Stereotypes of America

[BromeTeks]

This is something I'm interested in. I wish to hear some of the stereotypes about the United States of America from some of our forum members from places like Australia or Europe. Maybe other Americans on here or I could dispel some of those stereotypes.

 

[avery]

hee hee hee! i had so much fun with this when i was in europe last summer! i got the craziest questions. lots of people thought that all americans own guns. i got asked if i own a gun, which is a pretty ridiculous question if you know me.

one polish guy i met believed that there aren't any small cars in america. he thought we all drive vans and trucks and SUVs and hummers. he kept pointing out sedans and station wagons on the highway around us and saying "so do you have cars like that? how about that one -- do you have those?"

a lot of the attitudes toward america that i encountered are fairly accurate, though. most europeans believe that america has lost its right to call itself a first-world country over the past twenty years, and i have to admit they make a fairly good case. our country's attitude toward things like the death penalty, gun control, abortion, and especially gay marriage is hopelessly dated. in recent decades european countries have really been on the cutting edge, thinking progressively, while america is just moving backwards.

 

[Kraiden]

This pretty much sums up what I think about America:

Enjoy your Dictatorship. Most of the rednecks and such I've seen who are all "YER AMERICA WE'RE TEH BEST!" don't realise that they're not a democracy, they're far from it. you can't call yourself a Democracy, And then have electronically counted votes (Which have been *proven* to be rigged) on voting days where you can choose to vote or just sit at home.

If America was truly democratic, they'd stick to the voting systems of Britain, Australia, and a crapload of other European countries.

As for what I think of Americans themselves? They're pretty cool. the majority are a little bit oblivious to what the rest of the world thinks about them, but they're ok.

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

Well, from what I've experienced with Americans, here's what I could conclude about Americans.

1. You're loud. Way too loud. You're voice can be overheard in public from 300 feet away, yet you insist on speaking at such a level when people are standing right next to you.

2. You're presumptuous. You feel that the American way of doing things is the right and only way of doing things.

3. You're ignorant, particularly in the way of other people's cultures. The mentality of "if it doesn't exist in America, then it probably doesn't matter".

As a funny short story - I once told some Americans I had a paddock of kangaroos in my backyard and koalas in my trees. They believed me to the point where they kept asking me if they could come around and have a look. Asking me questions like, "Can you ride the kangaroos?" - Of course I responded with, "Yeah! Definitely! Especially when I want to avoid peak-hour traffic".


But yeah, that's just the impression I've gotten from Americans that have come down here. I'm not saying all Americans are like this, when in fact I think that a good portion of the population isn't this retarded. Perhaps when you guys travel around, you go into some sort of strange, weird "tourist mode". A mode that drops your intelligence, and ups your ego.

 

[mm3]

I can honestly say that most of my family is... well what you call Redneck (or what my dad calls it, Roughneck).

He... doesn't want to live here anymore. So there's a stereotype right there, Kradien .

We've been talking for years about moving back to the motherland (Ireland).

That image never got further then just wishful thinking, sadly.

 

[Vladimir]

No clue about the US.

In Canada, I heard about people believing that we all lived in igloos and there are a lot of stereotypes about Quebec French. For example, here we call lovers "blondes", and in France they call them "copines". But I read in a French magazine that in Quebec French, blonde meant girl. Oh well.

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

In Canada, I heard about people believing that we all lived in igloos and there are a lot of stereotypes about Quebec French. For example, here we call lovers "blondes", and in France they call them "copines". But I read in a French magazine that in Quebec French, blonde meant girl. Oh well.

Haha, igloos. I've heard that one.

Luckily, my experience with Canadians has been greatly positive. Very different to their southern counterparts. The impression I've been left with is that Canadians are a good bunch, hailing from a wonderful country. :thumbsup: Props to you guys.

 

[Kams]

1. You're loud. Way too loud. You're voice can be overheard in public from 300 feet away, yet you insist on speaking at such a level when people are standing right next to you.

WE CERTAINLY DO NOT TALK WAY TOO LOUD. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA? Lol, but seriously it's true. Walk around the city for a day and just about everyone shouts while talking on the phone.

2. You're presumptuous. You feel that the American way of doing things is the right and only way of doing things.

Also true, but definitely not my way of thinking, people are just too close minded these days :frown:

As a funny short story - I once told some Americans I had a paddock of kangaroos in my backyard and koalas in my trees. They believed me to the point where they kept asking me if they could come around and have a look. Asking me questions like, "Can you ride the kangaroos?" - Of course I responded with, "Yeah! Definitely! Especially when I want to avoid peak-hour traffic".

I am not the least bit surprised that someone here would believe that :tongueout:

 

[Vladimir]

I'm Chinese/White and all-American. Let me start proudly with stereotypical traits.

Chinese: kung-fu masters, rice eaters, Honda-drivers, buck-toothed, slant-eyed, sneaky knife-stabbing, white woman-raping, gook-ass chinks.

There, is that enough? ^_^

You forgot video game geeks.

 

[Mink]

All these stereotypes describe my parents pretty well....

...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWS-FoXbjVI

 

[ayanna]

I'd add my :twocents: but it seems that everyone else (read LUKIE) has already stated most of the obvious stereotypes.

If I wasn't so tired, I'd probably be able to come up with something else....maybe another day.

 

[Customizer]

I'd add my :twocents: but it seems that everyone else (read LUKIE) has already stated most of the obvious stereotypes.

If I wasn't so tired, I'd probably be able to come up with something else....maybe another day.

Bottom line: Canada rules. ^_^

 

[skinnypuppy]

I wish to hear some of the stereotypes about the United States of America

The Colonel was very careful to give the full name of our native country in the above sentence, but the title of the thread is less precise. It is the habit of most of the citizens of the USA to call our country "America", ignoring all the other countries which reside on the American continents.

This arrogance bothers me, and it is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our descriptions of this country as the best in the world. It is not the best, and it is slipping away from us at an alarming rate.

 

[avery]

1. You're loud. Way too loud. You're voice can be overheard in public from 300 feet away, yet you insist on speaking at such a level when people are standing right next to you.

crazy -- that's actually a stereotype i have of australians as well! it seems like most australian tourists i see around here are obscenely loud and obnoxious. every time i ride the ferryboats on puget sound i hear some horrible steve-irwin type from the other side of the boat bellowing "well would you look at the snow on those mountains!!" in a voice like a broken trombone.

but then northwesterners are stereotyped as being very quiet and withdrawn compared to the rest of america, so maybe that creates a sense of contrast.

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

crazy -- that's actually a stereotype i have of australians as well! it seems like most australian tourists i see around here are obscenely loud and obnoxious. every time i ride the ferryboats on puget sound i hear some horrible steve-irwin type from the other side of the boat bellowing "well would you look at the snow on those mountains!!" in a voice like a broken trombone.

but then northwesterners are stereotyped as being very quiet and withdrawn compared to the rest of america, so maybe that creates a sense of contrast.

Snow On Mountains

/me doesn't think he sounds like a broken trombone. XD

 

[avery]

hee hee! cool! you don't have a steve irwin voice at all. we're going to have to get you involved in the next skype session, lukie.

 

[whitefox]

It really depends on where you are... I mean, if you're looking at sterotypes about loud people, that's probably going to be up in the North, say Boston or New York, perhaps Chicago. The crazy, liberal peoples all go to California, which is why it is now legal to smoke pot in some parts there.

As for the South, well, North Carolina is technically in the South, but we're kind of a buffer. You get the people moving down to Florida from the North that like our climate, and then the old people from Florida like to retire here as well (because of the beaches and such). Then the rednecks, in some places in North Carolina (a LOT in my hometown), are usually hunters (and own guns, yes), race trucks (and occasionally lawn mowers), and are the ones that think America is the sh*t, all of the time. They're white, own trailers, dirty trucks, and generally refuse to accept logic (at least the extreme ones, not trying to offend anybody). Don't let West Virginia fool you, it's a very Southern state.

I'm not sure about the western part of our country, or the middle states. They're usually a bit reserved, and keep a somewhat flat, Mid-Eastern (United States Mid-Eastern) accent, no y'all or "you'se guys" or anything like that. Some southern states (Missouri, for instance) has a bit of a Cajun accent, which is pretty hard to understand for even Southerners.

Conclusion: Those sterotypes are pretty right on, but only for certain parts of the country, not as a whole. If you take each part individually, then they usually share a few common traits, some 'slang' words, accent, and the like. Oh yeah, I'm also sorry if I offended anyone.

.--^*100th Post*^--.

 

[Chillhouse]

Let's see. Americans are...
*Loud
*Obnoxious
*Wide n' swetty
*Violent
*Ignorant
*Arogant
*Overly (!!!) patriotic
*cant spl proprly
*Think they own whatever country they're visiting
*Know next to nothing about Canada
*Not to mention the women are bloody ugly

Of course, none of that is true for ALL Americans. They're just stereotypes. But I live on a border town, so I see Americans pretty much everyday. You can tell they're American because they call credit cards 'debit cards', call pop 'soda pop', and call tuna 'tuna fish'. Here in Canada we assume our tuna has fish in it.

About that patriotic thing... Fun Fact: You know Mount Rushmore? That was origionaly supposed to be gigantic carvings of people that helped define America. People like Lewis and Clark and an important Naitive-American chief.

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

hee hee! cool! you don't have a steve irwin voice at all. we're going to have to get you involved in the next skype session, lukie.

Mmhmm! Perhaps at a time that isn't 6am for me.

 

[Dawes]

See, there's this little stereotype about Americans which I've found to be really quite true, and that is...

"No Americans are nearly as awesome as Rance."

I mean, I'm not really sure where that rumor surfaced, but I've done my research on it, and I've discovered it to be true.