Americans Share Harsh Truths The Rest Of The World Is Probably Not Ready To Hear Yet, Here Are Their 30 Answers
It’s no secret that the most powerful country in the world often stands out from the rest. And if there’s one thing we can all agree on, people seem obsessed with sharing deeply held beliefs about the nation. Whether it's hilarious memes that poke fun at the country or things America is doing right, opinions about the US are split. But as they say, with great power comes great responsibility, so why don’t we let the citizens themselves speak their minds for a change?
Well, Redditor Tell_me_why- did precisely that when they reached out to the Ask Reddit community: "Americans, what is the rest of the world not ready to hear?" The post immediately became a hit. Thousands of users wasted no time typing out the quirky things that people from other countries are unaware of, and sharing some hard truths along the way.
To get to the bottom of this question, we’ve gone through the thread and picked out some of the most surprising and thought-provoking responses to share with you all. Continue scrolling to read through these answers, as well as our interview with travel writer and blogger from the US, Megan Starr. Then upvote the posts you agree with and be sure to share your own takes with us below in the comments!
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More Americans would travel if they could. There is criticism of Americans not being curious of other cultures. Some of that is valid, but travel isn't easily within people's means in the US. With no mandated vacation time and crippling low wages, having the time and money to travel to other countries isn't realistic for most Americans.
You don't need to travel the world to learn there is a world outside of the USA, there are other ways to learn: literature, films, heck even youtube videos!
The only reason "Florida Man" exists is because of Florida's laws about the accessibility of crime documentation, which makes it a goldmine for tabloid journalism.
On the Fourth of July, millions of Americans celebrate their nation’s birthday by having parades, setting off fireworks, and, apparently, reflecting on the values that have carried the country since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. After all, we’re used to hearing non-citizens having some strong opinions about the US, but according to this viral Reddit thread in question, Americans have plenty to say as well.
We reached out to Megan Starr who is originally from Virginia, US, to hear more about this topic. She is one of the founders of a travel blog called Megan & Aram that’s all about visiting Scandinavia, the Eastern bloc, and beyond. Before going on her adventures to explore and learn more about the world, she also traveled across the US, visiting every undeniably beautiful corner from Hawaii to the Great Lakes.
Megan told Bored Panda she has been living abroad for 12 years of her adult life but is currently visiting her family back home. "The atmosphere is sad," the blogger revealed. "The division is sad. Everything is politicized currently, and regardless of which side someone stands on, no one really seems content here at the moment."
I went to Italy and there was a restaurant selling "American pizza" which was pizza with french fries hot dogs and more ranch than pizza. He said it's authentic American pizza and it's how everyone eats pizza over there. I told him I'm from America and I've never once seen anyone eat that... He told me i was wrong and it's how all Americas eat pizza
Y'all are crazy too
This is the usual way to sell "original food from..." in another country. Creators are selling dishes they saw on TV but on steroids.
Despite there being an obesity epidemic, there are many MANY children who are hungry. Unfortunately, the foster care system is a worse outcome sometimes. We have many, many hungry children.
And America will have lots more uncared for children soon enough. Thanks so much supreme Court /s
The government is not an accurate reflection of the people. The vast majority of Americans are moderates who have views all over the spectrum depending on the topic.
When asked about her thoughts on the situation in the US right now, Megan said it seems like people are stuck in a never-ending circle, and no one sees the bigger picture. "Even the ones merrily taking rights away from others are still whining about things," she referred to the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for dozens of states to ban abortions and ending the constitutional right to safely terminate pregnancy for millions of Americans.
But according to Megan, it doesn’t stop there. "You have people complaining about losing their 401k, yet they donʻt want more government involvement to help people have a seamless and stressless retirement. You have others complaining about gas prices, yet they donʻt want to invest in electric cars or research or public transportation. You have others whining about having to get a vaccine because it is 'their body, their freedom,' yet many of these same people want to impose restrictions on female bodies."
A lot of the world may know the origin story of America. At its core, it began as an experiment in decentralization of authority with the goal that there would be no overarching ruler deciding what you can and can't do. That's why the concept of states' rights exist.
What the world may not know is how extreme that concept has become over the last 50 or so years. At this time, it's more apt to say that your employer's HR policybook has far more say over your life than any law, be it local, state, or federal. Things have become so skewed in favor of "job creators" that depending on who you work for, you could be free as in freedom, or you could be no better off than an indentured servant. Think about what other countries' governments give their citizens as a right of citizenship: health care, higher education, comped maternity leave, childcare subsidies, guaranteed minimum time off, adequate public transit, just to name a few. Think about what the US government doesn't offer: all of the above, and more. But there are some corporations who do offer equivalents to those: health insurance, tuition reimbursement, per-employer maternity leave policy (which is typically not very generous), and lately some have been extending perks like unlimited vacation (still subject to your manager's approval), transit pass reimbursement, or private shuttles.
The truth is our government really is only good at two things, and that's incarcerating people and findng money to build weapons with. Everything else, they delegate to "job creators". That's why there's such a huge obsession with job creators here - they're the only way most will experience even a fraction of the amenities that other nations' citizens take for granted.
It's a double-edged sword though. Many states are "at-will" states - meaning your employer can fire you for any reason at any time, including no reason. That, combined with everything I described above, means that most people live under the fear of losing their job. Because if you lose your job in America, you have nothing. Employers have taken this position of power and leveraged it to have near-complete control over the day-to-day operations of society, and to government, to an almost equal extent. Labor has little power over their lives and their country.
America isn't a dictatorship. It's a nation of a hundred thousand micro-dictatorships, each presiding over everyone on their payroll.
EDIT: made wording less unjivey
Most of us are just normal folks, trying to get by - it's just 10% at each end of the political spectrum that are dingbats, but they get all the media coverage and give the rest of us a bad name.
We aren't uncultured because we don't travel, it's just that our states are the size of your countries. I can drive 8 hours in my state, and still be in my state.and then you have Texas
Hmmm...dunno, 'bout the reasoning given here - Australia isn't a great deal smaller than the US and we're a long way from a lot of places, yet we're big on travelling and we definitely hold a lot more passports percentage wise than the US.
"The entire political atmosphere of the country is just sad and nearsighted. There is no separation of church and state, and there is no religious freedom here anymore," Megan told us.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to her homeland, the blogger stressed. Citizens want to create a better country for themselves and the generations to follow, and change is slowly coming. "I want people outside the US to know that most of the younger generations get it and we are fighting. But, we are fighting a two-party political system where one part leans towards extreme right-wing and the other is called a democrat but is still right-wing."
"We are fighting a broken system that doesnʻt represent our society well at all," she added. "And instead of voting on issues, we vote for people and the entirety of what they come with."
Everyone likes to harp on our past of slavery but we didn't invent, nor were we the biggest ones to do it. If we cast a light upon other countries past they would look bad also. Humans in general are incredibly sh*tty throughout time.
We have a horrible history when it comes to the treatment of our Indiginous people in Australia. And we still have a loooong way to go.
That someone personally spent over $400 million on a replica of Noah’s ark in Kentucky. Like actually. I’m not even kidding. It’s several football fields long.
This money spent on homeless, hungry and education could save so many. HATE when religion only glorifies itself.
One positive trait Megan pointed out about fellow Americans was their sociability. She told us that people who visit the US often feel surprised at how genuinely friendly they are. "Even in today's tense climate here, people are still so sweet and it feels like you never meet a stranger. I have been living on the other side of the Atlantic for so long that it always shocks (and pleasantly surprises) me when I come back to the US."
Europe has a racism problem as well. I moved from America to Europe and yall jump through so many hoops to pretend that America is the only place with racism despite how blaringly blatant it is in Europe.
Edit: obviously I know Europe is not a singular country, I just did not feel like listing all the European countries I've lived in or traveled too.
Editedit: If yall really wanna focus more on the fact that I said Europe instead of listing every country I've ever been to than on the racism thing then you're really just proving my point.
Twitter/Reddit are probably the worst representation of american culture possible. Life outside these two platforms are completely different no matter what way you spin it. Reason being, extremist opinions are the ones that get the most fake internet points, so thats all you will ever see.
We were also curious to learn about the biggest differences between her homeland and other cultures she noticed throughout her travels. When it comes to the main thing that makes people there stand out from the rest of the world, Megan said it’s definitely the amount of confidence they have in themselves. "You can instantly detect it from the other side of a room," she added.
"Other nationalities have their own opinions about this, but I honestly donʻt think it is anything bad, generally speaking. We grow up in a society where even the most introverted people are somewhat extroverted." Megan said that people in the US play sports, are part of clubs, and definitely don’t shy away from having dinner alone at a restaurant. "We donʻt speak softly, we talk to strangers, and we might be lost in a city — but we will look confidently lost and going in the wrong direction!"
80% percent of all Americans don’t have $500 in their savings account
I cant even afford to start a savings account. Currently i have $5 in the bank, no gas left in my tank, another work week and i don't get paid for another week. Bills are way too expensive, food is too expensive and gas right now is crazy.
Y’all arent as smart as you think. Dont get me wrong, we are morons. But stupidity is a human trait, not just an American one.
We do **stupid**s**t. But thankfully we don't think shark fins will make our d***s bigger.
Most traditional medicine is all placebo and should be banned. China has a lot to answer for when it comes to the decimation and brutality of animals for their horns, tusks, fins etc. Yes the rest of the world has issues when it comes to animal welfare but nowhere near as bad as China to be more specific.
"America vs. the rest of the world" comparisons shared online by anyone with an internet connection are nothing new. People are always eager to chime in on the discussions about this topic, something that Megan finds pretty annoying and can’t seem to figure out. "We are a country of 325 million people (or more) with a totally different background and history than any other place on the planet. Even if there are similarities in (white) culture, it doesnʻt mean that we are the same."
America isn’t the best by far, but as an African American I know the racism in other big countries is way more overt, I’ve experienced it and sadly realized America is one of the few places I can live in somewhat peace
We are not a monolith. The difference in culture between states, even COUNTIES or TOWNS can be massive. Making a generalized statement about “Americans” is really just disingenuous
Making generalized, and usually highly stereotypical and based on TV which is mostly fantasy, including those erroneously called “reality”, statements about any country is fodder for keeping us bogged down in stupid non-issues. Let’s put all that aside, quit insulting each other, and start realizing we’re way more alike than different.
America is more welcoming than most other countries.
For example, I've been living in Korea for almost three years. I could speak the language perfectly, interact with the community, learn the customs and traditions, and yet I still wouldn't be considered Korean, or even be looked at as a Korean citizen. I wouldn't belong, because I don't look Korean.
But in the U.S, you can be from pretty much anywhere and be accepted as an American. You might look African, Asian, European, but you would be considered American. And you would belong. And it's awesome.
The U.S is one of the most welcoming places in the world.
Megan pointed out that negative comments about the US usually stem from the fact that the country’s news, media, and movies are blasted on TVs and screens across the world, "so most people have a rough idea of what is going on." Moreover, she explained that it feels like it almost became acceptable to ridicule and share harsh reactions about her native country. "Whereas if this happened to another place, it would not be so accepted."
"Interestingly enough, many of the comments come from people who donʻt even know their own political systems. I had people from Australia and Germany come at me a decade ago for same-sex marriage not being federally legal in the US. It was also illegal in both countries (and didnʻt get passed until after the United States made it legal)," Megan told us.
Most Americans, be they liberal or conservative, are not nearly as hateful as you might assume from reading Reddit posts or watching American news programs.
M*A*S*H is better without the laugh track.
Most things are . . . but it would make viewing Congressional Hearings a whole lot more entertaining, also inserted during political speeches, and most religious news.
Not all Americans have money
Edit: most don't
Most don't while a large number works hard at multiple jobs just to slow down the sinking.
"We are a big country and our views are anything but homogenous. Many of us are fighting as hard as we can against a system that is set up for the wealthy white man," she said. "But it is not an easy fight, especially when the system does 'work' for some people and they have the mentality of 'if it ainʻt broke, why fix it.'"
We won't stop until the rest of you are as fat as us.
Americans are not the only annoying tourists in the world. We can be bad sure, but I have met PLENTY of [jerks] from all sorts of countries visiting.
Sometimes reading through Reddit you get the sense that the only people in the world with bad travel manners are Americans.
The worst tourists I have come across are actually Asians. Edit: as some have pointed out, Asian is to broad of a term. My apologies. I am mainly talking about Chinese. I am not saying all Chinese either, it's just they do have a reputation of being disrespectful and rude as tourists.
The use of the Metric system is way more prevalent than you think.
The only thing that gets me about this is when I'm watching repair vids on YouTube. Yeah, this wood is 20/13ths of an inch. Cool bro, how many mm is that?
Henry Winkler gets even cooler after happy days.
I had a developmentally disabled girl who went to a convention with her dad where Henry Winkler was going to be. He picked her out of the crowd and went to give her a kiss on the cheek and she went Yuck and wiped it off. Everyone was laughing including Mr Winkler. So I believe that he's a great great guy.
Most people in the US do NOT have guns. The reason for the "There are 400,000,000 guns in the US" is because guns are counted when they are sold, but they are not counted when they are destroyed, broken or disposed of (legally or illegally) so when you have a number that only goes up, guess what. It gets really big. It's also possible guns are double counted when one owner sells a gun to another person. Also, most gun owners own more than one gun, so you can't just divide the number of guns by the number of people because you have that one guy with 20 guns.
So, when you come to visit, relax. There aren't cowboys and gangbangers on every street corner.
Twitter is a very small community where just 10% of users make up 80% of the content.
Twitter is where people with the attention span of a flea go to get their news and outrage.
We're really f*****g nice. If you're here, you're one of us. For example, I'm sure you heard about Russians here getting harassed after the war popped off. But for every person that was acting like a fool, there are 100 others asking them "Are you ok? Is your family ok? I'm glad you're here and not getting sent to war." In general we want good things for people.
Many Americans don't have passports because the US is so big and diverse that you don't have to leave the country.
Edit: I meant geographically diverse, with mountains, deserts, skiing, nice beaches, major cities, etc... Obviously for real cultural diversity, you'd need to leave the states, although there is the argument for regional diversity across the US.
Here in Australia, we're nearly as big - arguably more geographically and culturally diverse - and we're a fair way away from a lot of places so flying takes a long time and airfares aren't as cheap - yet we hold 20% more passports than the US.
We have more cities than New York, LA, and Miami. It's not just these 3 places and the rest is flyover country.
Also, our country is HUGE. The bigger states, like mine (PA), you can drive for 6 hours in one direction and still be in the same state. I remember my family had to tell an English couple that was going to be in Erie for a week or two that we wouldn't be able to meet them for tea since we're on the opposite side of the state.
That goes for flights, too; you won't be able to visit New York, LA, and Miami all in one or two weeks.
Reddit is an awful representation of America. It's an awful representation of reality in general but awful representation of America as well.
I've always assumed that Reddit was where the incels hung out and represented the worst of America.
America is not as exclusive and xenophobic as you might think. Nearly anyone of any origin can come here and be considered American. Whereas if you visit a lot of other countries no matter how much you know about or appreciate their culture, or how long you have lived there, they will never consider you one of them.
That is in fact true. Except maybe some specific parts of the US...and of course, if you're not Christian
American food isn’t just burgers and fries. It’s Americanized versions of all the cultures that immigrated here. Like hard shell tacos, ny and Chicago pizza etc.
Mexican American here. Yes. This is still the land of opportunity.
A large majority don't care about covid, gun violence or racism, which are still major problems in the US. Everyone is just concerned about their own happiness and making it through the day.
Americans generally disagree with alot our government does especially in other countries and we would love to just focus on the U.S. for once.
So you have a government that doesn't represent the people? And still you call yourself a democracy?
The United States of America is a collection of 50 united states that all have distinct semi-autonomous governments and economies, as well as distinct histories, ethnic, racial and religious makeups, climates and topographies, and cultures. Each of these states is itself divided into regions, parishes, counties and districts of its own. The fact that we’re not only still a unionized, functioning country at all, but the most powerful/influential, richest, and currently the 17th-best-quality-of-life country in the world, means you could probably stand to stop judging us every once in a while. Like, sorry we’re not one tiny population of one ethnicity of people who have been living in the same land for hundreds if not thousands of years while practicing pretty much the same religion/culture. If you’ve met one American…you’ve met one American.
We are not dumb, but those stupid public experiment skits that depict people from the States not knowing their own country’s geography and things like that are the only thing people see that represents any sort of intelligence from Americans
Racism is not just an American problem.
I’ve heard so many Europeans say that only in America do people of color experience discrimination, and that in Europe everyone lives in total peace and harmony and no one “sees color.” Complete BS.
Sure - racism, prejudice, and xenophobia exist all around the world in some form or another. But America does seem to have a far greater issue around skin colour than many other countries. Combine that with the gun control laws (or lack thereof) and it all looks pretty unattractive from my end of the world.
When all you do to get a good idea of what America is like is scroll through Reddit or Twitter, you’re not. You’re just making yourself look like a dumbass
Racism.
America is always trying to come to grips with its racism, but it's actually one of the least racist countries I've lived in (and I've lived in many).
The countries with the worst racism are the counties that never talk about their racism.
surprise surprise, we’re not all morbidity obese and eat greasy food all day
when we ask for ice they give us a full cup
27 US states are actually farther north than the southernmost point of Canada
Got two.
1. A majority of us **did/do not** support or even have neutral feelings towards Trump, most of his votes were a casualty of the two-party system. Every Conservative/Republican I knew except for 2 people hated the man but couldn’t bare to vote for Hillary Clinton. Your statistics on the 2016*election voting that you love referencing (“Over 50% of your voters support him, so clearly he must be widely loved!”) didn’t account for the low voter turnout/Russian interference. When only the fanatical voters go to the ballot, the fanatical voters win. Equating his behavior or that of his Stans with average Americans is unfair and entirely exhausting.
2. We can’t simultaneously be told to be the world police *and* get yelled at for being the world police.
*edit: I did a brain dum dum
Dear French people, yes blackface is racist. Yes, you can do blackface as a French person, it is not uniquely an “American problem”.
America has problems yes, but I feel people use our problems to make use seem like we are the worst place to live in when other countries have it way worse.
It's not your problems that is source for satire, it's that America has the means to be so much greater than it claims to be at this moment but its not utilized.
Americans don't all think "everything is about them" on reddit or that no other countries matter. Americans are just by far the biggest demographic on the site (last time I looked up numbers it was like 49% of traffic a month as the US, and the second highest amount was 7% from the UK) so of course US related issues are going to come up the most
Can’t blame all the world’s problems on us.
Europe has plenty of its own issues with racism.
Everywhere else does too, but I'm focusing on Europe because I find they often act as if racism is a uniquely American thing that they can't comprehend
Europe really doesn't think that. This appears to be a US view of Europe, not a Europe view of Europe.
We have a buttload of fresh water. When the climate crisis is in full impact we will still have usable water in the country.
ETA: I said in the country, not that the entire country will have usable water. The Great Lakes are one of the largest fresh water systems in the world. And if you are worried about pollution here, you clearly haven't been to much of the rest of the world.
we have no control over most of the things you make fun of us for, you’re just being d***s mocking us for it
At this point in the list, people are trying to make excuses for why their country is so bad.
A lot of people bring up that we spend so much on defense, but don't realize we also defend a lot of other countries on top of our own.
Your people are just as stupid as our people. The only difference is media control.
Im not American but was raised there for most of my life. Its honestly one of the best places to live, its clean and has so many different places to visit, perfect weather and beautiful nature. The school system wasn't bad either I learned more stuff there than my home country which has great education as well. I don't understand why other people try to convince themselves that the US is bad. Sure i didn't live in a very big city but i still visited alot and they were fine aswell. The only thing that isn't good is the health care system but if u have insurance you'll be fine.
"if you have insurance, you'll be fine." - I highly doubt that! and anyhow this statement sounds pretty naive, there are may issues living and also working in the US compared to most European countries. It clearly depends how low you set the bar.
America isn't actually that bad, it's just the news
Yeah, sorry I disagree with this one. Just look at your healthcare, HOA's, countless mass shootings, abortion rights taken away, poor workers rights, the way homeless are treated, unfair voting system, poor education system, high rates of police brutality, lack of consequences for hate speech etc. Compared to most western/first world countries the US is severely lacking.
kfc will have a new seasoning on the chicken sandwiches
If it's not us dominant in world politics, then it's Russia and/or China. And as sh*tty as America can be, our people and our government have a lot more respect for individual liberties than either of those countries' governments.
There's an awful lot of people who describe Americans as dumb or uncultured, and seem to be completely unaware of the sheer quantity of American tech and cultural exports they consume on a daily basis. What they don't seem to get is that American culture has become so dominant and ubiquitous, that it's just assumed to be the "standard".
It's especially amusing when these criticisms of Americans as "dumb" are written in the comment sections of websites founded and based in the US like reddit or YouTube.
I don't mean to be an a*s but I really need some examples of 'American tech and cultural exports' that we consume on a daily basis, aside from Apple and Microsoft (which are of course huge products).
Most of yall haven't worked in customer service and it REALLY shows.
Please. My American friend and I worked for competing retail chains, except I was in New Zealand and she was in the US. The trauma she ended up with was orders of magnitude worse than anything I experienced.
That our decline as a superpower will mean more frequent and deadly wars. For all the hate we get, the pax Americana is real.
There has been no final escalation since the use of the atomic bomb in WWII. So far.
Everybody hates America until Russia (or China) plays find the border.
Why is automatically assumed that America is better than Russia - both have doddery old men in charge who think of bombs first and have a shoot first as later mentality - and all the money is held by a few.
Chinese tourists are worse.
Neoliberalism is broken and failing.
If we stopped interfering in foreign affairs and pulled all our tax dollars away from foreign funding, many countries would fall.
Please pull your money out and keep yourself and your military within your borders. The world begs.
I heard non stop during 2020 how Europe was handling covid and just about everything so much better than America, and as of 2022 it seems that couldn't be further from the truth
No, you didn’t. You heard non stop that New Zealand and Taiwan were handling covid better.
There are two Portlands in the United States. One of them is the original one and I can guarantee your a*s it's not the one in the West.
Differentiate your Portlands.
EDIT: *Prominent* Portlands. Apparently there are tons of Portlands in the US, whoops lol.
EDIT 2: Okay *fine* I'll *tell you all*, it's Maine and Oregon. Portland, Maine came first; Portland, Oregon came second. Differentiate between these two, please. Good night.
It's likely the US will not ride to the rescue for the next international crisis. The world has relentlessly criticized us for every international effort - justly in many cases; unjustly in many others. Yet the world always pleads with us to save this third world [butt]hole or Europe or Asia - and criticizes again when we do.
In truth it is our own damn fault. But now Americans in general are tired of our government gaslighting us into wars and overseas spending just so our politicians pad their pocketbooks and look good in Paris and London parties. Furthermore, our economy and military is on the wane. So even if we want to, it may not be an option. Suck up to China and Russia or hope Europe cuts back on its social welfare and starts doing the heavy lifting in their own defense.
I suspect this is going to come as a shock. The US hasn’t been begged nor invited into a European war in the history of ever. The only times you got involved were when your own sovereignty was threatened or you had a vested interest in the natural resources of the country that was being invaded.
American food is damn good. Better than most of the world’s
Not talking abt fast food , but our regional and local cuisines. From Cajun and creole to Chesapeake to Tex mex and Nuevo Californian cuisine. And everything in between.
And the food cultures in our cities is stellar and some of the best in the world, if not the best. Thank you immigration and entrepreneurial culture both! From NYC to San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago.
And a non-chain hamburger (whether local restaurant or home grilled) is mouth-watering great
That every country's electorate are just as stupid as Americans.
Hardly. There's a good number of left wing governments in the world and developed socities because of it.
Despite the s**t America gets, y'all have asked for our help more times than we've asked for yours.
We make good cheese.
We make good beer.
We make good wine.
We make good chocolate.
If you come to the U.S. and can't find good cheese, beer, wine, or chocolate; that's definitely a *you* problem.
America’s absurdly large military budget is indirectly allowing many, many countries to neglect theirs and allowing them to spend a great deal on other things. You know, the things people from those countries “just can’t believe Americans don’t have”….
Try to reduce that budget and your congress critters of both parties will revolt. Pork barrel politics, politicians can't afford to lose the jobs in their districts. American altruism it ain't. Secondly, you pay more per capita for healthcare than any other country while the average American is afraid to visit their doctor. Where does that money go?
Many European countries are as racist if not more racist than the US. One example is your treatment of the Romani.
Don't make fun of our sh*tty health care system since you get to spend less on your military because we cover the lion cost of NATO.
It's not funny to make fun of school shootings. I know our children being [unalived] is hilarious but f**k off.
America really isn’t that “third world country in a Gucci belt” you think it is. Sure, we have our issues but it is a great privilege to live here. Those born in America or have been able to immigrate have really hit the lottery in life.
Edit: I want to clarify bc a lot of people saying this is something mostly Americans say, I promise you it isn’t. Having lived abroad for several years, I can tell you I have heard this statement more times from ignorant British folk than I have an American. Sure, there are some Americans who agree but I’ve never actually heard an American outside of social media unironically say it like I have with ignorant Europeans who most likely have never stepped foot in the United States before.
That being said, America has a lot of issues but I will never have to worry about be prosecuted for my sexuality, I can criticize my government and politicians without fear of retaliation, i have a passport that allows me to travel pretty much anywhere in the world, I have access to education, and many other privileges.
For all the s**t we take, much of the world's stability and security depends heavily on the US's massive military budget.
A lot of us find it annoying to hear countries older than us who don't have their s**t all the way figured out telling us how we should do things.
Yeah, and we're sick of you, a country spending more on weapons and military with homeless and hungry dying every day and many loosing the roof over their head because they got sick telling us what's democracy. A little hint - democracy is not USA controling all the oil in the world ;)
Fahrenheit is a good temperature system for measuring temperature's effect on humans.
Possibly, but it's absolute s**t for everything else, and why would you wanr more than one system to measure the same thing?
Ya'll need to spend more money on your military and stop calling us.
Who's calling? Afghanistan? Serbia? Iraq? Syria? Libya? Don't answer the phone.
Americans subsidize healthcare costs in the rest of the world. Medical supply companies sell more cheaply to other countries because they know they can rack up the price in America. If America moves to a single payer system, the collective bargaining power that will create in the US will probably cause healthcare costs in the rest of the world to increase dramatically.
For all the hate and jealousy non-Americans post about the US on reddit, they're really gonna miss it when the US collapses and China takes its place.
Apparently some people REALLY aren't ready to hear it
It's not hate or jealousy, mate, just a bit of corrective balancing. Someone once told me that Americans will never understand why the rest of the world doesn't love them as much as they love themselves. Somewhat true of Oz too, admittedly but we're more likely to mock (ie : take the p**s out of) any Aussies gone that far.
The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. [beep] A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. [ding] Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start.
For as much as you criticize us, you are dependent on our military to be the police of the world so that you can enjoy relative peace.
We grew up thinking USA was the police of the world, slowly realising it is really the bully of the world. No wonder USA need more military than the next 25 countries combined.
Without the US military Europe would once more be sending their men to major wars every 20 years as they did in a nearly unbroken chain of warfare since the fall of the Roman Empire. Also we subsidize your standard of living because you refuse to defend yourselves adequately- which given your incredibly violent past may be a good thing.
The U.S. never intended to become the "world's police" and only did so because the rest of the world couldnt keep its s**t together for more then 25 years before plunging itself into another world war.
The only reason a large majority of Europe exists is because U.S. military bases in Europe were the only deterrent to keep the Soviet Union from rofl stomping their way to the Atlantic.
When your cards are down you'll always call Papa America
So many of these are "if the US wasn't here/falls apart you guys would have shitty healthcare and all be at war" that it's annoying
Yeah, I'd like to see the actual reasoning behind why one or two of the people in these posts think the US subsidises free healthcare in other countries. Like, how does that work? And if you can subsidise the rest of the world, why can't you do it for yourselves?
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I think a lot of these were posted because us Americans are sick and tired of generalization. Yes big parts of the US culture suck. But it's not every person ever. It's not fun to be grouped together when we're all very different.
Most of these felt like ‘Americans expressive opinions to deflect reputation’. Gd damn man. Here’s mine (as someone originally from the US): Americans feel powerless to change their own world because they won’t take accountability for their own systemic flaws…
I feel powerless b/c my vote is gerrymandered to uselessness, and voting is how I can legally change the system, so I'm in a bit of a bind, you might say
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we someone from the us, i would like the second the statement of the dumbest americans are the ones who speak out the most and make the rest of us look bad lol.
Was this post designed by 5 loser old men and one piece of c**p woman trying to uplift capitalism?
Looking at this, I don't think this was even made by Americans. Sounds like they just took the top 20 American stereotypes and just said "no"
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I grew up in England for the first half of my life and have spent the second as a US citizen and I'm much happier here. Don't get me wrong, America has big issues but so do other countries. I see a lot of snobby, judgmental comments from people who most likely have never been here, that are completely untrue and uncalled for. The vast majority of people here are good, down to earth people. Maybe instead of spitting venom towards this country, consider concentrating on being more kind and open minded in your own selves towards other human beings. We are all in this together. Peace to all.
"I'm much happier here" - you're in good company: Fiona Hill hails from the UK and says she wouldn't have achieved the success she has had in the states if she'd stayed. She puts it down to the US being much more (though many would argue not enough) meritocratic than the UK, which keeps people in their station (Hill has a northern working class background - and the UK is, of course, run by southern aristocrats).
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This was probably the stupidest thing I’ve read. Not even a single person owned up to America’s issues. All of these people just provided p**s poor excuses to why their country is a total mess. The more responsible thing to do is it own up to your country’s problems instead of saying “without the US, your country would be a mess”.
I wholeheartedly agree. The comment deflecting the US’s history of slavery just because other countries “invented it” really left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Load More Replies... This list is bad, but I do have a question. Why is it that everyone acts like the US is so horrible and litteraly the worst, but we have the second highest immigration rates in the world? For such a horrible place you guys seem to really want to live here
Live here, raging for 40 years against the willful surrender of the promise/rights by fellow citizens, doing all you legally can, and then talk sh*t. Enjoy the schadenfreude of moral superiority, but watch out for karma. That's how the US got where it is. And that's not me being pi**y. That's me being old enough to see how these things turn out, and still fighting even against a system increasingly rigged against human rights (See: Supreme Court of the United States, AKA muppets.) Should I emigrate? Yeah. Will I? Well, since I'm not a refugee, I need a job and/or enough money. I can about afford a plane ticket. Now do you get it? It's only simple from *outside* this mess.
This whole topic is stupid. I think the rest of the world should decide for themselves what they are and aren't ready to hear! Why would Americans decide that? And what makes them think we don't know a lot of this stuff already? Enough with this whole "America is the center of the universe" stuff. It's just another country.
The amount of knee-jerk hatred and bigotry spewed in the comments here is really disturbing. The reason I joined this site was because of the thoughtful, empathic comments most Pandas post. Apparently, your empathy doesn't extend to the US, and you learned nothing from this article. Instead, you doubled down on your pigheaded belief in the American stereotype. Some of you need to grow TF up.
really sorry you got downvoted. I got booted for a while for sarcasm. Yet people can say much worse and remain. Go figure, eh?
Load More Replies... yeah, knew I was gonna get downvoted. It's so funny as an Aussie to do it in any public place. The sideeyes are serious
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#20 You’re either 1 big country or 50 little ones, you can't have it both ways!
I'm from one town across the river {from where i live now} where certain words must be pronounced a certain way or people might just ignore you, get angry or just walk away. There are words in our local accent that need you to skip certain letters in order to pronounce them properly. i believe that it has something to do with the Dutch founders of the town.
The last half of this list proves that the education system here in the US (my home country) is beyond bad
Why would you non-Americans come to read this post if the only thing they are going to do is insult each submission? ESPECIALLY the Australians who were constantly complaining about our country being big (bigger than Australia in fact). But a lot of the submissions in this post were based on mere opinions and y’all all had to complain and diss the opinions of the Americans who posted for tally o read.
So many of these are "if the US wasn't here/falls apart you guys would have shitty healthcare and all be at war" that it's annoying
Yeah, I'd like to see the actual reasoning behind why one or two of the people in these posts think the US subsidises free healthcare in other countries. Like, how does that work? And if you can subsidise the rest of the world, why can't you do it for yourselves?
Load More Replies... I think a lot of these were posted because us Americans are sick and tired of generalization. Yes big parts of the US culture suck. But it's not every person ever. It's not fun to be grouped together when we're all very different.
Most of these felt like ‘Americans expressive opinions to deflect reputation’. Gd damn man. Here’s mine (as someone originally from the US): Americans feel powerless to change their own world because they won’t take accountability for their own systemic flaws…
I feel powerless b/c my vote is gerrymandered to uselessness, and voting is how I can legally change the system, so I'm in a bit of a bind, you might say
Load More Replies... we someone from the us, i would like the second the statement of the dumbest americans are the ones who speak out the most and make the rest of us look bad lol.
Was this post designed by 5 loser old men and one piece of c**p woman trying to uplift capitalism?
Looking at this, I don't think this was even made by Americans. Sounds like they just took the top 20 American stereotypes and just said "no"
Load More Replies... I grew up in England for the first half of my life and have spent the second as a US citizen and I'm much happier here. Don't get me wrong, America has big issues but so do other countries. I see a lot of snobby, judgmental comments from people who most likely have never been here, that are completely untrue and uncalled for. The vast majority of people here are good, down to earth people. Maybe instead of spitting venom towards this country, consider concentrating on being more kind and open minded in your own selves towards other human beings. We are all in this together. Peace to all.
"I'm much happier here" - you're in good company: Fiona Hill hails from the UK and says she wouldn't have achieved the success she has had in the states if she'd stayed. She puts it down to the US being much more (though many would argue not enough) meritocratic than the UK, which keeps people in their station (Hill has a northern working class background - and the UK is, of course, run by southern aristocrats).
Load More Replies... This was probably the stupidest thing I’ve read. Not even a single person owned up to America’s issues. All of these people just provided p**s poor excuses to why their country is a total mess. The more responsible thing to do is it own up to your country’s problems instead of saying “without the US, your country would be a mess”.
I wholeheartedly agree. The comment deflecting the US’s history of slavery just because other countries “invented it” really left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Load More Replies... This list is bad, but I do have a question. Why is it that everyone acts like the US is so horrible and litteraly the worst, but we have the second highest immigration rates in the world? For such a horrible place you guys seem to really want to live here
Live here, raging for 40 years against the willful surrender of the promise/rights by fellow citizens, doing all you legally can, and then talk sh*t. Enjoy the schadenfreude of moral superiority, but watch out for karma. That's how the US got where it is. And that's not me being pi**y. That's me being old enough to see how these things turn out, and still fighting even against a system increasingly rigged against human rights (See: Supreme Court of the United States, AKA muppets.) Should I emigrate? Yeah. Will I? Well, since I'm not a refugee, I need a job and/or enough money. I can about afford a plane ticket. Now do you get it? It's only simple from *outside* this mess.
This whole topic is stupid. I think the rest of the world should decide for themselves what they are and aren't ready to hear! Why would Americans decide that? And what makes them think we don't know a lot of this stuff already? Enough with this whole "America is the center of the universe" stuff. It's just another country.
The amount of knee-jerk hatred and bigotry spewed in the comments here is really disturbing. The reason I joined this site was because of the thoughtful, empathic comments most Pandas post. Apparently, your empathy doesn't extend to the US, and you learned nothing from this article. Instead, you doubled down on your pigheaded belief in the American stereotype. Some of you need to grow TF up.
really sorry you got downvoted. I got booted for a while for sarcasm. Yet people can say much worse and remain. Go figure, eh?
Load More Replies... yeah, knew I was gonna get downvoted. It's so funny as an Aussie to do it in any public place. The sideeyes are serious
Load More Replies... #20 You’re either 1 big country or 50 little ones, you can't have it both ways!
I'm from one town across the river {from where i live now} where certain words must be pronounced a certain way or people might just ignore you, get angry or just walk away. There are words in our local accent that need you to skip certain letters in order to pronounce them properly. i believe that it has something to do with the Dutch founders of the town.
The last half of this list proves that the education system here in the US (my home country) is beyond bad
Why would you non-Americans come to read this post if the only thing they are going to do is insult each submission? ESPECIALLY the Australians who were constantly complaining about our country being big (bigger than Australia in fact). But a lot of the submissions in this post were based on mere opinions and y’all all had to complain and diss the opinions of the Americans who posted for tally o read.
