presence of many states and cultures around the globe. America, Hong Kong, Australia, The Middle East...It's hard to find anywhere that hasn't been restructured in some way by British (or more specifically, English) culture. Even in lands they didn't conquer like Japan, their influence is still overpowering; the Meiji restoration didn't restructure the country based on Japanese or American models. It did so on British ones such as their Parliament.

As much as a Frenchman I hate to say anything too complimentary about the roast beef, they are undoubtedly one of the most cultured and advanced civilizations the world has ever known. Even if it is drowning in shit these days.

It's one of the reasons I'm surprised they're so passive and submissive to outside influences these days. It's a far cry to how they behaved less than a century ago.

 

[Dom Cruise]

According to myth isn't Merlin supposed to reappear when England is in dire need of help?

So, where is he?

 

[Freya]

Because they were the dominant culture in much of the world for centuries. People want to emulate those at the top of the pecking order.

We can say they're cucks all day, but there's like 200 million people of English descent living in all corners of the world. I am proud to be one of them.

 

[CrackBabyCrack]

According to myth isn't Merlin supposed to reappear when England is in dire need of help?

So, where is he?

Arthur, not Merlin.

Mind, I can't expect people outside of the UK to know which one is supposed to come back when we can't even decide where he was from and what fucking time period he was supposed to have lived in. The daffodil eaters, the French, the Cornish and the cider wankers all have a claim on on the legends. Even the Lake District has a claim because the Battle of Camlann was supposedly fought near there.

 

[LetterlandMafia]

I’ve got my own question: what’s with all the Americans raging at Britain lately? Everywhere I go on the web we seem to be pissing them off. Are they annoyed at us for being full of immigrants or something?

 

[FuckedUp]

I’ve got my own question: what’s with all the Americans raging at Britain lately? Everywhere I go on the web we seem to be pissing them off. Are they annoyed at us for being full of immigrants or something?

Try saying the soft-N on Facebook.

 

[Dom Cruise]

Arthur, not Merlin.

Mind, I can't expect people outside of the UK to know which one is supposed to come back when we can't even decide where he was from and what fucking time period he was supposed to have lived in. The daffodil eaters, the French, the Cornish and the cider wankers all have a claim on on the legends. Even the Lake District has a claim because the Battle of Camlann was supposedly fought near there.

Well, it's sad that he won't show up when England is in such dire straits.

 

[Feline Supremacist]

Okay, I'm going to say something as a Native/French (Métis) person. The Natives got along with the French just fine. The relationship even had a name: The Franco-Indian Alliance.

Out of all the early European settlers, it was only the French who treated Natives like human beings. They were doing a pretty good job of slowly introducing European ideas and innovations and vice versa, and trade was prevalent. Intermarriage was common.

When they arrived, they brought Jesuits to convert the Natives, but in a peaceful way. Those who became Catholics were considered natural Frenchmen. Anyway, point is, nobody needed the English settlers to save us from our savage ways.

Portuguese India is also interesting, the people in the former Portuguese colony of Goa are still mostly Catholic and I haven't heard anyone from there voice any resentment against Portugal. I'm not saying there isn't any, just that I've not come across any while they seem to still hold some bad feelings against the British. And there was plenty of intermarriage, seems to be a thing with Catholics, not so much with Protestants.