CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
English men, except for the ones who say "oi" and go over to mainland Europe and riot, have mastered the trappings of intelligence. They're all like freakin William F. Buckley over there, always leaning back and steepling their fingers and whatnot. And raising their eyebrows. Man, do they love to raise their eyebrows. Especially when talking to Americans. It's the kind of look that American men give when they're sitting in a meeting and they smell a fart. See, that's the level that American men operate on: food, shelter, sex and farting. Whereas your Englishman has evolved to the point where he's thinking about wearing mesh stockings and garter belts and practicing auto-erotic asphyxiation. I know that sounds like it would fall under the category of sex, but it doesn't. I don't know why, but it just doesn't.
Sparky Donatello
8 Comments
Reader Comments (8)
I'm afraid I had to Google William F. Buckley. I'm going to make a rubbish American. I recognized the name though! But that doesn't really count, does it?
Finger-steeplers should be put in stocks and rotten tomatoed. Unless they're going to open it up and say "here are the people", they deserve ripe ones in the puss.
I like how the American is all chin and the Englishman's is half-swallowed by his double chin.
I must confess I have steepled my fingers and raised my eyebrows at Americans. I think the last time I did it was when one told me that Sarah Palin was "fun"...
...a perfectly legitimate usage of these mannerisms. Here in Merka, we're polarized about such things. Half of us, the ones who have been sucked into believing that "elite" is a negative term, pump their fists in the air and shout "yeah!" The other half hold their heads in their hands and mutter "what the fuck??"
Pull chain, press on.
Keeping up appearances.
Some men are really out of it. And get paid to be so.
Oh, that Yank.
See, that's the level that American men operate on: food, shelter, sex and farting. Whereas your Englishman has evolved to the point where he's thinking about wearing mesh stockings and garter belts and practicing auto-erotic asphyxiation. I know that sounds like it would fall under the category of sex, but it doesn't. I don't know why, but it just doesn't.
I think I might know why it doesn't! One thing I've noticed with American dramas, thrillers, sitcoms and the like mostly made for TV, is that when there's some proper wierdo to be cast he invariably turns out to be a Brit. You can be American if yer a total fruitcake, cutting helpless victims up with a chainsaw and what not, but a smartly dressed whacko strangling old timers with his stocking garters and the like.. it's gotta be a Brit.
When they got to cast 'House' it must've been unanimous that House could only be played by a Brit, the character being a bit warped. Marlon Brando I think was the first American to cross that line, in Last Tango in Paris, or he knew his Mutiny on the Bounty accent wouldn't quite suit this romp in Paris.
Anyway it's Xtreme subliminal stereotyping or I'm sublimely wrong and barking up the wrong tree.
(btw I find mesh chafes the inner thighs something awful. Selfriges do a jolly good line in cotton fishnets it has to be said chortle chortle)
It seems that Americans are desperate for simple answers.