The standard projection of a British person is, 'I'm a bit shit, me. Oh look, a bird has just crapped on my head.'
British social convention demands self-deprecation. It's a civilised approach that leads to a lot of communication problems with Americans, who think we really have low self-esteem and really believe we're rubbish.
Okay, I totally get confused by that. I keep going "Oh, you're not shit, really! You're wonderful! You just need confidence and shampoo!" And then I get terribly confused about when I'm looking at a genuine instance of low self-esteem and when they're just being British. Or at least English. Because I'm American, where the expectation is that self-deprecating humor be in small doses and blatantly a joke, and "I am awesome!" is a reasonable thing to say.
(Other thing I get confused about - which 'British' traits are British, and which are, in fact, specifically English.)
ETA:People come up to me all the time and say, 'I'm just like Mark'." At which point, presumably, Mitchell runs away from them, screaming.
HAVING ACTUALLY READ THE ARTICLE
British social convention demands self-deprecation. It's a civilised approach that leads to a lot of communication problems with Americans, who think we really have low self-esteem and really believe we're rubbish.
Okay, I totally get confused by that. I keep going "Oh, you're not shit, really! You're wonderful! You just need confidence and shampoo!" And then I get terribly confused about when I'm looking at a genuine instance of low self-esteem and when they're just being British. Or at least English. Because I'm American, where the expectation is that self-deprecating humor be in small doses and blatantly a joke, and "I am awesome!" is a reasonable thing to say.
(Other thing I get confused about - which 'British' traits are British, and which are, in fact, specifically English.)
ETA:People come up to me all the time and say, 'I'm just like Mark'." At which point, presumably, Mitchell runs away from them, screaming.
That did make me think of you.