Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 14 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 7 months ago by
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Why do people from other countries hate Americans so much? They say Americans are stupid, slow, fat, etc… How can anyone say negative things about a whole group of people with a clear conscience? I consider someone who says that all Americans are this way as offensive as saying all blacks are that way.
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Name : Terry24713, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 16, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,It’s not right for anyone to make sweeping generalizations about a whole group of people, because those generalizations will always be wrong. But people do it all the time. As for people hating Americans, some do and some don’t. The United States is a huge country with a lot of wealth and resources compared with a lot of other countries. Some people look up to Americans, and others dislike us for this. The United States also gets involved in the conflicts of other countries all the time. This either makes friends or enemies, depending on which side of the conflict a person is on.
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Name : Lucy-H22471, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 25, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I’m not American and don’t hate Americans. But to address the stereotypes you cite:
1) Americans are stupid: I don’t think Americans are stupid. America has had a lot of inventions, and technologically, the United States is the most advanced country in the world. However, many people from other countries think Americans – from presidential candidates to former vice presidents to many regular folks – are quite naive because they are so self-centered. Even with the easily accessible information technology most Americans have, they don’t know much about what’s going on the world. So how can you blame others when they say Americans are stupid?
2) Americans are slow: The pace of life of most Americans is quite fast compared with most African, Latin American and European countries, but slower compared with some countries in the Far East. There is nothing wrong with being slower; it is just a matter of comparison.
3) Americans are fat: I’d have to say that on average, Americans are the most overweight people in the world. It is just a fact; go all around the world and you won’t find any countries that have that many fat people!Stereotyping is not right, but unfortunately, many people in and outside the United States still use it to judge people, because it is an easy and lazy way to come to conclusions about people.
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Name : J.C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Age : 29, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I´ve studied for three months in the United States, and every American I´ve talked to has not known where Brazil is located or could not even point to it in a world atlas. When talking about Brazil, they asked me about monkeys and gators, and not about the fact that it has the seventh-largest economy in the world. They also thought Sao Paulo was a village (it’s bigger than New York City). I believe Americans are self-centered and barely understand what´s going on in the world. But I do not hate them.
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Name : Mohaia, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 28, City : Sao Paulo, State : NA, Country : Brazil, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,Well, the United States is the only effective superpower around, at least for now. Because of this, it has a profound political and cultural effect on the whole world. Many smaller countries (France, for example), nations, groups, etc. feel their culture and way of life are threatened by this overwhelming American influence. And, maybe Americans (at least some of them) really are a bit self-centered and even ignorant, given this superpower status of their mighty nation.
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Name : Marko-S22120, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 24, City : Jyvaskyla, State : NA, Country : Finland, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,I am a Canadian, but many of my relatives, including my grandmother, are American, so I definitely do not hate all Americans. However, living fairly close to the U.S. border, I understand why that stereotype proliferates sometimes. I think many Canadians feel that Americans know little about anything outside of their own country, and do not care to know more. I have a friend who works at a currency exchange right on the border, and she has a lot of mind-boggling stories about Americans honestly looking for snow in August, or wondering where all the Eskimos are (who, incidentally, prefer to be called Inuit). I think Canadians get frustrated with this blatant lack of knowledge in our country, and although I realize it is far from the ‘typical American,’ we encounter a lot of it. We don’t hate Americans; without the United States, our economy would be hurting for sure, but we sometimes feel like the ant being squashed by the elephant – who doesn’t even know we’re there.
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Name : Nicole, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 19, City : Waterloo, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : University Science Student,I don’t think it’s a hatred toward Americans but more a disappointment toward them. The United States is one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations in the world, but Americans seem to think nothing else exists outside their borders. To prove this point, one of Canada’s most popular satire TV shows, ‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes,’ constantly makes trips to the United States to interview Americans, spotlighting their ignorance about Canada with funny results. For example, the interviewer asked if a bill should be passed in Canada allowing citizens to put elderly people on chunks of floating ice to let them drift up to the North Pole to die! Clearly this is a very stupid thing to consider, but every American interviewed took the question seriously, and passionately showed their disagreement and even signed a petition to prevent such an act. One study showed that six out of 10 U.S. sixth-graders could not find the United States on an unmarked map of the world. And 0 out of 10 sixth-graders could find Canada! (Note: Canada sits right on top of the United States.) Don’t think everyone hates the United States; if they did, why would so many try to enter the country illegally every day?
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Name : Murray C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 31, City : Halifax, Nova Scotia, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Draftsman, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,I am an American and find nothing wrong with being American, but I find a lot wrong with the way society works here. The United States is a superpower, yes, but that does not give it the right to think it is the best country in the world. It is not the fault of the ordinary citizens, because people are undereducated in social studies. I am interested in geography and other cultures, but everything I have learned about them was not taught in school. I think the average student, at least where I live, could not locate Canada on the map, nor name the seven continents. It is true that the United States is technologically advanced, but most technology did not originate here. And a military power it is, but not invincible. I think this hatred from other countries comes from America as a whole forcing its ideals upon them. It is not our fault that we think the American way is the best way; we have been taught the American dream since we were young. Also, countries feel like Americans are ignorant of what goes on in the world. While this is not our fault, it is probably true. I think mostly it comes from the United States thinking it’s an invincible superpower and the only superpower there is. However, we should keep in mind that looking back on history, every country that was a superpower wasn’t one forever.
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Name : Amy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 17, City : Hinesville, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student,But seriously. In Europe, people don’t hate Americans invidually or even as a whole. But some of the effects of the United States’ foreign policy (an area I suspect the majority of American don’t really care about) are hated. Maybe just the simple things like militarizing all of Latin America to fend off a Communist threat, bombing Laos and Cambodia back to the Stone Age, supporting a racist regime that wants to keep land it’s conquered from neighboring countries and evicting people who aren’t of a certain religion.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), these are my personal reasons for giving Americans grief when I meet them. Other reasons for resentment might be the way your culture is exported around the world and the whole concept of marketing and commercialism, which is so pervasive. I know in England I can go to any town I like and be guaranteed to find one of every major chain store. Carbon-copy land. Obviously this isn’t something you can blame on the United States. People all over the world like this aspect of Capitalism – it’s just that the United States got there first, so it looks like they’re to blame. Note: Whenever U.S. tourists turn up in Europe, you can bet the first place they go to eat is a McDonalds, America’s second embassy (yes, a sweeping generalization, but still…).Other aspects that don’t go well in Europe about Americans is the way the whole political spectrum is shifted to the right. And that politicians can actually make comments about being proud of not having a passport and be respected for it, i.e. Jesse Helms. There was an excellent spoof on the Internet about how the Internet was opening up the minds of Americans and how they were resenting this fact. ‘Why do I want to read about the Serbo-Malaysian civil war when I’m browsing Yahoo?’ Maybe that would highlight this point.
Basically my simple answer would be how could you NOT understand how people from other countries can hate Americans?
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Name : James20884, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, City : Munich, State : NA, Country : Germany, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Some people don’t enjoy the benefits of the capitalistic society on which this country is bred. That may cause them to be jealous. Americans seem more concerned with wealth and power than education and equality of its citizens. Technology and other areas of intellectual growth are not a priority. That could be why they are perceived as ‘slow’ or ‘stupid.’ The fast food and sedentary lifestyle make for obesity. Again, all Americans are not fat, slow and stupid. The overall response is that everyone has an opinion. You should formulate your own. Take stock in America and obtain some of the benefits it has to offer!
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Name : D. Rashid, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : African-Native American, Religion : Christian, City : Fairfax, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Information Specialist,to terry, i find that almost every different culture or race has a deep rooted feeling for other races whether it be american, canadian, asian, etc; you will not only find people saying americans are stupid, but many people have also said that canadians are slow, too cowardly, too peaceful (everyone knows the comments about canadians and peace-wed rather talk our way out of a situation,than fight with weapons), but as far as i am concerned you should shrug it off,as i have been doing-people will talk, unless you can confront them about it (one on one situation) and straighten them on their ignorance, and diffuse the problem. what really bothers me is that some people find excuses for their predujice or racism, and as far as im concerend there is no excuse for ignorance,i myslef love all types and kinds of people and think that americans are very intelligent people on a whole;everyone makes mistakes, the only reason people make alot of comments about americans is that they are viewed and critized in media……..i totally understand where youre coming from though…..it takes little minds to make smart ass comments!!!!
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Name : dannielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : bicurious/straight, Race : dutch/spanish/caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 28, City : kitchener, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : photo lab technician, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,I am an American. I am proud of it, as I think anyone should be proud of his or her country. That does not mean I think the US is perfect, but rather that I am not ashamed of my heritage. I also have had the opportunity to live and travel across the world. I have spent months living throughout Latin America and years in Europe. The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the completely ridiciuos assumptions made constantly about Americans whereever I go. HERE ARE THE TWO MOST COMMON ASSUMPTIONS: Assumption 1: Americans don’t know about any country other than there own. One of these responses even relayed a ‘survey’ in which he claimed that only 6-10 American 6th graders know where the US is on a map, and 0-10 can locate Canada. I have worked in schools in both South and North America and Europe, and I can tell you that Americans fared no worse than anyother nationality of a similar social class (and educational access) on geography! The implication that 0% of sixth grade Americans know where Canada is boggle my mind not because I think it is true but because someone actually believes it enough to post it!!! (That survey, I am willing to bet, comes from the same internet logic loophole that floods chatrooms with urgent announcements that that aliens have landed and have taken over Toronto… which is evidently the new capital of Turkey). Americans have some of the highest educational standards in the world, particularly in the humanities (including history). Political science, my current field, was overwhelmingly American in its early years. Are there so ignorant Americans? YES! Are there some educated and internationally aware Americans? YES! Are Americans on the average more ignorant than the rest of the world? NO! Less ignorant? NO! The same? So the real data (and not heresay and internet rumors) suggests!
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Name : Mike20432, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States,…….And lastly, about McDonalds: Why do Americans eat there so much, even when oversees. One reason: It is a great value! When on a backpacker’s budget, each dollor is vital. McDonalds is a lot of good food for cheap! That doesn’t mean Americans don’t or shouldn’t try local food as well. It only means that once you have had a bunch of the local grub, and want to save a buck (American slang for a dollor, just in case there was confusion)… I’ll take McD’s please.
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Name : Mike20434, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States,2. Americans are greedy capitalists that want to push free trade on poor countries to milk them dry. Old dependency theory given new life! Why? Because that is what everybody believes, right?! Well the fact is that over the last 20 years, poor countires with free trade have been shown to develop faster (AT ALL SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS) than poor countries with policies of protectionalism. This this mean that capitalism is a complete good. No. There is some truth in the idea that capitalism needs to be amended to provide greater job security and benifits for the working poor. However, that does not mean that Capitialism itself is wrong (nor free trade). To argue that there is no support for free trade as a developmental tool is to ignore the last half century of solid American AND AFRICAN research. Also, whether we like it or not, America is the sole remaining superpower. In many ways this makes for a no win situation in American World Economic policy. If Americans don’t provide financial aid to developing countries (think IMF loans), they are percieved as being greedy capitalists blind to the poor. If they do provide the loans, they are percieved as being imperialist and trying to force Americanization on foreign governments. In the case of Argentina 2001 and 2002, America is now often bashed FOR giving loans to corrupt governments of the 90s and not forcing them to clean shop; while only a year ago, Americans were being routinely bashed FOR NOT giving enough money to Argentina and trying to interfere with with their domestic politics by giving such strick anti-corruption guidelines on the loans! No-Win situation! Americans even recognized the catch-22 and tried to move in the last year to make IMF loans into grants, as to cut off the criticms of the imperialist nature of loans (and forcing countries to meet their guidelines), but this iniative was killed by the European members who felt that grants would lead to wasting money by not holding the recieving countries more accountable. YET, it is the Americans who always take the fall when the IMF is blamed for imperialism and neo-colonialism!
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Name : Mike20433, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States,Why do people hate Americans so much? Why did Binloden and the other people do Sept.11? Why do they want to go to war? Everybody hates us. Even people that live here hate us! Why?
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Name : Erin Magill, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 11, City : Perrysburg, State : OH, Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma,
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