Brits Abroad..raw deal ?

[Michael_W]

Are the British targeted when abroad, have we become fair game because we have traditionally bred loud drunks and thugs, or do our nationals become victims pro rata to the numbers that travel abroad ?

I dont see any media or political outrage at many incidents that occur, particularly to our young people when they are murdered, raped or assaulted abroad, the British tourist industry is big business and a big source of revenue to other economies, are we getting a raw deal, do we get what we deserve, do our hosts think it's OK to give our nationals grief when we are in their countries ?

Should we be boycotting places our kids go to for their holidays ?

[Mecky]

Are the British targeted when abroad, have we become fair game because we have traditionally bred loud drunks and thugs, or do our nationals become victims pro rata to the numbers that travel abroad ?

I dont see any media or political outrage at many incidents that occur, particularly to our young people when they are murdered, raped or assaulted abroad, the British tourist industry is big business and a big source of revenue to other economies, are we getting a raw deal, do we get what we deserve, do our hosts think it's OK to give our nationals grief when we are in their countries ?

Should we be boycotting places our kids go to for their holidays ?

 

Maybe it's time to look at home before looking abroad.

[upinwath]

Depends where you go.

In Thailand the Brits are seen as ladyboy and bar fodder. (Fair chance it's the same in Bali). In Java, nothing like that at all.

[mj.scuba]

Are the British targeted when abroad, have we become fair game because we have traditionally bred loud drunks and thugs, or do our nationals become victims pro rata to the numbers that travel abroad ?

I dont see any media or political outrage at many incidents that occur, particularly to our young people when they are murdered, raped or assaulted abroad, the British tourist industry is big business and a big source of revenue to other economies, are we getting a raw deal, do we get what we deserve, do our hosts think it's OK to give our nationals grief when we are in their countries ?

Should we be boycotting places our kids go to for their holidays ?

 

We do have a problem with young people going abroad and going on binge drinking sessions, it's a bad idea in your home town, let alone somewhere unfamiliar and where locals and/or local police may be hostile or less forgiving to such behaviour.

 

Nothing traditional about it though, millions more Brits go abroad and don't just go to get drunk.

 

**** happens though and it can happen anywhere, unfortunately when it does happen abroad their police and justice processes are not usually on par with British standards.

[peewee84]

Being a British (Sheffield) expat living in Spain, I have to admit you can spot the British from a mile off. Not that they are all lager louts but generally get a group of British men or women together and they do tend to attract a lot of (bad) attention. It's the same old story that a lot of British people have no respect for their host countries whilst abroad as it's "their holiday" which they think gives them the green light to act however they please and the norms of a civilised society that they would follow in their own country (or maybe not) go out of the window. This can create a lot of resentment towards them from natives, and understandably so.

 

However...

 

It does sometimes annoy me that we are all tarred with the same brush and the often hostile treatment we receive, locals thinking we're always making trouble anyway so we're fair game to have a pop at. I have a few male friends who have been jumped in the street by groups of young Spanish yobs for no reason at all, usually when they are alone, only for the Police to laugh at them and give them a little kicking of their own when called.

 

At the end of the day, WE PAY THEIR WAGES and if it wasn't for tourism, much of it British tourism, most of them would be out of a job. They seem to forget this when we are given bad service by rude waiters, or jumped on by youths, or laughed at by racist police, or complained about by locals...

[alchresearch]

I think its like Americans going abroad and pretending to be Canadian. The Brits will forever have a stigma attached to them.

 

Peewee: Yes, we might pay "their" wages, but that doesn't give the Brits the right to act like r soles does it?

[peewee84]

Peewee: Yes, we might pay "their" wages, but that doesn't give the Brits the right to act like r soles does it?

 

No it doesn't, which is what I explained in the first paragraph of my post..

 

But it works both ways.

[Michael_W]

Being a British (Sheffield) expat living in Spain, I have to admit you can spot the British from a mile off. Not that they are all lager louts but generally get a group of British men or women together and they do tend to attract a lot of (bad) attention. It's the same old story that a lot of British people have no respect for their host countries whilst abroad as it's "their holiday" which they think gives them the green light to act however they please and the norms of a civilised society that they would follow in their own country (or maybe not) go out of the window. This can create a lot of resentment towards them from natives, and understandably so.

 

However...

 

It does sometimes annoy me that we are all tarred with the same brush and the often hostile treatment we receive, locals thinking we're always making trouble anyway so we're fair game to have a pop at. I have a few male friends who have been jumped in the street by groups of young Spanish yobs for no reason at all, usually when they are alone, only for the Police to laugh at them and give them a little kicking of their own when called.

 

At the end of the day, WE PAY THEIR WAGES and if it wasn't for tourism, much of it British tourism, most of them would be out of a job. They seem to forget this when we are given bad service by rude waiters, or jumped on by youths, or laughed at by racist police, or complained about by locals...

 

This is the feeling I sense peewee, there is a resentment and some tarring with the same brush, an 'if they are British they deserve it' mentality. Our own media has fed these feelings too, we let our teenage sons and daughters holiday in these countries and they are 'out of control' according to the media, but is it just the Brits ?

I have seen first hand, the resentment towards the British abroad and the eagerness of some of the locals and the police to deal with the Brits harshly and sometimes unfairly. Our politicians never voice any concerns, partly I believe because it seems acceptable to blame the loud, drunken behaviour of British tourists for any trouble, the same goes for England football fans, yet our European counterparts are so much worse these days !

The recent murder of a British teenager in Zante, causes and reasons apart, make me think that some local people are too willing to overeact in situations that involve Brits, as if they are 'fair game', the attitude is that they are drunks and notorious for causing bother, so it's OK to 'let em ave it'. There have been other incidents on that island that would make me put young people off travelling there, particularly if they were my sons or daughters, is it time our politicians spoke out, or is it acceptable because 'these things happen' ?

[Mecky]

I think its like Americans going abroad and pretending to be Canadian. The Brits will forever have a stigma attached to them.

 

Peewee: Yes, we might pay "their" wages, but that doesn't give the Brits the right to act like r soles does it?

 

That's because they hate us as do the French and Germans and they always will. Mind you, the British don't do themselves any favours and personally I don't think they act any different abroad than they do in the UK.

[gnvqsos]

That's because they hate us as do the French and Germans and they always will. Mind you, the British don't do themselves any favours and personally I don't think they act any different abroad than they do in the UK.

 

The trouble with the Brits is that they generalise and make sweeping statements about other nations,and forget that many(foreign) people are very capable and can treat others as individuals and not be prejudiced.