American Stereotypes

Americans are often subject to many stereotypes. Loud, Arrogant, Fat, Ignorant, and without manners. I’m sure you can think of a few more. As someone who emigrated from the US to the EU (I’m not saying what country I’m in;) ) almost ten years ago I’ve encountered many people from all over the world. My work allows me to meet many different nationalities on a continuous basis. I also speak the native language of the country I’m living in and don’t even use English at home anymore.

The first thing I would like to say is that people from different cultures, and countries do tend to act differently. A real shocker I know, but in this day and age you forget these sorts of obvious things. Yes there are cultural characteristics which are common in the majority of certain cultures. Certainly you can’t judge an entire country based on a few individuals, but there are things which are fairly universal, and they might not be what you expect. I also understand that EUROPE is not a country (they were a great 80s band) however I will use Europeans as a gauge since many different countries people are annoyed by the same things Americans do. I will go through the major stereotypes of Americans and address them one by one and try and answer them as honestly as I can. I understand I have my own biases so take what I say with whatever grain of salt you wish.

First.

Are Americans Loud?

Yes. After acclimating here I began to cringe when I heard a loud American in a pub, restaurant, or metro. However, it should be noted that the British, and Italians aren’t exactly a symphony either. Americans do tend to speak louder, but what’s worse than that is the fact that pretty much everyone understands English and Americans also tend to forget this at the wrong moments (other times they assume everyone speaks English). Confusing I know. But sadly true. An American may just assume a waitress must speak English in a restaurant. But then the same person may also think no one understands them when they are telling their best friend how they “banged that hot Italian chick” while in an elevator. And many times Europeans don’t mind the loudness, as much as the dreaded nasally “OH MAH GAWD” American girl.

Are Americans fat?

True. Americans are the second fattest people in the world (the first is actually Mexico). I think even most Americans know this since they also pretty much pioneered the diet industry as well. It should also be noted that again the UK’s obesity rate is at 62% and the US is at 68%. So there are some chubbies in the majority in many EU nations as well. They just blame their obesity rate on McDonalds, which may be true, but it’s still a pretty weak argument if you’re trying to act superior in some way.

Are Americans stupid/don’t know basic Geography.
Again this another example where there are two different answers to the question. In terms of Higher Education. America really is #1. (note how I linked to a British source for this. Many Europeans are skeptical of American sources saying America is the best:) We’ve got 5 of the top ten universities in the world. However, in terms of overall education, we’re bad. sorry. But for a developed country the US is doing terribly in terms of how rich they are. 17th in reading, and 23rd in math. That’s really shitty. I believe this is mainly due to a very specific American cultural factor as well. While Europeans are still being told they need to learn the basics, and memorize, American students are often told they need to find their own path, and that many times there is no wrong answer. It is a very distinct pedagogical style which is not present throughout the rest of the world. The importance is put on self confidence. But not on testing, or learning. It seems as if schools in the US wish to be the guidance counselors of their students, and not their teachers. The US also invented the idea of Social Promotion which may be foreign to many European readers. Basically social promotion is the idea that you let a student pass the year, because it will be better to keep him with his peer group, and it could be damaging to fail him. So he didn’t pass, but, he passes. If anyone wonders why the US consistently graduates students all over the country who can’t even read at a fourth grade level. Well. that’s why. Of course if you have money in America it is also in direct relation with the level of education you will receive, as well as how well you will do on standardized tests. And on top of that, how much money you have can be used as a generalization for what race you are. Africans and Latinos are the poorest and they do the worst on standardized tests, while whites and asians are the richest and do the best. Now are you starting to see where the racial problems in the US stem from?

Secondly. When it comes to Geography; Americans do tend to be lacking in understanding where countries are located on a map. Even worse when it comes to history. But then again, could you ask the average European which states border Delaware? Many Europeans come at geography from a very Eurocentric point of view. Ask them what countries border Paraguay and watch their expressions change very quickly.

Are Americans Arrogant?
To be fair. I wouldn’t say that Americans are arrogant. But as I stated above they do tend to have elevated levels of self confidence. They also tend to not word things in the right way for a European audience. We’ve all heard the American girl who says “yeah, I’m awesome” in response to her doing something menial like making toast. These sort of casual references don’t go over well because they generally just don’t translate. So while it may be common in the US to have this sort of “I kick ass” attitude, it’s not interpreted as cute. People will just think you’re a dick. The trick is to be awesome at something but only mention it casually. But sadly yes, Americans do tend to come off as arrogant.

Americans don’t travel / don’t have passports
In terms of mileage Americans travel more than any other nationality on the planet. However, it should also be noted that the US is fucking huge, and then we’ve got Mexico to the South (wasted away again in margaritaville. no visa/passport required) and Canada (Nice buds eh? no passport / visa required) to the north which mainly serves as comic relief and the best weed hookups you could ever find at a hockey game. You also have to remember that the US is extremely varied compared to most countries (excluding the big ones, Russia, and China) There’s arctic tundra, Rainforest, Desert, savannah, the great plains, glaciers on top of huge ass mountains, coastlines that will take you from the rocky Lobster fishing regions of Maine down to the sand and silicone titties in Florida, and rainforests (hoh national forest in northern Washington). In terms of eco diversity there really isn’t much competition. So in a lot of respects Americans just don’t need to travel as much. If you’ve ever lived in a landlocked country in Europe you’ll find out pretty quick where people go for vacation. They go to the coast to sit in the sun. In the US, people just drive to the coast. They go to California, or Florida and they never have to leave the country to go to the beach. Also Americans don’t need passports to go to Canada or Mexico so the line about “only 30% of Americans have passports” is complete bullshit. If you hear this then we can also ask how many Europeans left continental Europe. The numbers are much lower at only around 12%, so in terms of traveling . Americans actually travel more. Believe it or not XP

Americans don’t have manners.
True. Americans tend to be way more laid back and things like burping, farting, and spitting aren’t cool. Now I know what you’re thinking. You wouldn’t do those things normally in a formal setting right? well, until you’ve had a girl you want to hook up with call you “gross” for spitting away from her, after a night of drinking, onto the sidewalk then I would tell you to heed my advice and avoid these sort of actions. This is often harder than it seems, and I’ve seen many Americans get into arguments after someone thought they were acting obnoxious for burping loudly. There’s this weird “It’s a bodily function” defense which seems to be quite common among many Americans.

Many Americans don’t know how to use a knife and fork in the same way most Europeans would. You’re supposed to hold the fork in your left hand and stab at what you want to cut, then with your right hand you cut it, leaving the fork stabbing the morsel to be consumed. Americans tend to use their forks as knives and will chop away at their food with it.

Americans are Religious Fundamentalists
True. In terms of believing absolute bullshit Americans are basically on par with other third world countries around the globe. Now I know you may be thinking that there’s a lot of Italians who are Catholic, and Polish, there’s LOADS of Polish Catholics! Ok, you’re right. Polish are amongst one of the most religious countries in Europe, with 95% saying they believe in god (United States is at 85%). But you know what, Poland and Italy are the oddballs. Religion is dying at a rapid rate throughout all of Europe, and the sort of Religious fundamentalism you see in the states practically doesn’t exist. Czech Republic and Estonia are the most atheist countries in all of Europe with only 10 percent ever attending services and a whopping 72% not believing in any god at all. This is also true throughout most of Europe. It’s becoming more and more secular by the year and religion is virtually unimportant in politics outside of Italy and Poland. While I was living in Prague I saw many Americans taken aback by the fact that if they bring up god they are almost universally mocked by the majority of the people. Well, welcome to the minority :)

I don’t want to be too harsh on people who are Christian but aren’t proselytizing. If you keep to yourself and believe what you want, no one will care. If you act as if you have some divine knowledge and try to convert people, they’ll think you’re a piece of shit. Especially since American religions tend to be a little more extreme, and Europe also suffered through religious extremism for quite some time. So basically they just see American religion as infantile and unproductive. Give religious Europeans some incense and a pope and they’re happy, then they go about their lives completely ignoring all of the Bible. In terms of evolution you’ll also see large differences. In the US only 40% of Americans believe in evolution, while the number is around 80% in most of Europe. If you’re a Mormon or a Jehovas Witness forget about it. Most Europeans will think that you belong to some weird sect where fathers marry their little girls. not joking. I actually met a girl here who said when she visited the US she was afraid to go through Utah because she thought she’d be kidnapped and used as a sex slave. I had to inform her that Mormons are just dorks who believe some charlatan treasure hunter who said that native americans were the lost tribe of Israel and the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. Think that only creeped her out more though.

Americans think they can do anything
True. The show on MTV called Made is the perfect example of an American ethic which is also quite different. Much of Western Europe is beginning to be on par with the US, but central and Eastern Europe? forget about it. The people who lived under Communism are still a bit beaten down. The idea that you can be whatever you want to be is still foreign to much of Europe. I think it’s a shame, but at the same time, how many kids really get to be professional basketball players. There is some truth to it. I still think it’s cool to dream. But the US is saturated with so much “You can do it!” attitude that it is a cultural difference worth noting.

Americans love guns
True. The United States has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the world. I’m really not sure how this remained over the years but I don’t think it’s all that bad. The original intention of the 2nd amendment was that the people would be able to keep and bear arms, because the framers of the constitution were so genius that they anticipated that government would once again try and restrict the liberty of the people. If this were to happen it would be important to have a well armed populace to literally overthrow the government. In a violent revolution. This isn’t some crazy Tea Party website, this is really what the second amendment is all about. Sorry if that offends you. So while I understand that it’s a bad idea to make Ak47s easily accessible in poor urban communities I also think the original idea of the second amendment was brilliant. Of course now it’s irrelevant because the government has tanks, and nuclear weapons, and CS Gas, and other chemical and non lethal weapons they can use on the populace. But back when it was a fair fight it wasn’t such a bad idea.

Americans have no culture
False. Americans invented most of the popular culture of the 20th century. From the blues, to rock and roll, Hip Hop, Graffiti, Computers, the internet, Jack Kerouac, and Martin Scorcese. To all the jewish intellectual immigrants that America received courtesy of WWII. Alexander Graham Bell may have been scottish, but he moved to America to perfect the telephone. Since you’re viewing this on a computer you’re also most likely using another American product, Apple, or PC. But many times Europeans don’t understand the idea of popular culture being culture. They see culture as the ballet, classical music, and a time when their artistic prowess reigned. It’s understandable, but as Ramstein says “We’re all living in America” American culture is paramount throughout all of Europe and all you have to do is turn on a television or radio to hear American content. Fun fact. Titanic, one of the highest grossing films of all time actually made more money outside of the US than inside. $551,741,499 in the United States and $1,287,060,822 in foreign markets.

Which brings us to a common American misconception of Europe.

Europeans hate America because they’re jealous.
False. I don’t think Europeans have a dislike towards Americans, but rather a culture which is impossible to stop. There’s no competition for American business. There are 5 McDonalds within walking distance of any major European city center. You can’t compete with America because American businesses pander to the lowest common denominator. How far we’re willing to drag down standards to do so is the question. This is a fundamental difference. Many Americans will think that if a business is good, and has people buying their product, then that business should flourish because it’s doing something right. While many Europeans believe that there should be checks and balances on businesses so they don’t become all powerful and impossible to control.

Now. These are some of the big stereotypes of Americans that many Europeans have. I’d also like to elaborate on a few differences no one seems to notice but are also quite important.

Americans have a hyper sense of entitlement.
This is strange because outside of Social Security we receive absolutely no entitlements from government. Nonetheless Americans tend to have this idea that life owes them something. That they really deserve to be a pop star, or actor/actress. I think that this is one of the leading reasons why there is so much crime in the US. People get angry and think they deserve more than they have. The truth of the matter is that people aren’t robbing people because they need to feed their kids, that’s liberal claptrap, they’re stealing so they can buy rims. They’re stealing because they feel they are owed something in life. The American dream turned out to be a nightmare, and they’re pissed about that. And perhaps rightfully so. The US is only equaled by third world dictatorships when it comes to income distribution, and we let our rich people get crazy super rich, and our people don’t have shit. In the video below you’ll see a fight over some Maple Syrup which happened at a pancake restaurant in the US. This is the sort of “I want what I want, and if you cross me, I’ll fucking kill you” attitude which is common throughout the US. Most continental Europeans are big pussies that will talk shit but never swing. Americans will swing without knowing what they’re even fighting about.

“The fight started when the couple realized that they had no maple syrup for their pancakes. They asked the table over if they could have some of theirs because their pancakes wouldn’t taste the same without the maple syrup and one of the two girls response was “bitch, your pancakes look fine to me!” And from there, all hell broke loose.”

The last major difference I’d like to touch upon which is often ignored. Is how badass and outlaw the US still can be. This is an American trait which is often completely misunderstood but somewhat admired. There really is a certain wild west aspect that could only exist in the US. And it’s still alive today. It’s a country that gives everyone a chance, and while very few succeed, the possibility is enough to keep it alive. It’s a place of reckless capitalism which has brought us the biggest brands in the world (not saying that’s a good thing!) But amongst all the bullshit pop bands, there’s also Martin Scorcesse and Quintin Tarrantino. There’s Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates (ugh). There’s Chuck Berry to the Grafitti train writers in New York City in the 1970s. And thankfully, there’s still the outlaw living in the desert.

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