I think people hate americans and america for many reasons and i think one of the biggest is because we are naive enough to keep asking why people hate us. For a country with so much wealth, power and progression it must amaze people how stupid and uneducated we are considering how much education we receive. I was never taught at school about how barbaric our history really is. Not only in this country with native americans, blacks, jews and the japanese but i suppose more frighteningly abroad. After 9/11 happened I did the same thing of being in complete shock and kept saying 'why do they hate us?'. But if you still haven't read enough about our history in panama, about the iran-contra scandal, about how we supported sadam hussain for so many years and actually gave him a subtle green light when he suggested he may attack kuwait. (in the sense that we said it wan't any of our concern.) About how we supported the shah of iran although he was not a democratic leader. Of how our CIA helped to topple the democratically elected Allende of chile, ironically also on september 11, but in 1973. (the year i was born.) I understand that america feels the need to protect itself from communism but that is hardly enough reason to impose this on other countries. The reason america has such a bad relatiopnship with fidel castro of cuba is because he wanted to reclaim cubas land for his own people. I also realise the economic relity this must have held for america but just imagine if some other country, owned and dominated the american economy and land and resources and took advantage by paying us americans very low wages whilst they reaped the benefits. I think if you really want to learn just read a few books. Start with A peoples history of the united states by howard zinn. Admitttedly it's more about domestic issues but it's a good start to how the american people and the american government are not always one.
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Name : katie26699, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 30, City : ny, State : NY Country : United States, Social class : Lower middle class, As an European, I can assure you that most of the 'hatred' is vastly exaggerated. I often see people on american tv programs saying that 'the world hates us', and it both puzzles me and makes me sad. I think post-9/11 xenophobia plays a great part in this. I sense some of the same sentiment of 'they hate us' over here, but it's generally about muslims who many danes view as hostile and frightening. Finally, it's important to distinguish between government and people.. just because there's a large demonstration against the US somewhere, 99% of the time it's just a protest against something the US government has done that has ticked people off. It's almost never a 'we want to show that we hate everyone living in the US'-demonstration... even the most hate-filled racists don't demonstrate in the streets just to show that they hate Somalia. But why is the US forign policy making people so angry across the world? Basically because the US is the worlds largest superpower. The US forign policy affects millions of people, and therefore attracts the most attention. The general image of the US is a huge country, mainly christian but filled with a enormous variety of cultures. A nation whose society is based on the same values as most european countries: freedom, a stromg justice system and democracy. Most people I know who are worried about the US are worried about the many wars the US have been agressively involved in since WW2, and it's habit of applying great political and economic pressure on other countries to achieve certain goals. They genuinely like mosts parts of the diverse US culture, and enjoys american films and music. Here's an example I find helps illustrate the complex feelings: How do you feel about Russia? Thousands and thousands of nuclear missiles lie waiting in their silos -almost twice as many as in the US... a terrible war going on in Chechnya for dubious reasons. Enough to make anyone worry. You might even make a demonstration to protest. But does that mean that you hate the ordinary russians? Of course not (I hope)
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Name : tore, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Disability : OCD, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : soroe, State : NA Country : Denmark, Occupation : unemployed, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, people don't hate American individuals, but they hate they way your country is leading the world, destroying its cultures traditions and souls, to install the US values, language and cultural products to all the other countries. You seem to be naive, you don't realise that your country is making an economic and cultural of annexion of the world... the biggest cultural annexion since the roman empire ! And you think that the world would be happy of that !!? We don't want to beacom Americans!! Europe and Japan is now almost compltely annexed. Latin America would be soon too. Middle east will follow... and then Africa. Those people are afraid of loosing their souls and their identities, and becoming economic slaves of the americans... That the reason why they hate the USA. I'm french, as most french people I personnaly like USA and its people, but I feel so badly when I see some of them ( the neo conservatives that got the power now without being elected ) imposing their views and their domination using force, wars and lies ... Just to make more business and more economic growth for the US multinationals... It's sad to see a country that was once a big democraty is now in such a state and lead the world to the general chaos... It is also sad that the american people don't realise what their facist governemt is doing using such cynic lies... All the world see that, not the American people, whose opinion is led by medias onwed by the neo conservatives. BE AWARE OF THE WORLD, THE COMPLEXITY OF POLITICS, ITS RICHNESS AND DIVERTY, TRY TO UNDERSTANT THE OTHER CULTURES AND THE REST OF THE WORL WILL LOVE YOU :) AND PEACE !
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Name : fab, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : mediteranean white, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 28, City : paris, State : VA Country : France, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, Actually, the most anti-American sentiments I've heard or read come from other Americans. Some are angry about politics and foreign policy and some are ashamed of past and present attititudes. Many foreigners in this forum have said that they do not hate Americans, and I wonder if it is something Americans simply get sensitive about.
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Name : Tess24721, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 20, City : Newark, State : DE Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I detect a touch of ungratefulness from you. since 1975 Egypt has recieved roughly $50 Billion in U.S. aid. Tell me, does everyone in your country feel as you do? If so, I say we cut you off. As far as your little comment about Switzerland, Belgium, Japan and France, here are the facts; COMBINED gdp of those countries is approximately 5.7 trillion u.s. Where as the United States has a budget of 10.9 trillion. Not even close, and more democracy? I cant speak for the others but belgium is a monarchy. Nice Try.
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Name : fred, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 26, City : houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : steel worker, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, Nathalie; A war mess that Bush triggered? 12 years and 17 UN resolutions that Saddam violated, thats what caused the war in Iraq. I noticed you did not mention Frances duplicitious behavior in the oil for food scandal. Or the bribing of UN security members to vote against the US. How about French companies doing business with Iraq in violation of UN mandates. How about Iraq; violated No Fly Zones, fired upon allied fighter jets, used WMD on hundredths of thousands of its own people, $25,000 for the families of suicide bombers, gave aid and comfort to terrorists. The end of the first Gulf War a cease-fire was signed. If violated, the allies had the legal right to reenter Iraq. And yet it is Bush you blame. Perhaps you are confused, but after 9/11, the official policy of the US is war on any organization or country with an international reach and those who assist them. So you are either with the terrorist or with us. If you consider that statement childish, apparently you do not realize we are fighting World War 3. Does thatmean you have to follow the US in lockstep. Not at all. Friends and allies often disagree. That does not mean you prance around Africa bribing countries to vote against us in the UN. Or try to block us at NATO. I wonder if DeGaulle said the same thing during WW2 against the enemies of France would you have considered it childish? I have read that the intelligence agencies of the US and France have an excellent relationship. For this I thank France and its people. This is what allies do, help each other. Now if we can only bring the relationship between both countries in other areas to this level.
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Name : Oliver, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I am one American who has been saying this for a long time, but no one wants to hear it.
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Name : Bob23103, City : Door County, State : WI Country : United States, Perhaps other people in the world don't like how Americans, in general, think our way of doing things is the only way or the only correct way. My experiences traveling in Europe and Latin America have shown me that they don't necessarily like our government, but when it comes to most of the people, they don't have that much against us.
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Name : Ellen, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 24, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Business Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, ***People we caught on the battlefield without uniforms aligned with a terrorist organization. Um, next time guys stay out of the way.*** ***OK, like it or not Israel is the only semi-real democracy in the area and Israeli citizens aren't flying airplanes into our buildings. As for Saudi Arabia, I agree we ought to let them go their own way and as soon as we can figure out how to make safe hydrogen cells I imagine we'll do that. Finally, for South Korea would you prefer North Korea? Geez. South Korea hasn't endeared itself to Americans with all of its student protests while our boys stand guard but seriously Kim Jung Il - I don't think so.*** So our standing by and watching that makes us non-secular how? The U.S. could just as easily say, 'Ya, know Arab buddies, y'all got your butts kicked by Israel in a couple wars so tough luck and pound sand - y'all lost and that's the breaks.' But that's not what the U.S. has said. It supports the creation of a Palestinian and has kept Israel from nuking you guys back to the stone age. ***Um, well we haven't had a lot of Norwegians killing thousands or Americans. So sorry, but if we are a little nervous when we see young arab men get on the plane, that's not a result of some irrational aversion to arabs, it's based on history.*** ***No, I believe you hate America because your wahabi clerics tell you to. None of those countries has a military of any significance that has intervened in different areas. You hate us because you think we did bad things to you. I imagine if we did most Americans would be very sorry about that. But I also imagine it goes deeper than that - that you guys have such a pent up hatred for Israel that you (or your clerics) have decided to spread it around. Hey, and who's a better target than America?
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Name : Don, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 30, City : Springville, State : UT Country : United States, Occupation : Attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, Miss Nathalie, I couldn't agree with you more. I stared in amazement at the TV screen as angry Americans poured out bottles of French wine, and anti-France jokes became the norm for quite a while. I refuse to see most new movies that come out because I am disgusted by the way other nationalities are portrayed. I, for one, am ashamed of how unforgiving my country can be in regards to other nations. Now, having said that, allow me to go off topic a bit here. I am so glad that you are determined to, as you say, 'believe in the human individual, no matter where they are from.' But, to group people together for a moment, I have found Canadians to be the absolute best tourists. I lived in south FL, which every winter was deluged by 'snowbirds,' as we refer to them: people from up north looking to escape the winter cold. All the Canadians I met were wonderfully polite and delightful.
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Name : Rina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 22, City : Royal Palm Beach, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, Here in Germany, most people don't understand how so many Americans could re-elect a President who is so obviously incompetent for the job he's doing. We don't trust your judgement of people - you are quick to see Arabs as terrorist, French as arrogant, Canadians as backwards. The U.S. is the most powerful nation on Earth; why is it that they seem to have so little insight in things? Also, we're intimidated by your apparently violent religiousness. Don't get me wrong - most people around here are Christians, too. But if one of our politicians would publicly admit he truly believed he was an instrument of God, even in most backward Bavaria, people would laugh at him for allowing his faith to overshadow his competence as a politician. Your current President is probably the best example of what we fear about the U.S. - a rather simple mind, the will to use lethal force to accomplish his goals, and a fundamentalist religiousness.
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Name : Taleweaver27000, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Ludwigshafen, State : NA Country : Germany, Occupation : storekeeper, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, anne it is me frances cates justice need to talk to you---remember 1962 i met you then in anderson sc.
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Name : anne-kelley, City : anderson, State : SC Country : United States, I have met many wonderful Americans in my travels and I can say that they make wonderful, loyal friends. I have noticed that many people do have some issues with the American culture which I do not always agree with but will discuss here for your interest on some outsiders perspectives. Here's one example...As you probably know, in Japan there is a strong culture that guides customs and relations between people. Things like speaking in a quiet voice on trains and at least trying whatever food is served to you. It seemed that the voices you could always hear beaming from the next carriage of a crowded train usually displayed an American accent and dinner time was usually made uncomfortable by our American collegues announcing 'I can't eat that, Im a vegetarian' or some excuse of the sort. Of course, this is fine, but as 'losing face' is so important to these people, it would have been more respectful to tell the host before the dinner or grin and bear it. Despite this, the Japanese idolise the Americans as a whole, respecting these things as a 'cultural difference'. It's the other expats that are irritated by the lack of education or the lack of respect for the culture within which they have chosen to work/holiday. If I had to sum it up, Americans as a whole just seem a little bit ignorant of the world around them, considering their way of life to be the best. These is all just a product of individualist, capitalistic (selfish?) societies of which America is at the head of the field but there are many other cultures who are not too far behind, either..including my own.
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Name : Elli, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : Perth, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, My advice to you is to travel and live in another country for a while. After living there for a period of time you will understand some of the feelings about Americans. We think we are the center of the universe. We think America has the best of everything. We take what we want, when we want it. We think everyone should speak English, even when we are visiting France. We teach our children everything in school but how to live. We denounce racism, segregation, and any infringement on the Bill of Rights, yet practice all right here at home. We spend millions on researching the decline of the environment but choose not to participate in global efforts to protect it. We apologize when we shouldn't and don't apologize when we should. We have certain responsibilities as a 'superpower' but seem to have forgotten protecting and aiding the less fortunate is one of them. I could go on and on-every country has it's detractors and faults as well as its fans and strengths. Don't believe everything you read-life isn't to be lived by reading books-get out there and see for yourself. And think about it: If we are hated and so horrible, why is everyone trying to get here?
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Name : G. Hudson, Age : 34, City : Anchorage, State : AK Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, It's not the people, it's your mis-informed foreigh policy. For example, Iraq was an illegal was. Israel is STILL commiting atrocities against the Palestinians who have had their land stolen from them with the help and continuing support of the US government. It's the way the US government feels it can ride roughshod over the United Nations, acting without resoloution. It's the educationally sub-normal leader you have who is stumbling from one debacle to the next while your American News Corporations twist tales to support whichever leader or lobby they depend on for funding. Example, look how long ago the war in Afghanistan 'ended', then look how many people were killed there last month. Talk about misinformation by omission. It's your governments refusal to see sense about climate change. It's the blatantly illegal detention of other countries citizens in Guantanimo bay for years on end without trial, some without accusation.
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Name : Luke19688, Gender : M, Race : White Caucasion (ish), Religion : Jedi, Age : 26, City : London, State : WY Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Science Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 
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