Mumsnet #7 Tinkly little laugh

[FrannyGallops]

Speaking of the French, why does everyone on Mumsnet speak fluent French? They all seem to absolutely loathe the UK too.

They do. They’re always going on about how much they hate the UK and how they want to emigrate or they’re applying for Irish passports and the UK isn’t much better than <insert second or third world country>, which is usually when someone from one of those countries comes along to say the UK is better or who do they they think they are talking about said country in such a manner. The people of MN are filled with utter self loathing and are absolute crashing snobs. They all think they’re incredibly well travelled as well because they once went camping in France or on an all inclusive to Egypt.

I didn’t vote for Brexit but I do find it amusing how every so often a thread pops up about how they’re still bitter about having ‘opportunities taken away from them’ like the Erasmus scheme (I’d never heard of it til MN) or having to pay import fees on expensive Venetian glass vases or some such. Those every day worries of ordinary people.

 

[Gym&Tonic]

Most universities seem to have found a way around Erasmus. The one near me seems to have loads of EU students still, mostly from Spain for some reason. I assume they have a partnership with a Spanish Uni.

 

[FrannyGallops]

Most universities seem to have found a way around Erasmus. The one near me seems to have loads of EU students still, mostly from Spain for some reason. I assume they have a partnership with a Spanish Uni.

Apparently it’s been replaced with a more global scheme in the UK. Whereas Erasmus was Europe based, the new Turing scheme involves students from all over the world and it’s focusing more on disadvantaged kids rather than privileged middle class kids, which is probably why MN moans about it. It won’t be such a class marker going forward.

 

[Gym&Tonic]

Apparently it’s been replaced with a more global scheme in the UK. Whereas Erasmus was Europe based, the new Turing scheme involves students from all over the world and it’s focusing more on disadvantaged kids rather than privileged middle class kids, which is probably why MN moans about it. It won’t be such a class marker going forward.

They are obsessed with class aren’t they? Proper upper middle class and aristo types would find that very vulgar.

 

[Sglodion]

Speaking of the French, why does everyone on Mumsnet speak fluent French? They all seem to absolutely loathe the UK too.

There hasn't been a good 'I hate the UK and want to move to [country] where life is perfect and everyone is happy all the time' thread in ages, which is too bad because I love them.

 

[MediumLoad]

They do. They’re always going on about how much they hate the UK and how they want to emigrate or they’re applying for Irish passports and the UK isn’t much better than <insert second or third world country>, which is usually when someone from one of those countries comes along to say the UK is better or who do they they think they are talking about said country in such a manner. The people of MN are filled with utter self loathing and are absolute crashing snobs. They all think they’re incredibly well travelled as well because they once went camping in France or on an all inclusive to Egypt.

I didn’t vote for Brexit but I do find it amusing how every so often a thread pops up about how they’re still bitter about having ‘opportunities taken away from them’ like the Erasmus scheme (I’d never heard of it til MN) or having to pay import fees on expensive Venetian glass vases or some such. Those every day worries of ordinary people.

The bit that amuses me about the diehard remainer types is the notion that somehow, on approaching French customs, it will be immediately obvious that they voted remain so will get preferential treatment. Nope, it's just the same type of "Don't they know who we are?" as the other side.

And I fully, agree, the EU was and still is pretty much used as a class identifier.

 

[Gym&Tonic]

The U.K. isn’t perfect but It’s not that bad. We are a far more tolerant society than some would have us believe. The racism in parts of Europe has to be seen to be believed and many of the countries treat disabled people like tit as well. France, where they all seem to holiday and are desperate to move to is one of the absolute worst for this. Hell you only to look at how close they’ve come to electing a far right President twice over the last decade to see that. I once started a thread over there saying I thought Paris was a tit hole and was almost lynched, but while maybe calling it a tit hole was probably a bit of an overreaction it is massively overrated IMO it’s not a patch on London or indeed Rome which is far more beautiful.

Ive always harboured a dream of moving to Spain and settling in somewhere like Fuengerola, but they’d almost certainly sneer at that

 

[Fledgling Psycho]

Yes sometime back there was a thread about British holiday makers always spoiling things. Someone called them British scum. I said you put any other nationality before that word and you know what you'd be called don't you. I just say my piece & leave the thread. All this negativity towards this country makes me cross. And those remainers who are still seething over Brexit, well I pity their families being around them.

 

[struggs123]

It's a very weird corner of the Internet, I read sometimes but have always been scared to get an account . My top observations:

* whenever the behaviour of any child is mentioned there will always be posters saying don't be cruel let them do what they want because they might have x, y or z.

* there is nothing more popcorn inducing than a breastfeeding thread as invariably always turns into bf vs ff; and the threads about being a SAHM always turn into a battle. As do weight loss threads.

* some posters will make absolutely any thread about themselves.

* there will always be a LTB or accusations of abuse or whatever else for any minor infringement a man might make.

* there's allegedly a high proportion of high earners on there aka a load of fantasists.

 

[Sglodion]

Speaking of emigrating, there's an AIBU thread at the moment where the OP is upset because she moved back from abroad two years ago so that her kids (a baby and a toddler at the time) could have a relationship with their extended family in the UK. Now she's only getting to see each set of parents/siblings, who live 20 minutes away, for a brief visit once every couple of months, because they're saying they're too busy to meet up more often, and feels hurt that they're not prioritising seeing more of her young children.

Regardless of whether you think the OP is expecting too much of her extended family, the vast majority of the replies are along the lines of her having 'swanned off abroad' and 'obviously not giving a tit about family relationships when you left', so basically if they don't care enough to meet up now it's her own fault. I think one of the replies literally said 'why should they care about you?' and the OP pointed out that 'why should your family care about you' is such a typical MN question

Anyway I just find this so weird. I'm moving abroad myself soon and would be devastated if I came back in a few years and my friends and family weren't interested in maintaining the relationship anymore because I'd 'abandoned' them (luckily this won't happen because they're normal). I'm not one of the UK bashers but I actually do think this is a really British attitude, especially among the Middle England types who seem to make up a lot of MN - basically that if you take an opportunity that goes against the norm somehow, like emigrating, then you deserve to be punished for it because it's a sign that 'you think you're better than us'.

There was loads of it during the pandemic too, people upset because they were stuck overseas and didn't know when they'd be able to see their family again, and others replying that 'you obviously can't have been that close anyway if you chose to move abroad'. It really upset me at the time because my dad wasn't able to visit his sister, who we thought then might not have long to live, because she still lives in their home country - should have thought of that 40 years ago when he met my British mum and moved a whole 90 minutes away by plane, I guess

Sorry for the huge rant, this has really got under my skin today for some reason.

 

[struggs123]

Speaking of emigrating, there's an AIBU thread at the moment where the OP is upset because she moved back from abroad two years ago so that her kids (a baby and a toddler at the time) could have a relationship with their extended family in the UK. Now she's only getting to see each set of parents/siblings, who live 20 minutes away, for a brief visit once every couple of months, because they're saying they're too busy to meet up more often, and feels hurt that they're not prioritising seeing more of her young children.

Regardless of whether you think the OP is expecting too much of her extended family, the vast majority of the replies are along the lines of her having 'swanned off abroad' and 'obviously not giving a tit about family relationships when you left', so basically if they don't care enough to meet up now it's her own fault. I think one of the replies literally said 'why should they care about you?' and the OP pointed out that 'why should your family care about you' is such a typical MN question

Anyway I just find this so weird. I'm moving abroad myself soon and would be devastated if I came back in a few years and my friends and family weren't interested in maintaining the relationship anymore because I'd 'abandoned' them (luckily this won't happen because they're normal). I'm not one of the UK bashers but I actually do think this is a really British attitude, especially among the Middle England types who seem to make up a lot of MN - basically that if you take an opportunity that goes against the norm somehow, like emigrating, then you deserve to be punished for it because it's a sign that 'you think you're better than us'.

There was loads of it during the pandemic too, people upset because they were stuck overseas and didn't know when they'd be able to see their family again, and others replying that 'you obviously can't have been that close anyway if you chose to move abroad'. It really upset me at the time because my dad wasn't able to visit his sister, who we thought then might not have long to live, because she still lives in their home country - should have thought of that 40 years ago when he met my British mum and moved a whole 90 minutes away by plane, I guess

Sorry for the huge rant, this has really got under my skin today for some reason.

If it makes you feel any better, thankfully the crap spouted on there isn't representative of most of the population! I think most people would be upset if family didn't seem to make any effort regardless of having moved away or not.

 

[bellinibobble]

If it makes you feel any better, thankfully the crap spouted on there isn't representative of most of the population! I think most people would be upset if family didn't seem to make any effort regardless of having moved away or not.

Agree! Some of the stuff said on there I have never come across in real life.. as an example, the argument that if you invite some people out for a meal for your birthday you should cover the entire bill. In all my 31 years I have never known this to occur and don’t get me started on the crap they spout about weddings..

 

[NN22]

It disappeared but there was a thread about a pregnant woman being disparaged for having half a glass of Prosecco at 30 odd weeks pregnant, one comment said they had no problem resisting alcohol during pregnancy - only having a few sips of their husbands wine here and there!!! I went to reply to say you clearly had a problem resisting then but the thread was gone

 

[Sglodion]

Agree! Some of the stuff said on there I have never come across in real life.. as an example, the argument that if you invite some people out for a meal for your birthday you should cover the entire bill. In all my 31 years I have never known this to occur and don’t get me started on the crap they spout about weddings..

Yeah I find this completely bizarre too! Is the idea that you should be compensating them for the hardship of enduring an evening with you, or what? (Actually with some MNers that might be quite reasonable.)

 

[Gym&Tonic]

More sneery bollocks right here.

 

[rivermonster]

The U.K. isn’t perfect but It’s not that bad. We are a far more tolerant society than some would have us believe. The racism in parts of Europe has to be seen to be believed and many of the countries treat disabled people like tit as well. France, where they all seem to holiday and are desperate to move to is one of the absolute worst for this. Hell you only to look at how close they’ve come to electing a far right President twice over the last decade to see that. I once started a thread over there saying I thought Paris was a tit hole and was almost lynched, but while maybe calling it a tit hole was probably a bit of an overreaction it is massively overrated IMO it’s not a patch on London or indeed Rome which is far more beautiful.

Ive always harboured a dream of moving to Spain and settling in somewhere like Fuengerola, but they’d almost certainly sneer at that

That coastal area around Fuengirola is a fabulous part of Spain to live. Do it.

 

[ATV2021]

More sneery bollocks right here.

Nowt wrong with the former Polytechnics my degree for my field is worth the exact same as the degree from other unis for the same job (specific degree I appreciate) but it means squat for many professions. Not on MN though obvs lol

 

[ChastityDingle]

It's a very weird corner of the Internet, I read sometimes but have always been scared to get an account . My top observations:

* whenever the behaviour of any child is mentioned there will always be posters saying don't be cruel let them do what they want because they might have x, y or z.

* there is nothing more popcorn inducing than a breastfeeding thread as invariably always turns into bf vs ff; and the threads about being a SAHM always turn into a battle. As do weight loss threads.

* some posters will make absolutely any thread about themselves.

* there will always be a LTB or accusations of abuse or whatever else for any minor infringement a man might make.

* there's allegedly a high proportion of high earners on there aka a load of fantasists.

Good summary.

Just want to add that it is chock full of trolls and the ones posting about their six figure salaries and DH's outing hobbies are making it up as they go along.

And let's not forget the dilemmas over what bra they should buy for their imaginary DD's enormous boobs, and what to do when her periods start.

 

[Sw4]

Everyone seems to diagnose themselves as ND.

 

[ChickenLicking]

It disappeared but there was a thread about a pregnant woman being disparaged for having half a glass of Prosecco at 30 odd weeks pregnant, one comment said they had no problem resisting alcohol during pregnancy - only having a few sips of their husbands wine here and there!!! I went to reply to say you clearly had a problem resisting then but the thread was gone

Has that one gone too? Shame.

Everyone seems to diagnose themselves as ND.

They do indeed. As a ND person myself, I often don't want to be, so unless they think that being 'high functioning' is a bonus then they're bloody ridiculous.