Do you think people in this country generally get on well with each other?

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Constant_Pace5589@reddit

The less time I spend online, the more I have hope. People in the UK still have a kind of inherent friendliness I think. But online - social media - including Reddit lately - is just an insanely toxic place. Politics and the polarisation of politics is seeping into everything, and the line that used to exist between online and 'real life' is blurred to the point it's almost gone. I think the UK hasn't quite got as unhinged as the US yet. Americans have always been a bit more ... intense than us. It's simultaneously the worst thing and the best thing about them.

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markstre@reddit

Outside in the real world, most of the time (and Most is important here) people are alright. You chat in a pub about anything and everything. People are good, but for whatever reason online people’s demons are unleashed, like a toxic extractor fan. Now you could say but that’s the real them online, but really is it? Are we to judge every single person by their most extreme action. Rather than the entirety of their being? For me there is a cultural insanity there, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it feels very wrong. It’s like analogue v digital. And the real world is analogue where their is a haziness to things, a noise, no sharp edges, no definitive right or wrong, grey areas, nuance and digital is all yes or no, right or wrong, good or bad. It’s almost as if the digital nature of the web has imbued the removal of nuance.

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Various-Baker7047@reddit

Correct correct correct. It's unfortunate that a huge percentage of the population live online. Therefore what they read I'd true. Go outdoors for goodness sake. It's much nicer.

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Honk_Konk@reddit

In general yes people are cordial and polite, civil at minimum. That is pretty typical of the UK. The contrast between urbanised areas and rural areas is pretty stark - rural communities are still a high trust society and people there are more likely to take time out if their day to talk to you. However, the UK is a pressure cooker on very high pressure. I fear an inciddnt like what happened in Utah to Charlie Kirk or any sort of unprovoked violence will kickoff something larger. You can feel the frustration and anger when you speak to people about life etc. Cost of living, concerns of safety, free speech issues, radicalism the list goes on.

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Lower_Figure613@reddit

I don’t think crime is particularly worse but the way it’s reported, camera footage has changed perceptions. Couple that with spiralling costs. And you are right to say high pressure. The way migrants have been made a big issue is telling. I also feel govts have stopped having long term strategic plans (whether we agreed with them or not), and now it’s steering the ship to win next elections and it could mean a million u turns

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SimoneNonvelodico@reddit

I mean, obviously crime is worse in cities than the country side, that is just something that has been true since the first city was built.

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Lower_Figure613@reddit

I meant now v say 30 years ago

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frugaltrolleyman@reddit

Mostly, but I must say....there are too many c*nts for my liking

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MathematicianOnly688@reddit

I can't speak for everywhere else but where I live is still very friendly and welcoming to all.

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skynet345@reddit

I think it’s not too different from the US Bear in mind I live in the US. What you read in the news is very different from how average Americans live and interact Yes there is polarization and division but it’s not unusually different from what’s happening in Europe either

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-Londoneer-@reddit

Yes I do as 'people in this country' is different to 'people on the internet'. People are quite insane, but we can usually be civil if they are.

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Aware-Goat-2538@reddit

No. Maybe a few years ago but that’s long gone now

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KoorbB@reddit

Yea I think they do, although as we build towards 2029, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see political violence here, and perhaps aimed at political figures on the right. Somethings building. You hear it when you talk to people. They are fed up.

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nolinearbanana@reddit

Yes - although the same was true of the USA not so many years back. Online mostly you see only the extremes in politics. But most people here don't prioritise what another person's political or religious beliefs are in their interactions with them. If someone demonstrates they're a dick, that's a different matter, but mostly we don't feel the need to shout about stuff. That's slowly going to change because fundamentally we're the same human beings that inhabit the USA. Eventually the polarisation is going to extend through society and lead to increased violence. We have groups who are openly building up hate momentum such as GBNews. Right now, the dicks are in the minority out there. Enjoy it while it lasts.

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Few-Chipmunk-5957@reddit

I agree with this for sure. Currently, the majority of UK citizens don’t give a rats but the tide is turning. My mum who’s always been centre left or even middle after watching what happened to Charlie Kirk last night seemed to radicalise very quickly. I honestly believe that over time something disastrous will happen and every country is in too deep to stop it now.

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NorthernSoul1998@reddit

So basically your Mum was never actually centre left at all and was always right wing

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Few-Chipmunk-5957@reddit

No she just doesn’t agree with murdering people over words. Radical situations can change people’s views, some people head left and some right.

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Machanidas@reddit

Funny how right wingers murdering people doesn't push those people left but the idea that someone on the left killed a right winger is enough to push them into the right wing.

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iminthemoodforlug@reddit

100% They haven’t found the shooter yet so she’s radicalizing against the left based on…? Assumptions. Not even well-founded assumptions. Honestly.

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AnotherSalamander@reddit

Going to be interesting when the shooter identity is revealed tomorrow / later today. The CK assassination (and how people are responding) is waking a lot of people up, and comments like “well your mum was always right wing then” to someone not loving the fact a father of two was brutally cut down for the sin of talking demonstrate exactly why the left is collapsing from the inside.

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nolinearbanana@reddit

Radicalise in what way? I mean how did she even know who Charlie Kirk was?

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Few-Chipmunk-5957@reddit

I have a younger brother always banging on about him. Radicalised in the sense of she now doesn’t trust the side she thought was “good” when realistically the left and right are both as scummy as each other.

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WeekendWithoutMakeUp@reddit

Until recently I truly thought we were different, when you look at everything America has done post WWII it seems as though the current situation was inevitable. And I thought America in 2025 would serve as an example as to what not to do, that we'd see how truly awful the division is. But alas, no, we're absolutely speed running towards it now and noone seems to be doing a lick about it.

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nolinearbanana@reddit

I think it's easy to become complacent. Most people haven't really thought enough about history to understand that whenever shit like this has happened before it's not because an entire population has suddenly turned evil. It's unfortunately in our nature to be tribal and given the right circumstances and the right agitators, it all becomes sadly inevitable.

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springheeledjack69@reddit

Compared to Latin America or California? Brits are colder. Compared to Germany/Scandinavia? Brits are 100x friendlier.

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27106_4life@reddit

Honestly, in London no. I feel like everyone is just out for themselves, and it's really brought me down. It feels like everything is just a scam now

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zephyrthewonderdog@reddit

Most people are moderate in their beliefs whether political or otherwise. Only the ones who feel deeply about something are shouting about it online or in public. This gives a false perspective of the majority. Most people just want to go to work, make money and spend some time with their friends and family. Those people aren’t actively pushing an agenda online or elsewhere. I worked in a staff room with a variety of people from different religions and political backgrounds. I had quite a few interesting conversations with people. Always interesting to hear someone else’s perspective. There is always a sliver of truth in most people’s opinions - even if you disagree with the rest of it. Never considered shooting anyone because of what they said. The same as 99.9% of people in the UK.

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Nice-Community-1716@reddit

I think people are very different online. People I know can be nice in person but spew tommy robinson bs on my twitter

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Comfortable_Stop_791@reddit

No. People are feral where I'm at (midlands). Always fights, arguments and general misery. I had some ugly old bint complain about me to my boss, guess that's what I get for trying to help someone read a fucking price label of all things.

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Jadee789@reddit

I dont know, id like to think that. I do feel the world is changing though mainly due to bot spammed content manipulating people online and it scares me, even my own mother who has me (a mixed child), seems to have weird racist opinions now. Which is weird because she always raised me not to judge people by the colour of their skin. I feel disheartened by the world right now, but i think its best mentally to disengage and take it day by day, as living in fear is no good for anyone either.

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ElusiveCrab@reddit

People like me are in almost daily headlines and being attacked in the media from all angles. My actual day to day life i dont have any issues but i do worry how long thats going to last

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Material_Tiny@reddit

We get on together, most people understand that and get on with thier lives. Some don't, it's the same everywhere in the world.

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themcsame@reddit

I mean... Define 'get on well' I'd agree most people have the capability. But at the same time, I wouldn't call everyone on the bus mingling their own business "getting on well", merely tolerating each other's existence if anything. I suppose it varies a bit around the country though.

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Thesleepingpillow123@reddit

I’d say in general we are a lot more chill especially politically compared to America. Like we are a lot less divided based on political beliefs and I think your average Brit is fairly accepting and just wants to go about their day. Some people are crappy here but that’s everywhere.

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mcnoodles1@reddit

100%. All this nonsense is just people who can't handle the power of the internet. "We've had enough" they say but they mean "We've had enough of things we've seen on the internet" Anecdotes and singular instances just get ramped up to tell a story that's not true. Reforms polling is way overstated, I'd say by at least 10%. Honestly the world is pretty ok apart from the fact houses are too expensive. If everyone's rent or mortgage was halved we'd all be loaded. The internet for all its glory is really really dangerous when paired with advertising, click bait and algorithms. My mates fell right down the hole of internet culture wars, country is finished apparently. Tell the people in the early 1900s to the 1980s that all your problems can go away if you just press a button on the side of your phone and set it to mute, they'd swap positions in a minute.

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Krakshotz@reddit

Depends by how you define “get on with one another” Vast majority of people are still civil

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Philster07@reddit

I'd say we do compared to other parts of the world at the moment. Although I am concerned about the trajectory the western world in particular is on.

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EUskeptik@reddit

Friendship within a social class can be strong, as can friendship between people of one creed. But the classes don’t generally mix with each other, and neither do the various religions.

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Internet-Superhero@reddit

If we had access to guns , everyone in the UK would have shot each other to death out of hatred and depression.

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Relative_Sea3386@reddit

We are very polite. But also snarly and judgey behind the well-mannered veneer.

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Lower_Figure613@reddit

Hate that person or colleague is polite and friendly. You think supportive then your senior manager mentions this guy is most definitely on your side.

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Nearby_Impact6708@reddit

Yeah I do. Not online necessarily but in my day to day interactions people mostly seem the same as ever. In fact, it's very rare for me to see people being rude, it stands out because it's not the norm. I interact with a lot of people in my day to day life, both strangers and people I see regularly. Conflict is not the norm, in fact it's incredibly uncommon. Of course I'm just one person and my experience isn't going to be representative. I'm sure there are people that are surrounded by conflict in their day to day lives in the UK at the moment in fact I know there are.

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poeticwhisper69@reddit

I think it's getting worse due to the media. Back in the day, journalists would report on events that actually happened. These days, "journalists" create non-existant culture wars because they know it will generate clicks/profit (see cars v bikes as an example).

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thegreyman1986@reddit

In general yeah. Traditionally speaking we tend to be more level headed than the Yanks, although I must admit I do fear with the apparent rise of Reform and the aggressive fear mongering of anything different and sewing the seeds of division like they have, that we may be heading towards that route

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BikePersonal@reddit

Tensions are definitely rising and if the government doesn't get it under control things will start to escalate.We could soon see the troops on the streets

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Significant-Leek8483@reddit

Yes, no doubt. Much civilized society than the US.

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Weird-Statistician@reddit

Vast majority do. There is an underclass of nobheads (and an overclass, if that's a word). Most people in the middle seem to be OK

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NewInitiative9498@reddit

American here, at this moment staying the night in an air bnb near Gatwick airport for my flight back tomorrow…the lovely couple that is hosting us asked us about yesterday’s events back home…myself and my adult daughter aged 32 told them that with how drastically things have changed for us personally in the last 6 years or so, we don’t discuss politics with anyone when we are in the US…we are afraid of not being on the “right side” of whatever issues are being discussed and thereby incurring the wrath of whatever crazy person may decide to take their anger out on us. Sad that people can’t have healthy debates anymore…I used to feel that Americans were pretty cordial to one another but that feels like a distant memory at this point, it’s all or nothing in America now 🫣

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Fun_Yogurtcloset1012@reddit

Definitely much better than the USA. I haven't seen people fighting if they have different political beliefs.

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Conscious_Page1934@reddit

I like to think if we ever got to a political assassination on yesterday's level we would be appalled by the state of the nation rather than finding someone to blame.

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AskUK-ModTeam@reddit

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fluffy_butt_bee@reddit

Just asking was it political because he wasn’t in government?

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Proper_Panic4392@reddit

It was definitely political. He is a trump backed influencer/grifter whose purpose was to drum up support from angry young conservatives

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Jojobelle@reddit

Or just to go on college campuses and have debates. The debates trigger the left enough to assassinate him and then collectively cheer

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Proper_Panic4392@reddit

what are you talking about ?

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Ok-Switch242@reddit

I think it would be a fair assumption until proven otherwise to say it was political considering the victim / context.

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Conscious_Page1934@reddit

also everything in the US is politically charged. far far too politically charged.

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Sszaj@reddit

Like David Amess, or Jo Cox?

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seriousrikk@reddit

There is a naive optimist in me that would hope that such an act in the UK would help unite and galvanise a nation in this way. But honestly I think the political divide has already gown too much. If a key left wing or right wing person was assassinated I would fully expect crowing and glee from the other wing. Such is the sad reality of things right now.

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idontlikemondays321@reddit

Yes I think we do. I think a big part of it is that we are generally either not religious or religious but with the ability to critically think and not take everything literally. In the US, there are many religious types who are completely brainwashed to the point they apply a Jesus and the Devil mentality to everyday people. Obviously that sounds deranged to us but I believe that’s the root of it.

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Few-Chipmunk-5957@reddit

If we didn’t have religion something far worse would take its place anyway. Although it causes a lot of problems throughout the ages it’s needed.

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Street_Inflation_124@reddit

And if we do have massive disagreements… There’s rarely guns to hand.

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NikeWentWoke@reddit

Well fundamentally we have a different culture for a start. But most people in the UK live in microcosmic fish bowls of people similar to them. It's only when these microcosms bump into each other do we see friction. The left/right division is alive and well here, but respecting the rules about politics here I can't really expand on this.

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English-Breakfast@reddit

Generally, yes. Specifically in reference to the sort of situation you're talking about - there will always be a minority on any side who would show ugly behaviour, but I do believe in this country the majority wouldn't go there. Compared to the division we see in the US, we're in a much better place. We should be grateful for that, guard it, and avoid falling into the traps that would drag us there (in particular social media and carrying over American discourse into ours). I don't want to live in that sort of ultra politically polarised society and neither do most people. Even many of those who do agitate for the same rhetoric here, if they succeeded, would one day end up looking back and recognise the damage they've done.

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Mr_Ham_Man80@reddit

I'd say for about 70% of us it's broadly true that we do generally get on well. In fact the number is probably a lot higher than that in terms of the basics of going about our lives. Most people will let each other be in terms of the day to day.

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FudgingEgo@reddit

Politics are not at the forefront of everything here. You're more likely to have violence over two football teams playing than something a politician says.

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LondonMighty356@reddit

Yes. I do canvassing for a political party (I won’t say which, as it doesn’t really matter) and knocked on hundreds of doors, possibly thousands, over the past 15 or so years. Done council estates and mansions.. You soon realise that 98% of people are thoroughly decent on the doorstep. Plenty will tell you to politely go away, but will do so with a smile. Thankfully, not at all like social media which can be so nasty I’m perhaps generalising, but most are just trying to get on with life - they want a decent school for their kids, a roof over their heads and want / keep their jobs. They care about the community in which they live and notice litter and notice the number of closed shops on the high street. They are generally happy for politicians to run things for them, but they must be competent and not totally crash the economy. The 5% - well, they can be a nightmare. I’ve been heckled in the street, told to just f-off maybe 5 time..which can be shocking when you hear it from a “lady” who may have been over 80. A man’s home is definitely his castle and occasionally you can have a dog set on you…But these are exceptions. Most people are awesome, and often witty..

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Major-Librarian1745@reddit

ASD answering from the outside looking in: We do but it's on the basis of absurdism. Taking the piss, saying things we don't mean whilst meaning things we don't say. Americans have their guns to keep everyone well behaved and polite (sort of) - we have Python (Monty) et al. They aspire to be like movie characters, we aspire to be like panel show contestants. We have the same vulnerability in that important things are difficult to talk about without violating an unwritten social contract, but here at least we're more figuratively than literally snipey. So: sort of. Mostly.

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Equivalent_Ask_1416@reddit

I think there are lovely people, apathetic people, nasty people and all sorts out there. I think our culture creates all sorts of divisions that make people turn against each other, but of course our inaction causes the calamity.

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scorpiomover@reddit

Yes. But tensions are increasing. Globalisation means that what affects one country, will normally be cancelled by the effects of the other countries. But where it stays, then those effects will equally spread to the rest of the world. So what happens in America either gets snuffed out or it spreads to more and more countries.

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Linkbetweentwirls@reddit

I just don't think political sides are in the fore front of conversations here in the UK compared to the US, I personally never seen have anyone be unwelcoming or racist in real life, I do see it often on facebook.... UK definitely feels like a cooking pot reaching a dangerous point, though I guess we don't have readily avaliable firearms which is another conversation with the US

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cosmic_monsters_inc@reddit

What's that thing? Short answer yes with an if, long answer no with a but.

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Pembleton8@reddit

Na but we don’t have easy access to guns

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coffeewalnut08@reddit

I’d hope so. I’m an immigrant and have had no issues so far, though I feel more tense than I used to.

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TickTackTonia@reddit

I'd say in general, this country is fairly welcoming. People tend to be very accepting of different nationalities and cultures. But... as soon as ONE thing occurs that the general population don't agree with (for instance, migrant hotels and the influx of illegals coming here on boats), all hell breaks loose and.that's when everyone suffers - including those who were born here but face doesn't quite fit anymore. And let's be honest, it's always the same 'type' of people that go around causing the issues when this happens.

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Plenty_Suspect_3446@reddit

Yes I think so, or at least in my experience that has been the case.

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darcy-1973@reddit

No… I think there’s a massive divide between left and right. We have created a monster.

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Honk_Konk@reddit

For sure politics have become more divisive. We must keep dialogue open and fair or I really fear what's to come.

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CrossCityLine@reddit

Please remember to abide by our no politics rule. People breaking this will have their comments removed and risk a ban.

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Mammoth-Squirrel2931@reddit

Keep in mind, for all the online discourse, that for all of the hotel asylum 'protests' on their peak day last month, the numbers amounted to around 700 total across the country

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THE-HOARE@reddit

Yes currently I think we do but I do think I’m starting to see a slide to the division via political parties a bit like the Americans it’s by no means close to that at all however I do think I could rather easily go that way. As much as I hate to say that.

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