Who has better manners: Americans or British?

I say: British!
My British co-worker: Americans!

He can defend his own opinion. I’ll do my best. Would previous experience lend credence to my argument? I tend to get annoyed when people go on about why you should listen to them so sorry, it’s not happening. (Even though I have dear friends in London, Leamington Spa, Coventry and Sheffield. And I’ve interacted on a professional level with our UK brethren for roughly 5 years.) Alright, alright I couldn’t resist. The above shouldn’t matter. Keep in mind, I’m not advocating anyone over anyone else. I’m just telling you why I think the British have better manners.

Wow, Wikipedia. I like your definition best. Manners: In sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which show the actor to be cultured, polite, and refined. They are like laws in that they codify or set a standard for human behavior, but they are unlike laws in that there is no formal system for punishing transgressions. ((Unless I happen to be around in which case punishment comes in the form of me doing something harmless but inappropriate.))

Fellow Americans, when you’re unhappy about something (customer service, life, an ice cream flavor)what is your first instinct? Of course there are exceptions, but odds are you think it is someone else’s fault. That you were done wrong. (And sometimes this is absolutely correct.) We’ve all seen this go even further; perhaps in a very loud direction. Chances are if something similar happens to a Brit, they’ll wonder what they personally did wrong to make the transgression happen. And the resulting actions support this as such. That doesn’t mean you won’t get told off by a British person. It just means you will probably be told off in such a way that’s less obvious; polite even.

Traffic: In the US, I see pedestrians jaywalking and darting in and out of traffic multiple times daily, some narrowly escaping oncoming drivers. I have yet to see it happen in the UK. (Yes, of course it’s possible that’s because they don’t want to risk certain death.)

Greetings/Exchanging pleasantries: These vary much, even depending on where in the U.S. you are. Folks around the world seem to have similar canned expressions:

How are you? Howzit? Ca va? Wie geht’s? Annyong haseyo?

And similar replies:

Good. Good. Pas mal, merci. Danke, gut. Ne, jussumnida.

A recent favorite, compliments of a friend of British origin:

Same sh*t, different bucket.

Then, a comprehensive breakdown as to what constitutes that reply. (I don’t think it’s bad manners to curse. Sometimes it’s the best way to express what you want to convey.) I think good manners can also be giving a thoughtful response to a question. And in Rup’s case, it really applied.

Sarcasm: There is a difference between mean sarcasm and sarcasm for sarcasm’s sake. We’ve got a nice share of mean going on here. Read the news headlines. Listen to people. In Merry Olde, it seems it’s more us against them’ (them being the government, etc.) and less aimed on a personal level. Everyone makes catty comments, but as a wholethe British can stake a claim in sarcasm for sarcasm’s sake.

I can’t end it on that note. I love America. I love the UK. And it’s fun pointing out the differences.