The United States is a unique country. It’s home to a wide variety of beautiful nature sites, some of the world's most amazing athletes, a melting pot of cultures, friendly citizens, and plenty of tourist destinations. With 50 states and 14 territories, the US is certainly vast. And while the nation itself has so much to offer, it can be easy to live there and feel like you’re in somewhat of a bubble. So sometimes, it might be a good idea to hear outside opinions from people who live in other parts of the world. One curious Reddit user, Swansonite456, recently posed the question, “What are Americans not ready to hear?” And thousands of people sounded off in the replies. From comments on politics to confusion about why bathroom stalls are never completely closed, we’ve gathered some of the most clever and fitting responses down below, as well as an interview with Swansonite456 about what sparked this conversation in the first place.
Be sure to upvote the replies that particularly resonate with you, and especially if you’re an American panda, let us know in the comments if you find any of these replies to be painfully true. Then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article celebrating all of the things the US excels at, you can find that right here.
This post may include affiliate links.
Canadian here- you guys have amazing landscapes, culture and food. Your folks are usually very kind and welcoming. But the quality of life you guys have makes me really sad. The minimum wage is brutal, like 7 dollars, while ours is 15, so much poverty there. And paying for healthcare, people going into debt just for getting sick?
Also- the way you treat your women is horrifying. I know you guys have criticized Middle Eastern countries for women wearing Hijabs and having little rights, but look in a mirror. Restricting access to family planning and abortion services, making women pay for the necessity of going to a hospital to deliver babies? No paid maternity leave/ only 6 weeks, like what is that? That’s nowhere near enough. Like why??
Gun ownership issues, school shootings, healthcare and student debt bankruptcy, abortion restriction, poverty level minimum wage- these shouldn’t be political issues- these are human rights that you guys aren’t ready to accept- and to your own detriment.
Obviously there’s a lot of nuance here, and Canada isn’t perfect either. We have our own demons to deal with here, and are in the midst of a major movement on recognizing Indigenous reconciliation/ owning up to our history of oppression. Both countries have major structural issues- I just think the US has a lot more going on.
We reached out to Swansonite456 on Reddit to hear what inspired them to start this conversation in the first place and if they are American or a curious observer. "I am Hispanic American, and the reason I asked this question is because I wondered what Americans and other nationalities think of us," they shared. "Since sometimes on TV and through the media we take a poke at other people's cultures with stereotypes."
We also asked if they thought these responses apply solely to the United States, or if they could relate to other countries as well. "I think some of the political answers apply to the United States," they told Bored Panda.
I was also curious if they thought that the United States was not ready to hear those answers or if it was more of the US government that wouldn't be ready. "I think the government isn't ready to hear those answers and neither are Americans due to the fact that America seems so divided right now," they shared.
We also asked Swansonite456 if any of the responses to their questions particularly resonated with them. "My favorite one is the [C word] because that’s hilarious, since it’s like a way to say pal," they noted. It is true that in the UK and Australia that word is used much more casually than in the United States, where I would recommend that no one ever say it in a public place (or ever!).
Overall, they don't have a negative view about Americans, though. "All and all Americans aren’t that bad, it's just the politics," they told Bored Panda. "Plus, I feel like we are a little self-centered." They also noted that the work life balance, maternity leave, and healthcare are much better in many other countries, but again, that's not the average person's fault.
Religion has no place in politics, hence “separation of church and state.”
As an American myself, I have to say that there were many things I never questioned about the United States until I started living in other countries. The restroom stalls not extending all the way to the floor and having wide gaps, for example. It’s something I was used to, so I did not realize that most other countries figure out a way around that until someone else pointed it out to me. And while we’re on the topic of bathrooms, I had seen very few that actually indicate from the outside whether it is locked or unlocked before moving to Europe. Those are pretty brilliant as well.
When it come to this list of “things Americans aren’t ready to hear”, these might all be things you have, in fact, heard before. However, they are just some food for thought about things my fellow American pandas might never have realized or questioned before, or things that don’t necessarily need to be that way. You have every right to disagree with these responses, but please be respectful in the comments. We love our American pandas, and we know they don't all believe in these ideas or support things like not having paid maternity leave. As you'll see, some of the responses on this list should be more directed towards the American government than the American people.
America is only capitalist for poor people. Rich people live in a socialist state, where they constantly get bailouts, subsidies and debt forgiveness.
You don't need automatic firearms as a civilian in daily situations, and the 2nd Amendment was written when Americans feared British invasion, and when guns had to be reloaded after every single bullet shot, clearly not applicable today. Countries with stricter gun control have drastically less shootings than the U.S.
And adding to that: It is totally normal to change laws and constitutions because of changes in societies and moral values
Isn't the clue in the name? My favourite face palm moment is "Amendments can't be changed!" (Which, even if that were strictly true and they can't be directly reversed, ignored the fact that the 18th was repealed by the 21st).
Load More Replies...Why is the right to be armed more important than the right not to have children killed in senseless school shootings?
Because children are only important up to the moment they are born. (/S - necessary because too many people believe this)
Load More Replies...Australia being one of them. Only took one mass shooting to get the message across
There actually had been multiple mass shooting events before the horrors of Port Arthur. What was different this time was the hunting of 2 beautiful, innocent children after they had witness their mother being murdered. Australians had had enough. We didn't want another Port Arthur. When the decision was made it took less than a fortnight to start the rolling out of stricter gun laws.
Load More Replies...Actual "automatic" weapons, that fire continuously when the trigger is pulled, are very rare legally. They require a separate background check and tax stamp as well as registration with the federal government. Semi-automatic weapons, that fire once with every trigger pull are common. According to recent polls, 1/3 of Americans, approximately 100 million people, legally own firearms. I'm not saying we don't need changes to gun laws, because we do. But banning then outright would turn 100 million law abiding citizens into criminals. Unfortunately,as with every hot button topic, the extremists on both sides make a common sense solution unlikely.
Why do 100 million law abiding citizens need guns? Clearly, these gun owners are in the minority, where the majority of the people who live here believe owning a gun is not desirable or necessary. The US needs to learn from other countries, where gun violence is simply not an issue. The US can look at these other countries where children don't get murdered in the middle of story time.
Load More Replies...Although we can buy fully auto firearms they are prohibitively expensive and the paperwork takes many months. But This argument which seeks to frame rights based on technology are inane on its face. The framers knew technology would change. That didn't invalidate the 2A. Because if it did, you're 1A is useless. If that sounds illogical to you, then please, write me a response on rag paper and have it sent by Horseback to your nearest news organization.
If you don't know the difference between "automatic" and "semi-automatic," you probably shouldn't be commenting on the issue.
The difference between automatic and semi-automatic means f**k all to the people who have had someone they love gunned down. Using pathetic semantics does nothing to solve the problem of a country in which the number one cause of death of children is gun violence.
Load More Replies...have a look at Chicago - strictest gun laws and near the top for shootings
And the majority of recovered guns used in those shootings can be traced to sales outside of Chicago, where gun laws are far more lax. There was a report recently that found a little less than half the guns recovered from crimes in the entire state of Illinois actually came from Illinois. Most of the out of state guns came from Missouri, where you don't need a license or a background check to buy or carry a gun. Guns will only stop being a problem when the laws restricting them are across the board; as long as there are states where you can buy as many guns as you want without even a token background check, guns will find their way into places that already restrict them.
Load More Replies...The second amendment was written at a time when the US had no standing army and was specifically designed to allow for civilians to act in defense of the nation when necessary. It was not written to allow yahoos to play pretend army with real guns in opposition to the government. It was also written at a time when the best guns we had took as much as 3 minutes to reload after a single shot. There is no way the "founding fathers" had any concept of a modern firearm's capabilities when they wrote it or how their otherwise sensible idea for the time would be reinterpreted to allow weapons with an inconceivable killing ability into the hands of civilians.
To be clear, I am not opposed to gun ownership, but I am opposed to the ownership of arsenals and guns that only serve to kill as many humans as possible as quickly as possible. There is no legitimate reason for any person to own more than, at most, a long gun, a shotgun, and a handgun. A long gun for hunting, a shotgun for hunting and self defense and a handgun for self defense. If you don't hunt, you don't really need a long gun or shotgun and no one needs a semi-automatic anything. Also gun safety training needs to be a requirement of ownership. We currently require more training and restrictions for owning and driving a car than we do for guns. A car, which can be used to kill people, but is primarily used for other things, requires more training than something that has the sole purpose of killing. That's a*s-backwards if you ask me (which you didn't, but there it is).
Load More Replies...When pro gun people argue that an amendment is part of the Constitution and cannot be modified ask them what they think about prohibition and the 18th....
They also ignore the actual phrase, "well-regulated militia" which could say that sensible gun laws and things like background checks, safety classes, etc are technically Constitutional.
Load More Replies...Coupled with the fact that there were no grocery stores, limited police, hostile surroundings, and in some areas no caring neighbors. The second amendment was an afterthought put forth by Madison to allay fears that the government was going to go randomly house to house confiscating firearms.
*sigh* I know I'm going to get downvoted for this, but we'll never make progress on gun reform if we keep making false statements. Automatic weapons have been illegal (mostly, certain people can with a lot of paperwork) since 1934. Repeating rifles and machine guns DID in fact exist prior to the revolutionary war. We 100% need to reform and rethink gun control in the US, but these constant incorrect statements make those that want it look foolish. You want gun reform, but you don't take the time to actually understand what laws we currently have. (To get ahead of the people that are going to lash out at me, I'm a pro-choice atheist NON-REPUBLICAN in every sense of the word. Stop making this a partisan issue, because it's an American issue).
The founding fathers would most definitely approve of today's guns. They were pioneers in gunsmithing; a few even helped develop early cartridge-based rifles.
Are you simply saying they'd like the guns used to kill children today, because you know, they appreciate how they work so well? Or are you saying they'd approve of any-and everyone being able to have one?
Load More Replies...Automatic Firearms are already illegal here without permission from the federal government. The media has really done a number on you and that would bring me to my issue with the US.
not just invasion from the British- there were more slaves than free people living here at the time that amendment was written. Guns had to be a right so you could protect yourself from a rebellion.
Fr, I do Believe guns are needed for self defense. Now, TWO people I know on discord were in shootings this week. One, at a school, no one died. Two, at his job, a woman died. Any weirdo should NOT be able to buy a gun. There should be more laws, yes. But banning them entirely could get us into trouble. Not having more laws though is stupid.
And definitely not automatic guns, those should not be just sold to anyone
Load More Replies...when a large part of your population thinks they need any form of weapons to protect themselves against the chance that the goverment will go wild, you are not living in "the land of the free"
I promise you that Britain is not intending to invade you any time soon.
And? Does that somehow equate to repeated mass shootings in schools? It doesn't even come close.
Load More Replies...Freedom is being allowed to have or do things because of your own personal merit, and not being prohibited from having or doing things that effect no one else because someone says you have not earned the right. If you look at who is doing all that criminal shooting and look around for similar folks in your country you might understand the problem is not guns.
It is pitiful and flat out sad when some people in a country value gun rights over the safety of their own children and a woman’s right to her own bodily autonomy.
Exactly. Change with the times. It is not still during the American revolution .
When the avg police response time is over 10 minutes, the ability to protect yourself, your wife, your children, and your property is paramount. In the U.K. there are 11, 000 stabbings per year so why not ban steak knives too?
Because steak knives aren't used to kill 15 kids while they're sitting in class trying to learn to spell? Because steak knives have a legitimate use, other than killing? Gun nuts will always find some half-assed argument to protect their beloved "right" to own a killing machine. It must suck to live in a constant state of fear and lack of self esteem.
Load More Replies...I just want you to realize from personal experience. Gun control is fantastic. If it actually works. Problem is if the everyday American has harder restrictions. Criminals have 0 restrictions still. They always have 0 restrictions. Issues are bound to occur. Whether you want to hear it or not. In my past I personally met many people that had felony records purchasing guns that were stolen or had the numbers rubbed off. Restriction only solves half the problem. It's just a sad fact.
I love how people against gun control always take it back to illegal weapons when damn near every mass shooting in the US was carried out with a weapon legally purchased. You're so full of s**t, you need a case of laxatives.
Load More Replies...Makes me really angry that some are trigger happy people, that also take very young children on hunting trips. So wrong and NOTHING gets done no matter how many schools are targeted by shootings. Disgusting!!! One shooting in a school in Scotland were 17 children were killed saw unscalable fencing and seriously hard to get in reception areas built in a short time. It hasn’t happened since, but there’s already been at least 20 school shootings in America??? What is it going to take for change? Nothing because you don’t have a government (or senate) that doesn’t give a f**k. I’d pay extra taxes if it meant making a school safer, because let’s face it Americans wouldn’t EVER give their guns up. F**king shocking!!!!!
The vast majority of people that have automatic firearms in the US did not purchase them legally and would have them regardless of having stricter gun laws
Yea, in this case its not that black and white, in the Americans case it very very Gray, you see most of us Europeans don't need guns, because they where preety much banned, só there are very few of them, in the Americans case they are saturated with them só, having a hand gun for protection at home.... It maight not be the worst idea, however YOU DONT F*****G NEED AN AR15 for protection lol, that s**t is ridiculous.
Guns for personal protection DO NOT WORK. It's been proven over and over again that adding a gun to a situation only makes it worse.
Load More Replies...Your tipping culture is a scam. Tipping should not be a burden obligation of your customers.
One thing that Americans are often mocked for is not understanding Celsius and the metric system. And I will admit, especially if we plan to travel at all or conduct any international business, we certainly should know these systems. So many people around the world make an effort to learn English to communicate with people from other countries, so the least we can do is learn what someone is talking about when they say, “It’s about 2 kilometers away from here,” or “It’s so hot! It’s 32 degrees!”
So let’s start with the metric system: why doesn’t the United States use it? Well, it all comes down to where it came from. The metric system was an extremely innovative system developed in France in 1790 to help streamline commerce, decrease fraud and clear up any confusion that came from not having one standard system of measurement. And while the French system was intended to be something all countries around the world could adopt, the United States decided not to adopt the metric system because when it was created, it was based on a portion of French land. Since then, it has become too much of a hassle for Americans to begin switching over. So at this point, the US might not ever transition to the metric system. I will point out that we do learn it in school, but as with anything, if you don’t use it frequently, it’s very easy to become unfamiliar with the system.
You're about this close to not being a democracy anymore. You should be paying attention.
PLEASE, do this. Please do something about it - the democracies of this world need to unite, and to remain what they are, need some weight and power. We can not spare us of needing the US on our side of this fence, along with Europe and parts of Asia, Australia ... we need to team up the states that provide the most rights and wealth among their population!
You’re really not the greatest country on earth.
The rest of us consider you more of that crazy, violent uncle we have to put up with because our other two crazy, violent uncles are just slightly worse.
You need more than two political parties for democracy to work.
Now, when it comes to why Americans usually don’t understand Celsius temperatures, let me first note that there was a time where much of the world used Fahrenheit. It was developed in 1686 by German scientist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who was inducted into the British Royal Society in 1724. As Britain conquered many parts of the globe during the 18th and 19th centuries, Fahrenheit became the standard in many places. It didn’t last for long though, as in 1742, Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius created, you guessed it, the Celsius system. This was integrated into the metric system around 1790, allowing it to spread quickly across the globe. Over time, virtually every British colony transitioned to using the metric system and Celsius, but clearly, the United States did not get the message.
Working 80 hours a week isn’t something to brag about.
Working yourself to ill health in a country that won't look after your health unless you can pay for it ..... This is deeply flawed, a broken society. Work 38 hrs week like a normal European person....try and live a life with your families for the remainder of the week. Surprisingly, your health may actually benefit too
You shouldn’t have to give birth then go back to work a week later.
The United States actually became very close to transitioning to the metric system, as in 1975, Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act. But the flaw in this act was that it made metrication voluntary, rather than compulsory, so the general public was not on board with this change. "Motorists rebelled at the idea of highway signs in kilometers, weather watchers blanched at the notion of reading a forecast in Celsius, and consumers balked at the prospect of buying poultry by the kilogram," Jason Zengerle writes in Mother Jones.
You’re not a role model country anymore.
i think it was role model until people had a chance to travel and www. Now everyone can see the 'American dream' Gun violance, violance generaly speaking, no health care, dumb people thanks to bad education, homeless people in tents EVERYWHERE because apartment of the size of can costs humungous money. Poor USA. They are like third world country to us Europeans
Your entire society today is based on fear-mongering, propaganda, and politicians giving you an enemy to unite against even when they aren’t actually an enemy. The exact same way the Nazis came to power.
What's scary is that so many democracies are having troubles because bad leaders are being elected mainly by replicating the methods used in america
By 1982, President Reagan completely scrapped the Metric Board, virtually ensuring that the US would never switch over to using the metric system or Celsius. And while it has been seen as too expensive and too much effort to switch over now, it really would make more sense in the long run. American education could teach only one system of measurement and temperature, and companies would no longer have to produce two separate products: one for American markets and one for international markets. Plus, we would all sound a lot smarter when talking to our international friends if we knew exactly what 2 meters or 14 degrees Celsius meant…
Pledging allegiance to your flag every morning is really strange. We had that in Europe ~80 years ago. It didn't end up well for anyone :D
México is not in sepia lightning.
Nobody else in the world gives a damn about American football.
Another topic that many people who are not from the United States mentioned is the idea of a work life balance. This concept is foreign to many Americans, as we are often told to equate our worth as a human to our productivity. We are used to not having help from the government, in terms of paid maternity/paternity leave, paid holidays, and paid and/or unlimited sick days. But it really does not have to be that way. In Canada, for example, new mothers are given a minimum of 16 weeks of maternity leave paid, with an optional 35 weeks paid leave. In Sweden, mothers are given a minimum of 12 paid weeks of maternity leave, and in the United Kingdom, new mothers are given 39 paid weeks off. It just seems like if the United States really cared about its citizens, it would not try to make their lives harder by providing 0 paid weeks of maternity leave.
Instead of protesting for mask mandate or Trump failing an election, they should protest for basic human rights like food quality, free Healthcare, children protection in schools and employment rights
You’d all be thinner if your cities were designed to be walkable
This is why you lose weight when you go to Italy despite eating nothing but pasta n pizza, because you’re walking everywhere
They don't really know what terms like liberal/socialist/fascist mean
Similar to how the United States does not provide paid weeks off for new parents, it has no legal requirements for providing paid holidays either. Now, if you work a full-time job, you might have benefits like paid time off, but it probably is not very many days. On average, American workers are provided about 10 paid vacation days per year, or two weeks of work. However, those days are typically accumulated over time. So until an employee has worked at their job for 12 full months, they will not actually have 10 days yet. To put that into perspective, workers in Sweden are entitled to 25 full days of vacation per year, regardless of the type of work they do. I'm sure the American government has heard that one, but maybe they should start listening to how they can implement a similar system to allow their workers some much deserved time off.
You are not Irish, or Italian or Dutch. You have an American birth certificate and passport. Stop it
Couldn't agree more. I sat next to an American on a flight home and she was banging on about being Irish but she had never been to Ireland and didn't have the first clue about it but insisted on "knowing" more than I did. Gave up the discussion after being told that she had given money to the IRA to 'evict you English from my homeland'. She claimed to have hailed from Cork.
You let food companies put in whatever c**p preservatives they want and make up weight with artificial sweeteners instead of real ingredients. That's the big threat to your life, not secret communists.
The UK and America share a lot of common items...yet the ingredients list is completely different. Why do Americans add so many artificial flavours and colours etc???? Although my kids all day American versions of soda taste better, their mouths feel furry with sugars and other c**p afterwards.
The way you add tax to everything at the till is mental. Just tell me what it costs on the fricking label!
I went to Best Buy and the total on the screen read, in huge letters, $19.97 so I gave the guy $20 and he just looked at me. Turns out it was $21 with tax, but that was in teeeeny letters. Here, we add the tax to the shelf price. If it says $1 on the shelf, it's $1 at the till.
While it might be easy to comment on all of the issues the United States faces as an outsider, it’s important to remember that most of the citizens are aware of these problems. According to a 2021 report from the Pew Research Center, the top issues Americans note to be big problems in the nation are the affordability of healthcare, the federal budget deficit, violent crime, illegal immigration, gun violence, the pandemic, racism, economic inequality, unemployment, climate change, and the quality of public K-12 schools. You may not personally agree that all of those issues are comparable, but it’s just a reminder that Americans know what is happening. They don’t enjoy paying exorbitant hospital bills or fearing that their children will be subjected to a school shooting. Unfortunately, it can be a long and arduous process trying to change the systems.
It is really easy to use metric system, and it's not bite. It is inconvenient to measure something with body parts.
They act like they have so much freedom when so many facets of basic human needs there are so exclusive that it’s oppressive.
I heard someone say that the way we look at Florida is the same way the rest of the world looks at us.
Whether you believe that the United States is the best country in the world or you would never want to visit, we hope this list has been some interesting food for thought for you. Keep upvoting the posts you resonate with, and then let us know how you feel about this topic in the comments. And then if you want to check out another Bored Panda article featuring the things the United States does particularly well, you can find that story right here.
The United States (not America, that's a Continent) is not the world police and should stop getting involved in other countries businesses.
Yes, you *do* have an accent.
If you think you don't because you "read words exactly as they're written, without any kind of regional flair", you're mistaken about that. There's no such thing.
Speaking without an accent would be like typing without a font. An accent is just a method of pronouncing a language - everyone has one!
"Speaking without an accent would be like typing without a font" Perfect example! I hope I remember to use it when I need to!
Your portion sizes should be smaller.
The mindset needs to change as well. Don't go to a restaurant expecting to take home leftovers.
That the entire world excels at making bathroom stalls that you can’t see between. Not sure why the US stall manufacturers can’t figure out how to close those massive gaps…
They know perfectly well how, they just don't want to. That would require putting actual effort into their jobs and who wants to do that?
The loudest voice in the room usually has the least to say
The US has third world country level safety and crime issues in most of its big cities.
After several trips to the US, my colleagues there couldn't accept how poor they were, and 10 min in any city makes it obvious.
Huge individual debt, minimal savings and no time for themselves. That is not the standard in the developed world. Even when our taxes are high we have to time to rest and basic life essential services covered. Free/low cost education even allows us to break the class divide if we want it enough.
Sure there are millionaires and billionaires in the US but chance's are neither you nor your family will get anywhere close because you don't have the opportunity to improve without going into decades of financial debt.
You’re the foreigner in 192 countries
Edit: UN recognises 195 countries (missed out Palestine and the Holy See). Could go up to 198 depending on your sources. Choose which ever one you want
All I know on this is, being Irish, I've met a lot of American tourists when they're holidaying here. To those tourists I say, no one has ever been impressed by or cares about your lineage.
I find it fascinating, the US way of being really proud of where you're "from" even if your 7th generation. My great grandparents were German and Scottish and I have no "pride" or affinity about that.
Obesity in the U.S is a major health issue and needs to be addressed.
and by that we don't mean to body-shame... there is healthy and clearly unhealthy bodyweight...
It's kinda terrifying how you guys treat all your soldiers like superheroes. I was listening to a random podcast and the host was reading some fan mail out loud. When the fan mentioned that he was a soldier, the host automatically said "Thank you for your service" and then continued reading as of nothing happened. It was genuinely scary.
GIs are heroes until they are injured..... then you will find them with their medals sitting on the street, begging....
That America is a continent and not their country.
This is purely semantic. The United States of America shortened to America, ergo American , which no one on earth will confuse with Canada or Mexico.
Beer and Fried food are causing more problems than hippies and pot ever did.
Capitalism is NOT your friend. It is an economic system designed from the ground up to impoverish and disempower workers (90% of the population) and enrich and empower the elites.
Also, Capitalism and Democracy are NOT the same thing. You can have one without the other. In fact, Capitalism is inherently undemocratic.
Boy, the ignorance or lack of critical thinking here is sad, to say the least. Or maybe it's not ignorance: it depends on who this poster is. The statements above, almost by the letter, were drilled into us everywhere before 1989: at school, at work, on tv and printed media, on posters and banners on the streets etc. I grew up in socialist\communist Romania and even now statements as the above make me mad. Also, Western Europe is NOT socialist, people, but China is. Please educate yourselves.
Just because it’s ‘organic’ doesn’t mean it’s ‘healthy’
And just because something is "natural" doesn't make it healthy either.
Most Americans either hate their country because they see all this corruption/racism/homophobia and what have you while others love it and think it’s the greatest land in the world. As an American, I dislike both these views. Our country is severely flawed, especially now, but I still love many of the people here and the people make the nation. This is my home. I love my country and I want to do my best to make it a place where I want my kids to grow up. I can love my country and know that it is kinda f****d up rn.
Other countries don’t care about our individual states. Stop expecting non-Americans to know what you mean when you say s**t like “I’m from Montana.” ESPECIALLY when everyone else is introducing themselves by COUNTRY.
Me too, but perhaps they know where Somerset is . . ? Snork, only joking.
The amount of food you waste is insane.
Had to look that up: The US wastes around 40 million tons of food every year. That is estimated to be 30-40% of the entire US food supply. Food waste takes up to 22% of municipal solid waste in landfills. This is utterly ridiculous, and this has to be addressed!
That whenever you come up in conversation someone is bound to say, "at least we're doing better that the USA."
That's true imho. When talking about problems, it’s common to hear: ‘it’s not as bad as the US’, ‘if this keeps going we’ll end up like the US’. Referring to eg diminishing democracy, obesity, higher cost/lower quality of education, systemic racism, lack of gender equality, etc
A lot of your favourite food brands make better versions of their products here. America often gets the short end of the stick.
The reason for this is that, unlike the US, the other countries have stringent food laws, which ban or restrict certain ingredients because of health reasons
The only reason we are so cutthroat about being “every man for himself” is because we live in a country that makes us fight for our basic needs and human rights.
I mean that kinda true. Here you got to keep going or your gonna get stepped on and gonna be hard to get back up. And then it hard to keep on carrying on.
Your sense of entitlement does not cross borders.
Unfortunately, it does. And unfortunately again, it is because of these some submissive leaders/people of other countries
The United States is nearing the age when most democracies die and become empires. You are repeating all the steps of a dying democracy and going towards empire. You are also repeating many of the steps of a dying empire (privatization of government function, large scale military that doesn't get used, ignoring changes to the climate that will become catastrophic later because you believe your gods will save you, etc.)
Your country...my country.will not last another 100 years without drastic changes
I am a United States citizen and United States citizens refuse to learn/learn from history. That's why we repeat the worst parts of it.
What temperature it is in Celsius.
The way you understand race, culture and ethnicity is not universal. Applies to many things actually: you’re not the global default.
That we're too afraid to admit we all mostly share the same basic values, but the media and government corruption has perpetually influenced many to automatically avoid constructive dialogue with who they consider the "other side". It's all done on purpose to keep people arguing and lose concentration on the fact that they're (not so secretly) screwing all of us at the same time and they don't care who you are.
While I agree the two political parties are akin to bad and much worse, and that people seem to share the same values, there is one big glaring difference that I can't reconcile. The right refuses to accept any facts about damn neat anything. They have a hypocritical viewpoint that when challenged, they tend to respond by closing their eyes, plugging their ears, and loudly going lalalalala. Since 2000, the more extreme views on right have taken over. Now you are seeing the left kind of start to respond in the same way. While I feel it's necessary, it's also a recipe for disaster. But you can only get screwed so many times before you have to burn down the house.
Your obsession with lawns is weird. Let native plants grow where they need to grow. Grass isn't prettier than your local flora.
Edit: I read through every reply and with some people lawns are a safety precaution/necessary. That's unfortunate.
You need to go vote in order to change the direction of your country. Going to rallies and posting on social media isn't enough. The people who do vote get to call the shots. And it's not just presidential elections you need to vote in. It's all the elections. Even the local council ones.
Absolutely strange to me is the fact, you need to register to vote. Here in Germany, every citizen is automatically eligible to vote and will get the respective notification per mail. By the way, the whole electoral college in the US is pretty strange too. The winner of any election should be the one with the majority of the votes. period.
Despite every problem your country is dealing with right now, you are all still immensely privileged and most of you live a life that millions can only dream with.
As an American, everything our country has done overseas. But Americans would never believe it
Most of what you call social progress of the last 10 years has been just an overreaction/overcompensation to the fact that you still cannot come to terms with your history.
99% chance that there's nothing wrong with that computer you're just gonna throw out - it's probably just software cruft.
I used to take any PC anyone would give me. Take multiple and build a good machine and give it to people who couldn't have one otherwise. Most of the time, the only thing wrong was it was so full of dust it would overheat in minutes due to lack of airflow. And even in this day, people just "throw them in the trash" hard drive and all, still intact with everything on it. After checking one to see if the OS was salvageable (as it was a fairly new machine) I never again checked, just wiped it and started over. This person was lucky someone like me got his machine out of the trash and not someone dishonest.
Neither political party is acting in your best interest.
For example, you already pay more in taxes than most countries (with universal healthcare) for healthcare, yet you don't have universal healthcare. You still actually have to pay when you go to hospital/see a doctor.
There is a currently Democrat president presiding over houses under Democrat control. They could fix this if they wanted. They won't.
Sorry but not true. Senate requires 2/3 vote on many things and the Dems have Manchen and Sinema who sew only part time Dems.
Oh for crying out loud, we *know*! We try to change it, we do, but we've got the same problems as other nations: Ignorant idiots who can vote, coupled with the power of $$$$$$$. Ugh!
Amen Leo, totally feel this thread is quite insulting.
Load More Replies...US bashing, really nice! Funny how people still want to live and visit. Not ready to hear? STFU, we know, thank you very much. And there are people trying to work on it and others who try to make it worse. We have a lot of people who love to complain and are too lazy to do anything about it. It is so not appropriate for someone who doesn't live in a country to criticize another, regardless of what they "think" they know. And let me give you a perfect example. Healthcare, I happen to know there is affordable healthcare in this country. You just have to get off your a*s and not be lazy to apply for it. I myself cannot afford to pay for health insurance, so, I have government assisted healthcare. I have the best physicians and care that anyone can ask for. I have to take medicine that are $5000 a month, yes $5k, and my deductible is $0 my copay is $0 medications $0 hospital stay $0. People can reply, downvote, whatever, I don't care. I love my country, good bad and ugly.
School shootings will forever be the big issue for me. I live in South Africa. You know how much crime we have here? A s**t ton! We're talking 71 murders and 115 rapes per day in a country the 8 times smaller than the US. We have AIDS and TB breakouts, a dumpster fire for an economy and our government literally can't even keep the lights on....but you know how many mass school shootings we had this year? 0. Do we have a gun violence problem? Absolutely. The gangs are riddling each other with bullets. You know where the gangs that get their weapons illegally don't take them? To schools. Y'all need gun regulation laws. It won't stop crimes, but it WILL stop school shootings.
We know, but they vary wildly from state to state within the US, so you can buy a gun legally in West Virginia, then shoot 30-plus people dead in *Virginia* with it (Virginia Tech shooting). Or take it to Wisconsin. Or any other state. It's absurd, I agree.
Load More Replies...Wow... Must be groundhog day cause I'm pretty sure I've seen this list....every couple of weeks!! .....totally an uninterested bystander,but it's getting a bit old..... Sort of Boring panda?
BoredPanda use to have such fun quirky articles and featured a lot of artwork from artists around the world. Now I feel like they are only reposting content from Reddit and really negative listicles.
Load More Replies...BP: hypocritically supporting diversity and inclusion...except for Americans who are all alike, stupid and hateful. Please stop writing articles that encourage bigotry and xenophobia, and which are utterly devoid of factual content.
I could not agree more. I find it hypocritical and just plain sad that BoredPanda has taken to censoring common curse words including d**k, w***y, and c**p and suspends user accounts if they voted below -10 on a comment, which is incredibly easy to do. Yet, I have contacted BoredPanda several time now to remove user Istax who has over 1,000+ downvotes and has spread some of the most vile hate speech again trans and LGBTQIA+ people that I've ever seen on a silly listicle site. BoredPanda does nothing...absolutely nothing...to get rid of hate speech spreading trolls. Censoring other users isn't going to help. I have no idea what has happened to this site recently...
Load More Replies...Its only been a week since the last Bored Panda US bashing. I would think it would get old but apparently not. Not sure why Bored Panda wants to make it seem like the US is the worst country in the world or we have habits the rest of the world should be appalled by. Is the US perfect, no. But lets stop pretending we are the only ones with issues and move on from the bashing. Its really f**** annoying and a bit pathetic at this point. No one is begging anyone to come and visit or to stay. And if you expect everything here to be exactly how it is where your from then stay the f*** where you are at, it would seem pointless to visit.
BoredPanda doesn't even seem to write any of their own original content anymore, with the exception of one of the staff members who wrote a really well-informed article about the events in Iran. Most of the staff seem to follow the "Buzzfeed" model and repost content from edits. It's a shame because this site used to have really need artwork and quirky listicles. Now it seems like really depressing listicles like this or Am I the Arsehole posts.
Load More Replies...To be fair a lot of this applies to the UK. Obesity, racism and the rich are getting richer while the poor are being told to stop being lazy and work more hours. Our NHS is massively underfunded and short staffed with A±E wait times of 12 hours. My uncle died from a heart attack because there were no ambulances for 2 hours. I'm a student nurse and myself and most other students are being used to fill the gap for poor staffing rather than getting the training and education we're being charged for. Student fees of 9k a year in England and Wales, although in fairness the repayment schedule is generous as you don't pay it back until after you graduate and even then they only take small amounts out of your salary but it's another example or keeping the poor in their place. Leaving the EU was a big mistake (I voted remain) and was voted for by people who are stupid enough to believe the tabloids that the UK was being inundated by 'bloody foreigners' who were going to bleed us dry.
@Emma S, a fact my Brexiteering in-laws just now clued into after the queen died and they realized Truss was in charge. A bit late to change the tune, however, isn't it? *sigh*
Load More Replies...Upvoting all those who keep being downvoted for posting that they feel that the thread is US bashing. I had no idea that it was so frequent. This was the first time I saw it, but I've only been a member for a little while. My posts keep going up and down, no telling how many times I've been downvoted by now, as I stated in it, I don't care, if I get suspended, so be it.
Kind of you to do that M Kawai. Bored Panda runs a list like this every 1-2 weeks, almost without fail. They know it will get people upset, which means more clicks, comments, and revenue. Ironic that a Lithuanian site who likes to run US bashing articles, is using a very politically American way to generate money.
Load More Replies...Not again!! What the hell is BP's editors obsession with USA? Week after week... Please stop copying Redit, and create your own stuff without keeping on bashing one country out of 194+
Also please stop talking about Europe as if it's one country. The cultures, traditions and beliefs vary greatly from one Europeans country to another. Things here in the UK are different than say Switzerland, and even neighbouring countries such as France and Spain can vary greatly.
Everyone needs to stop thinking the US is homogenous too. The US is more like the EU: a collection of diverse districts. I live in Massachusetts, which is the most leftist state. I've visited a number of other states in different regions, and they might as well be foreign countries.
Load More Replies...Please don’t downvote others because you disagree. If it’s racist, misogynistic, mean and nasty then yes go for it. But simply downvoting because you disagree is silly. The Pandas get minus 10 and suspended for nothing. Let’s be nice. If you’re a VBP (Very Bored Panda) then scroll and give others an uppie! Love you guys !
Well that's very nice of you to post. I've watched my post go up and down in votes for proving how wrong only one post was. I couldn't even go through the whole thread because I find some absolutely ridiculous as some valid. We can all go nit picking every country and what good would it do? It is far different living than just hearing seeing or reading. If I could report this thread as offensive, I totally would. And if was producing threads I would never produce one like this about another country, it's just wrong and insulting. We all know what's going on in our own countries. I hope BP reads this post and takes notes.
Load More Replies...These ‘things Americans aren’t ready to hear’ articles are stupid. Most Americans just want to live their lives in peace. And s**t on America all you want. It’s weird y’all are so obsessed with what goes on here yet hate us just as much. I don’t get it.
It's the guns, for me. And the screaming, hysterical defence of guns. The US is a beautiful country, the people are generally lovely and I would love to spend more time there, but the whole gun thing scares the socks off me.
Can I hand you a stone to throw in your glass house? The entire world has issues. We do, you do, they do....nowhere is perfect. Even where you live! Isn't it fun to blast the US though?
Hey Bored Panda, we get some form of this every week with almost the same headline and examples. The U.S. is seriously flawed, many of us know it and try to make it better, but this is tired and lame. How about "What Estonians don't want to hear," or Italians or Argentinians. No country is perfect.
For the love of all that's holy....All of the US is not the same!!! Every single state has it's own cultures, accents, etc. I feel like I'm going to a foreign country in some of the other states. The west coast has drastically different views and culture than middle America.
While I can't and won't totally bash the US for what it is, my gripe is that people get away with c**p by using the name of the Church. For crying out bloody loud, if you say you go to church, act like you do. Do not stifle hardworking servers/floor staff/receptionist etc with fake money that has Biblical quotations or even giving "holy advice" in lieu of tips. I'm not that holy myself but I'm pretty sure God would definitely frown and likely spit on that sort of transgression. I'm pretty sure it happens everywhere but most times when I hear it, it's 'Murica. So, not judging, just a civil reminder: Do Better!
This is minor but you can answer America instead of the states you are coming from. Most people living outside America are not familiar with your states.
Every time I’m in another country and someone asks where I’m from I say the United States. Inevitably they then ask where I’m from in the States. Every time! So now I just say I’m from Michigan in the states.
Load More Replies...Oh for crying out loud, we *know*! We try to change it, we do, but we've got the same problems as other nations: Ignorant idiots who can vote, coupled with the power of $$$$$$$. Ugh!
Amen Leo, totally feel this thread is quite insulting.
Load More Replies...US bashing, really nice! Funny how people still want to live and visit. Not ready to hear? STFU, we know, thank you very much. And there are people trying to work on it and others who try to make it worse. We have a lot of people who love to complain and are too lazy to do anything about it. It is so not appropriate for someone who doesn't live in a country to criticize another, regardless of what they "think" they know. And let me give you a perfect example. Healthcare, I happen to know there is affordable healthcare in this country. You just have to get off your a*s and not be lazy to apply for it. I myself cannot afford to pay for health insurance, so, I have government assisted healthcare. I have the best physicians and care that anyone can ask for. I have to take medicine that are $5000 a month, yes $5k, and my deductible is $0 my copay is $0 medications $0 hospital stay $0. People can reply, downvote, whatever, I don't care. I love my country, good bad and ugly.
School shootings will forever be the big issue for me. I live in South Africa. You know how much crime we have here? A s**t ton! We're talking 71 murders and 115 rapes per day in a country the 8 times smaller than the US. We have AIDS and TB breakouts, a dumpster fire for an economy and our government literally can't even keep the lights on....but you know how many mass school shootings we had this year? 0. Do we have a gun violence problem? Absolutely. The gangs are riddling each other with bullets. You know where the gangs that get their weapons illegally don't take them? To schools. Y'all need gun regulation laws. It won't stop crimes, but it WILL stop school shootings.
We know, but they vary wildly from state to state within the US, so you can buy a gun legally in West Virginia, then shoot 30-plus people dead in *Virginia* with it (Virginia Tech shooting). Or take it to Wisconsin. Or any other state. It's absurd, I agree.
Load More Replies...Wow... Must be groundhog day cause I'm pretty sure I've seen this list....every couple of weeks!! .....totally an uninterested bystander,but it's getting a bit old..... Sort of Boring panda?
BoredPanda use to have such fun quirky articles and featured a lot of artwork from artists around the world. Now I feel like they are only reposting content from Reddit and really negative listicles.
Load More Replies...BP: hypocritically supporting diversity and inclusion...except for Americans who are all alike, stupid and hateful. Please stop writing articles that encourage bigotry and xenophobia, and which are utterly devoid of factual content.
I could not agree more. I find it hypocritical and just plain sad that BoredPanda has taken to censoring common curse words including d**k, w***y, and c**p and suspends user accounts if they voted below -10 on a comment, which is incredibly easy to do. Yet, I have contacted BoredPanda several time now to remove user Istax who has over 1,000+ downvotes and has spread some of the most vile hate speech again trans and LGBTQIA+ people that I've ever seen on a silly listicle site. BoredPanda does nothing...absolutely nothing...to get rid of hate speech spreading trolls. Censoring other users isn't going to help. I have no idea what has happened to this site recently...
Load More Replies...Its only been a week since the last Bored Panda US bashing. I would think it would get old but apparently not. Not sure why Bored Panda wants to make it seem like the US is the worst country in the world or we have habits the rest of the world should be appalled by. Is the US perfect, no. But lets stop pretending we are the only ones with issues and move on from the bashing. Its really f**** annoying and a bit pathetic at this point. No one is begging anyone to come and visit or to stay. And if you expect everything here to be exactly how it is where your from then stay the f*** where you are at, it would seem pointless to visit.
BoredPanda doesn't even seem to write any of their own original content anymore, with the exception of one of the staff members who wrote a really well-informed article about the events in Iran. Most of the staff seem to follow the "Buzzfeed" model and repost content from edits. It's a shame because this site used to have really need artwork and quirky listicles. Now it seems like really depressing listicles like this or Am I the Arsehole posts.
Load More Replies...To be fair a lot of this applies to the UK. Obesity, racism and the rich are getting richer while the poor are being told to stop being lazy and work more hours. Our NHS is massively underfunded and short staffed with A±E wait times of 12 hours. My uncle died from a heart attack because there were no ambulances for 2 hours. I'm a student nurse and myself and most other students are being used to fill the gap for poor staffing rather than getting the training and education we're being charged for. Student fees of 9k a year in England and Wales, although in fairness the repayment schedule is generous as you don't pay it back until after you graduate and even then they only take small amounts out of your salary but it's another example or keeping the poor in their place. Leaving the EU was a big mistake (I voted remain) and was voted for by people who are stupid enough to believe the tabloids that the UK was being inundated by 'bloody foreigners' who were going to bleed us dry.
@Emma S, a fact my Brexiteering in-laws just now clued into after the queen died and they realized Truss was in charge. A bit late to change the tune, however, isn't it? *sigh*
Load More Replies...Upvoting all those who keep being downvoted for posting that they feel that the thread is US bashing. I had no idea that it was so frequent. This was the first time I saw it, but I've only been a member for a little while. My posts keep going up and down, no telling how many times I've been downvoted by now, as I stated in it, I don't care, if I get suspended, so be it.
Kind of you to do that M Kawai. Bored Panda runs a list like this every 1-2 weeks, almost without fail. They know it will get people upset, which means more clicks, comments, and revenue. Ironic that a Lithuanian site who likes to run US bashing articles, is using a very politically American way to generate money.
Load More Replies...Not again!! What the hell is BP's editors obsession with USA? Week after week... Please stop copying Redit, and create your own stuff without keeping on bashing one country out of 194+
Also please stop talking about Europe as if it's one country. The cultures, traditions and beliefs vary greatly from one Europeans country to another. Things here in the UK are different than say Switzerland, and even neighbouring countries such as France and Spain can vary greatly.
Everyone needs to stop thinking the US is homogenous too. The US is more like the EU: a collection of diverse districts. I live in Massachusetts, which is the most leftist state. I've visited a number of other states in different regions, and they might as well be foreign countries.
Load More Replies...Please don’t downvote others because you disagree. If it’s racist, misogynistic, mean and nasty then yes go for it. But simply downvoting because you disagree is silly. The Pandas get minus 10 and suspended for nothing. Let’s be nice. If you’re a VBP (Very Bored Panda) then scroll and give others an uppie! Love you guys !
Well that's very nice of you to post. I've watched my post go up and down in votes for proving how wrong only one post was. I couldn't even go through the whole thread because I find some absolutely ridiculous as some valid. We can all go nit picking every country and what good would it do? It is far different living than just hearing seeing or reading. If I could report this thread as offensive, I totally would. And if was producing threads I would never produce one like this about another country, it's just wrong and insulting. We all know what's going on in our own countries. I hope BP reads this post and takes notes.
Load More Replies...These ‘things Americans aren’t ready to hear’ articles are stupid. Most Americans just want to live their lives in peace. And s**t on America all you want. It’s weird y’all are so obsessed with what goes on here yet hate us just as much. I don’t get it.
It's the guns, for me. And the screaming, hysterical defence of guns. The US is a beautiful country, the people are generally lovely and I would love to spend more time there, but the whole gun thing scares the socks off me.
Can I hand you a stone to throw in your glass house? The entire world has issues. We do, you do, they do....nowhere is perfect. Even where you live! Isn't it fun to blast the US though?
Hey Bored Panda, we get some form of this every week with almost the same headline and examples. The U.S. is seriously flawed, many of us know it and try to make it better, but this is tired and lame. How about "What Estonians don't want to hear," or Italians or Argentinians. No country is perfect.
For the love of all that's holy....All of the US is not the same!!! Every single state has it's own cultures, accents, etc. I feel like I'm going to a foreign country in some of the other states. The west coast has drastically different views and culture than middle America.
While I can't and won't totally bash the US for what it is, my gripe is that people get away with c**p by using the name of the Church. For crying out bloody loud, if you say you go to church, act like you do. Do not stifle hardworking servers/floor staff/receptionist etc with fake money that has Biblical quotations or even giving "holy advice" in lieu of tips. I'm not that holy myself but I'm pretty sure God would definitely frown and likely spit on that sort of transgression. I'm pretty sure it happens everywhere but most times when I hear it, it's 'Murica. So, not judging, just a civil reminder: Do Better!
This is minor but you can answer America instead of the states you are coming from. Most people living outside America are not familiar with your states.
Every time I’m in another country and someone asks where I’m from I say the United States. Inevitably they then ask where I’m from in the States. Every time! So now I just say I’m from Michigan in the states.
Load More Replies...