Even though both Europe and the USA belong to the Western World and agree on most fundamental democratic principles, they don't see eye-to-eye on everything. According to a recent study, Americans and Europeans often have different perspectives on the way of life - individualism, the role of government, free expression, religion, and morality.
However, Reddit user IBringTheGinger wanted to know how these differences manifest themselves in everyday life. So they created a post, asking Europeans to list the funny problems that are too American for them to understand. It immediately blew up, and, as of this article, has nearly 64K upvotes and 57,5K comments. Scroll down to read some of the most popular first world problems and let us know if you agree with them!
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Here is one I can't understand:
Strong violence on tv: No one bats an eye...
Nipple slip: Everybody loses their minds.
"Since Reddit is US-centric, I've seen many posts and comments about problems that seemed typically American to me such as being broke because of student debt or postponing going to the doctor because you can't afford it. So I was curious to see if other Europeans like myself ever felt the same way or if they had heard about other 'American problems' that I didn't know about," IBringTheGinger told Bored Panda.
Why doesn't the guy with the most votes just win the election?
The amount of attention their post got really surprised IBringTheGinger. "From what I've seen on r/AskReddit, how many upvotes you get can be extremely random depending on the day and hour you post at and there's nothing you can do about it. I never managed to get past like 300 upvotes before. Almost 60k comments is just crazy."
Even though they knew a lot of the things that were mentioned in the replies such as problems in the healthcare system or excessive swearing-censoring on the TV, they made IBringTheGinger understand the different culture better. "I learned about others and seeing all those issues combined in one place really made me realize I'd never want to chase the American dream myself. Well, not if I wouldn't be hugely compensated for it at least, like a job offer or something. But I doubt that would ever happen anyway."
Why tipping is considered part of someone's paycheck.
So the Customers have to feel Guilt about Poverty, not the Employers
You Americans eat like you've got free health care.
Have you seen the ridiculous large portions we get here? In most European countries that's considered a meal for at least a family of 4 at minimum!
Why the big amount of flat-earth and antivax people?? Is your education system not doing well??
The Flat Earth Society exists across the globe- ahem, disc... :D
21 Drinking age like whaaaat you can vote , go join the army , get married , have children and drive but you're too immature to drink ???!!???!
The idolization of politicians. They are public servants, similar to a courthouse clerk or a city hall coordinator. They are not rock stars. You don't need to scream their name, buy their merch, fully commit your life to them and believe everything they say. Just... treat them like public servants. Sure, they get power and position but hold them accountable when they abuse it. Don't let corporations and politicians take over, the political system is created by the people, FOR the people. It just... boggles the mind.
Not being able to afford to study
Not being able to afford to pay medical bills
Not being able to afford school lunch
Not being able to have schools without security guards
Not being able to drink water straight from the tap
Not being able to walk because you are morbidly obese
toddlers involved in politics
This is one thing one doesn't have to think about, just observe and see.
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These are many of the reasons why I don’t understand why the US is “The land of the free”. The country is essentially created for the rich and not for the everyday citizen.
People in my country (the USA) think freedom is only freedom from government not telling them what to do. They don't think of a freely elected government which may do something to help the country at the expense of some personal "choice" is the result of people freely making a personal choice of government. They still see the government as the enemy even though they are democratically elected (you will have to ignore some people in my country actively trying to prevent certain constituents from legally voting and some political parties inviting foreign countries to meddle in our elections in order to believe the freely elected part). So if the government tries to make things fair for everyone it takes the freedom away from those who can exploit others for their gain. We are much more libertarian and thus pro rich in that respect.
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In New York City, tap water is some of the best in the country and our school lunch is free, but it isn't very good. At least it's free I guess.
pear, the lunches are not very good because they offer fruits and veggies?
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US attorney here: 1. On being able to afford to study: Any citizen can get govt. loans to pay for school. The US govt. guarantees the loans, so Americans from poor backgrounds go to universities here every year. 2. Not being able to drink water: that's true in Flint, MI, and should be addressed, but there are few if any other places in the US where that's true. 3. Obesity: Yes, we have many fatties (and many misguided 'fat acceptance' people on this site) but obesity rates are skyrocketing the world over. Mexico is now the most obese country, & Germany & The UK have their chubby fingers pointing back at them if they bring this up between their bites of sausage and fried fish. Granted, a huge reason that many are getting fatter in Europe and Asia is that they're copying our US fast food diets, and want to sit around watching Netflix like us. But just b/c we do some dumb s**t doesn't mean they have to copy us and that it's our fault if they do.
Rebuttal (from an educator): (1) government backed loans and grants have not kept pace with the tuition costs, leading to crushing debt for students. (2) Rights to clean water are not guaranteed in most states, and our current administration is rolling back environmental protections. (3) The FDA regulates a great deal. The problem is mostly cultural, with some groups (like sugar industry) which adds empty calories. You pretty much nailed that point.
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But they still allow a decidedly dodgy President to reign supreme and billionaires to get out of paying tax.
There aren't many billionaires and millionaires compared to overall population - except in the congress. Don't vote for them, however not all are necessarily rotten, I believe that M. Bloomberg is the best suited to unseat the orange.
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Kids in NZ miss school because their parents can't afford lunch. Also because they don't have uniforms or womens sanitary products.
Yay there is one country that has only one messed up aspect of the US.
Load More Replies... I was practically bedridden for 5 days from migraines except for going to class in pain and misery because I couldn't afford to buy excedrin or go to the doctor because 1)it's too expensive, 2) im paying an arm and a leg for college tuition, and 3) my classes have extremely strict absence policies
Had me until the last one. We don't HAVE "toddlers" in politics. What we have are toxic narcissists who behave LIKE toddlers. An actual toddler has the excuse of age and inexperience and frustration. These jack wagons have no such excuse. They are just pathetic.
Well things are purposely made unaffordable to normal people so you take out loans and are kept captive in a cycle of endless debt.
you forgot, "Children in adult bodies routinely elected to high office"
(US citizen here) I drink tap water all the time, no issues there. All the other points totally stand, though.
You’re okay with the taste? How about all the s**t in it to make it resistant to bacterial infections? Fluoride? Even outside disasters like Flint, I prefer filtered water. The chlorine in my city water is so bad that it damages my skin and hair and I’m slowly getting chlorine gassed in hot showers. I know we have to make sure the water is free of infectious agents, but surely there’s a better way.
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sorry but this isnt exclusive from US, there are poor people and poor choices all around the globe
It’s a response to “the best country in the world” rhetoric that is constantly spewing from the USA. The USA is not the best country in the world. It does seem to be one of the most arrogant and self-important, though.
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Do Americans rate their country as a developed country? Think about it.
I dropped out of school because I couldn’t afford it and my medical bills
They also forgot to add the teenagers and young adults poor choice of clothing. What is up with short shorts and comfy sweater and big white shoes? Bruh! I live in the U.S. and am completely fed up from those things.
Lure country is in so much debt the tax us to drops and expect us to pay for all of it
Many countries which do not claim they are the best and richest in the world manage to "pay for all of it".
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This is all regional in America. Most places don't have these issues, they just make the news because our media here sensationalizes literally everything.
Did you read the whole list??? How is that “all regional”?? Even for the regional issues, in “the best country in the world” these shouldn’t be issues anywhere.
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Not being allowed to have water tanks (in some States) Not being allowed to hang washing on outside clothes lines (in some States)
Some regions have even torn up people’s food gardens because they “violate local ordinances”.
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Whoa. I can drink water straight from the tap and I'm American. Mind, my town has an aquifer.
I can technically drink water straight from my tap too, I just don’t want to. I feel like I’m being gassed (chlorine) whenever I take a shower. It tastes awful, damages my skin and hair, and there’s no way that it’s healthy in long-term exposure. We don’t get scientific studies done about the impact of this s**t because it’s so hard to control for (you going to give the control group a constant source of reverse osmosis filtered water for all uses, and how do you test individual exposure to individual chemicals?), no one wants to fund such studies, and even the studies done between fluoridated and non-fluoridated water supplies is utterly inconclusive... or the study was flawed, or backed by industry-friendly “scientists”. Etc. If your water is good, be happy but don’t presume it’s the norm. I haven’t been willing to drink tap water anywhere that I have any choice in the matter.
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I agree with all of it aside from the school lunch. The school cafeteria is there as a convenience for those who are privileged enough not to have to bring their lunch with them and are able to buy it. Any other place you go, you don't expect the place to provide free food for your kid. If I didn't make a pb&j to take with me to school, I didn't eat. It was that simple. I never felt entitled to free food from the school. Why people feel entitled to it is baffling. For $3 you could feed your kid lunch for a week. If you can't afford that, then authorities need to get involved at that point. I'd more more inclined to provide free birth control to anyone who wants it than free food if parents are saying they can't feed their kids.
They’re entitled to it as a compensation for schooling being compelled by law.
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One CAN study. One CAN get free health care (clinics.) One CAN get lunch vouchers for low-income. There ARE schools without security. One CAN drink from the tap (Flint, MI exception). Those who eat until they’re too overweight to walk is not common, but it happens all over the world. The only “toddler involved in politics,” is Bloomberg. (Have you seen his billboards?) ‘Nuff said.
We can drink from tap water, it is just as safe as in any other first-world nation.
Tell that to people living in Flint (and a similar thing can happen to many other towns because old pipes, not enough through and independent testing with the results available to the general public, private corporations, and almost uncontrolled capitalism)
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Are you just a troll or do you actually think this? It’s hard to tell with some of you climate change deniers.
Load More Replies... Their obsession with celebrities, media and “perfect” looks. How often do I read comments from Americans saying:”Bad European teeth“ while in reality they are totally healthy, just aren’t bleached.
People going bankrupt for getting sick. Stupidly expensive "education". Gun control. No repercussion for police brutality.
Why are you paying taxes for?
It's crazy that American police can straight up murder people based on their skin colour and there's no repercussions for it. In my country if the police uses a gun even once, even to just injure a suspect, there's massive investigation launched into whether that use of force was called for
I'm too European to understand how swearing and curse words are such a big deal in movies and songs, but violence and guns are taken with a grain of salt
You have $4.50 in your pocket. The fancy drink is advertised at $3.99. Do you have enough money to buy it? Dunno!
You have to always calculate tax and tip like we're some kind of math geniuses or something!
The American Dream. Basically every other developed county is living the ‘American Dream’ while Americans really just think they are, but if you describe the way their country works to someone it sounds like you’re describing a third world country.
And whenever to tell someone that there’s something wrong with how the USA does things, people do one or more of the following: A. Yell at you “if you don’t like it, then leave!” (mindless nationalism, not patriotism)... B.They refuse to believe it’s better anywhere else... C. They tell you that any place with a seemingly better system is still actually worse because it’s “socialism” (and they are fully convinced by obsolete and never correct Cold War propaganda to reject anything that has the scent of “USSR” on it, whether legit or not)... D. They go as far as comparing the USA to some third-world hellhole or theocracy just to make the USA seem better by comparison (sinking to that low a bar is really f*****g revealing!!!).
The confusing Imperial measurements system and US customary units.
I don't understand the concept of punching holes in the wall. If you tried that here in Ireland, you'd just break your hand.
Double standards. E.g. being prude but having the largest porn industry in the world, praising religion but disregarding Christian values IRL.
The fact that Americans refer to a 24h clock as “military time” you mean just regular time?
Also, suing culture. Got injured? Sue! Fell down some stairs? Sue! Fight with neighbour? Sue!
I will NEVER understand why you guys allow children to not be guaranteed free health care and dental care! Why aren't you up in arms over this, protesting in the streets? They're CHILDREN, why on earth would a rich country not guarantee free health care to all children?! I don't get it.
They won't even protect their children from getting shot dead. We had one school shooting in the UK and even gun owners were so sickened they supported the changes in the law. In the US children getting shot in the face is less horrifying than not being allowed to walk around showing off a gun.
Having to take out a second mortage because you twisted your ankle in the wrong state.
Why Americans are so proud of being American and their obsession with military. Like what did they do other than being born American? What good does military do other than wasting money they could use for e.g. health care.
European here, why are all your houses made from cardboard if you have a problem with hurricanes? My country has no natural problems and our houses are made from reinforced cement.
Not using the metric system. Counting in football fields/moon landings instead... I don't get it.
You're not the only one but, alas, it's one of those: "it is what it is" things.
Why do you guys wear shoes in the house??
Or put their feet with the shoes on, on the bed!! I mean, hygiene people!!
While watching Chelsea vs Manchester United yesterday on NBCSN, during halftime there was a Good Rx commercial where the guy is asking a woman if she would like to fill her prescription, he pulled up the phone and showed her that the same pill can cost from $10 to $90 depending on the area. And that Good Rx can help her fill the prescription with the cheapest prices. Now someone please explain to me how in the ever-loving f**k is it possible for a drug to cost 10x more depending on your location !? Don't they have constant prices like in the rest of the civilized world !?
First off: What makes you think we have a civilized world here? The Civil war here is still going on in some people's mind albeit not physically. In answer to your question about the Rx pricing: Yes, it does depends where you live because we here live the good life of out of control predatory greed.
Joining the army for college money and free healthcare. Also how religious they are
The religion stuff has always bugged me. It annoys me how people dont see freedom from religion as part of our freedom to religion. Not to mention Christianity is everywhere
Expensive required textbooks that you HAVE to buy to take a university class
How much do I tip? 10%? 15%? Do I tip everywhere? Why isn’t the tax included? Why does the tip vary? Why are the waiters so underpaid?
Also, why do you have to do your tax bill? You could literally go to prison but it’s like a guessing game from what I heard?
In the Netherlands we do our annual taxes in an online app where most of the data is already entered. All you need to do is check, enter your deductibles and hit "Send" and you're done. But that isn't possible in the US because some greedy software companies managed to block the IRS from setting up a similar system as a free service.
Being scared of the police.
How strongly Americans feel about the flag. I saw a photographer get torn to pieces online because someone was standing on the tiniest bit of the flag and people went fuc**ng ape s*it. In the UK most people probably couldn’t spot if the Union Flag was round the wrong way.
Nipples, or in general the hyper-sexualization of nudity.
I love going to my local sauna. Everyone is naked. Boys and girls. You might see your boss or teacher naked. It's just completely normal, and I love it. But for my American friends, when I tell them, the first thing they ask is if people have sex orgies there or how I avoid getting a boner. 😖
Don't know if it's already mentioned but your delivery drivers just leaving packages outside your front door. I can't wrap my mind around this, how did this ever came acceptable?
Here you sign for deliveries. If you're not there they'll leave a note when they'll come again. If still not delivered you can pick it up yourself. Also if you didn't sign for delivery it's marked as not delivered.
This is not an american problem, it happens as well in Europe..Trust me, I am working in the logistics business for over 30 years :-)
Student debt. I pay €20/Semester tuition in Austria.
We do have student loans in Norway, too, but that's to pay for food and rent. The interest rates are low, however, and I've never heard of anyone not being able to pay it back.
Many people do not vote because they cannot get time off work to do so.
30 degrees fahrenheit
They say "it's like 70 degrees outside" and I never understand if it's cold or hot!
Note: this post originally had 102 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
I have one for you... children beauty pageants... that's legalised child abuse... wtf is that?
Children's beauty pageants are f****d up and a paradise for pedophiles
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I have a double opinion about this post. Part of me thinks this is good because we have a chance to find out about each other's cultures and discuss important topics, yet, the other part tells me this is just another one of the America-bashing material. And it horribly polarises the world, as if there's only U.S.A vs. EU. I dunno, I agree most of these are dystopian problems, but honestly, I'm a bit tired of all this bashing. It's more useless than it seems.
Agreed. We've got lots of problems and probably criticize ourselves more than other countries. If we were to bash another country like this we'd be labeled insensitive American louts.
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Extremely expensive education and healthcare, because all the money goes to the armed force ... and putting so much money to the armed force in the territory who wasn't attacked since Pearl Harbour.
Drives me nuts when their military is worshiped domestically as "protectors". From who? They are guarded by 2 oceans. NOBODY can touch them militarily yet they act as if soldiers overseas dying in other countries is somehow protecting them. SEAL teams attacking Jihadi extremists who want to attack America? Sure. But having bases all over the world and being the world police? Dumb.
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Guns. I’ve heard the arguments and I still don’t get it. Children are being murdered on a regular basis.
Tiny Dynamite, please stop trolling everybody. If America is so terrible, you're not going to change anything by just calling the US f****d up.
Some of these are true, but I don't understand why there are SO many posts making fun of Americans. Surely we can't be the only country that has problems. If there was to be a post making fun of the UK, our "insensitivity" would probably get added to this post. We realize our country is not doing great, but it's kind of unfair that every other country is on our back as well.
Sure, but some problems are unique to America. Like all the stuff about health care costs.
Load More Replies... if the U.S. is so horrible, why do so many people from other countries want to come live here?
Because they also believe the lies that are shown in TV programmes and films that show everyone to be rich and beautiful. I used to teach Tibetan exiles in India who could watch TV for an hour a day. They drooled over those programmes because America looked perfect. On the other side of the mirror, 600,000+ are homeless there.
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Half of Americans agree that most of these are serious problems. I don't think most Europeans get how politically fractured the US really is. There's a slight correlation between political ideology and whether you see these as actual "problems". Also, we actually do use the metric system here. We just have to layer a thin veneer of Imperial units over everything for about half the population.
"I don't think most Europeans get how politically fractured the US really is". You mean the place with Brexit and recent riots in the streets of Greece and France etc? That's the place where everyone agrees?
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Almost all of these issues are cause by one of two things; unregulated capitalism or overly zealous religion
The USA is one of the most Globally Prominent countries in the Media... of Course it's Stupidity is going to be Revealed more. Every country has its Stupid Aspects and I'm so tired of "USA bad, Europe good"
Look at the Whole Brexit mess... my Country isn't doing much Better. Indonesia dumps the most Plastic of all. N Korea literally Executes political Enemies. But wait, USA puts the Month before the Day...
Load More Replies... Lack of public transit wasn't mentioned for some reason. Since everyone is driving the streets look almost empty compared to Europe, especially after dark. Just looks eerie to me)
Oh, this one is the result of car companies and lobbyists, if I understood correctly. There are documentaries about this.
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Every country has it's good and bad. As an American this was hard to read. I understand a lot what is said but I also don't need to see people bashing my country.
But the USA bashes other countries all the time (not just the current president but past ones, too, but ESPECIALLY the current president) and insists it is the best country in the world. And none of the problems listed here are false; these show the reality of America, not the dream.
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The biggest impression I get from this post is how quick Europeans are to stereotype others. See, not so nice is it?
The irony in this sentence.... anyway, yeah, generalisations and stereotypes suck.
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I want to read more of these. It is interesting to see how America is seen from the outside. Sometimes I wonder if we in America have some type of Stockholm Syndrome lol
It's not all one or the other though. I'm outside USA, and some of these do confuse me, but others are applicable in other countries (ie student debts). I just think maybe this article is a little polarizing...(heh heh I used a 'z' in polarising, a random american/UK spelling difference that didn't seem to make the list)
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Why are Americans so set against a free health care system despite the rest of the world proving it works?
Because people are afraid of change, and the health care industry has spent billions of dollars to appeal to that fear.
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Almost every question can be answered by "Unchecked Capitalism." Every horrible problem in America comes down to the reality (or the illusion) that simply pulling yourself up the bootstraps means you will have zero problems.
So all the undeniable evidence is there. American society is totally r******d, inefficient, paranoid, childishly and hypocritically prudish, violent, lazy, unhealthy, backward, behind the times, illogical and just plain f****d up.
calling themselves americans when america is a whole continent, with 35 countries
Great video about US Americans made by American lady living for years in Prague / Czech republic. It's spoken in Czech so you have to turn the English subtitles on. The title says it all: Americans are strange. https://youtu.be/VpQYmrQktao
As an American I ask ALL of those questions myself. And I still don't have any more insight. This country is fubar.
You are free to leave at any time. I bet you won't. That makes you a hypocrite.
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This is really making me wish it was easier to move out of this country and convince all of my friends and family to come with me.
Americans thinking everyone in Africa is black, when I went there a while back they were shocked that i was white and from South Africa......Also we do not have wild animals running up and down the street.........................
Some of them were kinda dumb, but everyone’s different, people and countries too. So idk why they have to complain about how we’re different. Oh well...
The quality of our American life began to plummet with Reagan and has continued, making all the European observations here true. (I also agree with the ones about the flag, which preceded him). The Electoral College and Republicans and their donors are holding the country hostage with the help of ignorant racist, sexist fools who don't mind that they are being cheated of a decent life so long as people of color and women suffer more. I just hope Sanders wins big, and that it's not too late.
well - honestly the USA is one of the most crazy and psychologically as well as emotionally distorted countries in the world - it is a very dangerous fact for our planet the most powerful country is acting and feeling like a psychopath - sorry to say that but it is true - most of media in the USA are lying - to see the whole theatre around Trump is ridiculous - what a challenge for the collective hipocrisy
Ooh. Why does England have a royal family that gets paid big bucks for just being royal when Parliament is actually in charge & don't get paid the same?
Some of these are over generalized & don't apply to the entire US population. Some I agree with.
I'm an American an I wonder why new drugs that are curing ailments overseas aren't quickly approved here.
Because our government is interfering, that's why. The Federal government is highly inefficient, and the FDA, which has to approve all drugs, moves slowly. That is why many Americans want LESS government in our lives, not more.
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"My country 'tis of the thee, sweet land of artillery.." But seriously tho, people here are ridiculously obsessed with guns.
Where do I start? Let's start with killing. The US Government has a higher defense budget than the next ELEVEN highest budgets COMBINED. The US manufactures in the ballpark of 10 MILLION guns every year, and the US has more firearms in private hands than any other nation on Earth by a WIDE margin. American media and entertainment is just SOAKED in brutally violent imagery, while showing a nipple or saying a swear word is enough to get you fined or arrested. Outside of an ACTIVE war zone, there is no country on EARTH where they spend more time killing each other, talking about killing each other, fantasizing about killing each other or simply preparing to kill each other. The whole country is full of sociopaths.
At least for Germany - when you tell an Amercian, that you are German, they will always have story to tell about them, their relatives, their neighbours... who comes from germany oder has been here. - is it the same for other countires? ---- and 4-way-stop signs. Why? eather give the right of way for one direction or install traffic light. OOOOR use a roundabout, but of, they don't know how to drive through these :)
What i really don't understand about us citizens is that way of always acting. Most of them are dramatizing every little thing in their life,and playing roles, like they are on a stage. I find it pretty sad.
That's what BP is for, haha. Everyone complaining and virtue signalling.
Load More Replies... No doubt our USA has both good and bad things, like every other country. But here's a question for all non-Americans on here: if we're so questionable, why does so much of the rest of the world passionately embrace our culture? Why do so many of your people beg for our Levi's Jeans, Nike shoes, Apple products & access to our social networks? Those ones I sort of understand, but they also embrace the stupidest parts of our culture, our fast food, our diabetes-giving Coca-Cola & Starbucks, our dumb pop music and sitcoms. We don't embrace brands from other cultures nearly as much as the billions around the world embrace brands from ours. Of course US culture is itself a hodge podge of things, much of which was borrowed heavily from many other cultures, but we seem to have a knack for packaging and marketing culture into things that a major chunk of the rest of the world wants. Does that raise questions about us or them?
We wouldn't have so many problems if the rest of the world would stay the hell home and fix their own problems. They all think this is the land of plenty. Yeah, plenty of people escaping the problems of their own countries. -and then they want us to change to fit their notions of what we should be and what we should provide for them.
Nobody, absolutely NOBODY ever asked your country to come and fix their problems. And while you might have a lot of immigrants, you are not number one destination for immigrants in the world. That is actually Europe.
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They have TV programmes such as 'Naked and Afraid' and then blur the breasts and genitals as though we mustn't see them because we might be offended! Also, I believe that one girl even sued the TV station because a programme was aired and they had failed to censor her vagina in one scene! How hypocritical is that?
HAVE ANY OF YOU EVEN BEEN TO THE USA?!?!?! OR ARE YOU JUST GOING ON HEARSAY???? Practically none of this is correct.
Ah yes. These things are exactly what I myself hate about country. I cannot tell you how badly i want to leave.
Well, you might need a good financial plan, but you actually can leave. Pick your favourite country, find out about their visa requirements and maybe start looking for job offers in your country of choice. Some companies in some countries even have you covered with a place to stay/live. But most will not provide flight costs, sadly. Still, you can try.
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I don't get why in America ( and not only), you get in to the elevator on ground floor, and it's called the first floor. The next floor above is called the second. When the first floor above the ground level should be first floor, not second.
The ground floor has a floor. So, it's the first floor of the building, unless you want 1 to be the top floor and count up as you go down, which is of course silly. So, the first floor you encounter being called the first floor makes perfect sense to me.
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The USA did not enter WW2 until after they were attacked at Pearl Harbour.
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Anyone can start a post on Boredpanda. Why don't you do it?
Load More Replies... I have one for you... children beauty pageants... that's legalised child abuse... wtf is that?
Children's beauty pageants are f****d up and a paradise for pedophiles
Load More Replies... I have a double opinion about this post. Part of me thinks this is good because we have a chance to find out about each other's cultures and discuss important topics, yet, the other part tells me this is just another one of the America-bashing material. And it horribly polarises the world, as if there's only U.S.A vs. EU. I dunno, I agree most of these are dystopian problems, but honestly, I'm a bit tired of all this bashing. It's more useless than it seems.
Agreed. We've got lots of problems and probably criticize ourselves more than other countries. If we were to bash another country like this we'd be labeled insensitive American louts.
Load More Replies... Extremely expensive education and healthcare, because all the money goes to the armed force ... and putting so much money to the armed force in the territory who wasn't attacked since Pearl Harbour.
Drives me nuts when their military is worshiped domestically as "protectors". From who? They are guarded by 2 oceans. NOBODY can touch them militarily yet they act as if soldiers overseas dying in other countries is somehow protecting them. SEAL teams attacking Jihadi extremists who want to attack America? Sure. But having bases all over the world and being the world police? Dumb.
Load More Replies... Guns. I’ve heard the arguments and I still don’t get it. Children are being murdered on a regular basis.
Tiny Dynamite, please stop trolling everybody. If America is so terrible, you're not going to change anything by just calling the US f****d up.
Some of these are true, but I don't understand why there are SO many posts making fun of Americans. Surely we can't be the only country that has problems. If there was to be a post making fun of the UK, our "insensitivity" would probably get added to this post. We realize our country is not doing great, but it's kind of unfair that every other country is on our back as well.
Sure, but some problems are unique to America. Like all the stuff about health care costs.
Load More Replies... if the U.S. is so horrible, why do so many people from other countries want to come live here?
Because they also believe the lies that are shown in TV programmes and films that show everyone to be rich and beautiful. I used to teach Tibetan exiles in India who could watch TV for an hour a day. They drooled over those programmes because America looked perfect. On the other side of the mirror, 600,000+ are homeless there.
Load More Replies... Half of Americans agree that most of these are serious problems. I don't think most Europeans get how politically fractured the US really is. There's a slight correlation between political ideology and whether you see these as actual "problems". Also, we actually do use the metric system here. We just have to layer a thin veneer of Imperial units over everything for about half the population.
"I don't think most Europeans get how politically fractured the US really is". You mean the place with Brexit and recent riots in the streets of Greece and France etc? That's the place where everyone agrees?
Load More Replies... Almost all of these issues are cause by one of two things; unregulated capitalism or overly zealous religion
The USA is one of the most Globally Prominent countries in the Media... of Course it's Stupidity is going to be Revealed more. Every country has its Stupid Aspects and I'm so tired of "USA bad, Europe good"
Look at the Whole Brexit mess... my Country isn't doing much Better. Indonesia dumps the most Plastic of all. N Korea literally Executes political Enemies. But wait, USA puts the Month before the Day...
Load More Replies... Lack of public transit wasn't mentioned for some reason. Since everyone is driving the streets look almost empty compared to Europe, especially after dark. Just looks eerie to me)
Oh, this one is the result of car companies and lobbyists, if I understood correctly. There are documentaries about this.
Load More Replies... Every country has it's good and bad. As an American this was hard to read. I understand a lot what is said but I also don't need to see people bashing my country.
But the USA bashes other countries all the time (not just the current president but past ones, too, but ESPECIALLY the current president) and insists it is the best country in the world. And none of the problems listed here are false; these show the reality of America, not the dream.
Load More Replies... The biggest impression I get from this post is how quick Europeans are to stereotype others. See, not so nice is it?
The irony in this sentence.... anyway, yeah, generalisations and stereotypes suck.
Load More Replies... I want to read more of these. It is interesting to see how America is seen from the outside. Sometimes I wonder if we in America have some type of Stockholm Syndrome lol
It's not all one or the other though. I'm outside USA, and some of these do confuse me, but others are applicable in other countries (ie student debts). I just think maybe this article is a little polarizing...(heh heh I used a 'z' in polarising, a random american/UK spelling difference that didn't seem to make the list)
Load More Replies... Why are Americans so set against a free health care system despite the rest of the world proving it works?
Because people are afraid of change, and the health care industry has spent billions of dollars to appeal to that fear.
Load More Replies... Almost every question can be answered by "Unchecked Capitalism." Every horrible problem in America comes down to the reality (or the illusion) that simply pulling yourself up the bootstraps means you will have zero problems.
So all the undeniable evidence is there. American society is totally r******d, inefficient, paranoid, childishly and hypocritically prudish, violent, lazy, unhealthy, backward, behind the times, illogical and just plain f****d up.
calling themselves americans when america is a whole continent, with 35 countries
Great video about US Americans made by American lady living for years in Prague / Czech republic. It's spoken in Czech so you have to turn the English subtitles on. The title says it all: Americans are strange. https://youtu.be/VpQYmrQktao
As an American I ask ALL of those questions myself. And I still don't have any more insight. This country is fubar.
You are free to leave at any time. I bet you won't. That makes you a hypocrite.
Load More Replies... This is really making me wish it was easier to move out of this country and convince all of my friends and family to come with me.
Americans thinking everyone in Africa is black, when I went there a while back they were shocked that i was white and from South Africa......Also we do not have wild animals running up and down the street.........................
Some of them were kinda dumb, but everyone’s different, people and countries too. So idk why they have to complain about how we’re different. Oh well...
The quality of our American life began to plummet with Reagan and has continued, making all the European observations here true. (I also agree with the ones about the flag, which preceded him). The Electoral College and Republicans and their donors are holding the country hostage with the help of ignorant racist, sexist fools who don't mind that they are being cheated of a decent life so long as people of color and women suffer more. I just hope Sanders wins big, and that it's not too late.
well - honestly the USA is one of the most crazy and psychologically as well as emotionally distorted countries in the world - it is a very dangerous fact for our planet the most powerful country is acting and feeling like a psychopath - sorry to say that but it is true - most of media in the USA are lying - to see the whole theatre around Trump is ridiculous - what a challenge for the collective hipocrisy
Ooh. Why does England have a royal family that gets paid big bucks for just being royal when Parliament is actually in charge & don't get paid the same?
Some of these are over generalized & don't apply to the entire US population. Some I agree with.
I'm an American an I wonder why new drugs that are curing ailments overseas aren't quickly approved here.
Because our government is interfering, that's why. The Federal government is highly inefficient, and the FDA, which has to approve all drugs, moves slowly. That is why many Americans want LESS government in our lives, not more.
Load More Replies... "My country 'tis of the thee, sweet land of artillery.." But seriously tho, people here are ridiculously obsessed with guns.
Where do I start? Let's start with killing. The US Government has a higher defense budget than the next ELEVEN highest budgets COMBINED. The US manufactures in the ballpark of 10 MILLION guns every year, and the US has more firearms in private hands than any other nation on Earth by a WIDE margin. American media and entertainment is just SOAKED in brutally violent imagery, while showing a nipple or saying a swear word is enough to get you fined or arrested. Outside of an ACTIVE war zone, there is no country on EARTH where they spend more time killing each other, talking about killing each other, fantasizing about killing each other or simply preparing to kill each other. The whole country is full of sociopaths.
At least for Germany - when you tell an Amercian, that you are German, they will always have story to tell about them, their relatives, their neighbours... who comes from germany oder has been here. - is it the same for other countires? ---- and 4-way-stop signs. Why? eather give the right of way for one direction or install traffic light. OOOOR use a roundabout, but of, they don't know how to drive through these :)
What i really don't understand about us citizens is that way of always acting. Most of them are dramatizing every little thing in their life,and playing roles, like they are on a stage. I find it pretty sad.
That's what BP is for, haha. Everyone complaining and virtue signalling.
Load More Replies... No doubt our USA has both good and bad things, like every other country. But here's a question for all non-Americans on here: if we're so questionable, why does so much of the rest of the world passionately embrace our culture? Why do so many of your people beg for our Levi's Jeans, Nike shoes, Apple products & access to our social networks? Those ones I sort of understand, but they also embrace the stupidest parts of our culture, our fast food, our diabetes-giving Coca-Cola & Starbucks, our dumb pop music and sitcoms. We don't embrace brands from other cultures nearly as much as the billions around the world embrace brands from ours. Of course US culture is itself a hodge podge of things, much of which was borrowed heavily from many other cultures, but we seem to have a knack for packaging and marketing culture into things that a major chunk of the rest of the world wants. Does that raise questions about us or them?
We wouldn't have so many problems if the rest of the world would stay the hell home and fix their own problems. They all think this is the land of plenty. Yeah, plenty of people escaping the problems of their own countries. -and then they want us to change to fit their notions of what we should be and what we should provide for them.
Nobody, absolutely NOBODY ever asked your country to come and fix their problems. And while you might have a lot of immigrants, you are not number one destination for immigrants in the world. That is actually Europe.
Load More Replies... They have TV programmes such as 'Naked and Afraid' and then blur the breasts and genitals as though we mustn't see them because we might be offended! Also, I believe that one girl even sued the TV station because a programme was aired and they had failed to censor her vagina in one scene! How hypocritical is that?
HAVE ANY OF YOU EVEN BEEN TO THE USA?!?!?! OR ARE YOU JUST GOING ON HEARSAY???? Practically none of this is correct.
Ah yes. These things are exactly what I myself hate about country. I cannot tell you how badly i want to leave.
Well, you might need a good financial plan, but you actually can leave. Pick your favourite country, find out about their visa requirements and maybe start looking for job offers in your country of choice. Some companies in some countries even have you covered with a place to stay/live. But most will not provide flight costs, sadly. Still, you can try.
Load More Replies... I don't get why in America ( and not only), you get in to the elevator on ground floor, and it's called the first floor. The next floor above is called the second. When the first floor above the ground level should be first floor, not second.
The ground floor has a floor. So, it's the first floor of the building, unless you want 1 to be the top floor and count up as you go down, which is of course silly. So, the first floor you encounter being called the first floor makes perfect sense to me.
Load More Replies... The USA did not enter WW2 until after they were attacked at Pearl Harbour.
Load More Replies... Anyone can start a post on Boredpanda. Why don't you do it?
Load More Replies... 