Views on America/American people -

[Cosmos]

Non-American Kiwis, what are the views on the United States and the American people as a whole in your countries? It seems as though the view of us is predominately negative, although I'm hoping that that negativity is aimed at the actions of our government and not at us as a whole.

 

[Cheap Sandals]

Negativity mixed with envy for your material wealth.

Edit: the negativity is towards the government not the people. American people have a reputation for being friendly and generous. The American government is mocked and derided.

 

[Fougaro]

Non-American Kiwis, what are the views on the United States and the American people as a whole in your countries? It seems as though the view of us is predominately negative, although I'm hoping that that negativity is aimed at the actions of our government and not at us as a whole.

If your media, your political elite and the pop culture are anything to go by, I'd say you burgers are pretty exceptional, even more so than the Japs.

 

[Ntwadumela]

America is a damn fine country. The majority of my countrymen have positive opinions about it and many travel there for tourism and/or to study abroad.
It has its flaws but it's a great country overall.

 

[Autistic Illuminati]

In France we tend to see the typical american as the guy who is alway over the top, with no moderation, but friendly.

 

[Disgusted Face Hold]

Mujaheddin here.

Throughout the last 8 years, and with the numerous convos I had with Europeans and non-Europeans alike, the general consensus among people outside the Anglosphere is that the USA is, like Trump begrudgingly admitted, a third world country.

Tick off the list: 63 percent white population and still decreasing on a rapid rate, most big cities are literally worse than Africa, it is a non self sufficient country in most aspects, whites aren't breeding because they and their offspring get taxxed just for existing, and American population in general is downright apathetic and uninterested in doing anything to anything about the fact they're being systematically wiped by their own government; they would prefer to resign themselves to stuffing down GMO food and having aspartame, fluoride, and 5 other drugs in their body every day, seeing as they are essentially self-genocidal at this point.

As for the government, the nutshell of Barry Obama's legacy is that he'll be remembered as the most corrupt and inept president of America in history. That is, assuming that he'll even be remembered at all, considering that his sole reason for existing is to serve as a surrogate black friend of white shitlibs.

 

[El Garbage]

Americans are considered fat, stupid, fanatically religious, wasteful, environmentally unfriendly gun nuts, who spend their time driving circles in their pick-up trucks while shooting in the air.

This coming from a country where prayer is taught at school, cars got catalytic converters 20 years later than in the US, and a simple law about improved sewage treatment enabled far-right populists to rise into power.

 

[DuskEngine]

Their money's good.

 

[Enclave Supremacy]

In the UK I find them better than they were perhaps a decade ago. Mostly young people don't think about this kind of thing now since we're all the same now and national borders are just inconveniences in the way of people's holidays.

Firstly, I wager that most of the people I talk too think of America as whites and blacks. We know that Latinos are thing, but in most people's subconscious America is white and black, and largely on the east coast.

The common consensus is that Americans are overly patriotic and religious, which is regarded with quaint deference or scorn. The quaintness isn't really negative, it's just seen as something of a performance or a show . Like I've just watched the video of them taking down the Confederate Flag from the South Carolina Capitol Building where people were chanting USA and, apparently, some women was saying "Thank You Jesus". That's very American as-far as far as my acquaintances seem to think; we think it's all very quaint but around that level we're thinking "Fuck me these guys are weird".

Other thoughts are also that Americans are loud, overly-excitable and overly-friendly. I remember my housemate went to New York and came back telling me how the people at tills and stuff were so friendly that is comes across as patronising and forced. And I remember we had some Americans over in our workshop once and Christ, every other word out of these people was "um" or "err" or some type of filler-word. Oh and chasers after a shot are a ridiculous concept as-well.

Your alright, and pretty much every commoner in the UK wants to "do America" at some-point, but people can get weirded out by some of it. Like it you stuck a Brit in a group of Yanks I imagine it would become awkward.

 

[AnOminous]

Other thoughts are also that Americans are loud, overly-excitable and overly-friendly. I remember my housemate went to New York and came back telling me how the people at tills and stuff were so friendly that is comes across as patronising and forced.

That's somewhat ironic, since Americans consider New Yorkers the rudest people in the country. They actually aren't (Bostonians just as one example are far ruder), but they're known for being brusque and rude, especially service job people.

 

[Lackadaisy]

We're number one. Fuck all you communist sons of bitches.

 

[Enclave Supremacy]

That's somewhat ironic, since Americans consider New Yorkers the rudest people in the country. They actually aren't (Bostonians just as one example are far ruder), but they're known for being brusque and rude, especially service job people.

Well this was at those big famous stores, Macy's or the one Rachel worked at in Friends. So their probably told to act extra friendly, it's just not in a way that any shopkeeper in Britain would act "extra friendly" if they were asked too. If your in some little corner shop then they're probably not like that.

 

[pozilei]

A lot of people take issue with American politics. Yknow, getting involved in conflicts and wars and then more or less ignoring the aftermath.

When it comes to actual American people: I agree with a lot of what @Enclave Supremacy said. Overly patriotic and very religious (somewhat ironic given that a lot of mainland Europe is overtly either Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox but alas). But especially when it comes to the patriotism people view Americans as really full of themselves. Like they think they're the only ones in the world that have rights or democracy.

There might be a fair amount of negativity going around but realistically, when it would come down to who you'd want to be your foreign neighbor most people here would probably prefer an American to most other continents.

 

[Joan Nyan]

Like they think they're the only ones in the world that have rights or democracy.

We are. Other countries that supposedly have rights are arresting people for Facebook posts.

 

[Lackadaisy]

Well this was at those big famous stores, Macy's or the one Rachel worked at in Friends. So their probably told to act extra friendly, it's just not in a way that any shopkeeper in Britain would act "extra friendly" if they were asked too. If your in some little corner shop then they're probably not like that.

Yes, American friendliness is pretty off putting. I grew up on a co-owned RAF / American Air Force base, so it's interesting to see the difference between the two cultures. I'm often seen as too standoffish for Americans and too boisterious for Brits!

 

[Sc4rface]

In northern Europe, American foreign policy suffers from the plumber syndrome. The wars and other massive fuck ups get the attention but because stuff like the UN and international treaties and global military reaction capability have always been there, people take them for granted and don't notice that for all it's faults, the US pretty much guarantees the current global order and keeps fuckhead nations like Russia and China somewhat in check.

On the domestic policy side, people consider it eternally puzzling that Americans go on and on about how great they are but can't figure out stuff that's considered really basic here, like public healthcare and education that, if nothing else, produces a practically 100% literacy rate.

As for the people... The image is equally divided. I'd say that if challenged to think about Americans seriously, most people would say they are on average hard working, affluent and friendly (in a way too loud, excessive and fake way, but that's just because cultures contrast hard in this regard). However, the particular examples that tend to surface in media as 'stereotypical Americans" more often than not are the sort of people who could die happy if they could first shoot an abortion doctor with a Bible.

 

[Tranhuviya]

Non-Americans who are jealous should remember who keeps the Russians away from their breed "that ain't going to study war no more".

 

[Enclave Supremacy]

We are. Other countries that supposedly have rights are arresting people for Facebook posts.

Yeah well, that's not the same as democracy is it? A lot of us don't understand your electoral system and the almost codified duopoly of it; over here voting for a third-party is an option and we have the equivalent of a Presidential Debate every week at "Prime Minister's Questions".

Spoiler: Off-topic

It's not like most people here are happy with the situation either, you just don't hear about the people who complain. Most British people are actually incredibly crude and analogous with your white trash. Most people in your average British pub wouldn't know what misogyny is, much less why people are getting arrested for it.

Even the most liberal, genuinely apolitical, Brits I know will say "She only got that because she's a women" or "Black people are some of the most racist people I know". I really don't know anyone who doesn't tell off-colour humour, and these are people I work with rather than have selected out. There are no sacred cows. It's just the usual lying media that pretends we don't. Fuck me, Trumps recent "scandelous" quote could probably be attributed to over half of Britain's young men - chalked up as "just bants mate".

 

[Joan Nyan]

Yeah well, that's not the same as democracy is it? A lot of us don't understand your electoral system and the almost codified duopoly of it; over here voting for a third-party is an option and we have the equivalent of a Presidential Debate every week at "Prime Minister's Questions".

Is this what your ballots look like? How quaint. In November when I vote for president I also have to vote on like 10 other offices at the state, county, and city level, and 41 propositions. I don't know how many things you vote on or how often but I'd venture a guess that we have a lot more democracy here.

 

[Sc4rface]

I don't know how many things you vote on or how often but I'd venture a guess that we have a lot more democracy here.