#Quora next There are updates to this page that haven't been applied because you've entered text. Refresh this page to see updates. Hide this message. Quora ____________________ Login Sign Up Share Question TwitterFacebookGoogle+ Related Topics Continents Europe Western Europe United Kingdom Great Britain Do British people find it offensive when Americans joke about "celebrating independence from our British overlords" on July 4? This remark has triggered a few awkward stares from Britons in the last few days. So either it's not funny or somehow construed as insulting. Want Answers23 Comment1 Loading... 24 Answers HideAsk to Answer Robert Frost Robert Frost, engineer/instructor at NASAengineer/instructor at NASA 123 upvotes by Cahit Ozsoy, Quora User, Matt Richardson, (more)Loading... No, because in Brit school we learn the words "hyperbole" and "sarcasm". The colonial rebellion happened 240 years ago. None of the British people alive today were at all involved. Neither were our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents or anyone we've ever met. Why would we care the slightest about remarks that have nothing to do with us and are obviously in jest and are technically true? And when we watch your "Jersey Shore", "Fox News", "MSNBC", and "Honey BooBoo" we realize the good decision we made by leaving the colonies. Besides, it would be extremely hypocritical for us to be offended by that when we are laughing our arses off watching this: Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote123 Downvote Comments6+ Loading... More Answers Below. Related Questions * What do non-British people find charming about the British? * What do foreigners find most annoying about Britain and British people? * ★ What American social values do people find disconcerting, even offensive? Graeme Shimmin Graeme Shimmin, I am BritishI am British 25 upvotes by Quora User, Quora User, Quora User, (more)Loading... It's not offensive. It's also not even slightly funny. What is it that you think is funny about it? There's no punchline, no subversion of an initial idea, no play on words, nothing. That's probably what the stares were about. They were thinking, is that supposed to be a joke? Shit, what do we do now? Pretend to laugh? Most American's ideas of what the UK, and British people, are like are so wildly, utterly wrong that bemused embarrassment is the main response to attempts at humour based on what you imagine us to be like. Embed Quote Updated Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote25 Downvote Comments2 Loading... Richard Henry Richard Henry, Product Designer at QuoraProduct Designer at Quora 17 upvotes by Chelsea LaSalle, Jae Won Joh, Quora User, (more)Loading... I don't even find that remotely offensive. We're glad to be rid of you. lol jk No but seriously, I don't find that offensive. Maybe they feel alienated? I was in LA last year for July 4th and I had a great time. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote17 Downvote Comment Loading... Quora User Quora User, said something funny oncesaid something funny once 4 upvotes by Richard Henry, Alan Murray, Quora User, (more)Loading... No. A substantial proportion of the world's countries were part of the British Empire at some stage and we'd be taking a lot of offence if we were upset about every one of their independence celebrations. Relations with most former colonies are good. We even formed a club for them called the Commonwealth of Nations, a key purpose of which seems to be to preserve a group of nations for us to play cricket against. The blank stares are probably from people who never realised the US was one of our colonies in the first place. We're really not bothered. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote4 Downvote Comment1 Loading... Pete Griffiths Pete Griffiths, CEO Scrawl - petegrif.tumblr.com/CEO Scrawl - petegrif.tumblr.com/ 16 upvotes by Quora User, Quora User, Quora User, (more)Loading... Not at all. Many nations have made poor choices at points in their history. It would be ignorant prejudice to consider contemporary Americans to be in any sense responsible for the errors of their forefathers. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote16 Downvote Comments2+ Loading... Andy Lee Chaisiri Andy Lee Chaisiri, damn it feels good to be Americandamn it feels good to be American 13 upvotes by David Marland, Quora User, Terry Drinkwater, (more)Loading... No, British don't care about that 'cause they're the USA's reliable ally [main-qimg-af274fd4a3825c011fe46c0c5f1ebfad?convert_to_webp=true] get a room What the British have in common with Americans is that they're both disliked by continental Europeans that view them as fat warmongers with bad food. As much resentment Britain gets from Europeans, they alway have the USA as their reliable ally. This creates a lot of trust between the two governments. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote13 Downvote Comment1 Loading... Matt Langley Matt Langley, I live in it.I live in it. 20 upvotes by Quora User, Arif Budiman, Yishan Wong, (more)Loading... A bit, but only because your average brit was never anyone's overlord. Americans won their freedom from the British Crown and aristocracy. The average british person was twice as oppressed as anyone in the colonies which enjoyed much lower taxes and much more freedoms than in Britain itself (despite a democratic disadvantage in the colonies, although I think only the landed aristocracy could vote then, so it was the same for most people). It's not like you could work your way up and aspire to be King, Prime Minister, or city trader; Britain had (and still has) a very strict class system, and well over 99% of the population were condemned to toil in mines, fields, factories or in the street, no matter how hard they worked or how clever they were. If anything, an educated working class Brit should feel disappointed that the liberation stopped at the coast. It's taken 300 years for the British system to evolve towards a more meritocratic free market democratic system where everyone is created equal, and even now, politics, law, medicine, and finance are pretty much reserved for the middle classes, through cost of entry, and blatant nepotism (the old school tie system - basically the top jobs in these fields are reserved for people who went to Eton (i.e. a few hundred children a year at most), and the next tier is for West Minster School and other second tier establishments, the next tier to those privately educated at less exclusive schools (and with good money), and the rest go on merit). Even today, the 7% of the population who go to private schools (known as public schools in the UK, as opposed to state schools), occupy over 30% of political seats, 60% of journalist posts, 80% of senior banking roles,and 90% of legal roles, which leaves very few opportunities for people who are not in the top 7% of wealth distribution, no matter how hard they work and how qualified they are. Fees for private schools is in the same ball park as the average annual income in the UK. The other aspect of why the quote is offensive, is that it mocks the relative fortune of Britain compared to the US at a time when the US is at the top of it's influence and economic power, and the UK has had to accept it's status as a small country. It was a hard transition to accept, after being the worlds pre-eminent power and trader for hundreds of years, and people who remember that time probably feel the fall more than those of us who grew up after the 60s. And finally I would like to wish 'Gung Hay Fat Choy' to our new Chinese Overlords! Embed Quote Updated Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote20 Downvote Comments3+ Loading... Jon Trew Jon Trew, Prolific reader and an opinion... (more) Prolific reader and an opinionated know it all! 5 upvotes by Rupert Baines, Matt Langley, Anthony Sutcliffe, (more)Loading... I've often wondered why black Americans celebrate this date, after all if the US had remained as a British colony the forefathers and mothers of many black Americans would have been freed from slavery a generation earlier. Slavery was abolished in 1807 in Britain and in 1833 in British colonies while it continued until 1863 in the United States. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote5 Downvote Comments3+ Loading... Rupert Baines Rupert Baines, Thinking on next challenge. Wi... (more) Thinking on next challenge. Wireless, chips, comms, start-ups. 2 upvotes by Quora User and Quora User. 4th of July is my birthday so, personally, I think it extremely hospitable to have all these parties and fireworks just for ME!! More seriously, nope, not at all. Even in a country that thinks of history, 240 years is considered a long time ago, and with many more recent colonial divestments it is not something people think about. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote2 Downvote Comment Loading... Quora User Quora User 4 upvotes by Rupert Baines, Quora User, Quora User, (more)Loading... No, not at all. Some might think it amusing, some might find it irritating, though, to be asked if July 4th is a holiday in the UK. (It isn't). Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote4 Downvote Comments1+ Loading... Daniel Alexander Blue Daniel Alexander Blue, Private Security ContractorPrivate Security Contractor 1 upvote by Jessica Crees. No! I find it really amusing! For a start, it was so long before me that I don't particularly care about it. You don't find me gloating that we tagteamed you with the Canadians in 1812 and burned the White House down either. It's all so long ago! Also, it's so funny at how proud you are that you are independent of us, and yet how proud those of you who are descended from Brits are. All the eamericans I've met who have the slightest bit of British blood in them will never shut up about it, and how that means they're part british It's just so amusing! You are the number one group of tourists in our country, and you go completely crazy for the queen, the changing of the guards etc But I'm not offended about it at all! Nor am I offended at the Indians, Kenyans, Nigerians, people from Barbados or whoever else who has got independence from the UK! Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote1 Downvote Comment Loading... Sang Young Noh Sang Young Noh, PhD candidiate in Computationa... (more) PhD candidiate in Computational Chemistry. 3 upvotes by Rupert Baines, Alan Murray, and Robin Green. No. UK people just don't give a crap. Unless Americans specifically go out to mention it, they won't even know it was such a big deal. Most history lessons (at GCSE level, at least) usually revolves around: * The industrial revolution * WW2 * Tsarist Russia and the Russian revolution * Communist China and the Great Leap Forward. I might be missing things out here, but I've never known any one of my friends who studied the American revolution. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote3 Downvote Comment1 Loading... Alan Murray Alan Murray, Libertine, bon vivant, hedonis... (more) Libertine, bon vivant, hedonist, whose arsehole is a one-way passage! 2 upvotes by Miles Dolphin and Jessica Crees. Not at all. We used to say about the 'Yanks' during WWII that they were: 'Overpaid, over sexed and over here!' do you find that offensive? We have too many ties to take offence at 'family jokes' from the cousins Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote2 Downvote Comments3 Loading... Steve House Steve House, UK residentUK resident 2 upvotes by Joseph Boyle and Phil Darnowsky. We are probably just staring at you whilst we think about how things could have been if we'd taxed tobacco instead of tea. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote2 Downvote Comment Loading... John Freeman John Freeman 2 upvotes by Rupert Baines and Quora User. I have lived in the US for almost 70 years and have never heard anyone say that. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote2 Downvote Comment Loading... Jayesh Lalwani Jayesh Lalwani, Programmer, Dad, Gentleman...P... (more) Programmer, Dad, Gentleman...ProDaddaMan 1 upvote by Alan Murray. I know I'm simplifying this :- The British themselves are celebrating independence from their British overlords A lot of the British history over the past 70 years has been the quite dismantling of the old power structures to create a more egalitarian society. If you want a good representation of this, watch the Olympics opening ceremony. It's a good celebration of how England has changed. For the most part British do not get offended when Americans make fun of British colonialism is because they kind of agree with the Americans. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote1 Downvote Comment Loading... Daniel Bright Daniel Bright 6 upvotes by Matt Langley, Dave Shaw, Quora User, (more)Loading... None whatsoever. Best way to annoy a British person? Start a sentence with "In Europe do you..." or generally just calling a British person European. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote6 Downvote Comments2+ Loading... Simon Huggins Simon Huggins, Writer & Axiom KillerWriter & Axiom Killer Nah, why would we? America is just another in a long list of countries that we no longer 'own'. I mean, small change compared to India, right? It's kind of funny to see how Brits (and other nations) are reduced to a handful of stereotypes in the American media - you know, "the bumbling, eccentric librarian professor type" or "the sarcastic but ultimately stupid evil villain" etc. But then, Americans are often portrayed here as brash, self-involved bigots with little knowledge or interest in other parts of the world that aren't bombing them. I'm quite sure that's an over-simplification too. Anyway, I think we come off quite lightly compared to Canadians. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote0 Downvote Comment Loading... Dominic Wood Dominic Wood 2 upvotes by Rupert Baines and Jeremy Miles. No not in the slightest. most wouldn't even know we used to run the place or if they were aware then they would know we used to run vast swathes of the globe. It's all in the distant past. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote2 Downvote Comment Loading... Quora User Quora User, I'm a full-time resident and c... (more) I'm a full-time resident and citizen of the UK. 2 upvotes by Abhijith Chandrashekar and David Marland. Not really. If we did, we'd just revoke it ;) Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote2 Downvote Comment Loading... Bennett Dunn Bennett Dunn No I don't find it offensive. They're just joking :) Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote0 Downvote Comment Loading... Gail Odep Gail Odep, Pop Culture Extraordinaire.Pop Culture Extraordinaire. 1 upvote by Alan Murray. Ummmm...No. It happened 240 years ago. Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote1 Downvote Comment Loading... Robin Green Robin Green, BritBrit It has been my observation, as a Brit, that older people get offended, or maybe just feel vaguely threatened, by far more things, whereas if young people do feel that way, they tend not to show it as much. I don't know to what extent this is specific to our particular generations and to what extent it is a timeless phenomenon. Of course this is a big generalisation with lots of holes in it. I don't find this particular example at all offensive, but maybe that's coloured by the fact that I understand that "overlords" is a meme, and many older people don't (and don't even know what a meme is). Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote0 Downvote Comment Loading... David Marland David Marland, intermittent services as I am ... (more) intermittent services as I am in conflict with the devil No I don't find it offensive. Its just on independence day everyone's American on st.Pats day everyone's irish and on st Andrews day everyone's Scottish but if you celebrate Georges day your a racists Embed Quote Written Insert a dynamic date here. Upvote0 Downvote Comment Loading... More Write an answer Related Questions * ★ What do the British think of American football? * What do most British think of Americans? * Is American independence from Britain on 4 July 1776 really worthy of celebration? * Why do American people respect and idolize British culture so much? * ★ How do the British feel about the 4th of July? * How do the Chinese feel about British people? * What do Americans think about the way British people talk? Sign in to read all of Quora. Continue with GoogleConnected to Google Continue with FacebookConnected to Facebook By continuing you indicate that you have read and agree to the Terms of Service. Sign Up with Email [-6e797f99a0bd554c.gif] Loading account... 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