[Clive]
The scholar Marcus Cunliffe had this story to tell about veteran humorist Art Buchwald:
In August 1957 he placed the following advertisement in the London Times personal column: "Would like to hear from people who dislike Americans and their reasons why. Please write Box R 543."
The next week brought him over a hundred replies. Most came from British citizens, although one annoyed American woman wrote: "Obviously you have some grudge against Americans… If you are one of these half-baked Englishmen, then your grudge is most probably that the Americans get along better with the English girls and you are left with the leftovers. So much for your stupid advert, you squirming little Englishman." …Other letters dwelt upon American insularity, naivete and chauvinism of the "how-much-is-that-in-real-money?" variety…
Summing up this range of responses, Buchwald concluded that:
"If Americans would stop spending money, talking loudly in public places, telling the British who won the war, adopt a pro-colonial policy, back future expeditions to Suez, stop taking oil out of the Middle East, stop chewing gum,… move their air bases out of England, settle the desegregation problem in the South, … put the American woman in her proper place, and not export Rock ‘n’ Roll, and speak correct English, the tension between the two countries might ease and the British and the Americans would like each other again."
The Dish 