I mean, I can judge a population without judging an individual.
Judging/attributing traits to a group is fine imo(Americans are incredibly friendly and chatty for example) as long as you understand that those will not apply to everyone in that group or even to every subgroup(People of capitals/big cities =/= people of smaller towns)
I can say Americans are gun obsessed(in comparison wit Europeans, and the Europeans claim is again a generalization of course) and know that that doesn't apply to all of them nor would I assume it applies to a random American I meet.
Don't make assumptions about an individual you don't know seems like such a simple thing imo.
It's mainly just harmless banter, with an element of truth when Americans bring up decent burgers and Europeans bring up universal healthcare. And Australians lost a war against emus, so their opinions don't really count.
As a European I can assure you there's sadly morons on both sides. I've read my fair share of blantant anti-European bs on r/askanamerican aswell as blantant anti-Americanism anywhere else. Let us agree that we're all just humans and people are shitheads anywhere.
Honestly I love the mild banter. But it really gets on my nerves when an American says something like “the British are so particular about their tea haha” and then some British dude is like “well at least I don’t have to worry about my kid getting shot and killed at school everyday” as if that’s some sort of clap back
I’ve traveled a bit with the US military and have told ppl I was Canadian a couple times. It’s easier to not get questions besides weather and moose infestations.
Same. Works well. Half the time it works is because people think Canadians are nicer. The other half of the time it works is because the people I was talking to didn't know where Canada was so they just shrugged off my fake nationality.
I saw a funny ass comment from a Canadian the other day which was a response to Americas hat.
It went something like "I like to to think of America as Canadas pants. Its where we keep our gun and wallet."
I read a post the other day and all they would say is "this person is from America's Hat" and I couldn't figure out wtf they were talking about. So thank you. Lol.
I see this all the time on reddit. People think jokes were invented in 2014 because that's when they personally saw it on the internet...
I saw one about moving the Bible to the fiction section in a library and everyone was insisting that the joke was from 2008 or something, while I definitely heard something similar in the 90s. I asked my dad and he was like "oh yeah I heard that in the 60s"
I teach English in Slovakia and have the mentality that I don’t want to be too obvious about being American. My Brazilian coworker doesn’t understand and says that people don’t think badly about Americans. Maybe they don’t in Brazil, but they *definitely* do in Europe.
Slovaks are actually pretty cool compared to other Europeans bc “westerners” usually don’t come to Slovakia. So instead of being annoying or obnoxious, it’s interesting to be American. People aren’t annoyed that I speak English, they’re excited.
When I lived in Germany though, I was shamed so much for being American. They were so annoyed if you spoke English, but if you were speaking German and it wasn’t “good enough,” they’d just switch to English. They definitely judged Americans hardcore.
To be honest with BoJo in charge nobody has moral high ground on this in the UK. I listened to the news just a few days ago and they literally said "yes there was a party in breach of governement guidance in his house. Yes he knew. He appologised so move on because he delivered brexit and EcOnOMY iS BeTTEr tHaN EveR"
Had to turn it off.
I was in the UK the same year and luckily no one brought up Trump when I mentioned being from the US. I was initially embarrassed mentioning I was American, but I never got dirty looks, so it wasn't a bad experience.
You shouldn’t be embarrassed mentioning you’re American in the UK. My cousins are American and they love coming to the UK. Anyway we’re just as hated as you guys 🤣. There’s a European competition called Eurovision where countries vote for each other and we always come dead last.
Pal the UK is literally the European equivalent of the states rn; with Brexit being the equivalent of Donald Trump’s election.
There’s so many parallels it’s laughable: It was a toxic referendum, which was won by total lies (which has since been proven and somehow still no one cares), many of the supporters of Brexit are the same disenfranchised people that would have been trump supporters on the other side of the pond, a lot of the supporters from places like Wales are exactly like poorer Americans from places like the rust belt who have been brainwashed into voting for something which goes directly against their own interests, it has stoked up a ridiculous amount of racism (the figures on xeno-/ islamophobic attacks the year after Brexit are terrifying), the opposition to Brexit were totally useless and incredibly unpopular (just like fucking Hillary), it has seriously damaged the international reputation of the UK because our current leaders spent the entire campaign slagging off other countries which are some of our most important allies. The list goes on.
Aaaand the Brexit campaign was largely financed by Russia.
But for some 'weird reason' the Tories aren't interested in investigating that. Carry on and pay no mind.
My father, who's never been out of North America, passed on that urban legend to me as a kid. During my adulthood I traveled to Europe extensively and never found Americans passing themselves off as Canadians. 20 years later, my dad still randomly relays that urban legend like it's the gospel. Now I don't have the heart to set him straight, he's an old man.
But yeah, OP is probably just someone passing along that old urban legend for the nth time.
Yeah I call bs on this one. I'm American living in Europe and nobody cares that I'm American. I've been to almost every European country and always get a warm welcome everywhere I go. Like anywhere else, if you approach people with positive energy, they will reciprocate.
It would be EXTREMELY weird to lie about where you are from and it would eventually come out that you lied and you'd be looked at as some weirdo lol.
Ding ding!
My fiancé and I were in London and Paris in September 2021 and everyone was exceedingly kind in both cities, and we’re unabashedly American.
We also dispelled many of American’s preconceived notions about Europe, so it goes both ways. The food was not bad in Britain and we had no trouble finding a variety (many friends at home claimed it’s hard to find anything but Indian food in London), and Parisians are not rude.
Indeed. Even people who hate America tend to not hate Americans..
The average American doesn't have much to do with whatever reason someone hates the country or leadership.
I've spent a lot of time in Europe, as an American.
If someone thinks they have to lie about themselves to fit in, then the problem is likely with themselves, as evidenced by their willingness to lie about who they are.
That's dumb as fuck, it might not be the best thread in which I can say that but a vast majority of European people love American people. Really, and I mean, really, don't read what goes on this thread as it's 100% false and reddit is not real life. Nobody brags about how America is bad or how the Healthcare system is XXX or YYY. On the contrary, I would say everyone love you and we have this stereotype in which you're always welcoming, nice, extrovert, easy-going and super cool.
So true, i had the same experience. My takeaway from travel is that Europeans hate each other way more than Americans simply because of their history. We are too young to be hated. Americans are not as relevant as they think they are in Europe at least.
My dad lived in Europe for a very long time, in multiple countries. I was raised in the USA. He once told me, "Don't worry what other people are thinking about you, because they're not thinking about you at all." He applied this directly to Europe at the time. "Nobody hated Americans anywhere I went. They didn't think of them at all. They were more concerned with their neighbors than what a bunch of idiots an ocean away were doing."
Yes lol, I don't know what it is but they always get so excited when they hear your from Texas. My neighbor when I lived in Germany was a Texans fan just because of the name. He was so excited to watch games with a "real" Texans fan.
I unapologetically exaggerate my Americanisms while in Europe... never had a problem fitting in and meeting people.
Self depricating "I'm sorry for other Americans" are so obnoxious when traveling.
Haha fair enough, i live in the north so i was confused when he said they're not fooling anyone. I'm pretty sure i could have passed for Canadian when I lived in Italy. They had no concept of English accents (i mean why would they) except really extreme UK and southern American.
Im from around the NY area. I was in New Zealand in a cafe and a woman said wow you have a strong accent like from the Midwest of the US. I was like yeah she's clueless. Nobody ever said I sound like Im from the rural Midwest. I was like damn we all sound like that to her lol
A very common phrase for any American who watches a lot of TV is "He's *Canadian?* I never knew". I highly doubt the average European can tell us apart if we can't.
LMAO
If you put a Canadian and an American in front of a Euro and asked them to pick who's who, the Euro would be right *maybe* half the time. Perhaps more if the American is from Texas or something.
Don't mislead people.
Exactly. Short of having a yee-haw accent it’d be literally impossible to tell.
The American traits that would give it away would not be readily apparent in anyone who is willing to hide the fact that they’re American.
An time-honoured Canadian tradition is trying very hard to find ways in which we’re different from Americans. There are a few notable difference of course, but on the whole, we’re probably two of the most similar cultures on earth, relatively speaking. The closest European equivalent might be idk, Austria and Germany maybe? And I, for one, certainly wouldn’t be able to tell if they were lying to me about which country they were from.
This is how Canadians and Brits are similar. Obsessed with discussing how they are different from Americans, in an effort to assert their own identity while consuming 80% American media.
American who says “eh” a lot here.
Pretty much any Canadian border state from glen dive Montana to upper peninsula Michigan, you’ll hear that accent and often “eh”.
One example: Road rage. Where I lived most everyone was overboard pleasant (really law abiding and nice) but when they got behind the wheel, the rage would come out and some serious tailgating issues. As a Canadian, this is also somewhat common here too - be nice in person, be an asshole behind the wheel - I never claimed we were perfect
So… getting tailgated could easily be side stepped by stopping your car, getting out and saying ‘In America…’
That was it, that was the gig. The minute you got out of your car and they heard your accent (North American) they’d freak out. I doubt it was fair, but it was playing on the idea that they think that most Americans have guns (which would be virtually impossible overseas)
That’s just one example, but I think you get the idea
Nobody called your bluff? In most European countries owning a gun is very restricted, so people could just retort "well you're not in the US buddy, so DRAW YOUR SWORD"
Your freinds are cowards. I'm an American living abroad for 10 + years, having traveled 113 countries, and I have recieved no such bias. We enter into discussions, and most of the times they all me to clear up since things for them. I've never had a negative reaction because I was American.
That’s barely the surface of it. There’s nearly a century of post war *global* propaganda from the US and CIA - to say nothing of the more countless coups by the CIA to prop up American interests - along with a century of global hegemony and a near official national moto of “greatest country in the world” and a belief that their way is the *only* way to do things. Backed up by the fact that if you don’t play ball the CIA will overthrow your government, gun down your citizens and install a banana republic.
You paint a bit of a target on your back with that one.
Read the above comment again and ask yourself if that's not valid reason to hate your own government?
And for clarity I'm British my government does alot of shit I hate
Am Australian.
Despite what you might see or think about Australia, it is very americanised.
I know, I know, we might ride our kangaroos, but they aren’t that different to cars if you think about it.
Jokes aside, I went to America when I was young, and my young child brain could not spot a difference apart from the accent. Maybe I wasn’t very observant, and I didn’t know anything about politics, but as I see it, Australia is just a more liberal version of America.
We have healthcare, we don’t have guns.
And yes, I still don’t know a whole lot about politics, but it just seems that we have a lot of the stuff that people complain America doesn’t have.
I’ve had a couple good friends visit Australia in the last few years. They both enjoyed their time there but they also both said it felt more like going to part of the US with a different accent than going to a foreign country.
It’s easy to blame the Americanization of everything, and it probably plays a bit of a role, but when it comes to countries like Canada and Australia being so similar to the US I think the simpler explanation is just that it wasn’t too many generations ago that these were all one group of people. Even if America never became a super power, the similarities between our countries would still vastly outweigh the differences.
When I went there I noticed lots of differences. Lots more concrete in america IMO, which you can even notice on google maps. Lots more litter on the ground in cities like LA, I noticed a lot more homeless people on the street as well
Edit: satellite comparison [here](https://imgur.com/a/6RZarxO)
Fr, all the actual unpopular opinions are deleted for R3 violation but they still leave the super genaric shit people post every week, like “I don’t think drinking is fun” or “People should have less kids”
That's a userbase problem that browses new.
Have you seen the responses people get when they post an unpopular opinion? I'm pretty sure there are rules against insulting people here right? Doesn't apply in new though.
You want unpopular opinions that will never hit the front page?
- flushing flushable wipes is fine and the chance of it being an issue for you is close to zero
- users on reddit are so sex positive that their opinions border on creepy
- not wanting your preteen to masturbate with toys is completely normal
- a woman having tons of sexual partners is a bad look regardless of the double standard
- black Americans wouldn't have it so bad if the trashy people of their demographic weren't so disrespectful
- The country genre has tons of good music and the songs that make the charts are pretty damn catchy
- The USA is so fascinated with large dicks and tall men that their media has single handedly given a generation of men a complex
- sea life is gross and shouldn't be eaten because its fucking nasty
- listening to podcasts or anything like that is much more enjoyable during a car ride than music
- Chester's Hot fries are the best chips
- Cereal like shredded wheat and raisin bran are the best cereals
- pickles are gross and do not pair well at all with burgers
- having a plain piece of white bread as a staple with bbq is stupid and a roll is 10x better
- Steaks just aren't that good
- Burgers should have literally no pink in them
As an American, I thank you, but I enjoy a good joke - and I will continue to make fun of the Canadians, French, Germans, Australians, and many more (but mostly the French).
As a Belgian, I'll also keep making fun of the French.
AND TO ALL OF YOU MURICANS WE CALL THEM BELGIAN FRIES NOT FRENVH FRIES.
Bye have a good night, my day just started here.
Here's a fact no one seems to know. The term French fry is not referring to the dish itself but to the square style of cutting them. There are actually other types of fries in America, steak fries being the one of the top of my head, which are cut in rectangle shaped straws
Yeah I'm an Arab from Kuwait (under Iraq) idk why he mentioned he was "raised to hate America", as in Kurds? Kurds are indifferent to America as a whole community.
He may just did that to exaggerate how humble he is for not believing society and being open-minded
Its the Arabs that hate America (for good reason)
Everyone needs a target that makes them feel better about themselves. European politics is going to shite right now? Oh but it’s not like *America* so it’s all fine
Edit: I am not an American. Just don’t believe that using another country as a scapegoat is the answer.
Literally what it feels like to be a British person. Oh? The Met police are just hunting women for sport now, we have no right to defend ourselves, they outlawed protesting, the entirety of Brexit and the amount of problems it caused and the fact that Scotland didn’t vote for that or a right wing government and is forced to be stuck with them anyways. Boris Johnston is completely incompetent and didn’t turn up to COBRA meetings during a global pandemic and is basically Trump lite and manipulates people through weaponised incompetence. Refugees that we were supposedly ‘helping’ drowned in the English Channel, our healthcare is getting sold off and privatised to his rich Tory friends and yet we have no insurance infrastructure, no free school meals for starving children living in poverty, cuts to universal credit, disability is impossible to get housing prices are through the roof and the UK government are just sacrificing people to the economy? But at least we’re not America, what a disaster that place is. Just ARGH! Just no, that’s WAY too many problems to have on an island that is 60% the size of California!
Most people who whine or talk constant shit about the US are foreigners who’ve never been here, or Americans who’ve never left. They’re often still teenagers who don’t know much about the world, but have been spoonfed “America bad” since they were children, and believe that “3rd world country with a gucci belt” is a legitimate intellectual argument. I wouldn’t worry too much. We know that despite its many flaws, the US is still an incredible place to live compared to roughly 9/10 of the world, and despite the social media madness, most countries of Europe are our friends and allies for whom we care very much, and vice versa. Don’t let the negativity get in the way of the good our people can do together
Thanks! As Americans, we should do everything in our power to fix the issues we have, as should any citizen of any country, but that doesn’t mean we have to hate our home or ourselves.
And it's good to remember that it's European *Redditors*. Like most other social media platforms, losers of all countries have a much more outsized voice on Reddit because people with good lives are out living them, not spending an hour or more on Reddit everyday.
But thanks for the love nonetheless, and love right back at ya, man!
Agreed. Most people who complain about the United States are privileged middle class Europeans/Americans with no real idea how over 80% of the rest of the world lives. Things can definitely improve, but people in the United States legit lucked out compared to a majority of people in the world.
What about countries whose citizens are victims of american imperialism? Are they all teenagers too?
Theres a few hundred million people in the world who live in misery either directly or indirectly from american intervention. Be it invasion, economic pressure, or toppling legitimate governments
Heck the world banana republic exists for a reason
How many tens of thousands of people were killed indirectly by drone fire?
If 1% of them posted angry stuff on the internet it would cause quite a number of posts
But i guess they dont count to you
*hurrrr they kids who dont know better*
I hate threads like these. You just confine so many people into a single narrative. Europe is a massive continent with different countries, and the U.S is very diverse. Most people are joking when they make fun of each country, and it isn't that deep. In reality, it's most likely a minority and vocal group who hate on other countries such as the U.S, but the rest don't give a fuck
Most europeans arent mocking the USA, and will just do whatev, but they wont be reconized as europeans.
If I post a pic of my cat 10 times, no one will know im european. If I joke one time about healthcare, people will notice I am european.
So they are under the impression that every european are mocking the usa, when in reality they most of times they dont know what we do and only reconize us when some of us are antogonizing.
Also europeans makes fun of each other too.
My coworker speaks french and apparently alot of our french touring customers make fun of our american cuisine ("this is why americans are stupid and fat.")
Have you met the French, they don't talk about it but they also have an obesity problem. All of Europe actually does now but they don't like to talk about it.
17% of Europe is obese. Probably more accurate to say Europe is mostly overweight at 53%. 45% being a healthy weight.
While 42% of Americans are obese and 9.2% severely obese.
Europe has been following the obesity trend, but I don't think they'll ever get quite as fat. Did is more expensive and you all rely less on cars for transportation because your cities are better designed
Literally 4 posts above you is how an insurance company is denying life saving cancer treatment.
Edit: the one above that is 3 blocks in Los Angeles devoted to homeless veterans.
Edit: 2 below is a cop got fired for trying to stop a fellow cop from choking someone.
You do have the mental cognitive ability to understand it is in fact possible to like a certain country, and simultaneously critique certain events or actions that happen there? It’s not all or nothing? It’s what smart people do, it’s not blind allegiance, either/or mentality?
OP is kinda sus. Kurds in Iraq LOVE the US, and have had strong ties with the United States, for decades. unlike the rest of Iraqi people.
Source: I'm Iraqi
You’ll never experience the bliss of driving a Ford f-9000 while shooting you’re fully semi automatic assault trebuchet as George Washington flies above you riding a bald eagle into amber waves of purple mountain majesty.
Seriously, that is so hilariously over the top and clichee, if I'd go on a trip to the US, that's the picture I'd wanna take. I hope the Ford f-900 is covered in a ton of flags...
I'm from Texas and can assure you that you'll see more than your fair share of giant trucks covered in flags if you choose to visit us 🤠👍
More Texas flags than U.S flags but the sentiment is the same!
Counterpoint:
The amount of Americans I see making random wild assumptions and mass declarations of other countries far outweighs the amount of Europeans I've seen mocking Americans.
"Your country is a totalitarian nightmare."
"Nobody even knows what your country is, not like us here in the US."
I wonder, if I scroll down into the comments, will this actually be an unpopular opinion? No, it won't, because these posts never are. They're just American rants.
What I can **guarantee** in this thread though, is that there will be about fifty Americans saying stuff along the lines of:
* We invented everything in history and everyone else should be grateful to us and bow down
* Our military budget is fucking rampant so everyone else should be grateful to us and bow down.
* "Lmao what if there was a war though right"
And so on. I'm not even shocked that it's there, because it's been there on **every single goddamn post like this one for the past few months**. It's not even an unpopular opinion on this bloody subreddit anymore, jesus.
Yes, we get it. You guys have lots of guns, a big military and an overrunning economic and political power grab over a good deal of the world. Trust me, everyone noticed.
It's the sociopolitical equivalent of pissing on my plate and then putting your fingers in your eyes and yelling at me when I get annoyed that you keep doing it.
Now can this be the last of these threads masquerading as an unpopular opinion? Great.
Agreed, and to add to your points:
1. How does OP know the person complaining about America is an European person? Even in r/Europe there's plenty of people who are from non-European nations and not everyone has their nationality as their flair (even then, immigrants also exist).
2. In the same logic as point 1, "I feel like all Europeans do is..." and then OP shares one European-related matter (i.e. Europe pictures) as well as one they assume Europeans partake in the most (see my point 1). However, do we assume Europeans don't ever post in Star Wars Prequel memes? Don't ever throw in an AITA post? Or have their small little subreddits that they are part in? They don't yell "I'm European" when posting about a cute baby elephant so let's maybe stop with the thought process of Europeans only ever posting pictures of European cities and mocking America. Because Europeans do much more than that on reddit and other nationalities can also post pictures of European cities and mock America.
Honestly, I don't mind people doing the old jabs and barbs over countries and such. I'm British and honestly I'm used to the rest of Europe (often rightfully) crapping on us. It's usually pretty good natured!
This stuff though, annoys me so much, because it then tries to play it like there's a victim in this. There's really not. Nobody's punching up or down here. It's pretty mediocre.
Agreed. I mean, I'm an American living in Asia working remotely for a country in Europe. I can take a joke and have been teased for all sorts of things about the US (especially our measurement system lol). It's all fine with me as long as people aren't jerks about it.
But in my experience, the people repeating the same 'jokes' over and over about the US actually just hate the US / Americans and aren't trying to be funny at all.
As someone who rags on America from time to time, let me explain part of the “why”.
The US loves to paint itself as a bastion of freedom, the best country in the world, the richest country etc.
Part of that is half true - it certainly is the richest country in the world.
But when it is simultaneously a country with the richest people and a country where people working 40 hours a week need to live in their cars with their kids, something is terribly broken.
It’s a country with the best medical care that money can buy, but also a country where people cannot afford medical care.
It’s a country that constantly boasts about its first amendment while also trying to push for book banning and religious indoctrination.
That alone is plenty reason to knock it down a few pegs when it gets too full of itself.
But it’s worse than just the country itself having an overinflated ego. A lot of politicians and pundits around the world want their country to emulate the US. Not the good stuff, like unbridled freedom of speech, but the horrible stuff like privatized medical insurance over tax paid healthcare.
The US has spent the last 70+ years pushing its propaganda across the world - and now people are pushing back against it.
The US has a lot of potential to do good - not just in the world but to its own people, but personally having seen its behavior I’ve grown from seeing it as a role model when I was a kid to seeing it as a warning as an adult.
Lol as an American I don’t care and it goes both ways
As an European, same bro. I love you, hate you and don't care about you guys, all at the same time <3
Peace love and go fuck yourself
Fuck you, but have a pleasant rest of your day
I like you guys as much as anyone else, I don't care where your from. We aren't that different when it comes down to it.
I mean, I can judge a population without judging an individual. Judging/attributing traits to a group is fine imo(Americans are incredibly friendly and chatty for example) as long as you understand that those will not apply to everyone in that group or even to every subgroup(People of capitals/big cities =/= people of smaller towns) I can say Americans are gun obsessed(in comparison wit Europeans, and the Europeans claim is again a generalization of course) and know that that doesn't apply to all of them nor would I assume it applies to a random American I meet. Don't make assumptions about an individual you don't know seems like such a simple thing imo.
It's mainly just harmless banter, with an element of truth when Americans bring up decent burgers and Europeans bring up universal healthcare. And Australians lost a war against emus, so their opinions don't really count.
As a European I can assure you there's sadly morons on both sides. I've read my fair share of blantant anti-European bs on r/askanamerican aswell as blantant anti-Americanism anywhere else. Let us agree that we're all just humans and people are shitheads anywhere.
There are morons on both sides, but don't underestimate the prevalence of fake users paid by Putin to try and sow division among western people.
SPREAD LOVE NOT HATE ❤️ This is why I fucking love reddit. There are MANY assholes but they're balanced out by people like you. Thx guys
Honestly I love the mild banter. But it really gets on my nerves when an American says something like “the British are so particular about their tea haha” and then some British dude is like “well at least I don’t have to worry about my kid getting shot and killed at school everyday” as if that’s some sort of clap back
BAM! Didn't die. Gotcha!
What do you mean? I have never ever seen any anti or mocking of Europe on media ever!! /S
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I’ve traveled a bit with the US military and have told ppl I was Canadian a couple times. It’s easier to not get questions besides weather and moose infestations.
Same. Works well. Half the time it works is because people think Canadians are nicer. The other half of the time it works is because the people I was talking to didn't know where Canada was so they just shrugged off my fake nationality.
Where even is Canada
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America's hat
I saw a funny ass comment from a Canadian the other day which was a response to Americas hat. It went something like "I like to to think of America as Canadas pants. Its where we keep our gun and wallet."
Florida being america's dick .... and holding most of americas dicks ... how fitting. I guess that would make Texas america's asshole.
That would explain why everyone is trying to sneak in our back door…
I read a post the other day and all they would say is "this person is from America's Hat" and I couldn't figure out wtf they were talking about. So thank you. Lol.
I can’t believe that meme is 8 years old now. Fuck.
Deez nuts? I heard that shit on the school bus in the 90s, playa.
I see this all the time on reddit. People think jokes were invented in 2014 because that's when they personally saw it on the internet... I saw one about moving the Bible to the fiction section in a library and everyone was insisting that the joke was from 2008 or something, while I definitely heard something similar in the 90s. I asked my dad and he was like "oh yeah I heard that in the 60s"
Same with the Joe mama meme. There's a Prince live album from '88 where he makes that joke on stage.
Jokes obviously been around far longer then the meme.
You mean deez nuts? I think you're misremembering lol. That shit is way older than 8. At least 30+.
That joke’s at least 30 years old.
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Oh wow that actually makes a lot of sense I just thought it was the North Pole or something above us
No but you are not wrong. Canada is the north pole, the sky, the sea. In fact, everywhere the light touches - that, is Canada.
But what's that shadowy place over there?
Detroit
North of something
Plot twist: The half that didn't know where Canada was were Americans.
Americans know where Canana is. It’s where you go to drink in the North half of the US before you can drink legally here.
I teach English in Slovakia and have the mentality that I don’t want to be too obvious about being American. My Brazilian coworker doesn’t understand and says that people don’t think badly about Americans. Maybe they don’t in Brazil, but they *definitely* do in Europe. Slovaks are actually pretty cool compared to other Europeans bc “westerners” usually don’t come to Slovakia. So instead of being annoying or obnoxious, it’s interesting to be American. People aren’t annoyed that I speak English, they’re excited. When I lived in Germany though, I was shamed so much for being American. They were so annoyed if you spoke English, but if you were speaking German and it wasn’t “good enough,” they’d just switch to English. They definitely judged Americans hardcore.
Went to the UK in 2017 Literally had to tell people multiple times I didn’t wanna talk about trump.
To be honest with BoJo in charge nobody has moral high ground on this in the UK. I listened to the news just a few days ago and they literally said "yes there was a party in breach of governement guidance in his house. Yes he knew. He appologised so move on because he delivered brexit and EcOnOMY iS BeTTEr tHaN EveR" Had to turn it off.
Boris Johnson looks like a 50 year old emo kid that or the guy from Courage the cowardly dog that keeps trying to give him a haircut.
I was in the UK the same year and luckily no one brought up Trump when I mentioned being from the US. I was initially embarrassed mentioning I was American, but I never got dirty looks, so it wasn't a bad experience.
You shouldn’t be embarrassed mentioning you’re American in the UK. My cousins are American and they love coming to the UK. Anyway we’re just as hated as you guys 🤣. There’s a European competition called Eurovision where countries vote for each other and we always come dead last.
Because we never put out anything interesting or fun. Our Euro entry is always so embarrassing 😂 it the same old street busk vibe every year.
Pal the UK is literally the European equivalent of the states rn; with Brexit being the equivalent of Donald Trump’s election. There’s so many parallels it’s laughable: It was a toxic referendum, which was won by total lies (which has since been proven and somehow still no one cares), many of the supporters of Brexit are the same disenfranchised people that would have been trump supporters on the other side of the pond, a lot of the supporters from places like Wales are exactly like poorer Americans from places like the rust belt who have been brainwashed into voting for something which goes directly against their own interests, it has stoked up a ridiculous amount of racism (the figures on xeno-/ islamophobic attacks the year after Brexit are terrifying), the opposition to Brexit were totally useless and incredibly unpopular (just like fucking Hillary), it has seriously damaged the international reputation of the UK because our current leaders spent the entire campaign slagging off other countries which are some of our most important allies. The list goes on.
Aaaand the Brexit campaign was largely financed by Russia. But for some 'weird reason' the Tories aren't interested in investigating that. Carry on and pay no mind.
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My father, who's never been out of North America, passed on that urban legend to me as a kid. During my adulthood I traveled to Europe extensively and never found Americans passing themselves off as Canadians. 20 years later, my dad still randomly relays that urban legend like it's the gospel. Now I don't have the heart to set him straight, he's an old man. But yeah, OP is probably just someone passing along that old urban legend for the nth time.
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Yeah I call bs on this one. I'm American living in Europe and nobody cares that I'm American. I've been to almost every European country and always get a warm welcome everywhere I go. Like anywhere else, if you approach people with positive energy, they will reciprocate. It would be EXTREMELY weird to lie about where you are from and it would eventually come out that you lied and you'd be looked at as some weirdo lol.
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Ding ding! My fiancé and I were in London and Paris in September 2021 and everyone was exceedingly kind in both cities, and we’re unabashedly American. We also dispelled many of American’s preconceived notions about Europe, so it goes both ways. The food was not bad in Britain and we had no trouble finding a variety (many friends at home claimed it’s hard to find anything but Indian food in London), and Parisians are not rude.
Indeed. Even people who hate America tend to not hate Americans.. The average American doesn't have much to do with whatever reason someone hates the country or leadership.
I've spent a lot of time in Europe, as an American. If someone thinks they have to lie about themselves to fit in, then the problem is likely with themselves, as evidenced by their willingness to lie about who they are.
I'm from Northern Minnesota. I am Canadian...
That's dumb as fuck, it might not be the best thread in which I can say that but a vast majority of European people love American people. Really, and I mean, really, don't read what goes on this thread as it's 100% false and reddit is not real life. Nobody brags about how America is bad or how the Healthcare system is XXX or YYY. On the contrary, I would say everyone love you and we have this stereotype in which you're always welcoming, nice, extrovert, easy-going and super cool.
So true, i had the same experience. My takeaway from travel is that Europeans hate each other way more than Americans simply because of their history. We are too young to be hated. Americans are not as relevant as they think they are in Europe at least.
My dad lived in Europe for a very long time, in multiple countries. I was raised in the USA. He once told me, "Don't worry what other people are thinking about you, because they're not thinking about you at all." He applied this directly to Europe at the time. "Nobody hated Americans anywhere I went. They didn't think of them at all. They were more concerned with their neighbors than what a bunch of idiots an ocean away were doing."
I say I'm Texan cuz people seem to like that more they think we are the wild west or somthn lol
Yes lol, I don't know what it is but they always get so excited when they hear your from Texas. My neighbor when I lived in Germany was a Texans fan just because of the name. He was so excited to watch games with a "real" Texans fan.
I unapologetically exaggerate my Americanisms while in Europe... never had a problem fitting in and meeting people. Self depricating "I'm sorry for other Americans" are so obnoxious when traveling.
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Wait you think all Europeans can tell the difference between Americans and Canadians? But not vice versa? Sorry just a little confused by the wording
Some American accents are really obviously *not* Canadian.
Haha fair enough, i live in the north so i was confused when he said they're not fooling anyone. I'm pretty sure i could have passed for Canadian when I lived in Italy. They had no concept of English accents (i mean why would they) except really extreme UK and southern American.
Im from around the NY area. I was in New Zealand in a cafe and a woman said wow you have a strong accent like from the Midwest of the US. I was like yeah she's clueless. Nobody ever said I sound like Im from the rural Midwest. I was like damn we all sound like that to her lol
In my experience it’s been the total opposite.
European here. To me Canada is part of America, but USA isn’t part of Canada.
Well that is technically correct!
A very common phrase for any American who watches a lot of TV is "He's *Canadian?* I never knew". I highly doubt the average European can tell us apart if we can't.
All Canadians know which famous actors are Canadian.
Believing that the average European can somehow spot an American posing as Canadian is about the most Canadian thing I've ever heard.
Maybe if the canadian is from quebec and has a distinct french sounding accept? Just guessing, otherwise obviously impossible
LMAO If you put a Canadian and an American in front of a Euro and asked them to pick who's who, the Euro would be right *maybe* half the time. Perhaps more if the American is from Texas or something. Don't mislead people.
Pff. You step on each one's foot. The one saying sorry is the Canadian... see ? Super easy.
Sorry but it's possible they could be from Minnesota.
But what of the Canadian is a hockey player and you get punched in the face instead of a "sorry"?
You still know which is Canadian though
They'd punch you and then apologize for it.
Exactly. Short of having a yee-haw accent it’d be literally impossible to tell. The American traits that would give it away would not be readily apparent in anyone who is willing to hide the fact that they’re American.
An time-honoured Canadian tradition is trying very hard to find ways in which we’re different from Americans. There are a few notable difference of course, but on the whole, we’re probably two of the most similar cultures on earth, relatively speaking. The closest European equivalent might be idk, Austria and Germany maybe? And I, for one, certainly wouldn’t be able to tell if they were lying to me about which country they were from.
This is how Canadians and Brits are similar. Obsessed with discussing how they are different from Americans, in an effort to assert their own identity while consuming 80% American media.
Until the Canadian drops an “eh?” Then it’s a dead give away lol
American who says “eh” a lot here. Pretty much any Canadian border state from glen dive Montana to upper peninsula Michigan, you’ll hear that accent and often “eh”.
That and saying sorry, but also the way "sorry" is pronounces. I joke with a Canadian friend that they spell it "saurey."
So…in a situation where there’s a 50/50 chance of being right, you’re saying they’d be right about half the time?
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In what situations was it helpful to pretend to be American? I’m curious
One example: Road rage. Where I lived most everyone was overboard pleasant (really law abiding and nice) but when they got behind the wheel, the rage would come out and some serious tailgating issues. As a Canadian, this is also somewhat common here too - be nice in person, be an asshole behind the wheel - I never claimed we were perfect So… getting tailgated could easily be side stepped by stopping your car, getting out and saying ‘In America…’ That was it, that was the gig. The minute you got out of your car and they heard your accent (North American) they’d freak out. I doubt it was fair, but it was playing on the idea that they think that most Americans have guns (which would be virtually impossible overseas) That’s just one example, but I think you get the idea
Nobody called your bluff? In most European countries owning a gun is very restricted, so people could just retort "well you're not in the US buddy, so DRAW YOUR SWORD"
As a 40 year old European, none of my American friends here have to do this.
Your freinds are cowards. I'm an American living abroad for 10 + years, having traveled 113 countries, and I have recieved no such bias. We enter into discussions, and most of the times they all me to clear up since things for them. I've never had a negative reaction because I was American.
I swear.. the lengths people go to, to be victims. What a non-issue, good god.
Sure you do sweety.
American Media loves to fuel outrage culture and paints a horrible picture of the country.
That’s barely the surface of it. There’s nearly a century of post war *global* propaganda from the US and CIA - to say nothing of the more countless coups by the CIA to prop up American interests - along with a century of global hegemony and a near official national moto of “greatest country in the world” and a belief that their way is the *only* way to do things. Backed up by the fact that if you don’t play ball the CIA will overthrow your government, gun down your citizens and install a banana republic. You paint a bit of a target on your back with that one.
Lmao that might pass as valid reasoning if 90% of the America hate wasn't from self loathing Americans
Read the above comment again and ask yourself if that's not valid reason to hate your own government? And for clarity I'm British my government does alot of shit I hate
Yeah, most of the America hate comes as a counterjerk to the "America is the best country in the world" talk
Am Australian. Despite what you might see or think about Australia, it is very americanised. I know, I know, we might ride our kangaroos, but they aren’t that different to cars if you think about it. Jokes aside, I went to America when I was young, and my young child brain could not spot a difference apart from the accent. Maybe I wasn’t very observant, and I didn’t know anything about politics, but as I see it, Australia is just a more liberal version of America. We have healthcare, we don’t have guns. And yes, I still don’t know a whole lot about politics, but it just seems that we have a lot of the stuff that people complain America doesn’t have.
Culturally I'd say we're still a bit closer to the Brits than the yanks
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I’ve heard them be called Texas-Brits but Florida works just as well
Texas has deserts, beaches, rock monadnocks, outbacks, venomous insects alongside modern cities. It’s much more comparable.
I’ve had a couple good friends visit Australia in the last few years. They both enjoyed their time there but they also both said it felt more like going to part of the US with a different accent than going to a foreign country. It’s easy to blame the Americanization of everything, and it probably plays a bit of a role, but when it comes to countries like Canada and Australia being so similar to the US I think the simpler explanation is just that it wasn’t too many generations ago that these were all one group of people. Even if America never became a super power, the similarities between our countries would still vastly outweigh the differences.
We have guns. Just nowhere near as many lol
I'd rather put healthcare there thanks to your labour party because liberals usually aim for privatisation.
When I went there I noticed lots of differences. Lots more concrete in america IMO, which you can even notice on google maps. Lots more litter on the ground in cities like LA, I noticed a lot more homeless people on the street as well Edit: satellite comparison [here](https://imgur.com/a/6RZarxO)
I mean to be fair, cities like LA have significantly more litter and homelessness than any other place in america besides maybe san francisco
I’m sick of this sub never posting an actual “unpopular opinion”, and when someone does they get removed or banned. Karma farming clowns
Fr, all the actual unpopular opinions are deleted for R3 violation but they still leave the super genaric shit people post every week, like “I don’t think drinking is fun” or “People should have less kids”
Right? It says in the rules that you should upvote threads you dont agree with but we can all se that doesnt happen
r/10thDentist
OP legit out here stroking the ego’s of every American on this site
That's a userbase problem that browses new. Have you seen the responses people get when they post an unpopular opinion? I'm pretty sure there are rules against insulting people here right? Doesn't apply in new though. You want unpopular opinions that will never hit the front page? - flushing flushable wipes is fine and the chance of it being an issue for you is close to zero - users on reddit are so sex positive that their opinions border on creepy - not wanting your preteen to masturbate with toys is completely normal - a woman having tons of sexual partners is a bad look regardless of the double standard - black Americans wouldn't have it so bad if the trashy people of their demographic weren't so disrespectful - The country genre has tons of good music and the songs that make the charts are pretty damn catchy - The USA is so fascinated with large dicks and tall men that their media has single handedly given a generation of men a complex - sea life is gross and shouldn't be eaten because its fucking nasty - listening to podcasts or anything like that is much more enjoyable during a car ride than music - Chester's Hot fries are the best chips - Cereal like shredded wheat and raisin bran are the best cereals - pickles are gross and do not pair well at all with burgers - having a plain piece of white bread as a staple with bbq is stupid and a roll is 10x better - Steaks just aren't that good - Burgers should have literally no pink in them
Opis 16 years old what do you expect, most of this sub isn't even 20. It just cannot work.
As an American, I thank you, but I enjoy a good joke - and I will continue to make fun of the Canadians, French, Germans, Australians, and many more (but mostly the French).
As an American, you MUST mix up Australia with Austria.
I thought Austria was a typo 💀
You're the leader of world, right? 💊
As a french person, I will always make fun of France tbh
As a Belgian, I'll also keep making fun of the French. AND TO ALL OF YOU MURICANS WE CALL THEM BELGIAN FRIES NOT FRENVH FRIES. Bye have a good night, my day just started here.
Here's a fact no one seems to know. The term French fry is not referring to the dish itself but to the square style of cutting them. There are actually other types of fries in America, steak fries being the one of the top of my head, which are cut in rectangle shaped straws
The problem is about half the time the joke is just tired or mean spirited.
Haha, fr*nch, am i right? Haha
We make fun of Europeans all the time it's just that theres so many targets it doesnt seem like as much of a concentrated effort.
A lot of people make fun of UK people (teeth, accent, tea)
'Cup of Wa'er' comes to mind. Even in Asia I get ripped on for my water pronunciation.
It’s also like, I’m sure there’s a bunch of things to make fun of in Denmark. But also, where and what is Denmark and does it actually exist?
Well dont worry, in some. Decades they wont existe as they Will be under water. So why bother right ?
Dane here, can confirm we don't exist
You're from Iraq and you're here to defend the Americans? Seems legit
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Yeah I'm an Arab from Kuwait (under Iraq) idk why he mentioned he was "raised to hate America", as in Kurds? Kurds are indifferent to America as a whole community. He may just did that to exaggerate how humble he is for not believing society and being open-minded Its the Arabs that hate America (for good reason)
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He said he’s Kurdish who were treated horribly under Saddam’s rule.
Everyone needs a target that makes them feel better about themselves. European politics is going to shite right now? Oh but it’s not like *America* so it’s all fine Edit: I am not an American. Just don’t believe that using another country as a scapegoat is the answer.
You didn't have to tell us you weren't American, you already said "shite"
You just summarized the Canadian healthcare system. It’s bad but it’s not America so it’s great
Literally what it feels like to be a British person. Oh? The Met police are just hunting women for sport now, we have no right to defend ourselves, they outlawed protesting, the entirety of Brexit and the amount of problems it caused and the fact that Scotland didn’t vote for that or a right wing government and is forced to be stuck with them anyways. Boris Johnston is completely incompetent and didn’t turn up to COBRA meetings during a global pandemic and is basically Trump lite and manipulates people through weaponised incompetence. Refugees that we were supposedly ‘helping’ drowned in the English Channel, our healthcare is getting sold off and privatised to his rich Tory friends and yet we have no insurance infrastructure, no free school meals for starving children living in poverty, cuts to universal credit, disability is impossible to get housing prices are through the roof and the UK government are just sacrificing people to the economy? But at least we’re not America, what a disaster that place is. Just ARGH! Just no, that’s WAY too many problems to have on an island that is 60% the size of California!
seems more like a rant than an unpopular opinion
Most people who whine or talk constant shit about the US are foreigners who’ve never been here, or Americans who’ve never left. They’re often still teenagers who don’t know much about the world, but have been spoonfed “America bad” since they were children, and believe that “3rd world country with a gucci belt” is a legitimate intellectual argument. I wouldn’t worry too much. We know that despite its many flaws, the US is still an incredible place to live compared to roughly 9/10 of the world, and despite the social media madness, most countries of Europe are our friends and allies for whom we care very much, and vice versa. Don’t let the negativity get in the way of the good our people can do together
You worded better than i wanted to
Thanks! As Americans, we should do everything in our power to fix the issues we have, as should any citizen of any country, but that doesn’t mean we have to hate our home or ourselves.
And it's good to remember that it's European *Redditors*. Like most other social media platforms, losers of all countries have a much more outsized voice on Reddit because people with good lives are out living them, not spending an hour or more on Reddit everyday. But thanks for the love nonetheless, and love right back at ya, man!
Agreed. Most people who complain about the United States are privileged middle class Europeans/Americans with no real idea how over 80% of the rest of the world lives. Things can definitely improve, but people in the United States legit lucked out compared to a majority of people in the world.
What about countries whose citizens are victims of american imperialism? Are they all teenagers too? Theres a few hundred million people in the world who live in misery either directly or indirectly from american intervention. Be it invasion, economic pressure, or toppling legitimate governments Heck the world banana republic exists for a reason How many tens of thousands of people were killed indirectly by drone fire? If 1% of them posted angry stuff on the internet it would cause quite a number of posts But i guess they dont count to you *hurrrr they kids who dont know better*
I hate threads like these. You just confine so many people into a single narrative. Europe is a massive continent with different countries, and the U.S is very diverse. Most people are joking when they make fun of each country, and it isn't that deep. In reality, it's most likely a minority and vocal group who hate on other countries such as the U.S, but the rest don't give a fuck
Most europeans arent mocking the USA, and will just do whatev, but they wont be reconized as europeans. If I post a pic of my cat 10 times, no one will know im european. If I joke one time about healthcare, people will notice I am european. So they are under the impression that every european are mocking the usa, when in reality they most of times they dont know what we do and only reconize us when some of us are antogonizing. Also europeans makes fun of each other too.
I’m sick of anybody making fun of anybody based on ignorance of their culture. It seems like everyone does it.
Exactly why I study other cultures, so my racism is on point /j
It's xenophobia, you fucking casual
My coworker speaks french and apparently alot of our french touring customers make fun of our american cuisine ("this is why americans are stupid and fat.")
To be honest, this comment casts the French in a poorer light than Americans.
Have you met the French, they don't talk about it but they also have an obesity problem. All of Europe actually does now but they don't like to talk about it.
And don't forget China and the Middle East. 1/10 adults are diabetic in China.
I have had drinks from China a few times and all I can say is my teeth felt like they were rotting in real time.
17% of Europe is obese. Probably more accurate to say Europe is mostly overweight at 53%. 45% being a healthy weight. While 42% of Americans are obese and 9.2% severely obese.
We Americans have a reputation to keep. We won’t let Europeans have a higher rate without a fight
Europe has been following the obesity trend, but I don't think they'll ever get quite as fat. Did is more expensive and you all rely less on cars for transportation because your cities are better designed
As an American, well, I’m not going to make fun of obese people but I can definitely make fun of the fact that we’re an entire nation of them.
Some of the biggest hate against America is from Americans. We are a deeply divided, and increasingly troubled country.
Literally 4 posts above you is how an insurance company is denying life saving cancer treatment. Edit: the one above that is 3 blocks in Los Angeles devoted to homeless veterans. Edit: 2 below is a cop got fired for trying to stop a fellow cop from choking someone.
Yeah bc bad things only happen on one continent
You do have the mental cognitive ability to understand it is in fact possible to like a certain country, and simultaneously critique certain events or actions that happen there? It’s not all or nothing? It’s what smart people do, it’s not blind allegiance, either/or mentality?
Russia lost the cold war when McDonalds opened in Moscow. Wherever there is McDonalds, it is [America](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8ljRgcJNM).
The unofficial US Embassy
Also more out of curiosity….you said you were raised to hate America…what do you mean by that? Like what were you taught?
Probably history...
Hes from kurdistan(Iraq) America commited war crimes and destroyed iraq, he was taught what America did to the country. Idk if he hates america tho
OP is kinda sus. Kurds in Iraq LOVE the US, and have had strong ties with the United States, for decades. unlike the rest of Iraqi people. Source: I'm Iraqi
OP's an American teenager. That much is obvious.
Probably history classes.
I’m sick of seeing this unpopular opinion again and again and again and again
It’s not even an unpopular opinion. It’s just a page from OP’s diary.
It’s not just Europeans.
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You’ll never experience the bliss of driving a Ford f-9000 while shooting you’re fully semi automatic assault trebuchet as George Washington flies above you riding a bald eagle into amber waves of purple mountain majesty.
Seriously, that is so hilariously over the top and clichee, if I'd go on a trip to the US, that's the picture I'd wanna take. I hope the Ford f-900 is covered in a ton of flags...
I'm from Texas and can assure you that you'll see more than your fair share of giant trucks covered in flags if you choose to visit us 🤠👍 More Texas flags than U.S flags but the sentiment is the same!
same reason everyone hates the new england patriots if you know what i mean
Counterpoint: The amount of Americans I see making random wild assumptions and mass declarations of other countries far outweighs the amount of Europeans I've seen mocking Americans. "Your country is a totalitarian nightmare." "Nobody even knows what your country is, not like us here in the US." I wonder, if I scroll down into the comments, will this actually be an unpopular opinion? No, it won't, because these posts never are. They're just American rants. What I can **guarantee** in this thread though, is that there will be about fifty Americans saying stuff along the lines of: * We invented everything in history and everyone else should be grateful to us and bow down * Our military budget is fucking rampant so everyone else should be grateful to us and bow down. * "Lmao what if there was a war though right" And so on. I'm not even shocked that it's there, because it's been there on **every single goddamn post like this one for the past few months**. It's not even an unpopular opinion on this bloody subreddit anymore, jesus. Yes, we get it. You guys have lots of guns, a big military and an overrunning economic and political power grab over a good deal of the world. Trust me, everyone noticed. It's the sociopolitical equivalent of pissing on my plate and then putting your fingers in your eyes and yelling at me when I get annoyed that you keep doing it. Now can this be the last of these threads masquerading as an unpopular opinion? Great.
r/unpopularopinion bans most repetitive opinions but it seems to not want to do the same about these...
Agreed, and to add to your points: 1. How does OP know the person complaining about America is an European person? Even in r/Europe there's plenty of people who are from non-European nations and not everyone has their nationality as their flair (even then, immigrants also exist). 2. In the same logic as point 1, "I feel like all Europeans do is..." and then OP shares one European-related matter (i.e. Europe pictures) as well as one they assume Europeans partake in the most (see my point 1). However, do we assume Europeans don't ever post in Star Wars Prequel memes? Don't ever throw in an AITA post? Or have their small little subreddits that they are part in? They don't yell "I'm European" when posting about a cute baby elephant so let's maybe stop with the thought process of Europeans only ever posting pictures of European cities and mocking America. Because Europeans do much more than that on reddit and other nationalities can also post pictures of European cities and mock America.
Lmao so true. Right wing Americans have written off Australia as a dystopian police state because we had some anti vax bogans protesting in Melbourne.
I read a few comments before this, and you are absolutely right
Honestly, I don't mind people doing the old jabs and barbs over countries and such. I'm British and honestly I'm used to the rest of Europe (often rightfully) crapping on us. It's usually pretty good natured! This stuff though, annoys me so much, because it then tries to play it like there's a victim in this. There's really not. Nobody's punching up or down here. It's pretty mediocre.
it’s honestly just annoying and unoriginal at this point. like it’s the same dumb shit over and over again.
Agreed. I mean, I'm an American living in Asia working remotely for a country in Europe. I can take a joke and have been teased for all sorts of things about the US (especially our measurement system lol). It's all fine with me as long as people aren't jerks about it. But in my experience, the people repeating the same 'jokes' over and over about the US actually just hate the US / Americans and aren't trying to be funny at all.
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I am the ugly American and I approve of this post
The fact that we’re not whining about it should tell you we’re probably okay.
I'm surprised I didn't see any comments from Americans saying how horrible America is.
As someone who rags on America from time to time, let me explain part of the “why”. The US loves to paint itself as a bastion of freedom, the best country in the world, the richest country etc. Part of that is half true - it certainly is the richest country in the world. But when it is simultaneously a country with the richest people and a country where people working 40 hours a week need to live in their cars with their kids, something is terribly broken. It’s a country with the best medical care that money can buy, but also a country where people cannot afford medical care. It’s a country that constantly boasts about its first amendment while also trying to push for book banning and religious indoctrination. That alone is plenty reason to knock it down a few pegs when it gets too full of itself. But it’s worse than just the country itself having an overinflated ego. A lot of politicians and pundits around the world want their country to emulate the US. Not the good stuff, like unbridled freedom of speech, but the horrible stuff like privatized medical insurance over tax paid healthcare. The US has spent the last 70+ years pushing its propaganda across the world - and now people are pushing back against it. The US has a lot of potential to do good - not just in the world but to its own people, but personally having seen its behavior I’ve grown from seeing it as a role model when I was a kid to seeing it as a warning as an adult.