Stop Trying To Be British
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" as someone once said but sometimes it is more dignified to admire something, or someone, without transforming yourself into a poor copy of what you love. "Wannabe" is an insult for a reason. Whilst it is lovely to see so many Americans on brits_americans expressing their love of my country and my culture, I do get a little tired of seeing a few of them thinking they can "become" British, just by wishing hard enough and adopting a few traits that don't actually suit them.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but being British requires more than just saying "bloody", drinking tea and flouncing around in a Doctor Who scarf. Nobody who was born and bred in America should spell words like "colour" with a U and still expect to be taken seriously, if they are doing so IN AMERICA. Why on earth would you do that? What does it say about you, other than that you are trying too hard? Whatever it makes you...It doesn't make you British.
Whenever people purport to admire another culture and demonstrate their admiration by imitation, they inevitably fall into the trap of "cherry picking" the things they actually want to copy and ignoring other (often more relevant) aspects. For instance, an American wishing to be "British" will drink tea but they won't throw away their coffee machine (see? I don't even know what they are called) and start drinking Nescafé instant, will they? If someone really wanted to be British they would stop caring about the quality of their coffee. American wannabes often have "favourite" British TV shows "Oh I LOVE Top Gear!!11" but how many of them are willing to watch a whole episode of "One Man And His Dog"? I thought not. And how many "OMG I'm so British!" type Americans are willing to sit cheerfully through a vile meal in a restaurant? And if they didn't want to do that, how many of them would at least be authentic enough to start any complaint with an apology? (Example: "I'm really sorry to bother you but there is a lump of melted plastic on my steak").
I love America and I love my American friends but I would never insult them by trying to ACT like them. Part of the appeal for me is that we are different. I like the fact that I can sit stoically silent, whilst they are whooping and punching the air about some little thing. I'm not about to start flossing and changing my user icon to the Stars And Stripes, just because I visited Seattle once. Imagine how my flist would react if my entries appeared without the right number of vowels and I kept banging on about baseball and how I liked HUNDREDS of different flavors of ice-cream (instead of the "normal" choice of about three)? They would think I had gone mad.
In summary, if you are an American who likes the UK and all things British, CALM DOWN. Seriously, take a few deep breaths, take a few photos of Nelson's Column, enjoy your British TV shows and films...But forget trying to BE British. Have pride in your own country and the "special relationship" it has with mine. Stop embarrassing yourselves and let's see if we can't redress the admiration balance a bit, in favour of America.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but being British requires more than just saying "bloody", drinking tea and flouncing around in a Doctor Who scarf. Nobody who was born and bred in America should spell words like "colour" with a U and still expect to be taken seriously, if they are doing so IN AMERICA. Why on earth would you do that? What does it say about you, other than that you are trying too hard? Whatever it makes you...It doesn't make you British.
Whenever people purport to admire another culture and demonstrate their admiration by imitation, they inevitably fall into the trap of "cherry picking" the things they actually want to copy and ignoring other (often more relevant) aspects. For instance, an American wishing to be "British" will drink tea but they won't throw away their coffee machine (see? I don't even know what they are called) and start drinking Nescafé instant, will they? If someone really wanted to be British they would stop caring about the quality of their coffee. American wannabes often have "favourite" British TV shows "Oh I LOVE Top Gear!!11" but how many of them are willing to watch a whole episode of "One Man And His Dog"? I thought not. And how many "OMG I'm so British!" type Americans are willing to sit cheerfully through a vile meal in a restaurant? And if they didn't want to do that, how many of them would at least be authentic enough to start any complaint with an apology? (Example: "I'm really sorry to bother you but there is a lump of melted plastic on my steak").
I love America and I love my American friends but I would never insult them by trying to ACT like them. Part of the appeal for me is that we are different. I like the fact that I can sit stoically silent, whilst they are whooping and punching the air about some little thing. I'm not about to start flossing and changing my user icon to the Stars And Stripes, just because I visited Seattle once. Imagine how my flist would react if my entries appeared without the right number of vowels and I kept banging on about baseball and how I liked HUNDREDS of different flavors of ice-cream (instead of the "normal" choice of about three)? They would think I had gone mad.
In summary, if you are an American who likes the UK and all things British, CALM DOWN. Seriously, take a few deep breaths, take a few photos of Nelson's Column, enjoy your British TV shows and films...But forget trying to BE British. Have pride in your own country and the "special relationship" it has with mine. Stop embarrassing yourselves and let's see if we can't redress the admiration balance a bit, in favour of America.