what is your typical view on AMERICANS?

Well in all honesty, I was born in Okinawa, I lived there for six years before moving to Holland, then to New York; now Florida. Growing up in different countries until I was 12, then moving to America it was essentially a culture shock. I grew up to very polite people in Japan and Holland, and even though the lifestyles of Japan and Holland differ, the people themselves where similar. They were polite, and willing to help, and in America you do find people like that but it seems a lot of people in America are secretive.

I do like the open-minded views of America and how it is very multicultural, but that's it. I like having a set-in-stone culture; that's why I'm going back to Japan.

Essentially the whole 'American Dream' is certainly diminished, due to companies outsourcing for the extra $.25. A lot of Americans struggle for jobs, and healthcare, and a lot of economic buttfucks. You do find a lot of hard working Americans but it's true; a lot of Americans are lazy, it's like living in a country that's a baby. They want and want but won't do anything to earn it.

Ya know, all countries have their faults, and America itself isn't a terrible country. It's all about the people, and no wonder other countries hate America.

/rant

I always laugh whenever I hear people say that the American workforce is the best in the world. What a fucking joke. There's no work ethic. It's all just about money.

Of course, all people have the potential to not be lazy. The fact that a lot of Americans are lazy says that the American government and economy is doing something wrong.

My fathers generation (and a majority of my mother's) are hard working bastards. My father was born in the 30's and has never missed a day of work. Hell, even worked while he had Pneumonia..until he passed out at work and had to be taken to the hospital but, damnit! The man is definitely not lazy. People in my generation..oh fuck. We are a bunch of lazy fucks. I have some ambition but, that is only if I can find the motivation. The rest of my Gen. Fucking, lazy fucks of fuckington in fuckville.

I'll have to agree with that. I believe that the newer generations are getting lazier and immoral by the year... maybe this recession will slap work ethic back into them.

I doubt that. Their entire generation has been coddled since birth. Parents never say no because parents can't discipline unruly children because if you do anything to them it's considered child abuse.

So since parents can't discipline their children they are generally able to get what they want and it has set about this entire generation of "Me, Me,Me". A good example are the Emo's. They come from well off families yet, they complain about how much their lives suck because they can't get some stupid bullshit. I could link child obesity to the blocking of actual "parenting" and the general self absorbed nature of modern children.

Ah yes, I'm well aware that this generation is the spoiled generation that can't do shit without their mama's and papa's wallets n' accounts. However, I didn't realize that a connection could be made to our generation and the growth of emos. Good one. And as far as I'm concerned, U.S. must stockpile the biggest amount of emos available on this planet... with the exception of suiciding Asians.

I came to that conclusion one day while I let my mind run on autopilot (I zoned out at work and went on a mental autopilot while I was thinking). Emo are generally coddled spoiled teens who complain about any minor negative in their lives. They are just suburban kids that have everything but, act as if they are persecuted.

BWHAHAHA! What a great vid that's totally relevant, and it's by the Least I Could Do webcomic. I oughta reread that series again, especially since they've got an animated series of some sort.

I think we are stereotyped and bunched in WAY too much as one big obnoxious thing.

The most obnoxious of us are the loudest you know, so generally people assume we are all like that or something.
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But if you come here and look at each of us individually you will see that we are very much like you or anyone else in the world. We all have the same or similar struggles in life, we all worry about generally the same things (finances, work, family). Most of us just want to find happiness, love, and contentment in life. We all set goals for ourselves and hope to achieve them, we all make stupid mistakes in our lives, etc.

As far as I can see it though the people in this nation (U.S.A.) are generally like anyone else in any other nation.

Stereotyping an entire nation as one 'thing' is pointless, because whether you like it or not we are humans too, humans just like you with all the same wants, desires, and needs.

To the person(s) who said that American females like accents, well it depends on the girls but most of my friends love accents, though mostly is British, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, Italian, or Spanish.

Americans differ all over, it just depends on where they live, their family and the other factors. I personally live in the south, Virginia in particular, where this country had it's start. Though I live in South, I do not speak like a typical Southerner, being raised by Northerner, particular from New York (the city, the city, the city). So I do tend to use words that my mother uses, my father encourages this (I do not use that word 'y'all' it has always been you all, I just can't stomach that damnable word, also it's not British English, it's the Queen's English or so I've grown up with) My parents were pretty liberal with how my siblings and I have grown up. They have given us the things they never had and I love them dearly for it. I, myself, am very open minded, which my mother has encouraged, as long as I'm happy. My closest sister is also like me (I'm such a wonderful influence.) Personally I would love to go other countries, I want to know more about the world. I don't want to be seen as the typical American, because I'm not.

Sure our government is run by a fool, but I didn't vote for him. The Electoral College did.

Don't hate on me for some of the fools in my country that I live in, just like I won't hate you for some of the fools that stereotype your country.

Therein lies the problem: America is too diverse. You try to slap a label or two on Americans, and you'll get the other half of the U.S. populace screaming denials in your face. We got the blue collar workers, we got the white collar workers. We got the North, and we got the South (and west). We got liberals, and we got conservatives (and moderates). We got peace-lovers, and we got warmongers *cough-Bush-couh*. We got Whites, we got Blacks, we got Asians, we got Hispanics. To try and group them all together in a neat bundled up package just doesn't work, and like the rest of the other nations, they only tend to see the worse side of America, i.e. the obese fatsos and loudmouths. I can't blame them for that, also given our record as an easily riled up "shoot first, ask later" nation, but it doesn't do justice to the rest of the nation. But hey, I love my country, and the diversity ain't so bad.

Most americans I know piss me off,The others well their all right
But I've been living in america for 13 years,Alot have changed throughout those hard nubsauce years.

Unfortunately both of you are correct...


I believe you just described basic human nature instead of describing Americans. If you looked closely I believe you can easily find many people who are like that... Look at the French. I went there once, though I was young, I could see the indifferent attitude these people had were astounding...

Also, find me a country where people don't have extreme pride for their own nation. It's human nature to be biased about your own.

About butting into other nation's affairs... Did you even read the previous posts? Maybe we should have left your country alone in both WWs and you could all be speaking german right now. Last little bit may sound harsh, but it's reality. It seems our country is put in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situations where we get blamed if we DON'T help and if we do, we're accused of sticking our nose where it doesn't belong...

I think a lot more goes into a persons character than their nationality. Although, really, people just suck all over. People are very self-centered, even most "charitable" actions are just to make a person either look good or feel good about themselves.
Also, to make a blanket statement that several million people are all close-minded based only on their nationality is a very closed-minded statement.
Don't worry, I'm a big fan of irony.
But sure, Americans suck. I've lived here my whole life and have disliked most of the people I've met, but I've also disliked most of the people I've met from other countries.
And hey, at least we aren't Canadian.

I believe he is generalizing about all of America's actions from the Korean war up to Iraq. You see if they act snobbish about our involvement in either world war then they just look ungrateful or uneducated about the reality of how things would be if we didn't involve ourselves. Everyone has the mentality of their way is correct. Americans, Europeans, Asians,etc the rule applies to everyone. We're human and we are biased. If you hate a country and romanticize another then it's just a case of "the grass is greener on the other side". Everything, everywhere sucks just as much as everything, everywhere else.

For America it all boils down to:

America does anything then we're damned
America does nothing then we're damned.

Man, this discussion makes me feel afraid. If I travel overseas, I want to claim I'm from Canada so I'm not judged to be an arrogant, gun toting, asshole, who doesn't know shit about the world and cares only for myself. Stereotypes are evil.

This is probably going to be a mistake even arguing with this, because then I'll just get the 'see what I mean? American's are so closed minded' thing thrown back at myself.

I definitely understand what you mean by close mindedness. I've met some people like that and I also deal with people like that at work. But I think people are like that anywhere.

Everywhere you're going to find bad examples and good examples of people in different countries. Everywhere. No matter what.
I think it's a bit bold to say we hold ourselves as God's gift, but what do you consider yourself when you think you're above a whole country?

Yes, I deal with narrow minded Americans, but I’d like to see anybody try changing the minds that are morally connected to an issue. It's not an American problem, it's human error. Humans - as in all around the world humans. When you talk about abortion, religion, gay rights, animal rights, racism, sexism – you’ll get conflict all around the world. Not just America.


The thing that I think people miss the most is America is a country that has people from all over the world living in one large unit. You’re going to get conflict and difference of opinions because of your background.

Where I live specifically there's a lot of Puerto Ricans. Despite Puerto Rico being part of the United States people still scoff when the PR flag is hung. However, people forget that America is based off of immagrants, and everyone has a different blood history. Unless of course you're Native American. Being proud of your heritage isn't something to be ashamed of - if you want to hang the flag your family is from, then there's no problem.

The biggest thing specifically in my area is people who are sensitive to Spanish being spoken. You get the †˜English should be the only language here in the United States’

I work in retail so I deal with Spanish speakers very often. What a lot of people don’t realize is the fact when an elderly person comes to the United States with another first language, psychologically, it’s almost impossible for them to speak a new language. That’s why you often see their grandchildren translating for them, because the younger you are the easier it is to become linguistic to other languages. It’s just how your brain develops.

I can speak some Spanish and sometimes if I deal with a customer who is flustered I’ll switch the tables and let them know I speak little Spanish but I’ll try my best with them. Then I’ll be in their situation and they’ll feel more comfortable. Just because they don’t speak the same language as me doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get treated the same, they’re still a human being.

When you are educated and when you understand why something is the way it is - it’s easier to accept why things are the way they are, and it’s easier to accommodate to another person.

But I don’t understand how you can sit there and talk like you know everything, because to myself, I feel like there’s too much diversity here to ever collectively call us something as a whole. I understand you live here and you’ve experienced things, but how much have you really experienced?

Actually, when I go overseas I have a choice. I can go with my New Zealand passport [birthplace, mums birthplace] or I can use my UK passport [father.].

If I'm going to the UK, I'll use my UK passport. No need for a Visa to work, no scrutiny. Easy.

If I'm going anywhere else I use my NZ passport. People see New Zealanders as adventurous, outgoing and friendly people. However, lots of people see the British as stuck up pricks. Customs are friendly with New Zealanders, but with the brits, they take a different stance.

I'm lucky to be born where I am really. Handy.

But don't fake where you were from with any authority, or your legs shall be ripped off.

What he said. With the general people you can lie and say your Canadian but, why lie and say your Canadian when you can prove to people that all Americans aren't stuck up closed minded pricks.