Americans are stupid, fat, and impolite...I don't get it.

[gostchiken]

That's right us Californians are in a league all our own.

 

[Gigaguy64]

OP what happened was you were told a Stereotype that is usually exaggerated to the point many people just accept it and swear by it.

Sure there are fat people here, there are fat people everywhere.
Sure there are stupid people here, there are stupid people everywhere too.
And yes there are Rude people here, there are rude people in other parts of the world as well.

But not every American is a Fat, Rude, Idiot.
Though some can fall into that category.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Stereotypes are stupid. Sure we have a lot of stupid people, some fat people but not very many impolite. Stupid and fat are here but only come up in abundance in the news and things to make America seem bad.

 

[ArMartinez02]

op if u would off visited massachussets then ur mind would of changed, theres nice people, but the problem is the caucasian population in my town, they r so racist (T_T) they hh8t hispanics, it hurts

 

[SPCF]

You probably just talked to a bunch of lying Canadian tourists. xD

Wow...
That is...
Not cool...
Though it did make me chuckle XD

OT:
Well... I went there a few times and the people were relatively... nice?
Though it WAS just across the border.

 

[Julianking93]

You must have fantastic luck, my friend.

Everyone here in my town is a fat fucking moron.

I dont mean to be mean but almost every american I have met is like this. I also hate the government. sooooooooo gun happy.

Some of it is true. Some of it isn't.

I'm just saying it's mostly true for the town I live in.

Though, I'm not American so I can say this ^-^

 

[lovemyredguitar]

You must've been in Beverly Hills or something. I live in LA and at least half the people i meet are either fat or completely stubborn/stupid.

 

[dex-dex]

weird.

when i went to DC there was so many big people. but they were not stupid. actually one lady was pretty stupid but i will let that one slide.
i was getting dog tags that were available at one of the museums i went to and so i put my name, address and country she asked me if i was actually from Canada i replied with a yes and she gave me a weird look and asked was it odd for me to be in such a warm climate. it was 25 degrees that day.

other than that lady i had fun.

 

[Agayek]

So I just got back from a vacation in LA and I don't understand some of the stereotypes centred around Americans. I imagine most of us have heard these stereotypes, and I myself have been guilty of making them from time to time. But in the week I was there, I didn't see an abnormally high number of fat people. I didn't think anyone I talked to was stupid. Everyone seemed polite and there were few people who were especially inconsiderate. I didn't notice a higher number of any of those types of people in the US than anywhere else.

So are these stereotypes just untrue? Because I've known people who would swear that they are, and insist that every stereotype is accurate. Did I just have an unusually pleasant experience in the States or is are people in California just a breed apart from their countrymen? Please Escapists, enlighten me.

It depends on where you go. LA, San Francisco, and Chicago (most of it anyway) are, for the most part, relatively free of the standard foreign stereotypes of Americans. There's probably a number of cities I missed, but those are the ones I've experience with.

I'm not sure if that fat stereotype is true, because honestly something like 90% of people I see are skinny/fit, or at most mildly overweight, but I can tell you for a fact that the stupid stereotype fits for most Americans. Pick a random place in the country and start quizzing people on current world politics, big events in world history, or even American history and you'll likely get a blank stare for a few seconds before they try to laugh it off. It's really very depressing. The vast majority of people I've met here are on roughly the same intellectual level as:

 

[MoNKeyYy]

I think it would help if you shared what your native land happened to be? I know there are in fact fat stupid impolite Americans, but there's also fat stupid impolite French, Italians, Polynesians and Chinese et cetera et cetera. There's also healthy, intelligent and polite Americans, Kenyans, Australians and Indians, and so on. Each and every country has people that fill every niche in the spectrum, and I know it's a lot of fun to participate in stereotypes like school-aged children whispering about how the older kids are all dumb and the girls/boys all smell. Everyone does it, we're hard-wired that way so we don't let are our guards down so the other tribe of Neanderthals across the hills don't have a chance to steal our prized bit of meat from the last hunt.

In closing, I'm American myself but haven't had the chance to be particularly international. However, I've spent a considerable amount of time among people with other cultures, and I think the bottom line is that while every culture has certain distinguishing characteristics that make it unique, we're also the same human animal at a base level. Infighting over which of us is stupider than the other isn't going to get us anywhere.

Btw, glad you had a good time in LA

I'm from Canada. And I did notice some people who fit the stereotype, but proportionally there seemed to be about the same number of those people as we have here.

Also, I love LA, and anyone who says that Disneyland is better than Universal Studios is either ten years old or a communist.

 

[dex-dex]

You probably just talked to a bunch of lying Canadian tourists. xD

but what if we are telling the truth?
I believe that we are for about 75 percent of the country.

 

[MellowFellow]

Its just a stereotype, not everyone fits it, but there are obviously people that do. I live in the US and I have seen my share of fat, skinny, stupid and smart people, which I am pretty sure if you went to another country you would still see fat, skinny, stupid or smart people.

Just ignore the idiots who really think the stereotype is true for all Americans.

 

[3dfx]

US citizens are well known for these poor attributes, because the loudmouth letter writing ones are the ones that everyone notices. There's also extremely hard working, honest, and loyal US citizens that actually posses an education and integrity.

Stereotypes aren't "stupid", they exist because there is always a certain amount of truth attached to them. Humans are pattern driven, that's why FBI profilers exist. It's sad that the country is viewed like that, but it's no ones fault but our own, not to mention it doesn't really bother me because I know I'm not part of that group, and know there are plenty of people out there that aren't part of it either.

I know it sounds lame, and seems like I'm quoting a feel good film, but the change starts with you. Don't like being stereotyped? Then don't be the stereotype. Flailing your arms and yelling wont change anything, in fact it will actually prove the stereotype true.

Thanks my two cents anyways.

 

[unoleian]

So I just got back from a vacation in LA

That's your problem, right there. No elaboration, that alone sums it up.

ed- gee, maybe I should have read all the OP. Totally missed the point. My friend moved out to LA and was appalled at the obesity rate and lack of a decent grocery store for miles.

A stereotype is a stereotype. And I played right into that one...

 

[enzilewulf]

I didn't see an abnormally high number of fat people.

You didn't go to Wisconsin. As myself being American this is how I see it. Alabama has set a lot of the stereotypes. Its a Redneck state. Nothing wrong with that, Except there is a lot of racism there. (and be for any one from Alabama I went there for a summer and the first thing I here is this "Fucking lazy niggers". I heard a lot more of it. I hold no more respect for it). We also have ALLLLLOOOOTTTT of nationalism so when we say that to British they usually get annoyed and take what they hear and say that about us. Yet this country.. ehhh its still got a lot of problems. Bush killed the Economy (among other things) and Obama promised to much to fix it.

 

[Paksenarrion]

op if u would off visited massachussets then ur mind would of changed, theres nice people, but the problem is the caucasian population in my town, they r so racist (T_T) they hh8t hispanics, it hurts

I couldn't help but hear that said in Konata's voice. The english dub, of course.

 

[SleepyOtter]

Well people world wide are fat, and Frnce is a very impolite place ya know. And we aren't the stupidest we have the what 2nd highest educational system?

I laughed at the education part.
but yeah there's people like that in every country we just have more per square mile is all.

 

[Mr0llivand3r]

USA Fails

I'm American so I can say that. Because even though those stereotypes only apply to a relatively small group of people, the image which applies to those people is so overbearing and potent that it reflects and embodies the ineptitude of our country. We have a lot going for us, but we are not as cool as many of our fellow Americans think we are

 

[Freedomario]

it mostly depends on where you are, whom you are speaking to and such.