The girlfriend of the footballer Andrey Arshavin has been reported as saying she hates London because it is dirty and the woman are scruffy. She might have a point about it being a bit on the grubby side, but who judges a place on how its people are dressed? Are you going to dismiss a place brimming with culture and history because its citizens haven't all had manicures?
If a British person went to another city and made similar comments, it would spark a diplomatic incident and within a few days, they would be apologising and back peddling.
But it is perfectly acceptable for people to insult London.
A lot of British people do it too. Every time I go back up north, someone will tell me that they don't know how I can live in London/they hate London/London is too crowded/London is too expensive. Its so rude.
Imagine their response if I replied by saying how much I hated the town where they lived. I'd probably be punched. But it is fine for everyone to insult the place where I live.
Yes, it is expensive, but so are all capital cities, and so is Newcastle if you only ever go out on the Quayside.
And the transport system isn't very good, but it is just a means to an end. We don't choose to live in London because of the tube, unless of course, you work for Transport for London.
2 comments:
If it's any consolation, I LOVE London. It is a fabulous city, top of my list. Grub, schmub.
I get fed up with that attitude too. So many people would be apoplectic (sp?) with rage if I slagged off their own home towns.
My family is split over this which is quite awkward sometimes. Me, my mum and dad all love London and live here, but my brother and so many of his friends spend ages insulting it when we see them, always extolling the virtues of Lewes (small town in Sussex)instead. SO rude, particularly as we all find Lewes a bit of a strange 'Wickerman' type of place, but we're far too polite to say anything as he's obviously so happy there.
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