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“We Do Not Own Stupidity”: The World Blames The USA For Having These 45 Issues, But They Are Actually Everywhere
Americans are often targets of stereotypes. For example, one in four Europeans has a negative opinion about American tourists. Common complaints include that Americans are often too loud and expect everyone around them to speak English. In reality, tourists from different countries can be just as horrible; just because you're American doesn't automatically make you a bad tourist.
People make similar assumptions about other aspects of American life and culture. Some think that things like racism, obesity, and imperialistic tendencies are exclusively American issues, and are surprised when they find out they're not. In a recent online thread, netizens had more examples, prompted by someone asking, "What isn't a uniquely American issue that the rest of the world treats like one?"
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#1
Racism. Lived in Japan for 3 years and got told to "go back to my country" more times than I ever did growing up in Alabama. That one still sits weird with me.
Traveler-Nomad:
I’ve been all over both Europe and the USA. Racism is way more prevalent in most European countries, they just downplay the hell out of it. Americans hang up their dirty laundry for the world to see.
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#2
Loud, obnoxious and rude tourists.
I’m from Australia and I’m pretty sure my countrymen have this reputation in Bali.
ripyourlungsdave:
I live and work at the Grand canyon and I can promise you, every single race and ethnicity is obnoxious, messy, selfish and rude as a tourist.
I have had to spend upwards of a thousand hours over the last 3 years cleaning up litter around this tiny little village just to keep it from actively feeding plastic and cardboard to the elk and deer. And the multibillion dollar corporations operating this village can't do it themselves.
Also, I cannot tell you how many times I've turned around to find some little Chinese woman filming me without my knowledge. From what I'm told, it's just because I happen to be tall and look like a mountain man. Apparently that's something they want to share with people and it seems really rude.
#3
Obesity. Granted its a huge problem here, but also in North America as a whole (Mexico, Canada etc) we like food. [It] tastes good.
The US is bad for it cause junk is so easy to get and largely we don't travel by foot like other places. You pretty much need a car. We'd all be a lot thinner if we could reliable walk pre and post train/bus station.
Icy-Builder5892:
Some parts of Europe are catching up, too.
#4
Literacy rates. I’ve met adults who can’t form a proper sentence and kids who rely on AI to form every aspect of their lives so when it does end up running itself into the ground they’re going to be so very lost.
#5
Not knowing geography or about other cultures in general. I live in Japan and imo the average person here knows less about the world outside of Japan than the average American. At least we often have roots in other cultures and know some context. I've met an alarming number of Japanese people who think English is the only language spoken in most European countries lol.
I feel like the world gives Japanese people a pass on things like this, for some reason.
Edit: If you want to see my exact point, look at all the replies here. Apparently when Japan is ignorant of outside cultures in the year 2026 its because they're a kawaii island nation and can't help it. When Americans are, they're just dumb. Lol.
#6
LGBT rights! For its faults and the real backsliding we've been seeing, the US is still one of the best places to be LGBT+. Varies a lot by state of course!
#7
Political polarization. Every country thinks their politics are uniquely broken these days.
April Pickett 29 minutes ago
I will agree with that. We're not the only ones, but we're the most obvious, because we tell everybody about it.
#8
Work-life balance problems. Americans get blamed for it, but burnout culture exists almost everywhere now — just with different packaging.
Commercial-Egg-3615:
Overwork and hustle culture. Poland has the exact same problem. Everyone brags about 60-hour weeks like it is a personality trait. I automated my SaaS customer onboarding with n8n and AI. Now I work maybe 20 hours a week on it. The rest is gym, gaming, and actually living. Americans did not invent burnout, they just branded it better.
#9
Abortion is another current political issue that trips people up. I've had conversations with people looking down on the US for restricting women's reproductive rights, when their own country has much more restrictive laws than my US state does, even after Roe was overturned. Always kind of funny to see their reactions when I point that out with citations to back me up.
General Anaesthesia 15 minutes ago (edited)
It's the disappointment speaking. The US used to compare themselves to the best and say, "we can do better". Now they compare themselves to the worst and say, "we're better".
#10
Litter/trash/waste. Americans get lectured for the way they treat the earth but larger cities in Europe are quite dirty. Overflowing trash cans everywhere…the non removable caps are useless when the bottles still end up on the ground. The Coliseum is surrounded by paper and plastic trash on the ground.
#11
The US is not the only country that engages in/has engaged in foreign policy that disrupts other, “weaker,” countries. Yes, American imperialism is real, but so is/was British, French, Belgian, Japanese, Chinese, etc.
#13
[Bad] politicians. I mean maybe not every year but definitely this year and the next three.
General Anaesthesia 10 minutes ago
The influence of the US and its politicians in the world is far greater than that of a Liechtenstein politician.
#15
Education.
corivscori:
Education is a big frustration for me, as a special education teacher. I've worked with teachers who came here from Germany, Australia, Afghanistan, and South Korea. They are all absolutely shocked by our education system. You mean everyone gets to go to school? Even if they're dumb? Literal question my South Korean coworker asked me, in a classroom with intellectually disabled students. People talk about test scores, but they don't talk about the fact that most countries do not let students continue in school if they do not pass, and will not even test some students. Once you get to higher grades, only the best of your students are being tested. Whereas in the US, every single student is being tested. Students who are still learning English, students who need accomodations to access the curriculum, students who are disadvantaged. Our education system needs a lot of work for sure, but I am very proud of our efforts to make it equitable and accessible.
#16
It’s a niche one, but vaccine skepticism. If you measure the population and not the government, the US actually has fairly high levels of trust in science. The US is not even CLOSE to being the most anti-vax country in the developed world.
EDIT: the most vaccine-skeptical developed country is Japan, FWIW.
#17
Issues with the healthcare system. US has a cost issue that other developed countries don’t have. But it’s not sunshine and roses everywhere else.
General Anaesthesia 6 minutes ago
The US spends more per capita on for-profit "healthcare" than any other country, including those with universal healthcare. Universal healthcare could be cheaper without even touching the military budget.
#18
I would say the alt-right Christian Nationalist movement.
It’s global, and also pretty clear it has the hallmarks of a KGB psyop. They didn’t have to do anything other than turn a few aging morons and greedy tweens into their assets either.
#19
Not knowing where countries are. I saw a clip on YouTube of an English woman on a podcast or show who said after a bad breakup she booked a trip for a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. She thought Costa Rica was an area in Spain and didn’t realize it wasn’t until she got on the plane and the flight tracker was showing it was going over the ocean. The fact it was a 14 hour flight somehow didn’t clue her in that she was in fact not going to Spain either…
You just know if it was an American saying this the comments would be how dumb Americans are, our schooling is terrible, and “lol of course she’s American!!”.
#20
Tipping at restaurants.
ohhnoodont:
Canada is arguably worse than the US. In Europe it is becoming increasingly common (especially if you’re perceived as an American tourist). UK, Mexico it’s common. Places like Morocco have their own tipping culture that’s deeply embedded.
#21
Lawsuits. People think Americans are super litigious but Germany, Sweden, and Austria all have higher litigation rates.
#22
Ignorance and apathy regarding politics/government.
I am American but lived in the UK for 6 years. I knew several people who's entire political philosophy was "don't get involved". I dated a guy while there who referred to Winston Churchill as "the fat guy on our money". And while I didn't expect people in the UK to be experts on American history, my ex mother in law asked me who Americans celebrated independence from on July 4th every year.
I think people like to believe that Americans are uniquely ignorant, but I met a lot of clueless people in the UK, too.
#23
Unhealthy food.
Lilli_Puff:
Obsession with fast food. I've been to several countries in Asia and the Middle East who are obsessed with fast food just as much as Americans are.
Howl's sleeping castle 5 minutes ago
I gave myself fatty liver eating fastfood for a decade. And I live on the other side of the world.
#24
Calling a certain sport Soccer instead of Football. We are not the only country that uses the word Soccer.
#25
Trashy people. Oh, the US has some amazingly trashy folks but I have been on all continents except Antarctica, and let me tell you, I have yet to visit a country that doesn't have it's share of local trash.
#30
I've seen culture war politics, especially of the right described, as "American style politics" in the European press but American culture warriors have been lifting a lot from Europe for a decade now.
There's been a lot of cross polinating with GOP think tankers and anti-immigrant demagogues in Hungary and Poland. Post Obergefell the GOP had a few failures in making trans people a wedge until the British tabloid press really showed them the way.
#31
Declining birth rates. Turns out when people have a lot of control over their own fertility, they tend to reproduce below the replacement rate. Any attempt to explain the American birth rate because of social programs it doesn't have (more maternity leave, free daycare, etc.) needs to account for why countries that do have those things also have a below replacement level birth rate.
#32
Driving. [People] larp on the U.S. having the worst roads but go anywhere in Egypt or Nepal or basically anywhere in China, then get back to me. Although China’s infrastructure is exponentially improving, so my comment about their roads could be dated. Highways no, theirs are hell.
#33
Nutjobs going off on innocent people with a knife or trying to run them down for no reason. They're all over. They just end up on the news in the U.S. a lot more frequently.
#35
Pollution.
The US is much cleaner than most places, but American industry is often seen as the big bad. Go look at the lack of environmental regulation in Asia and tell me why I need to worry about my carbon footprint.
April Pickett 18 minutes ago
It's because your carbon footprint is damaging the environment. You are more aware of this than they are.
#36
Supply chain over-reliance. People think only the US struggled with medical and manufacturing shortages during the pandemic. In reality, almost every country in Europe and Asia realized they had outsourced way too much of their critical manufacturing capacity and are now scrambling to build local infrastructure.
#38
We do not own stupidity nor complete disregard of evidence and facts. Although we may have perfected it.
#39
Gun violence. There are several former Soviet block and South American countries that have terrible gun violence statistics that can rival the US.
#42
Obesity, partisan politics, unchecked corporate lobbying controlling policy, reduced or inaccessible healthcare for lower socioeconomic groups. The USA may do them all bigger better and louder, but many western countries have the same issues.
#45
I was dumbfounded years ago when I went to Oktoberfest in Germany and saw how the Germans didn’t like the Italian and the Austrians didn’t like the Croatians, etc., not racism but xenophobia.
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