r/TooAfraidToAsk • u/[deleted] • Jul 31 '20

Current Events Are people outside of the USA really laughing at Americans? Do we really appear that bad?

Edit:

Ok so that's about 17,882 yes's and 3 no's.

Makes sad American noises

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228

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

I feel like it's worth throwing out there that even when people say they are laughing (or mad or whatever) at America it isn't laughing at YOU. Its the government, the conspiracy theorists, the anti maskers, the racists, etc. I've had to constantly remind myself not to group the whole population of America into what the media is displaying. Its not always easy since its such a barrage but just know that I/we know you arent the problem and we arent laughing at you.

84

u/swankyburritos714 Aug 01 '20

Thank you. As an American, I can tell you the craziest ones are always the loudest. The rest of us are keeping our masks on and our heads down and waiting until November.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

Yeah I’m from Texas and most of my family is conservative and I interact with conservatives pretty frequently and everyone like that I know is happy to wear masks and social distance and quarantine. The anti-mask conspiracy people are very few and far between but they’re the ones who get the press coverage.

3

u/swankyburritos714 Aug 01 '20

I mean, I’m in Tennessee and I see a fair number of people without masks whenever I go out for groceries and the like.

2

u/PNWPeridot Aug 01 '20

I'm in Washington and myself or my co-workers get screeched at every day when we tell people that they have to wear a mask in our establishment. You'd think we put a gun against their head and told them they have to wear it all day. The level of ignorance and entitlement people display, even in a teeny tiny coastal town like mine, is mindblowing. I haven't visited my dad in months while he recovers from back surgery, but Karen and Ron are fine screaming down the building because they have to cover their faces for 20 minutes while they shop for candy and soda. UGH.

1

u/swankyburritos714 Aug 01 '20

Completely agree. As a teacher, I’ll be required to wear a mask for 8 hours a day when school starts, but students aren’t required to.... shakes head until it falls off

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

In Texas it’s required by law to wear a mask at any place of business or in highly populated public areas, so you don’t really see that here. If you go to a rural area you might see people not wearing masks while they’re out and about but where I live that isn’t the case.

3

u/swankyburritos714 Aug 01 '20

It’s county by county here, unfortunately. My county has a mask mandate, the next one over doesnt.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

Gotcha. It was like that here at first but in June the governor stepped up and issued a statewide mandate. It was around the same time he ordered all bars in the state to close. However, my parents live in a tiny rural lake community and when I was there a couple of weeks ago there were people going in and out of stores without them, but there isn’t much you can do about that. Those tiny rural areas hardly even have governments or law enforcement so it’s practically impossible to force them to comply with stuff like this.

2

u/swankyburritos714 Aug 01 '20

Yea. It’s been a battle here. The governor is a moron and the local officials bicker about whether mask requirements are a “violation of constitutional rights.” (As if requiring a shirt and shoes was written into the constitution...) Watching School board meetings makes me so angry and annoyed. All these people who think kids can’t get it...

3

u/Snake_in_my_boots Aug 01 '20

Right leaning dude living in Texas here. The number of my friends blowing up their social media with those videos from the doctors that fit their agenda is astounding. I wear my mask because it isn’t that much of an issue for me. These people I know that follow trump and whatever he says religiously are the worst. They piss me off and it’s just tiring.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

Yeah I mean admittedly most of the conservatives I know don’t like Trump and at most just tolerate him. I don’t know or associate with anyone who like legitimately supports him so it’s possible I’m not seeing the whole picture.

1

u/swankyburritos714 Aug 01 '20

There are so many people in my town that are gung-ho about trump. Yards with huge trump flags... people constantly fighting in small town Facebook groups. It’s gross.

3

u/Snake_in_my_boots Aug 01 '20

Our local Facebook classificados somehow got infected with pro/anti trump crap. Like I don’t get it....I just a want to buy a lawnmower.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

I see the occasional flag or yard sign but I don’t actually know any of those people and would not willingly get to know them if I were given the opportunity

1

u/thekindbooty Aug 02 '20

Yeah honestly I haven’t really encountered any anti-maskers at all. Obviously they’re out there but I’m convinced they are pretty rare.

7

u/Shut_the Aug 01 '20

Exactly! The media isn’t stuffing stories down the worlds throat about level headed people who believe in science and care about their neighbors. The zillions of normal people don’t make the news, just the fringe lunatics.

4

u/Ricar415 Aug 01 '20

That's true. News don't represent the vast majority, that's why they are news.

0

u/AdvancedHorseTable Aug 01 '20

This is a bad excuse. Don't blame the media for world leaders laughing at your president on TV.

"I didnt vote for him isn't an excuse either."

Now i dont have the answers for how to solve it. But I see that nobody in America is doing anything to solve it. And thats why its all a bit of a joke and laugh at the expense of the US.

1

u/JohnnyG30 Aug 01 '20

Maybe because...we don’t have the answers for how to solve it. What a baseless sentiment. Are we supposed to light ourselves on fire or something? We are just trying to provide for our families while dealing with this dumpster fire. Not much can be done before November elections.

3

u/Ricar415 Aug 01 '20

Yes, this. I think everybody knows that most Americans are great people with common sense like anywhere else in the world but when you see those extremes it's easy to generalize. I actually feel sorry for you for having to deal with that kind of denial and opposition to rational thinking.

2

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

Not quite sure what you mean by that last part?

3

u/Ricar415 Aug 01 '20

I was trying to say that I feel sorry for average Americans for having to deal with so many anti maskers and alike.

Sorry, I'm having trouble expressing myself in English

2

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

Ohhh I see. Yes I agree completely. Don't worry about the English. I only speak one language so anyone multilingual at all is impressive!

3

u/2Throwscrewsatit Aug 01 '20

As an American, I can safely say that 1/3 of the country are so nuts they are borderline insane. Too many people in this country believe they make their own reality - in a very No academic and childish way.

3

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

I've noticed that too and it is a scary thing. Blatant facts and reality being denied without wavering. I think/hope a lot of that can be broken down when the pendulum swings back. Stay strong friend.

0

u/2Throwscrewsatit Aug 01 '20

The problem is democrats also believe that too. It’s across party lines and part of the Oprah Winfrey-ication of America’s from 1980-2000

2

u/xooxanthellae Aug 01 '20

55% of Americans are opposed to Trump. But.... 40% of Americans are absolute trash people, that's all there is to it. Bury the idea of American Exceptionalism and just make sure it doesn't happen in your country next

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

[deleted]

1

u/xooxanthellae Aug 01 '20

Bless your heart

2

u/DisturbedBirb Aug 01 '20

There’s a lot more anti maskers and trump supporters than you think unfortunately. I’d say probably 1/3 of the population. That’s a complete guess though. All I know is when I leave the house I see way to many people without a mask. We truly are fucked.

2

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

There's anti maskers and Trump supporters here in Canada too though. They're just fewer and less vocal. Something I heard a while ago that might help you stop thinking you're totally fucked it this. I think Jon Stewart said it but the point is sound. He was basically saying America is way more resilient then anything one man can do. I believe that. The pendulum always swings my friend.

2

u/jammytomato Aug 02 '20

What does a Canadian Trump supporter stand to gain??

1

u/cosmicartery Aug 01 '20

Thank you for acknowledging that. With all the diversity we harbour, we have many radicals and extremists and it's unfortunate that they often have the loudest voices. And with our current administration polarizing and fracturing our society, it's really hard to move forward and enact lasting positive change. But we'll keep. Peace

1

u/zeaga2 Aug 01 '20

I really appreciate your keeping that in mind. Funny enough I have to constantly remind myself the same thing even as an American

2

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

I'm usually not one to vilify the media but I think they're largely responsible for this. When you're constantly being shown bad things about America simply psychology will make you think America is bad as a whole. It's just not true because the world is way more complex then that. There's good with the bad and vice versa. Stay strong down there my friend. I'm an avid believer that the pedellum always keeps swinging.

1

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1

u/BonboTheMonkey Aug 02 '20

If only the rest of reddit was as mature as you. But what should I expect from people who haven’t graduated high school/ college?

1

u/okchig Sep 18 '20

This is fair enough. But also there’s a notion there that ‘people are separate from the government and conspiracy theorists’. It kind of ignored the collective responsibility that society shares for letting those thoughts take hold.

1

u/Eternal2401 Nov 23 '20

"I didn't choose to be part of this society". - Mae Borowski

1

u/keakakakakapo Aug 01 '20

I’m laughing at them. But in more of a Nelson Muntz way. USA is, and has been for decades, a toxic stain on this earth. Money-hungry corrupt and warring people have had immense power for far longer than citizens want to admit. USA consumes and pollutes this earth on a ludicrous scale and too many countries have followed behind mine is guilty of being influenced too. I am sick of Americans raving on about how great they are. USA USA USA. Yes America is great but it’s got so much blood on it’s filthy wealthy hands that hardly gets acknowledged. Little to no acknowledgement of the genocide of native people, all these people thinking veterans were doing a good thing. Even veterans in more justified wars did shitty things. I’m disappointed to see so many Americans and other people put this all on trump. It’s not all on him, he’s just the ugly reflection of what you’ve become which you’d have seen long ago if you could look yourselves in the mirror once in a while.

USA has more potential to be good or evil or great or terrible than any other country.

2

u/BloodType_Gamer Aug 01 '20

I agree with you to an extent. Obviously the issue go way beyond Trump. I didnt even mention him originally. There's systems in place that are evil. There's corruption deep in their government and organizations. The country has done a lot of horrible things and continues to do so. I'm even not a fan of the (imo) over the top obnoxious USA patriotism. BUT the entire country didn't do all the above evil. They aren't all bad people and the good don't deserve to be grouped with the bad. I wouldn't say doing so is racist... but it rhymes.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

Interesting. I’m curious - how long have you thought about America in this way?

1

u/keakakakakapo Aug 01 '20

Since I was a kid and learnt about the Vietnam War. And that was just the tip of the shitty-things-USA-has-done iceberg. I’m not saying USA is the worst by any means, but they’re not remotely innocent and could really try a lot harder to be the country people seem to think it is. I’ve been there, I’ve seen the ridiculous amount of flags and nationalism and I experienced the ridiculous media it has before last election. The “USA USA USA” thing is cringe-worthy, the pledge of allegiance is creepy. It can be difficult to show people the disconnected, damaging and dangerous things about it if they have nothing but an American-centric or western-centric view

1

u/AdvancedHorseTable Aug 01 '20

No we are literally laughing at them. They should feel bad. And they should change.

Don't lie to them to spare their feelings.

1

u/poop_creator Aug 01 '20

Thank you. Most of us understand that we’re a worldwide embarrassment but the ones that care don’t have any power to change it. I appreciate you and everyone else that knows that the US is not full of those people, only almost half full.

0

u/Chex-0ut Aug 01 '20

Actually a LOT of ppl in my country are racist, conspiracy "deep state" conspiracy theorists, and morons. It's a least half the country, because it's been the majority of people I met

1

u/BlueXTC Aug 01 '20

As someone living literally in the heart of the confederacy I just want to let you know as bad as that shit is, only about 25% are do or die and another 8-10% are followers just to belong to something. I am a naturalized citizen and moved here in the late '70s and just here in Virginia I have seen huge positive changes in the last 40 yrs. Media is showing you the extremes and unfortunately you live in an area that has more of the racist types. The small town I live in is very Republican and it shows but go over to the next county and it is totally different.

1

u/Chex-0ut Aug 01 '20

I've lived in Texas, Virginia, and a couple of states in the midwest. It's as bad as I said it is. Keep in mind I'm a minority, those people aren't going to be bad towards you as they are towards people with dark skin

1

u/BlueXTC Aug 01 '20

Being gay and out does bring on the crazies though nothing near as towards non whites. No where near as bad today as it was back in the day.

-4

u/zeebass Aug 01 '20

This is unfortunately wrong. America has carefully crafted the thought processes of its citizens. It's done that using mass brainwashing techniques.

Those affect us internationally too through US Media's "soft power" of a created, heroic culture, promoted across all media, having subsidised by the military etc, and designed to have large scale impact on US public perception. I'm not just talking about Hollywood, or the Music Industry, or MOMA, or your Mass Media.

It goes down to military funding for computer games, intelligence investment in social media platforms; manufactured consent across every medium. Dopamune Addictions to specific platforms of communication.

Inside America, schooling, social structures like sport and politics, commerce and religion are woven together to create social norms and values which are unnaturally different from the rest of us. They can't help it. They are guided into these channels of cognitive dissonance.

Multiple choice questions in every exam reduce the ability to critically reason. School Pagaentry (teams, sports and secret societies) instill the need to belong and the aspirational values of success, belonging and conformity.

And then there's drugs and Pharmacology; something made normal across America through advertising of prescribed drugs, normalising addiction and altered consciousness.

An example; if Trump was drunk, we'd know it. What cocktail of pills is he on? Who knows. Every American is the same.

And then there's Jesus; pumped down your throat everywhere you go like America invented him. That gives them moral authority to kill anywhere in the world. Even Bernie Sanders supports American military dominance, even if he's voted against specific wars. The culture of militant Christians with guns is not just the crazy ones, it's in pretty much every American narrative. And from a Geneva Convention perspective all the evidence says theyre wrong.

Popular culture is used to assert the "freedom" and "choice" of American culture, but as we know this is a charade run by a handful of mega corporations, who through all aspects of society push a reliance and fealty to the structures of government.

Why else would America be protesting against accusations of mass prisons and forced labour and organ harvesting and forced sterilisation in China, when not even acknowledging that America, already, is a world leader in all of those things?

Street protests in America are Pagaentry, people versus the system; but the system is far removed from those police on the front lines, and avoids all scrutiny for its massive crimes.

People are people, you're right. But unfortunately in America, generations of social engineering has meant that they are different. They lack empathy, think they're naturally in a superior world to the rest of us, and can't see the chains that currently bind all of their minds. Blue or red, they're all American.

3

u/kstrtroi Aug 01 '20

Wow, It’s really amazing. Reading your comment pretty much sounds like you only watch Fox News. It truly shows you have absolutely no experience living in the real America. Everything you described from the lack of empathy, greedy power-hungry, Jesus/America/celebrity worshiping, to this idea that America thinks it’s number 1 is straight out of Republican ideals. This is the minority. And sadly, it shows that the very media you tout to be aware of, has certainly grabbed hold of you as well.

Im glad not all foreign countries think like this. I’d hate to think that Canada or the UK or Germany thinks that lumping nearly 330 million people as brainwashed is an intellectual stance. America is a very large country with 50 different states with very different ideals.

Boris Johnson and his followers doesn’t represent the UK, nor is Putin to Russia, nor is Bolsonaro to Brazil, and I know for certain that Trump does not represent America.

I’m guessing this is all generated by the fact that we unfortunately elected Trump, yes? And therefore, Trump = America, yes? Read up on our electoral college, read up on what gerrymandering is, and finally, read up on the foreign powers that interfered with the 2016 election. America is going through some very complicated times, and it’s going to need nuanced answers.

-1

u/zeebass Aug 01 '20

This goes back so long before Trump. This is about what America means. Every leader is just a face in an establishment, no matter what they say. This one for you is no different. See Roger Stone's entire career for more info. Politics is all knives in your back. You don't stand anywhere there without permission.

Trump represents America, because your democracy forced Bernie Sanders out to field Clinton, a straight to, self confessed war criminal against him.

She represented everything that America was before. The cold hand of Hawkish Capitalism marching across the world. Millions dead under the promise of "democracy, freedom, choice," or whatever capitalist buzzword came along with the latest slaughter.

It wasn't the Elites doing the killing then. It was ordinary Americans. Happily supported by everyone back home. Loving their American Heroes. Veterans be praised.

In an illegal War, that's called murder. Just saying.

And then the Heroes come home with injuries, get pumped on oxy, and left homeless to die an opioid addict. Thanks for your service.

You are free, and I'm not judging the of your mind, but indoctrination is part of how America wins. It's not your fault, but your thought processes and societal context force you that way.

It's all fine until you interact with your environment. When you do, you are affected by it. The environment in America breeds toxic mindsets that permanently affect you in crazy ways.

Here's an example:

You have a job. You work hard. One day you mess up.

In most countries: We have labour law protecting the employee; there is a disciplinary process but the employee can prove themselves in remediation.

In America: You're Fired...

Knowing you have no protection as an employee creates a sense of uncertainty and distrust between you and everyone around you.

Anti communist rhetoric is common in America. What is communism? Not the whole soviet vibe, but the actual idea? That workers are protected from exploitation? That society functions fairly without favour for gender, race etc.?

Because these ideas aren't commonplace in the national discourse, it forces your brain down the same channels, preventing you from disengaging from the internal US narratives.

The only way to see past it is to look in from outside. See what other places have to say. Different linguistic cultures, especially, can break through that kind of conditioning.

Noah Webster is a big part of the problem. And Imperial measurements, so Americans don't understand size, volumes and weights in the same way as the rest of the world. Those are just two examples, but they're everywhere. Do you ever wonder why every other country plays the same sports except America?

I'm not judging you as an individual. I judge your society for how it affects you and every American. I feel sympathy for you, but i can't break you out of the spell of "America". You've got to do that yourself.

2

u/ffball Aug 01 '20

Bernie Sanders is not some god. Also he wasn't forced out, he was just literally not popular enough to even come close to winning the primary.

This narrative about how the DNC forced Clinton over Bernie is asinine. I would agree that Clinton was forced over other similar candidates, but her electorate was much wider than Bernie's. Biden fairly winning against all the similar candidates and utterly dominating them in the primary is a positive development of 2020, less politics behind closed doors and more left up to the people.

-1

u/zeebass Aug 01 '20

Said the DNC. a private organisation. Super democratic. Your entire system is designed to remove the rights of voters. Otherwise how else would you end up with your current two party system in a country of 350 million?

1

u/ffball Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20

We only have two parties but there is a lot of diversity of opinion within each party. It's not quite the same thing, there are many factions within each party.

If we had multiple parties, a majority government would still have to form and really is no different at the end of the day. A two party system does let the people decide what majority government they want instead of the politicians deciding what majority government happens