Comments on: And all the fallen leaves filling up shopping bags

By: ohthatgirl

ohthatgirl — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:30:12 +0000

My most common observation when traveling to other countries and interacting with the people there is this: Americans get a bad rap from people who don’t know Americans, especially in areas where American tourists are abundant. FYI…Tourists are generally not a great representation of the country they come from, because they are not trying to emmerse themselves into the culture they are visiting. They are probably more obnoxious and carefree just because they are on ‘vacation’. They are looking to see and do as many ‘fun’ things as possible. Day to day life in any culture is not always about the activities you do but more about the relationships with the people in your life. This is why I think it is hard to build any sort of relationship with a short-term tourist that is anything beyond superficial.

It’s really a shame that people can be so close-minded about other cultures. I will be the first to tell you that Americans have an overindulgent lifestyle when compared to most other nationalities. But here is the way I look at it: If you don’t agree with our way of life, don’t buy into it. Like it was said in a previous comment, no one is shoving McDonalds down your throat. I live in America and hardly ever eat at McD’s, and if it was eliminated all together I would most certainly not lose any sleep.

And please, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT judge our country by our celebrities. Most of them lead lives that are completely detached from average American reality. Seriously.

I realize that my post pretty much reinforces what you are saying, AFM. Just wanted to say that I am a new follower of your blog and “I feel ya!”.

I am thinking of visiting Australia sometime in the near future. I even thought of moving there. Your blog is very insightful. Thanks!

ohthatgirls last blog post..sorry i missed you…we will talk again real soon

By: Chris in Saskatoon

Chris in Saskatoon — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:23:51 +0000

The biggest problem with stereotypes is that they’re recognizable – just like the squeeky wheel gets the grease the stereotypical individual gets recognized while the person next to her, with exactly the same background, goes unnoticed.

On top of that it’s hardly human nature to see a person/nationality/culture that is different and then toidentify them/it by how much better it is than what we’re used to.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:43:14 +0000

Andrea – Well said! I’ve had the same experiences in Europe – you just want to hide. And there certainly were some small minded morons in Misery. But I think we were lucky in Columbia, because it’s a pretty progressive town. Imagine if you’d been living in some podunky town – Booneville or something, yikes.

Nathan – That’s bogus. World history goes back before 1776. And includes stories that have nothing to do with the US of A.

By: Nathan B.

Nathan B. — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:42:53 +0000

Andrea, I think the short answer is, when you’re a global power, your history is world history. Like it or not.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:16:54 +0000

I remember a conference trip when our flight back to Chicago got cancelled and we were put up in a Parisian airport hotel. We got free dinner and booze that evening, and we were eating near a group of Americans who had banded together after the agonizing hours spent waiting for the flight to go from delayed to “we’re working on it” to cancelled. Anyway, they were relaxing and chatting away when the complaining about the flight started, naturally enough. Then the phrase to end all American stereotypical phrases was loudly put forth: “They should be more grateful – after all, if it wasn’t for us, they’d all be Germans, hahahaha.” I could not believe that someone would be so ignorant and obnoxious as to say such a thing and I was super embarrassed to be even possibly considered part of that group. We had made so many friends of all ages from many European countries, Australia and the US of A at the conference. Yet this statement hit me so much more – as others have said, it’s the stereotypical losers that give such a bad example to the rest of the world.

MO was such a wonderful experience and it was an honour to make some great friends there, friends who were from all over the world as well as the Midwest. But my well-hashed stories tend to be more about the technician who couldn’t believe Mexicans used different currency and who was shocked that I came from a city with more than a million people (in Canada???). Or about the couple that applied for new credit cards on a regular basis so as to carry the balance from their ginormous wedding held several years back on as low a % interest as possible. Not about the easy going and completely welcoming Southerners we met on our float trips or during rock-crawling Sundays. Or the other Americans we taught and we taught by.

Part of the problem is, IMHO, the overwhelming nationalism and patriotism felt by many Americans. I am always shocked when I watch Jeopardy (ha – talk about getting stereotypes from mass media) that there are so many people who know so much about every tiny battle in the American civil war. Yes, we learned Canadian history, but since there really isn’t that much of it (comparatively), we turned to the rest of the world by junior high (grade 7) and focused on world history in high school. Yes, the USA is a world power. But since when and for how long? If Canada had refrained from entering the second world war until as much profit from being non-partisan had been made, would we too be patting ourselves on the backs for “saving” the free world?

By: admin

admin — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:03:06 +0000

HIF – I know. That’s one of the reasons I was happy to leave the U.S. My disappointment lies in the fact that the strip-malling of America goes beyond its borders.

CMGD – I think that Georgians who live in glass houses probably shouldn’t throw stones. I mean, it is Deliverance country after all

Adam – Thanks for your comment and you’ve got it dead right, particularly the last paragraph. I got to the point where I use the fuck off response as well. You’re right about the chains as well. You’re average Brit is thrilled to get a new chain shop or restaurant in their neighborhood.

MJRC – Thanks for that, you’ve got an insider, do you?

I know that you’re going to be surprised to hear that all those right wing pundits were wrong, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the freedom that’s the problem…

By: mjrc

mjrc — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:26:47 +0000

“I’m like a frickin’ cultural ambassador for the U.S.A.”–i’m going to notify the obama administration that you are ready and willing to serve . . .

but seriously, i thought they hated us for our freedom, not our fatness or our ignorance or our loudness or our celebrities or our “culture” or our military bases or our torture or our, well, you get the picture.

By: adam

adam — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:04:18 +0000

I was an American expat living in Scotland for a long while. When walking on the street with (Scottish) friends, we would see a group of Americans. My friends would say something derogitory about Americans. I’d then say, “Hey! Do you think that about me?” No. “Do you think that about any of the other Americans you know?” No. So why do you say that?

Eventually I shortened it to, “fuck off” and my friends stopped saying bad things about Americans (around me).

People say these things because their peers say them, and they don’t really know any better. Where it starts from, I’m not really sure. Most people I knew in the UK couldn’t wait to have a Starbucks or McDonalds in their town, so it certainly wasn’t that.

General observations: Brits are even more annoying tourists than Americans, the English are worse about this than the Scottish, and the people who complain about American culture getting crammed down their throats still love Lost, McDonalds, and American movies. And Americans truthfully are a degree louder than anyone else (except, suprisingly, the Chinese when I was in China).

By: Coal Miner's Granddaughter

Coal Miner's Granddaughter — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:07:34 +0000

I well remember my trip to Egypt nine years ago, talking with a young man who was, at the time, working in Egypt’s tourism industry, who knew anything and everything about American politics, movies, and pop culture. And I? Knew nothing about Egypt except the archeological sites and the name of the current president. I was disappointed with myself. But I try (not all the time – too many toddlers so little time) to catch the news from different countries every now and again so that I’m not such a self-absorbed American.

But, you know, these stereotypes are everywhere. I can’t tell you how many Georgians make “cousins marrying cousins” jokes each time I reveal that I’m from West Virginia. And the irony? Marrying your first cousin is illegal in WV, but not in Georgia.

I just have to shake my head and smile.

By: HereInFranklin

HereInFranklin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:21:47 +0000

AFM-you lament the Americanization (SP?) of the world–I lament the Americanization of America, if that makes sense. Regional differences are increasinlgy hard to find. My local hardware store is gone–now I have Home Depot or Loews. My local bookstore is gone–now I have Borders and Barnes and Noble. I think that the world will be one big strip mall full of nail salons and smoothies stores before long.

Thank you for such a thoughtful post.