An American woman living in the UK has sparked a wave of hilarious reactions online after questioning why Britons appear incapable of responding ‘extremely’ to major events.
Melissa Mendez, a Florida native now based in London, shared her thoughts in a TikTok video as part of her popular series: ‘Culture shocks I’ve had in the UK as an American.’
The video, uploaded on November 13 to her account @melissasmanual, has since amassed over 100,000 views.
In the clip, Mendez humorously highlighted the cultural difference in emotional responses to shocking or groundbreaking news between Brits and people in other countries.
The content creator said: ‘Tell me why every time there is this huge event, like something out of the ordinary happens, people from other countries would have an extreme reaction.’
‘I don’t know, a plane crashes and people would be appalled – give that news to a British person, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, that’s quite unfortunate.’
Mendez described Britons as having ‘very passive, very mindful and very demure,’ reactions, further noting that what might seem understated to outsiders is, in fact, their version of an ‘extreme reaction.’
The only exception, she joked, is British football, where emotional responses are taken to a whole new level.
Melissa Mendez recently sparked a wave of hilarious reactions online after questioning why Britons appear incapable of responding ‘extremely’ to major events
Mendez quipped: ‘Watching British people watch their football team play is a sport in itself.’
The content creator’s observations sparked an outpouring of responses from over 1000 British viewers who poked fun at their own cultural quirks – showcasing the very sense of humour and trademark wit Mendez had referenced.
One commenter remarked: ‘We ain’t got time for emotions it gets in the way of making up jokes about the events lol.’
Another added: ‘Usually it’s dark humour that we use to cope with certain events. I don’t know why, just how we are.’
Others hilariously referenced quintessentially British habits, with one viewer writing, ‘Our extreme reaction is putting the kettle on – that’s custom for bad news,’ as a second quipped, ‘Screwing up a cup of tea would cause an extreme reaction.’
A third commenter humorously recounted: ‘I was in Greggs once and they ran out of sausage rolls. I saw some very extreme reactions that day.’
A fourth joked: ‘We save up our real sock and emotional outrage for the important issues, like que jumping or freddo inflation.’
Agreeing, another said: ‘This is so accurate. My extreme reactions are saved for only the most minor of inconveniences. Something massive? My response is ‘oh no, that’s terrible.”
In the clip, Mendez humorously highlighted the cultural difference in emotional responses to shocking or groundbreaking news between Brits and people in other countries
Mendez’s observations sparked an outpouring of responses from over 1000 British viewers who poked fun at their own cultural quirks
Suggesting that Brits’ stoic demeanor can be seen as practical, another wrote: ‘I think it preserves energy and keeps your mind clear to think of a solution. If you started crying, screaming and shouting you couldn’t get yourself out of the mess or help anyone else.’
It comes as travel blogger Kalyn Franke, who moved to the UK from Florida, claims that she feels more free in Britain than in the U.S.
In a video for her Girl Gone London YouTube channel that’s garnered over 160,000 views and 3,100 comments, she explains her reasons, which centre on healthcare, religion, public transport, jaywalking and annual leave.
She told MailOnline Travel that many Americans would be unaware of the differences between their country and Britain, ‘because our news can be very local and America-centric’.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is one of the most significant contributors towards Kalyn feeling freer in Britain than the U.S.
She says on the video: ‘It’s not just the fact that I can go to the doctor here and not pay anything or have surgery and not pay anything – it’s also to do with the fact that I’m self-employed.
