Most of ET asks, "what recession?"
Just wanted to say, it has been my experience as an American musician touring in the UK that this is true. I love it there. Its also fun to then be a fly on the wall when english guys are talking shit about Americans as they often do lol. I remember one time listening to one English guy say to another "American guys are so homophobic, they won't even kiss their friends on the cheek"
You nailed it!
Next time try this technique designed by yours truly in its entirety during my time in SE Asia. It has been copied by others since then but I am the originator.
Try t arrange a lunch session with several Brits - go 10-20 and try to be the only American there. Let the conversation get underway about usual stuff but sooner or later it will drop to America-bashing and/or American-bashing. This comes native to the Brits. Too much covert hostility.
So, here is what happened. I let them talk and iept encouraging them to keep expressing themselves about the sh*t they appear to know about Americans by giving them half acknowledgements .......... they were fired up and poured on the coal.
When they were done, approx 25 minutes later in the tirades, one of the leaders asked me directly, "don't you have anything to ay in the defense of your beloved Americans?"
My reply, "I surely do!" So he asked, "well spit it out, what is it?"
I said this:
Comparing the UK to the USA is akin to comparing a frog's p***y to the Panama Canal"
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dead silence.

There was thenceforth never a single attack from any of these loafers.
Instead, word had passed around thru' the Brit community to dig into my background and find out what makes me tick!!
But the English girls, now that's a whole other things - sweetness galore ............. look how Sammy takes care of her husband.
God, do I love these girls, so!!!!