Non-Americans: How do you view us?

[KouThan]

Well, I have no problem with most americans as individuals, but I can't understand why you are always in a war.
Take 9/11 for example, lot's of people killed and instead of saying ok that happened let's try to prevent it from happening again you went on two wars. You invaded Iraq for something and then afghanistan so that you can capture Osama. What i don't understand is that you went willingly in two wars that eventually killed a lot more people than the 9/11 attack and also increased your national debt. I also can't understand why do you say that soldiers served their country when they obviously actually just went on war for no actual reason. The only one that benefited from these two wars are the contractors that supposedly "rebuilt" those countries.
So my point is: If you have a problem with a nation in the future, don't invade them it will be worse for everyone just try diplomacy for once and maybe try to be reasonable with your expectations.

Economy boost, war is good for the economy. That and the middle east had a helluva lot of oil that the Americans could just walk by, secure and sell off to high paying distributers. Watch Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' for more info.

I have already seen it, and still the simple citizens didn't benefit at all, that's my point. They were dragged in this situation so that others get the benefits and now they will force them to pay the expenses (see the recent debt crisis). I don't understand how they accept that. Are they so ignorant or am I so wrong in my views?

 

[retyopy]

The fact you made a thread asking how people view America is probably a strong contender.


Arrogance.

I fail to see how this is arrogant. How do you know I'm not genuinely curious?

 

[UnusualStranger]

Know what the interesting thing about America is? That if it isn't taking fire for it's citizens, government, policies, behaviors, negative peoples, overbearing patriotism, or plain stupidity, it is....still being blamed for stuff.

As an American, I understand all too well we are not the greatest in the world, nor the most respected, or even maybe the most powerful. But we are the most willing to just do shit. And I mean, shit that other people think is a terrible idea, or impose wills that people raise a ruckus about. America will do shit that is bad, good, in between, and just overall throw it's weight around everywhere.

It is messy, crude, annoying, dangerous, and downright disturbing for everyone around the planet. We spend more on military, have military bases everywhere, do things that everyone is certain are unethical and just plain wrong. We do things behind closed doors, have a political machine and media to go with it which encourages a lot of insane behavior which is downright self destructive.

But we are not all miserable human beings. Americans end up in the light a lot because there is a lot of weight thrown around. We can be a hell of a spectacle to watch, and do some crazy things that other people joke about, sometimes that turn out successful and no one knows how that worked. We are determined, independent, varied, and at times largely understanding. Our media is loud, and government looking poorly, but we brush past it regardless, and find ways to survive despite it. We don't feel bad about how separated our large nation is, and tend to almost encourage our large land area with people everywhere to just do their own thing.

Is America itself in trouble? Probably. Are Americans dangerous and crude? Quite often yes. Have we done things for the world? Yes, just as many other nations have. It is just the time of year to hate on America because this is where people for some reason cling to this horrible celebration or remembered or whatever it is.

Nation bashing is as old as nations are. Get it out of your system, and then go back to your lives.

 

[retyopy]

Comments like this make me wonder if all Americans are complete idiots. That and Fox News.

Oh, view in new window for maxed version.

That's just a few bastards that will be found dead surrounded by bibles covered in blood that has been painted into an american flag.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

That whole "your with us or against us" speech from post 9/11 comes to mind.

Frankly, I read about, listen, watch and talk to americans enough to know that you got something stuck up your arse and it's making you generally unpleasant to interact with. Your general populace act like they have blinders on and are being (mis)guided by your government. What happened to "for the people" huh? The majority of you are sheep. I've talked to seemingly intelligent people and found that they're brainwashed by either fanatical patriotism, faith or capitalism to such a degree that they are unable to see beyond what they are told by a heavily censored and biased media.

You also eat too much.

However, as much as that is my take on you as a generalisation, I'm well aware that there are exceptions to it.

On a case by case basis, I have quite a few American friends. Most of which would likely be pegged as "anti-american" (such fucking arrogance) due to their annoyance of your zombie nation.

 

[ultimateownage]

All the Americans will insult the people who dislike America, and all of the people who dislike America will use that to prove Americans suck.
These threads accomplish nothing. I wish people would stop posting them.

Being British, I like to view people with contempt in my own head. People can't shout at me for being a bastard when I do that.

 

[snagli]

I often compare the US to a kid the the sandbox. He's throwing a hissy fit because his mum didn't buy him the latest toys, and then proceeds to steal those toys from other kids in the sandbox, only to get bored with them, break them and throwing another hissy fit about measurements.

Also, I hate "football" but I love football, if you catch my drift.

 

[dark-mortality]

On a side note, to all americans, YOU DID NOT DEFEAT THE NAZI'S!!!! That was the British and the Russians, who lost more soldiers than you many times over, and when you destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devastating Japan and killing millions of innocents, War on Britain was already over in the main, Japan was mainly your war, and it was nearly won in any case. (Yes, I do dislike Nuclear Weapons)

Japan wasn't "nearly" won. Winning the war would've required a full scale invasion that could have killed EASILY the same number of people as the nukes did.

Was nuking them without warning or anything a bad idea? Yes, it was. The radiation and stuff was horrible, but it wasn't as unnecessary as everyone seems to make it out to be.

Yes, if we had done a full-scale invasion, most likely, just as many people would have died, BUT, at least we wouldn't have made two cities uninhabitable for many years, and at the same time escalate the cancer-rate, mutations and radiation poison. In the end, it would have been better with a full-scale invasion, despite the losses.

 

[Justanewguy]

All the Americans will insult the people who dislike America, and all of the people who dislike America will use that to prove Americans suck.
These threads accomplish nothing. I wish people would stop posting them.

Being British, I like to view people with contempt in my own head. People can't shout at me for being a bastard when I do that.

Thank you.

In reality the sterotypes that people like to throw at (we) Americans tend to be faulty. They also tend to be things that most Americans would be attempting to change. A vast majority of Americans tend to feel bad about being American on a fairly regular basis. That's really not America's fault, either. After you hear "Americans are bad" so many times, you do start to believe it. The "jingoism" that has been gripping some groups is really just backlash against this. People don't want to feel bad about being American, just as a Croatian wouldn't want to feel bad about being Croatian or a Canadian wouldn't want to feel bad about being Canadian.

So far I've seen a lot of people saying "all my friends from America tend to be pretty cool, but the country sucks." Have you guys stopped and thought that perhaps the country as a whole is made up of those people who are pretty cool, and just gets a bad reputation because it's such an ingrained reputation? Many Americans are pushing for good things, they genuinely want to fix a lot of the problems. Much of the international community also looks to America to lead in fixing problems. Unfortunately, the entire world is struggling in actually moving forward right now. Things like environmental problems, economic issues, and scientific stagnation are a world problem, and the fact that America isn't able to lead as well as it used to seems to frustrate people.

That said, this is my perception, and one that I admit is skewed due to my living in America. I simply can't know how people outside my country feel/are. Just the same, a person living in France/Spain/Great Britain/ect can't judge how Americans feel/are. I know you all like to believe you know what is going on in America, but I really don't believe you actually do. We're not bad. We're not great, but we're not nearly as bad as some of the comments in here try to make us out to be. Republicans aren't evil. Democrats aren't stupid. We're just a bunch of very diverse people who are all trying to do what we feel is best. We're criticized for having a broken system, but the reality is that in two hundred years we've managed to combat racism, sexism, environmental problems, economic depressions, and other major issues. The strides we've made are incredible, and though we haven't made any major changes recently, we normally don't. Almost all of America's major social legislation (legislation that in reality, probably shouldn't even exist. Regulating social lives is definitely one of America's worst problems) have been brought about in major leaps. The 1860s saw major reforms in America's social systems, after the Civil War. Then we didn't see much change until the 1920s with Women's rights. Then again we didn't see much big change until the 1960s with Civil Rights. After that we saw another major leap with Native's Rights in the 1980s (which we still haven't fully resolved). I'd imagine we're coming up on a major social revolution soon.

My point with this is that the perception of America has really soured in the past 40 years, since approximately the 1970s. We also haven't had any major changes in culture since about that time. We could be coming on a major cultural revolution, which could change popular opinion about America in a single moment. Popular opinion is finicky like that. Rather than throwing stones, try understanding that Americans are trying to make progress, just like every other country.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

WOW......Im amazed at the short memory of peoples in other countries. How much american blood has been spilled since the 1940's for the liberation of nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the middle east. We were asked because we were the only ones who could help or had the power to. When the world asks you to be the cops, or cries upon you to say you have the power therefore you have the responsibility to help dont ***** when we do take action because were not helping your favorite cause. Step up and take charge yourself or sit down and shut up.

As far as I know, USA doesn't recognize the International Court in the Hague. Kind of shabby thing to do for a "world police". You're not the world police, you wish to think you were. I was greatly disappointed when Osama was simply shot instead of arrested and put to trial.

I know US citizens aren't all stupid, but I'm it's getting very hard lately. They just seem so.. stupid at times. All focussed on celebrities instead of useful people, the right-wingers, the hate for your own government, the sueing for outrageous amounts of money for stupid little things, the overinflated self-pride..
Especially the hate for your own government baffles me. Every president is either a Nazi or a Communist, you only have two parties that constantly hate each other as much as possible, any good idea (like NHL, that was one of the best things I've heard about US lately) gets blocked because "OMG TAX MONEY" etc.

Obviously this doesn't count for all US citizens, but it's just, as many people said before, the stupid ones are the ones you'll hear the most.

 

[nklshaz]

Contrary to my views on the whole 9/11 thing I don't dislike America or the people dwelling there.

Quite the opposite, i've had 3 fantastic holidays there and never before have I come across a friendlier bunch of people than those I met while on my holidays.

Also during my time in the army I served with American soldiers and got on quite well with them.

I think America is the same as any other country. It has it's decent folk and it has it's dicks. You just find that the dicks in America tend to be twice as loud as the dicks anywhere else. It's a shame but thats how it goes.

British media doesn't paint a great picture of the states though. We do get a lot of your batshit nuts folks on our news. Mainly your incredibly insane politicians and some of your weird as fuck religious nuts.

While most of us know thats not the entirety of America there are people that view America as full of thick as shit crazy people.

But on the whole I do like America. You have your bad points and you have your good points but the people i've met and talk to have been friendly enough and thats all that matters to me.

Speaking as an American, I couldn't agree more with your point about us having the loudest dicks. Living in a country that emphasizes free speech as much as America does has the unfortunate drawback of making people think that their opinions about any given subject actually matter, and trust me, if you want to make a person feel smug and superior, make them think that their opinions matter. I'm sick of people from here voicing even the most insignificant opinions as loudly and obnoxiously as they possibly can. Aside from that and a few other issues, I really do like it here. (And yes, I do see the irony of the way I stated my rather judgmental opinion)

 

[Zeraki]

WOW......Im amazed at the short memory of peoples in other countries. How much american blood has been spilled since the 1940's for the liberation of nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the middle east. We were asked because we were the only ones who could help or had the power to. When the world asks you to be the cops, or cries upon you to say you have the power therefore you have the responsibility to help dont ***** when we do take action because were not helping your favorite cause. Step up and take charge yourself or sit down and shut up.

Just leave... now.

This attitude is exactly why people hate us.

Good day sir.

 

[KaosuHamoni]

uhmm just want to point out rugby is not the same as American football. the players are larger and hit harder.(theres a reason for the pads and "body armor")

Erm, fuck no? I once watched a guy have his ear torn off purely because he refused to go down. And he still scored that try. Rugby is fucking brutal, and SO fun.

OT: I view you as individuals, however, as a country, you don't really help yourself all that much...

 

[Ruwrak]

It's not that I dislike america, americans or anything USA related in general.
It's the... erm.. little things so to say.

Patriotism is a great thing. But somehow it strikes me that americans in general are so.. so.. extravert with it. Then again, this is generally that the media shows us. Americans doing somewhat less intelligent things, doing things blindly and generally not showing signs of brain activity (I.e. I am going to jump from my roof into my garbage bin and put it on youtube so everyone can see how I broke my leg. Like.. what..?)

Once again, I have nothing against the US or it's residents. It's just the media contributes heavily to a bad perspective on the USA. The people I know are one by one intelligent, bright and 'normal' in behavior, reasoning and logic. A sharp contrast with what the media shows us generally.

I wouldn't say the USA is #1 or the best. On the contrary, I find several things a bit double, odd and illogic. But I also think that of my own government so no argument there. I guess I view the USA as a bit of a very huge country that yells the loudest and thus gets the most attention. Attention wich is not always in a positive sense. But generally I just let it all pass by and shrug before moving on with my life.

 

[nklshaz]

I'm from America, and I definitely think it has some flaws. But, no country is perfect. Our foreign policy definitely needs some changing, and our dual-party political system is completely asinine. And we do have a lot of idiots, but I don't think the amount of idiots we have is significantly larger than the amount that other countries have. No, the thing that sets us apart is that we somehow ended up putting our idiots in command.

 

[Project_Omega]

So after reading the "what if 9/11 happened to another country?" thread, it seems quite a few people think that us 'mericans suck. I think I read one saying that we would laugh at them. And I am saddened by that. So I wonder: How do you view the U.S.A as a whole?

You guys need to step off your high horse, I mean F-16, I mean Tank, I mean Oprah.

You aren't the center of the world, and will never be.

 

[Torrasque]

I hate most Americans because they are the epitome of ignorance and selfishness.
I played WoW for about 2 years, and just about every single person that I played with, was American. Californian yes, but still American.
At first, I was "ehhh... I don't really like anyone", but after 2 years, I was really close to most of the people of my guild, and I consider some of the people I raided with, to be very good friends of mine.
So I can honestly say that I don't hate all Americans, just most of them.

Generally, the more an American uses the computer and the internets, the more likely I am to like them

 

[T8B95]

WOW......Im amazed at the short memory of peoples in other countries. How much american blood has been spilled since the 1940's for the liberation of nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the middle east. We were asked because we were the only ones who could help or had the power to. When the world asks you to be the cops, or cries upon you to say you have the power therefore you have the responsibility to help dont ***** when we do take action because were not helping your favorite cause. Step up and take charge yourself or sit down and shut up.

There's the tiny fact that you sat on your entitled asses until the Japanese pissed you off, whereupon you blew 200,000 of their civillians into ash just to make a point at a time when they were trying to surrender. You then proceeded to take credit for what was mostly a Russian victory in Europe. After that, you demonized the Russians and Communists in general for forty years, while your actions were at least as bad.

OT: The above shows why I have a raging hatred for the American government and political system. As for the people, some of them are dicks, some of them are alright, just like everywhere else. The difference seems to be, the Americans put their morons up on pedestals to display them to the world.

 

[floobie]

I'm Canadian. My view of the US in its current state, AS A WHOLE probably isn't very flattering. I think significant portions of the population are pretty entitled, and the government is just enabling that attitude. I think the Christian extremists are just as bonkers as Muslim extremists. I think the government, overall, is pretty much shit. I think American foreign policy is far too meddlesome, and that corrupt higher-ups in the government are just using war to line their pockets. I get the impression that a lot of Americans don't know a damn thing about the rest of the world, and basically see their country as the centre of the universe. I think "freedom" in America is mostly an illusion. I think patriotism or nationalism tend to be pretty destructive attitudes, and I think the US generally takes it well beyond reason. I think the military spending is completely ridiculous, and I have to wonder that if things get bad enough financially (in large part due to that insane military spending), if the government might use its insane military to go all imperialist on the world, and just start pillaging other nations. I think about 1/3 of you should really get some exercise

THAT SAID: I will NEVER pre-judge individual American people. Assuming that everyone from a place conforms to every negative stereotype about it is just crap. Similarly, I will never associate the mistakes of a government with the people that were being governed. I've met some truly stupid Americans. I've met some really cool, intelligent ones. That applies to any nationality, really.

America, as a land, I think is pretty cool. Some cool cities I'd love to visit some day, like New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. Loads of natural beauty as well... and quite a variety of it.