This Facebook Group Is Dedicated To “America’s Cultural Decline Into Idiocy”, And Here Are 50 Of The Funniest Memes
The United States is famous for many things: stunning national parks, delicious comfort food, a wide variety of landscapes and a beautiful blend of cultures. But along with the hundreds of Nobel Prize winners the United States boasts, it’s also home to a handful of individuals who seem to have slept through much of their education...
Below, you’ll find a list of photos from the Facebook group “America’s Cultural Decline Into Idiocy,” which documents exactly what it sounds like. We’re well aware that in a nation of 336 million people, not everyone can be the sharpest tool in the shed, so don’t judge the whole country based off these select individuals. But we hope you get a kick out of these pics, whether you’re from the US or not, and be sure to upvote the ones that cause you to facepalm.
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When you're so anti-government that you pay extra money to the government to show the government you don't support them.
Ah, the United States of America. Land of the free, home of the brave and home to a wide variety of individuals. As with any other country with such a large population, you’re bound to find some kooky people. But that’s just part of the fun, right? I’m from the US, and although I’m not always proud of it, as everyone I meet seems to have an opinion on it and knows much more about it than I often know about their respective countries, it will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s where I was born and raised, and my whole family lives there. So I might not bleed red, white, and blue, and I’m well aware that the country isn’t perfect, but I’m always happy to visit!
America’s Cultural Decline Into Idiocy might sound like a harsh name for a Facebook group, but it was created in good fun. It was launched on February 28th, 2015 by Aidan Hand, and it has amassed an impressive 232k members since then. When it comes to how the group was born, the creator shared in its about section, “Now, let me say this. I love America, and I love good old fashioned American culture, too. Baseball, Apple Pie, Family Values, Freedom, and national pride. With that said, there has been an undeniable ‘Dumbing Down’ of America in recent years.”
“Idiocy is all around us,” the group’s about section continues. “It's everywhere we look. I hear it in people's speech, I see it on TV, in advertising, and particularly in signage all across America. It's gotten to the point of not only being accepted, but sometimes defended, as well. When you point this stuff out, you're the bad guy, an insensitive jerk, and sometimes even labeled prejudiced! Well, I'm taking a stand, America! Because I love you, I'll be the bad guy for you!”
“My mission is simple: To point out the idiocy all around us when I encounter it, and hopefully make you laugh your [butt] off while I make my subtle, yet somewhat depressing point: We are in danger of becoming a nation of idiots!” the creator writes. “So, please go ahead and post the funny, insane, innocuous, and downright laughable examples of idiocy that you encounter each day. Let's enjoy it together!” The group is not intended to hate on the United States or bash everyone in it; it’s just here to make light of some of the most ridiculous behavior seen there and provide some good laughs. So please, pandas, understand that we have no intentions of bashing America with this list.
When you're an influencer but you don't know how to use the Roman numerals.
There may be many reasons why the United States has the quirks that it does, but one I can’t help but consider is the public education system. Now, the quality of education an American receives varies greatly based on what state, city, and neighborhood they live in, along with how many resources they have outside of the classroom. For example, a higher-income family will be able to afford tutors and SAT-prep that many other families would not have access to. So we wanted to explore what some of the biggest failures of the American education system are, which Kate Barrington at Public School Review has broken down.
First, Kate mentions a decline in government funding. “For more than 90% of K-12 schools, funding comes from state and local governments, largely generated by sales and income taxes,” she writes. “Research shows, however, that funding has not increased with need – many states are still issuing funding that is lower than it was before the Great Recession. Lower funding means fewer teachers, fewer programs, and diminished resources."
Sometimes asking valid qualifying questions is an ABSOLUTE must! #noregrets
Hahahaha!!! As an anatomical embalmer I highly approve of this pun.
The next glaring failure of the American school system that everyone around the world is keenly aware of is the decline in school safety. It seems like school shootings are in the news every week, nowadays, and it is absolutely heartbreaking to imagine the trauma that countless children have gone through, not to mention the parents who have lost their little ones. Kids can’t feel safe in their classrooms either, as one poll found that over 50% of teens in the US reported that they worry about gun violence at school, and teachers have to understand that they might be in a life-threatening position at work. There is debate over whether teachers should be armed at work, but these people signed up to be educators, not security guards. Unfortunately, the United States has yet to get school safety under control.
Chickens will eat some fresh grass, along with other things like seeds and bugs. The word she was looking for was "pastured" meaning they are outside in grassy fields during the day where they can forage to supplement their grain feed. It makes for healthier and happier chickens.
You're giving her the benefit of a lot of doubt.
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That's when you stop and say .. OK ... and point to a random chicken.
At some point I would probably just give up and just make a sale. "Yep. Organic and grass-fed. Double the price though."
She wanted her chicken to be "grass fed" and "organic" because these are the latest buzzwords. I doubt she even knows what they mean (and given I have seen things like "organic water" advertised, neither do the companies involved)
Actually, I think the companies DO. I think they are just after the $,from those such as the "grass fed, organic' chicken lady,who just tosses out the words,because they are the buzzwords.
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Chickens are vicious wee dinosaurs, have you seen them attacking and eating snails?
Ours ate froglets, and grass, the odd shrub, worms, little grasshoppers.
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This is why you mostly see only younger people in customer facing jobs. When you're young, you have the patience for that kind of idiocy. As you get older and the weight of life has crushed your soul and you no longer have patience for the bullsh*t, it's only a matter of time before you rip into someone and get fired.
That is not true always. Only yesterday I couldn't get my printer online and had to call the company that sold it. The person that helped me used almost 3 hours to make it work. She was 55 years old. Lots of patience. Sometimes you aquire it when you get old.
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Anyone who’s kept chooks in their garden will tell you that is woooeeeefully inaccurate
Our chickens ruthlessly devoured any blade of grass they could get their beaks into.
They do actually love grass. Come to think of it, I've never seen something they wouldn't eat. They will eat chicken bones if you feed it to them.
If this is the actual picture of that customer, the reason is self-explanatary...she's a blonde!
Uhh whoever said this has never had chickens. We had them at the equine dairy where I worked for three years. Had to keep moving the pen because they peck the soil clean as concrete in three days flat.
Chickens will eat grass, (mine do) but unlike cows, that's not really their diet lmao. They'll go hungry. Chickens don't graze-
I have no clue where to begin. Chicken do eat grass, just not ONLY grass. And thinking the guy at the counter would know something like that is just as idiotic. AKA... when two idiots meet.
Blame it on the hydrogen peroxide to achieve the blonde hair. She's been using it for so long it's saturated the brain cells.
She kinda looks like a certain Congress "person" from Georgia....🤮
That kind of people are natural victims of scammers like Gwenet Paltrow and others
Another example of sheeple who don't actually know enough things to be upset by things they wanted to be another thing of.
Whenever I happen to be in a Whole Foods, I turn the volume up on my music to drown out the whinging voices of the entitled people who shop there.
Grass smoked, or maybe try rubbing some of the hemp lotion from the previous post…
I was at a wholesale warehouse store and as I was approaching the meat section, I heard a young child wail, "Poor chickens, poor chickens!" for over a minute before the dad could calm him down.
Sending love to that compassionate child, he gives me hope
Load More Replies... Omg people! Sure but NOT EXCLUSIVELY! Grain and other feed...CAROTENE being the best. No organic grass fed chickens. First chick who posted...you mean FREE RANGE.
In the U.S. at least, "free range" simply means the chickens are not held in cages. They can still be cooped up inside a building together without much space between them. First poster was right - look for pasture-raised chickens when shopping, it means they get to at least go outside, and they have a little more space.
Load More Replies...We all know that having wonderful teachers can have a huge impact on our education, as they can more easily motivate kids and prevent them from viewing school as boring and pointless. Unfortunately, due to the pathetic salaries the US provides for teachers, it’s nearly impossible to find great ones. “Research shows that the average salary for public elementary and secondary school teachers dropped by nearly 5% between the 2009/10 school year and now,” Kate goes on to write. “States like Oklahoma and Colorado experienced a 17% and 16% decrease – these states also saw massive teacher walkouts in 2018.”
That's not stupid, that's college student level genius. Crappy move, but genius nonetheless.
Jonathan Haidt wrote a piece for The Atlantic titled, “Why The Past 10 Years Of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid,” and he addresses the fact that social media has essentially been fuel for the fire of political divisiveness, amplifying the more “idiotic” voices on both sides. “The dart guns of social media give more power and voice to the political extremes while reducing the power and voice of the moderate majority,” Haidt writes. “The ‘Hidden Tribes’ study, by the pro-democracy group More in Common, surveyed 8,000 Americans in 2017 and 2018 and identified seven groups that shared beliefs and behaviors. The one furthest to the right, known as the ‘devoted conservatives,’ comprised 6 percent of the U.S. population. The group furthest to the left, the ‘progressive activists,’ comprised 8 percent of the population. The progressive activists were by far the most prolific group on social media: 70 percent had shared political content over the previous year. The devoted conservatives followed, at 56 percent.”
Capable of committing the crime, then turns around and does this? No words.
So America’s “Cultural Decline” may actually have much more to do with perception than reality. “Part of America’s greatness in the 20th century came from having developed the most capable, vibrant, and productive network of knowledge-producing institutions in all of human history, linking together the world’s best universities, private companies that turned scientific advances into life-changing consumer products, and government agencies that supported scientific research and led the collaboration that put people on the moon,” Haidt explains.
But this arrangement is not self-maintaining, he goes on to note. It requires work. “So what happens when an institution is not well maintained and internal disagreement ceases, either because its people have become ideologically uniform or because they have become afraid to dissent?”
Haidt goes on to explain what he believes happened to many of America’s key institutions in the mid-to-late 2010s. "They got stupider en masse because social media instilled in their members a chronic fear of getting darted,” he writes. “The shift was most pronounced in universities, scholarly associations, creative industries, and political organizations at every level (national, state, and local), and it was so pervasive that it established new behavioral norms backed by new policies seemingly overnight. The new omnipresence of enhanced-virality social media meant that a single word uttered by a professor, leader, or journalist, even if spoken with positive intent, could lead to a social-media firestorm, triggering an immediate dismissal or a drawn-out investigation by the institution. Participants in our key institutions began self-censoring to an unhealthy degree, holding back critiques of policies and ideas—even those presented in class by their students—that they believed to be ill-supported or wrong.”
There's something very Muppet-esque about his expression; I blame the eyes mostly
If you’re from the United States, I realize that this list might not make you too proud of Americans. But it’s all in good fun; we know that you pandas aren’t anything like this! Plus, every country has its flaws. The United States is simply one of many imperfect nations. We hope you’re getting a kick out of some of these photos, as many of them could apply to people from around the world as well, and be sure to upvote the ones that make you facepalm the hardest. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring memes about the good old USA, look no further than right here!
I don't want to be the person who has to take care of the elephant erection or the clean up on aisles 12, 13 & 14 because a person is je$&ing off an elephant..gross
I can decide whether I'm gaining or losing braincells reading these posts.
Hemp is in fact a different product than Marijuana but thanks for playing.. I wouldn't try and keep that triple moisture hemp lit, I think it might be a struggle 😂
Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
I know this is supposed to be "Americas cultural decline " but people this dumb are everywhere. The scary thing is that they can vote and breed.
This was amusing but why, why, why tie it to the US? There are idiotic people everywhere. I would guess that some of these aren't even American FFS. Can it just be about idiots who show the decline of civilization and not make it US specific? Is the rest of the world an idiot free zone? C'mon BP...
Because BoredPanda “writers” don’t even write anymore. They are beyond lazy and just copy and paste from Reddit. As someone who works in the linguistics field it bothers me that they list "writer" in their profiles when they don't even do it! Plus, they don’t even edit as I discovered that one of the images is from the UK. It’s a totally click bait site anymore
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High-five, this week’s anti-USA post, woot woot! What a bunch of uncultured knuckle draggers, amirite?!
I understand your frustration. As a Brit I know perfectly well that we have soooo many people over here that can match and exceed this level of stupidly.
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Enough with these idiotic, hateful, and cruel posts against the United States and other countries. I’m an expat living here and I know that people from different countries are not a monolith. These posts are obnoxious and show that BoredPanda doesn’t listen to its readers. This used to be a fun site the celebrated quirky, feel-good stories around the web. This site also showcased a lot of new artists and artwork. Now it has become a really negative space. Please stop and think about the direction you are taking this site and actually listen to your readers. BoredPanda used to be a place to escape the toxicity of Buzzfeed and Reddit.
What you said. I get that people want to feel superior and that putdowns are an easy way to do it, but that doesn't make it okay, and the world is *so* interconnected that we can't just say, "Oh, they're (negative), ha ha!" Because we're all "they". And vice versa. Where's our cute kittens and funny "I saw Mickey Mouse in my soup" type posts?
Load More Replies... Yep, we're too dumb to pee without instruction. That's us Americans. We'll take back that US$ 50-plus billion annually in economic and military aid. About 16% of NATO's budget comes from the "dumbass" Americans. But why quibble about why we have so much defense budget when mockery is easier?
For many of these posts, we don't even know which countries they are, so why the hell is this article titled "America's decline"?
I can't believe that BP actually paid someone to write this utter shît. Half the examples are brilliant and quite deliberate puns that, apparently, escaped the author. For most of the rest, it's not possible to determine the nationality of the idiot. Conclusion: This is just gratuitous xenophobia, immature and stupid.
This article should've been titled "Boredpandas decline into xenophobic idiocy" and showcased all of your copy pasted listicles with the same majorly untrue points. And I was foolishly thinking you'd stopped these kinds of posts. ATP just call the site "We Hate Americans". I came to this site because I wanted actually interesting articles but I guess calling users "Bored pandas" really is fitting, because we're all bored of these same old tired articles. Fix your site.
To everyone commenting on why BP keeps publishing lists about the US, your comments are the exact reason they do it. They know if they put something about the US in the title, they are guaranteed the article will get clicks and comments complaining about it, which then boosts the page on the site. I am also very bored of the same lists about the US, but best thing to do is not click on them, or close them once you get annoyed. If people stop interacting, they will stop publishing them
B******t, people have written to BoredPanda staff time and time again about how obnoxious, cruel and hurtful these types of listicles are. They are flat out lazy and alienate an entire portions of their site. I am not even from the United States, but currently live here as an expat and the amount of hateful listicles this pumps out is really pitiful. People are allowed to be annoyed, please don't tell them that they can't.
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As a retail worker in England, you know the place that totally didn't make the English Language and have an Empire that spanned 1/4 of the world at one point, I can confirm that this level of stupidity is in fact everywhere. Just last Saturday I almost got run over in my own carpark by an old couple who thought they'd speed into the walkway with a Zebra Crossing right behind them and then get out and ask me if that was alright
Wow, what a sweeping generalisation! I’m an expat living in the US and the amount of cruel and stereotypical articles that BoredPanda writes about users from the US is mind boggling. It’s not silly or funny anymore. Would you like it if your home country was constantly bashed? I found that commenters on this site who call users from the United States butthurt are usually the first to complain when BoredPanda dares to say anything bad about their native country. There are idiotic people the world over. 😒
Load More Replies... I know this is supposed to be "Americas cultural decline " but people this dumb are everywhere. The scary thing is that they can vote and breed.
This was amusing but why, why, why tie it to the US? There are idiotic people everywhere. I would guess that some of these aren't even American FFS. Can it just be about idiots who show the decline of civilization and not make it US specific? Is the rest of the world an idiot free zone? C'mon BP...
Because BoredPanda “writers” don’t even write anymore. They are beyond lazy and just copy and paste from Reddit. As someone who works in the linguistics field it bothers me that they list "writer" in their profiles when they don't even do it! Plus, they don’t even edit as I discovered that one of the images is from the UK. It’s a totally click bait site anymore
Load More Replies... High-five, this week’s anti-USA post, woot woot! What a bunch of uncultured knuckle draggers, amirite?!
I understand your frustration. As a Brit I know perfectly well that we have soooo many people over here that can match and exceed this level of stupidly.
Load More Replies... Enough with these idiotic, hateful, and cruel posts against the United States and other countries. I’m an expat living here and I know that people from different countries are not a monolith. These posts are obnoxious and show that BoredPanda doesn’t listen to its readers. This used to be a fun site the celebrated quirky, feel-good stories around the web. This site also showcased a lot of new artists and artwork. Now it has become a really negative space. Please stop and think about the direction you are taking this site and actually listen to your readers. BoredPanda used to be a place to escape the toxicity of Buzzfeed and Reddit.
What you said. I get that people want to feel superior and that putdowns are an easy way to do it, but that doesn't make it okay, and the world is *so* interconnected that we can't just say, "Oh, they're (negative), ha ha!" Because we're all "they". And vice versa. Where's our cute kittens and funny "I saw Mickey Mouse in my soup" type posts?
Load More Replies... Yep, we're too dumb to pee without instruction. That's us Americans. We'll take back that US$ 50-plus billion annually in economic and military aid. About 16% of NATO's budget comes from the "dumbass" Americans. But why quibble about why we have so much defense budget when mockery is easier?
For many of these posts, we don't even know which countries they are, so why the hell is this article titled "America's decline"?
I can't believe that BP actually paid someone to write this utter shît. Half the examples are brilliant and quite deliberate puns that, apparently, escaped the author. For most of the rest, it's not possible to determine the nationality of the idiot. Conclusion: This is just gratuitous xenophobia, immature and stupid.
This article should've been titled "Boredpandas decline into xenophobic idiocy" and showcased all of your copy pasted listicles with the same majorly untrue points. And I was foolishly thinking you'd stopped these kinds of posts. ATP just call the site "We Hate Americans". I came to this site because I wanted actually interesting articles but I guess calling users "Bored pandas" really is fitting, because we're all bored of these same old tired articles. Fix your site.
To everyone commenting on why BP keeps publishing lists about the US, your comments are the exact reason they do it. They know if they put something about the US in the title, they are guaranteed the article will get clicks and comments complaining about it, which then boosts the page on the site. I am also very bored of the same lists about the US, but best thing to do is not click on them, or close them once you get annoyed. If people stop interacting, they will stop publishing them
B******t, people have written to BoredPanda staff time and time again about how obnoxious, cruel and hurtful these types of listicles are. They are flat out lazy and alienate an entire portions of their site. I am not even from the United States, but currently live here as an expat and the amount of hateful listicles this pumps out is really pitiful. People are allowed to be annoyed, please don't tell them that they can't.
Load More Replies... As a retail worker in England, you know the place that totally didn't make the English Language and have an Empire that spanned 1/4 of the world at one point, I can confirm that this level of stupidity is in fact everywhere. Just last Saturday I almost got run over in my own carpark by an old couple who thought they'd speed into the walkway with a Zebra Crossing right behind them and then get out and ask me if that was alright
Wow, what a sweeping generalisation! I’m an expat living in the US and the amount of cruel and stereotypical articles that BoredPanda writes about users from the US is mind boggling. It’s not silly or funny anymore. Would you like it if your home country was constantly bashed? I found that commenters on this site who call users from the United States butthurt are usually the first to complain when BoredPanda dares to say anything bad about their native country. There are idiotic people the world over. 😒
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