Being an American in the UK, I suppose it is inevitable that the subject of politics is bound to come up in conversation. Until a few days ago though, I hadn't felt uncomfortable or embarrassed or hesitant to admit I was an American when asked. But, over this weekend I experienced a couple incidences of negative feelings towards Americans, or more specifically, our leader, which made me wish I was from some country that no one hates--like New Zealand or something.
Some Americans welcome a heated discussion on foreign policy, but I hate that topic so much, I'd rather sit in Chicago traffic for six hours. (So you see, I REALLY hate talking politics.) My dislike of talking about the topic probably stems from the fact that I don't know enough about the issues to have an educated opinion-- I don't want to open my mouth to contribute only to end up sounding like an idiot.
I overheard the first unpleasant comment during my writing seminar on Friday. I happened to sit down at a table with a few Japanese women, an Indian guy and an American guy (from Iowa, of all places). (I know this because our tutor made us all introduce ourselves, blah, blah, etc--you know those lame beginning-of-the-year formalities...) Toward the end of class when we were wrapping things up and getting ready to leave, the Indian guy made a comment about Americans taking everything they want first and leaving the rest for everyone else. I think he was in a conversation with the other American, so I didn't hear the context, or the retort (if there was one), but I still felt offended and hurt. I kept my mouth shut, of course, and left the room, but his comment bothered me for the rest of the day and is gnawing at me even now.
The other incidence occurred while I was with two American girls I have met here. They're both Master's students at the IoE also, so I see them occasionally during the week and have spent sometime with them outside of school too--they're very friendly and fun and down-to-earth. The three of us were at a Chinese restaurant with another friend (not American or British) this weekend and a couple of Londoners sitting at the table next to us must have heard our American accents and struck up a conversation with us. The normal small talk stuff at first...and then the natural progression to the topic of George Bush and the war in Iraq. GREAT! MY FAVORITE! I quickly discovered that my new friends hate George Bush with a passion and love to talk about it. So here I was in a group of Americans and Londoners all talking about the terrible things the President has done, how he's ruined the world, and on and on. Since the British also have issues with their own leader, they can at least sympathize with Americans. But I'd say, in general, George Bush is disliked a lot more than Tony Blair. I heard about a TV show, a mock documentary, broadcast on the BBC recently which depicted the assassination of George Bush. (I don't know if it will be shown in the US eventually or not, but if it is I guarantee it will receive a lot of media hype, so be warned.) Now, I am not George's number one fan by any means, but I don't hate the guy. He IS a person, for goodness sake-- show some respect at least for that. Plus, I don't really see how whining about things that have happened and griping about things we can't change helps anything. Just be patient for another couple of years. Then there will be someone else with a whole new set of problems to complain about! Yippee!
The one consolation I have found in all of this is that most foreigners I've encountered do realize that individual Americans aren't directly responsible for the actions of the ones who make the decisions in our country. As a whole, I feel welcomed and comfortable being here among such a diverse crowd. And since there are so many other interesting topics to discuss, hopefully politics won't come up again for a while.