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The United States has plenty of pros and cons, just like any other country. However, you can’t deny America tends to have more of each and some of them are turned all the way up to 11 on the weirdness scale. Like having the police patrol your school, writing the date in a weird way (let’s not even talk about the Imperial measurement system), and having full-on smear ads against political opponents.

Welcome to the Wonderland that is the USA. And what better way to learn about the bizarre things that Americans think are completely normal than by asking non-Americans for their opinions? That’s exactly what one Reddit user (who told Bored Panda that they wish to remain anonymous because of all the attention they're getting) did in a viral thread that got more than 50.9k upvotes and over a whopping 38.9k comments. Scroll down, have a read, check out our in-depth interview with the original poster, and upvote the weird things that happen in the US that left an impact on you, dear Pandas.

#1

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Bankruptcy because you went to the hospital

canesfan09 , David Syzdek Report

#2

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Talking about their freedom as if they're the only country in the world who has it...

zohan360 , Denise Krebs Report

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mph seti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have to convince ourselves we're better constantly, because deep down, we know we aren't.

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#3

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Gratuitous violence in entertainment is normal. But show one boob and people lose their s**t.

danno49 , miramax Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Puritans / fundamentalist Christians did this s**t. Public executions = Fine. A naked body = The DEVIL! To be fair, this is something we inherited from medieval Europe...You guys just outgrew it, and we haven't yet.

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The redditor who posted the thread in the first place told us that they usually don’t hang out in the crowded default subreddits. “Either the thread gets too big for a conversation or it goes unnoticed in a sea of similar topics. In hindsight, it's not strange it got so much attention, Reddit is very diverse but a US-centric view is still dominant, and everyone wants to weigh in. Lots of people just wanted to vent, some had a strong political opinion, and some just wanted to ridicule the US.”

According to the Reddit user, they made the thread “on a whim” after they saw a comment by a redditor who was surprised to learn that not everyone has police officers at school.

“I did hope that starting this topic would end up in a couple of people sharing that kind of information among each other, because the US is going through some [crap], and it helps your morale to know that alternatives do exist.”

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They continued: “Some people took it as a competition of which country is better, but it was intended without any kind of nationalist feelings, more with an idea of people defining things among themselves vs. how things are shown to be in schools and TV shows, in and outside the US.”

#4

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal When you are 18 years old, you can be shipped to a foreign country to kill humans, but you are not allowed to drink alcohol.

K_51 , Fort Rucker Report

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Richard Brown
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I laughed when Will Smiths son wanted to celebrate his 18th birthday in the UK because he would be allowed to drink legally!

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#5

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Ambulance rides costing money seems pretty absurd to people from other countries

Meemesfourdayz , Paul Townley Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Paying for healthcare (or internet access, IMO) is absurd. There's a reason all the smart countries socialize things. the US easily could too, if we started putting actual people before the wealthy and their profits.

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#6

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Paying people less than minimum wage. How is it a minimum if it's legal to pay less than that?

NZLion , 401(K) 2012 Report

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Jo Choto
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The US always has exemptions to such laws, and the whole service industry thrives on it.

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One thing that the redditor did expect to see in the thread but was surprised to hear so many voices speaking against it was the “circumcision of infant males for non-medical, non-religious reasons but rather as a default procedure.” The redditor added: “Parents who decide against circumcising their newborn child but don't know how it works and what to teach their kid: there's a WikiHow!”

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The thread shone a light on a lot of problems in the United States and suggested that these things need to change. “The things that got repeated most in the thread were division of ethnic groups, gun culture, military drafting and continuous warfare, cop culture, nutrition issues, corporate lobbying... and wearing shoes in the house,” the OP explained.

#7

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Wondering if you're sick enough to call that ambulance or if you should just risk ubering it.

Medical bankruptcy after you're charged $200,000 for a week long hospital stay and now you're homeless.

Being mentally ill and getting hospitalized by others for your own safety, but then getting a massive bill for it that you cant pay (which will totally help the suicidality right?)

Choosing between food and medicine.

Deciding that it's less expensive to just go into palliative care and die instead of fighting a disease like cancer.

As you can see I really hate the american medical care system.

greffedufois , Tomás Del Coro Report

#8

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Turning scientific information into a political discussion.

everythihghurts , U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh Report

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Vorknkx
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When scientists talk, politicians should shut their mouths and listen, period.

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#9

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Archaic, unhelpful standard units of measurement.

JSanzi , franchise opportunities Report

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Martti Laurson
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In 1983 canadian airplane had a lucky escape when fuel was calculated in pounds not kilograms. 1 kg is 2,2 pounds. So more than half of the fuel was missing.

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“It's not as if all those comments came from non-US redditors, a lot of the criticism was from US citizens with genuine concern and investment in their future and their surroundings. Combine that with getting active and finding each other, just as widespread protests are helping to create a framework of solidarity, I think change is already happening if you just keep at it,” they said.

“I saw a lot of people from outside the US who feel racism or racist police brutality are a typical US thing. It sure looks like there's a structural issue, but please don't use the US as a way to shift blame because ‘they're worse,’ to get out of examining the same structural issues in your own locality,” the redditor added.

#10

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Putting a ton of sugar in products like bread.

TheThingsWeMake , Doug Waldron Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It really shocks me whenever I travel back to the US just how loaded all the food is with excess sugar and salt. Bread tastes almost like cake.

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#11

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Gun ownership.

only7inches , Paul Sableman Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Many Americans are afraid all the time. It's a horrible habit, and our media/politicians reinforce it. It stems from the fact that our country was founded on genocide and slavery, IMO. White people fear BIPOC revenge that's never going to happen, and gun companies own the right wing of the government.

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#12

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Having only two parties: Republicans and Democrats. I know there are some smaller parties, but the system is stacked against them.

level 1 K_51 , Pom' Report

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Electric Ed
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you think about it, this turns out to be the root cause for so many other problems. If not all of them.

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While the US thinks a lot of weird things are normal, the one that isn’t giving us any peace and quiet is that Americans write the date as mm/dd/yyyy. So, why exactly do Americans write the date by putting the month before the day?

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Of course, it seems completely logical to somebody who’s grown up with this system and uses it every single day of their lives. Nothing could be more natural, in their opinion. But from an outsider’s perspective, it looks downright weird and illogical. And the US is the only country in the world that does things this way.

There are several theories about this. One of them is that in certain cases, it’s more convenient to know the month first rather than the day. For instance, when somebody asks you when your birthday is, it’s more useful to know the month first to get your bearings right before zoning in on the exact day.

#13

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Not putting the final price on the tag. I'm not sure whether it's still like this, but a few years ago one never knew whether the $1.00 item in McDonald's or Burger King is actually $1.00 or maybe $1.08.

TitanicBeta , JJBers Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is absolutely ridiculous that not the final price tag is put on products. The European Union now rules that any taxes and mandatory fees need to be put up front. Thing like flight ticket = 30 EUR but then having to pay mandatorily for seating are ruled illegal. The opposite in the US. I have literally seen: hotel room: 200 USD/night. + mandatory resort fee, 30 USD, + mandatory service fee, 40 USD, + mandatory gratuity, 12,5% + local tax 4,1% + state tax 3,7% (number from my head). Thus, this really is a ~325 USD hotel room. No comparison possible.

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#14

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Date Order (MM/DD/YYYY)

-Sinister-Shadow , InvestmentTotal.com Report

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Electric Ed
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YYYY-MM-DD, please. Its an international standard, unambiguous, and sorts alphabetically. And equally uncomfortable for everybody :)

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#15

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Portion sizes.

pourmewhineoh , Jerry Huddleston Report

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Goth Nurse
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While living in Texas (I am Finnish) I saw huge people and huge portion sizes, rarely a healthy option available. It was unbelievable how big the portion sizes were!

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Another theory is that American colonists inherited the monthly date format from the British Empire. In time, the British moved over to the European style where you put the day first, then the month, then the year. While Americans stuck with the old-school format.

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Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the International Organization for Standardization claims that putting the year first, then the month, then the day is the internationally accepted way to represent the date. To make things even more confusing, the US military uses the dd/mm/yyyy format for correspondence but it switches to the mm/dd/yyyy format when corresponding with civilians. Does that sound like a lot of info to take in? You bet! And that’s just one of the weird things that Americans think are normal.

#16

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal The plot of Breaking Bad being about a science teacher getting cancer and worrying about leaving his family with massive medical debt when he dies.

FeFiFoShizzle , imbd Report

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The inefficency (do not mistake for ineffectivity!) of the US healthcare systrem combined with a missing social net is indeed unchallenged.

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#17

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal My maternity leave was an unpaid 6 weeks, and I had to fight them on not shorting me because I went past my due date and didn’t keep working until the day I went into labor.

robot_cupcak3 , sergio santos Report

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Brittania Douglas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention the hospital bill after having your baby. Like children aren't expensive enough without having to either pay for an at home doula\midwife, or a hospital birth.

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#18

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal American flags everywhere. I traveled throughout Europe and the Caribbean and I usually only saw their flag on government builds and here and there. Where as here in the USA the flag is like Franks Red Hot. We put that s**t on everything. Magnets, churches, cars, condoms, every front porch, and street lamp. #murica

Gaby , Gaby Report

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MikeyG
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It does surprise me that the USA can be so proud of their flag and history, when their history is actually quite shameful and very short. A country less than 250 years old that seems to just ignore the native american history before that just astounds me.

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#19

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Doing the pledge of allegiance in the morning at school

flavener , John Beagle Report

#20

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Identifying as your heritage instead of your nationality. Americans will say that they’re Italian, German, polish, etc. when they don’t speak the language and have no real connection to those countries anymore.

In other parts of the world people just identify with the country they were born in or have lived in for a significant amount of time regardless of their ancestry.

bluegreentree , IrishFireside Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, Americans love telling everyone what nationality they think they are, and then when they hear about foreigners, they tell them to go the hell back where they came from. Go figure.

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#21

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Had some American colleagues in Norway asking us how we celebrate 4th July

kevkippers , m01229 Report

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Richard Brown
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happens a lot. America seems to think the world is separated into 2 parts. America and Not America, yet.

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#22

Big glasses of water WITH ICE at restaurants. I live in Texas usually and I drink ice water like 24/7. It’s a good habit here, especially in Summer. When I was in Europe I would get the smallest glasses of luke warm water that I had to ask for more every ten seconds. I felt annoying! Aren’t y’all thirsty?! Or am I missing something?

bunnysnitch Report

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HelgaMaria Gehrmann
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, we are just as thirsty as everyone else;) But why should ice-cold water (especially) help against thirst? I have never understood (so do many people) why there are tons of ice in every drink. Especially when it is hot, it is totally counterproductive to drink such ice-cold drinks. It is much healthier and more effective against thirst to drink only slightly chilled drinks (directly from the fridge or 1/2 ice cubes max. ;) However, lukewarm water is rather unusual in restaurants ... unfortunately bad luck

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#23

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Toilet cubicles, where people not only can peek, but an adult person could crawl into your cubicle, there is so much space under the "door".

TitanicBeta , Michael Coghlan Report

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Jo Choto
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the cracks between the frame and the door means you can quite easily see in the cubicle from outside.

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#24

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Willingly putting yourself massively in debt for a college degree.

I come from a place with free university education (which has its own drawbacks of course), and the fact that you can make such a huge, life-altering decision at 17 is considered normal over there, that seems downright bizarre to me.

I_hate_traveling , barnyz Report

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Sabienn
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly, in Holland this is now normal to.... If you're parents aren't super rich, you have to get a loan to be able to pay for college. College isn't as expensive in Holland as it is in the USA, though

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#25

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal The enabling customer service culture.

It’s created excessive portions in restaurants, created Karen, gives way to a disposable attitude towards products, and generally gives a sense of entitlement where most people start adding it to their list of rights.

srocan , UPC Media Relations Report

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Troux
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes I always felt this was a weird business model.

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#26

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal When I was there during the last election I was shocked at how phrases like ‘well they have the black vote’ or the ‘Latino vote’ came up all the time on the radio. Obviously it’s not racist but it’s just something that would never come up in my country. Like, why would latino people all vote for the same person?

Adam-West , kgroovy Report

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Pamela24
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not all but when you have an openly racist candidate (not trying to point fingers...Trump...) it makes sense that majority of POC would avoid voting for that person.

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#27

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Actively avoiding healthcare visits/checkups because if there's something wrong and you don't have the money to pay for treatment, then you'd rather just not know

KingAceNumber1 , Yuya Tamai Report

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And that's insane. The sooner you start treatment on an illness the less it costs to cure. Seems that the basic rule of any maintenance schedule for machines is impossible to apply on humans in the US. That's what you get when your health care system is for profit instead of for everyone.

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#28

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal This one is more on the positive side, because I think we could learn some from it.

Talking and sharing your life with complete strangers. I have met quite a few americans so it seems the norm that you share and engage with strangers in public. The bus, train, parks etc. And then you go on your way.

In Denmark you'd be a "freak" if you did that.

WuuutWuuut , Ben Grey Report

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Pixie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actual question: Why do you want to share your life with strangers on the street? I know I feel very uncomfortable if that happens to me (luckily seldom). Like, what am I to do with what you told me? I don't know you, I don't know if I like you, I don't know what you need as response...

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#29

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Asking everyone “what do you do?” when you first meet them. I live outside the US and realized there are some people I’ve known for years and I still don’t know their job. I think in the US jobs are a bigger part of a person’s identity than in some other places.

Ssffxx , Loren Kerns Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, what job you have, implying what kind of salary you make, and people really care what kind of car you drive as well.

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#30

The one that always shocks me (I’ve an L1B so I spent quite a bit of time in the last couple of years living & working in the USA - although back home in U.K. right now) is the whole ‘thank you for your service’ military thing. The military is treated like some sort of god level being. It first struck me at Seaworld when they would make all service personnel stand up. In the U.K. the military guys (a) wouldn’t do it and (b) would be embarassed. In most cases they would be actively told not to do it so they don’t get identified - the fear the IRA stoked still runs deep in the processes in the military of the U.K.

bantamw Report

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Brittania Douglas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Another thing regarding military is how actively they recruit. I've never seen it in the past 17 years in the UK, but in the US soldiers go into schools to recruit, do talks, tell you how you get a career or can pay for college after military service, etc. Twice I was practically harassed in high school by recruiters because of my good grades.

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Cori
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was heavily courted as well because of my test scores. They quit calling though after I told them 1) I weighed barely over 100 lbs 2) I had 3 metal screws in my left hip and 3) I'd had 3 eye surgeries and still had terrible depth perception. Turns out they don't want scrawny, damaged goods, which was 100% fine by me!

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Troux
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always thought it was weird that the US treats its soldiers as divine and its cops like garbage. This is because we are commonly told that soliders are out there every day making sure that we don't speak Chinese or get taken over by the British (which would otherwise happen in 10 minutes). Meanwhile most peoples' experiences with cops is being caught doing something that they knew they shouldn't do, such as speeding.

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Demi Zwaan
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And on the other hand they drop you like a brick if you need any help, physical or psychological, or monetary. Quite a lot of homeless ex militaries, and high suicide rate.

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Meyer Weinstock
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a recent thing. Since the end of the Cold War, it is a facade of patriotism masking authority control by the same generation that lost the Vietnam War (overall, 1945-1979, US involvement being 1954-1975) one subsequent generations to glorify the military-industrial complex (first criticised by Republicans, now indemnified by them). For example, whether I was a kid in the 1960s, or a teacher in the 1990s, I never saw this action until after the September 2001 incidents, especially here in CA. If one really wants to thank veterans for their service, as one pundit wrote, make sure that no subsequent generations will have to fight another war on foreign soil.

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Carrie Roettger
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I come from a military family and none of my relatives really liked being singled.out or thanked. They served because they felt it was their duty not for recognition. I've always felt like most.of the ones who expect the thanks joined for the wrong reasons.

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ARB
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'll tell you why I do it. I do it because the military - and I do this for all military no matter what country - sacrifice their personal lives, safety, opinions, and mental health, in order to protect our rights, freedoms, opinions, and personal lives. I thank everyone as a nod of respect and genuine gratitude. Even if I see a military personnel from a different country in the US or I'm in another country and see someone in uniform, I find it very important to acknowledge them for their sacrifices for their country and the people they protect.

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Courtney Christelle
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The percentage of people who come back with PTSD and life altering injuries is astounding. They should not be recruiting school kids. Few people have it in them to kill another human being an be ok afterwards, let alone teenagers. I've gotten a shake down by a high ranking officer before, "Well, you need a GED, the military won't take you if you don't have on." I don't want to join the military so that's not a problem. I was delivering someone's food and this recruiter thought it was appropriate to try and have this conversation when I was trying to work. Plus women have a VERY high chance of being sexually assaulted by their fellow soldiers and CO's will do nothing about it.

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Jana Boardman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a backlash to the 60s and 70s when people were spitting on the military for things they had no control over - like being in a war. It will calm down and go back to normal after a while.

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Whipple Rickman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thank them for their service all the time and they always seem touched but humble.

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Marika Stanway
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And yet veterans are often homeless and not looked after at all with their PTSD and other problems.. because they can't pay for the astronomical health care prices and the military does not provide everyone with equal after care. But that's true in more countries than just US, for fairness.

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Blackheart
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Many Americans think we do not treat our Veterans well enough. Vietnam veterans faced lots of scorn upon their return.

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BeazleBug
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not nearly as strange as this post misleads some to think. The point being, you have a choice here AND we are a nation of salespeople. While I support a mandatory service component like say, Switzerland, it is actually unconstitutional.

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Stargazer66
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have special parking spaces for wounded vets which is completely stupid. Because that's what handicapped parking is for. And I have NEVER seen ANY of those 'wounded vet' parking spaces filled. Always empty because again, if a vet is wounded, then they'll have a handicap placard or license and park in the handicapped parking space.

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anonymuswere
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

it's not mandatory, here. and became that way permanently after the debacle in Vietnam.

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Elizabeth Garcia
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Terrible things happened in Ulster. UK military should be embarrassed.

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Anandra Danubis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's cheaper to say 'thank you for your service', than it is to provide healthcare, housing and employment.

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Cheryl Carter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should be recognized for your service to the country! What is sad is your idea isn't like it really is most of the time. If you would give your life for another, shouldn't that be something to be proud of? Selfless act. What is even worse is that there are a lot of the military that is homeless or have medical issues that don't get addressed. Sometimes even shunned. That is not okay in my book.

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William Clark
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You have to understand the history of why we do this. After the vietnam war the liberal anti-war activists couldn't separate the negativity of what was happening in Vietnam and how our politicians were lying about the war with the need to still support our everyday serviceman and woman serving over seas. Shamefully, these anti-war activists spit on our soldiers, called them baby-killers, and treated them like they were Nazi death guards or something. After the first gulf war conflict in the 1990's we shifted and realized that this type of behavior could NEVER happen again. Since then there has been a concerted effort from everyone to make sure our military are never treated that way again and are always appreciated and thanked for their service - even if you disagree with the war or political reasons behind it.

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smash17
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate "thank you for your service". It sounds so disingenuous. It's like a pat phrase Americans have learnt to utter.

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Marnie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For better or worse, my uneducated opinion is this: This is a direct result of Vietnam Vets being spit on upon returning home. (Not even sure if that happened or is a myth or just some kind of representation of the attitude.) So, people in the US wanted to be sure that vets of other conflicts KNEW that people did not view them the same way, and that they were respected.

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c Fuller
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ours is an All Volunteer Army fighting for YOUR rights in other parts of the world. We are sending our kids who can't even vote to horrible places to defend the lives and rights of people that have never met! Don't knock it!

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Lynn Spalding Jr.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you wouldn't have screwed Ireland over to begin with you wouldn't have this problem.

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Liz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ugh god, it's completely cringeworthy how people in the US treat the military. I've never been comfortable saying "thank you for service" because more often than not, I don't agree with the military and I don't want to thank someone for killing other people...(I know not everyone who serves does.)

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Lisa Chambers
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

lol The military personnel in the UK are hard working fighters who get really crazy on their liberty. So it is no surprise they dont want to be singled out. But I have been in El Salvador and know why they dont identify themselves. I even saw one poor soldier who wore a full ski mask in 100 + temperatures so as not to be identified.

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Robbie Yohn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need less military spending. Seriously. Let the UN do it.

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James Arvidson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But where doea the UN's money come from as well as the armies and armament? From the member countries. And I would not want the UN doing anything. They screw it up worse than individual countries. Take the single county screw up factor and multiply that by the participating member nations to get the actual screw up factor.

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RaroaRaroa
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're going to stand up and thank military for their service (ie, doing their job) you should do the same for doctors, nurses, fire, police officers, etc. It makes no sense to me how they worship people who chose the profession. Maybe in the days of conscription it made sense.

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Jennifer Crompton
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband is a firefighter/paramedic and is often thanked for it. I agree that the other professions you listed should also be thanked along with teachers.

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Anne
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can use your EU army ID also in the US to get discounts! :)

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Cap Kessler
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We don’t appreciate and respect our military enough. Saying thanks is the least we can do

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Danieletc
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It sounds better (and is quicker) than saying "Thank you for risking your life and getting yourself killed while killing Iraqis and others. Thank you for obeying lying-a*s political leaders so they'd look tough and sh* while you die."

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R L
Community Member
3 years ago

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Michael Hill
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Britain they sometimes need an army, but when not needed, it is a seemingly unnecessary expense so the government hates them. Especially the Labour party.

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Mama Panda
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look up how we (the US ) treated soldiers coming home from Vietnam. It was horrible and senseless. We, as a country realized that we treated animals better than our soldiers who risk their lives for the very freedoms we stand by and support. Therefore, it is our privilege to make sure these men and women of our military know that we support and appreciate their sacrifices (being gone from their families for long periods of time and the ultimate sacrifice, their lives). So we thank them. We applaud them. We love them. It is just that simple.

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JuJu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But you forget about them the moment they are out of service or need help to cope with life.

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TheSame
Community Member
3 years ago

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What's wrong with showing appreciation for our military?? They defend this nation AND on a voluntary basis.

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Ami Temi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're the victims of a system profiting off creating wars and selling weapons to all parties. Whatever noble goal the soldiers might have, they are sadly victims who are in danger of lifelong trauma, because Uncle Sam needs more money. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, to name a few... The soldiers in general do their best to fight for good, but their training teaches them to shoot first and to be paranoid. Of course, it will mess them up for the rest of their lives.

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#31

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Side effects on medication adverts.

Friggin hilarious to us Brits.

With James' Hayfever meds, I can get through the day with ease!

Side effects may include:

Loss of sight

Loss of hearing

Loss of sense of smell

Coma

Headaches

Fever

Vomiting

Diarrhoea

Loss of consciousness

and death.

level 1 typicalcitrus , Jonathan Rolande Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is because we allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription drugs directly to the people.

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#32

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal American Corporations have convinced us our work culture is totally normal.

Nesyaj0 , Jesús Corrius Report

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Ami Temi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The sad thing is, working more and having no employee rights, doesn't mean you have more money on the long run or that there's more productivity. Countries like Germany and Belgium have a very high productivity, but in less work hours and with better conditions. People have more time for their families, have days off and don't need to fear for their job or their lives when they're sick because of a social security system that works. I think the USA is a bit like Japan: they too, work an insane amount of hours, but one doesn't get more done in those hours. A Dutch woman wrote a book about that system and how it gives you a burn-out, for example. We certainly work just as hard as Americans, but the system is smarter and fairer. It's like with education, we pay less, but our Masters are equally as good as your American ones.

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#33

Attack ads against political opponents, ads for law firms or lawyers. These kinds of ads are illegal and considered unethical in our country. Also expecting a teenager to be out of the house by the time they're 18. I live in Southeast Asia. There's no stigma about living with one's parents. Most of the time, there will be three generations living in one house.

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chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am the youngest of 5 sons and it was expected that I stay at home in order to take over and care for my parents in the future.

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#34

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal not owning kettles and MICROWAVING their water for coffee/tea

gibbylewd , Chris Lawrence Report

#35

Non-necessary, non-religious circumcision.

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#36

Having second mortgages on a house. Taking massive loans they can't possibly pay off and buying stuff with it that decreases in value over time such as cars.

realultralord Report

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Troux
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"But I absolutely need this car because my car is 5 years old so it's basically dead." This myth and competition is such a waste of money and resources.

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#37

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Shoes inside

SpohieAuz , Architectural Digest Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a lot of cultures that keep shoes on inside. Not just the US.

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#38

Extra large bottomless cups for cola or soft drinks.... you could bathe in those....

SlyDigits Report

#39

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal being able to vote before reaching the legal drinking age

level 1 dingdongimprblywrong , hjl Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having a voting system where you can become president without getting the majority of votes.

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#40

A flag in every corner of a classroom, and Americans being very patriotic to the stars and stripes. Other countries barely give a poop about their flags

Legendary-Lynx Report

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Scagsy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you fly the flag in the UK you are generally looked upon as a far-rightist unless there's a football tournament on

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