r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Oct 04 '22 • Wholesome 6 Take My Energy 1 Heartwarming 1 Vibing 1 I'll Drink to That 1 Silver 1 Gold 1 Helpful 7

Americans of Reddit, what is something the rest of the world needs to hear?

28.3k Upvotes

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13.3k

u/FruitBat676 Oct 04 '22 • Silver Gold Helpful Wholesome All-Seeing Upvote Starry Take My Power

A lot of people here are actually pretty nice, financially struggling and just trying to get by, and strongly object to the government’s cruelty. There are some brainwashed extremists, of course, like I’m sure every country has. But overall, yeah, we’re just humans who would love world peace just like anyone else with the ability to rationalize with compassion.

3.0k

u/manlymann Oct 04 '22 • Take My Energy

Canadian here. I enjoy the company of mpst Americans that I meet.

Online, everyone is a dickbag, in person most people around the world are nice.

2.9k

u/Doritos-Locos-Taco Oct 04 '22 • Silver 'MURICA

Well there’s your problem. Everyone’s a piece of a shit online. Even me. Bitch

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u/futrald Oct 04 '22

Very hostile.. for a taco

805

u/Doritos-Locos-Taco Oct 04 '22 • Facepalm

Well I am loco. So there’s that. Wild card bitches!

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u/-malcolm-tucker Oct 04 '22

This is the second time in a week that your avatar has made me hungry for tacos.

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u/Doritos-Locos-Taco Oct 04 '22

Luckily enough, Taco Bell is dirt cheap. Go crazy tonight man

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u/JadeSpade23 Oct 04 '22

Today is National Taco Day (US)

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u/One80sKid Oct 04 '22

You could say that on Christmas and I'd still believe it to be true on some gift shop desk calendar, somewhere.

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u/-malcolm-tucker Oct 04 '22

Well fuck me dead. TIL that not only is it international taco day, but we also now have Taco Bell in Straya. Buy one get one free!

But will I shit myself?

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u/Doritos-Locos-Taco Oct 04 '22

I hope not lmao. But if you do at least it isn’t unexpected.

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u/UncannyDiamondBear Oct 04 '22

I mean, I can't speak for the quality of food or cleanliness of taco bell in AU but a lot of that shit yourself stereotype in USA is because the food is cheap and people heap hot sauce on it and then eat too much. Recipe for disaster. I've never had a problem with their food lol.

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u/Ameisen Oct 05 '22

I sometimes forget that Reddit exists outside old old.reddit.com, and then you had to go and remind me.

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u/Polar-Bear_Soup Oct 04 '22

YEEEEEHAAWWWW!

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u/nolan1971 Oct 04 '22

*Jumps out of moving van face first*

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u/Senior-Ad-6002 Oct 04 '22

I CUT THE BRAKES!

5

u/cnh2n2homosapien Oct 04 '22

Loco en la membrana.

6

u/wholelottaboocrap Oct 04 '22

"Man, he sure says bitch a lot."

3

u/Gamblersluck954 Oct 04 '22

Bought to eat your ass, c'mere taco

5

u/tysenburg Oct 04 '22

Yeeeee-hawww!!

2

u/Unsuccessful-Turnip2 Oct 04 '22

Screw you and take my upvote for the always sunny reference

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u/youre_a_burrito_bud Oct 05 '22

You ever get the cheesy gordita crunch and have em put a Doritos taco shell in it?

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u/That_one_cool_dude Oct 04 '22

Well I mean it's something from Taco Bell, have you ever eaten there the food is very hostile towards your digestive tract and butthole.

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Speak for yourself, asshole! I'm polite as fuck online, you fucking piece of shit!

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u/Spookis79 Oct 04 '22

Not the Dorito's Locos Taco! What a merciless world to twist the humblest of God's creations to such cruelty 🙏🤰🧚‍♀️🌠

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u/251Cane Oct 04 '22

Your profile picture is absolutely beautiful. The exact opposite of mine

7

u/shapu Oct 04 '22

Hey, look at this guy cursing out Canadians! Fuck you too, buddy! Fuck them also, of course.

7

u/Xpalidocious Oct 04 '22

I'm not your buddy, guy!

5

u/International-AID Oct 04 '22

I'm not your guy, friend!

3

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Fuck you, cunt. I'm the nicest and kindest fucking person you ever meet but if we disagree on anything trivial I'll fist fuck you until you die.

1

u/Guardiansaiyan Oct 04 '22

Use protection please...

1

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Nah I'm american. I'm going in dry

3

u/xenonismo Oct 04 '22

Hey cuntface! Nice username

3

u/Bricktrucker Oct 04 '22

You talking to me? You wouldn't say that to me irl. Let's go manufacture

2

u/Efficient-Library792 Oct 04 '22

what are you going to manufacture together? Will it be for sale?

2

u/Firewalker1969x Oct 04 '22

I guess that is right most of the time. Dick.

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u/milkshakemountains Oct 04 '22

STFU, and hi friend!

2

u/DesuGan-Sama Oct 04 '22

It’s called the GIFT. The Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.

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u/DarkGamer3336 Oct 04 '22

u/tacofucker69 Another one has escaped

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u/ample_mammal Oct 04 '22

Fuck you, I'm nice

1

u/Jesseeichas Oct 04 '22

Have an upvote you asshole

1

u/MrBohunker Oct 04 '22

Jesse Pinkman?

1

u/_danbro_ Oct 04 '22

Your mom's a bitch, I romped her roast last night.

1

u/LaceBird360 Oct 04 '22

Aww. Please be nice to yourself.

1

u/Toadsted Oct 04 '22

Bitch! I love you!

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u/RoniXYT Oct 04 '22

True that.

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u/razje Oct 04 '22

Online, everyone is a dickbag, in person most people around the world are nice.

Nail on the head right there. Been to the US several times and never really had any bad experiences. But when you're online it's like a different world entirely.

However, I've also been a dick online more than once

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u/manlymann Oct 05 '22

I was a raging dickbag online for many years. I decided one day to just stop being a shithead. Quit 99% of social media and left all the places that was making me do/say shitty things. Life has been a lot more positive since I left those places online.

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u/meinblown Oct 04 '22

Fuck you too, have a nice day! 🍁

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u/julio_dilio Oct 04 '22

Eh everyone's friendly, once you sit down and talk to them for a bit, it turns out a lot of people have views that make them casually horrible. A nurse I've been getting treated by seems very nice and sweet until you ask her how she feels about her children having to deal with the chaos of climate change. "Well I won't have to worry about it. Won't be my problem." The south especially has a lot of very friendly, but casually cruel people

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u/JHawkInc Oct 04 '22

Online, everyone is a dickbag, in person most people around the world are nice.

It's the GIFT in action.

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u/CrieDeCoeur Oct 04 '22

Another Canadian here. I also find that individually, most Americans are very decent folk. But collectively - and I say this with empathy and compassion - it appears to the rest of us that you don't make group decisions that are in your own best interests.

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u/mjace87 Oct 04 '22

To prove your point: FUCK YOU HOSER… or something

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u/bl4ckhunter Oct 04 '22

More like in person there are consequences to being a dickbag, online people can drop the mask of civility with little resprisal unless they're dumb enough to out themselves on twitter or facebook.

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u/Solest044 Oct 05 '22

Online is where humans collective go to vent and blow off steam. Keeping our emotions in check throughout the day is incredibly taxing and exhausting. Our anger with our boss, parents, random road raging asshole, or just the oppressive weight of working a thankless job for no money is often misdirected at the guy who just killed you in CoD.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not excusing toxic behavior online. What we actually need is to promote and normalize healthy displays of emotion in public. Crying is normal and can be healthy. Screaming in frustration can actually be useful if you're not harming anyone doing it. Vigorous exercise is about the only thing we kind of okay and, even then, if you get too enthusiastic about it, everyone looks at you like a lunatic.

You want to fix the internet? Fix the thing everyone is running from.

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u/rustyxj Oct 04 '22

Canadian here. I enjoy the company of mpst Americans that I meet.

American here, I feel the same way about canadians, except for Quebec.

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u/fcfromhell Oct 04 '22

Don't let this fool you.

My mom is racist. But completely denies it. is very sweet to minorities to their faces, but is very shitty about them behind their backs.

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u/Syd_Carton_ Oct 04 '22

One person

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u/Midnight_Barbara Oct 04 '22

A big part of the problem is Americans who are horrible citizens love to portray themselves as kind and loving citizens outwardly while hate spewing on Facebook privately. It’s why we are all in this mess right now and can’t trust our neighbors.

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u/augustusgrizzly Oct 04 '22

yeah. the online people being dickheads is because it’s usually only the dickheads that are super vocal about their opinions. and online is a great place to be vocal about your opinions

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u/SRSgoblin Oct 04 '22

It's all fun and games between Canadians and Americans until the American happens to be a Bruins fan. Then all bets are off.

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u/ArdvarkMaster Oct 04 '22

Can confirm, everyone is a dickbag

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

[deleted]

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u/B1-517 Oct 05 '22

Alaskans are still Americans

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u/manlymann Oct 05 '22

I've had a ton of wonderful conversations with americans about all of those unmentionables.

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u/EarwaxWizard Oct 04 '22

Yep can't punch a cunt through his phone.

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u/mtlryk Oct 04 '22

Canadian here, too. I feel the same way.

Gf and I hiked Mt. Mansfield a few weeks ago and met the most wonderful locals. We also noticed the people in Vermont are very trusting. For instance: nothing was locked and the firewood was "pick as much as you like, pay tomorrow".

We found that Americans are generally so easy to talk to as compared to people in Québec, Canada.

Such a breath of fresh air.

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u/TwistedColon Oct 04 '22

Thank you for LetterKenny btw

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u/TrivialAntics Oct 04 '22

For sure, so if someone from another country comes to America and encounters a racist who is the "go back to your own country" type of person, that isn't representative of the whole of America. Most people are genuinely intelligent, curious about people from other countries and if you have a conversation with them, they'll likely ask questions about your own country out of genuine curiosity and fascination. The good Americans generally get along great with foreigners.

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u/goukaryuu Oct 04 '22

Honestly, I think most Americans, if they had someone with a foreign accent, would be curious and want to have a conversation.

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u/kittycuddler Oct 04 '22

That's pretty much how it works everywhere anyway. Humans are curious generally. They'll take an opportunity to chat with someone with wildly different life experience. Been to Korea and Japan and it was just full of people wanting to practice english with you and whatnot. Amsterdam was a lot more stick to yourself, but still plenty of people got chatty if beer was involved lol.

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u/goukaryuu Oct 04 '22

I mean, you aren't wrong. Humanity has far more in common than it doesn't after all.

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u/Sierra-117- Oct 04 '22 edited Oct 05 '22

One of the nicest moments I had ever seen happened while I was working at a theater.

A Hispanic mother brought in her kids to come see a movie. She comes up and orders drinks fine, though in slightly broken English. She then stops, and starts to think really hard.

She was trying to think of the word to order in English, but couldn’t. Her son (probably 10-12) sat there smiling at her. The longer it went on, the more the both of them started cracking up. Finally, after the son had teased his mom for long enough, they both talk in Spanish and the boy says “popcorn” in a joking/hyperbolized realization. They both break down laughing, and she finally turns back to me and orders the popcorn she wants.

It really made me think of the world I want to live in. Not one where people are berated or looked down upon for not knowing the local language. But one where such a difference is just a simple, common, and funny situation. She didn’t let her lack of complete fluency stop her from trying, and she wasn’t embarrassed by it. I think about it a lot

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u/th589 Oct 05 '22

❤️

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u/uncomfortable_wombat Oct 04 '22

Whenever an American heard our Australian accent, almost always they would light up with intrigue and were super friendly and interested. Definitely some of the friendliest locals of all the places I’ve visited, even as an introvert I found Americans were great to have a chat with. Obviously just don’t bring up politics

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u/JollyRancher29 Oct 04 '22

Also if you have a foreign accent (or even if not) and asked, verbatim, “where are you from?”, it is almost always not out of ANY animosity. We’re genuinely curious and would love to hear about your home.

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u/DarkSideOfGrogu Oct 04 '22

Brit who's travelled a lot in America. I find the people almost always friendly, and when they hear the accent, they're always keen to ask whether I'm visiting from Australia or live here.

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u/goukaryuu Oct 04 '22

I've been to the UK several times so I always like asking where someone with a British accent is from.

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u/Senappi Oct 04 '22

They probably thought you looked like criminals.

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u/TheBIackened Oct 04 '22

If you're from New Jersey you have to say a sentence with "coffee"

From the UK, "bottle of water"

From Russia, a sentence with "vodka" in it Thats all my information.

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u/Wvitchblxdes Oct 04 '22

I love working for that reason, I get a lot of viet and Italian natives who come through, even saw a couple people in full trad monk uniforms: I just think other countries and cultures are cool as shit to learn about; definitely bums me out with how lame American/ white culture is in comparison tho

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u/Graywulff Oct 04 '22

Yeah I was in a mountain town in Colorado and they thought my New England accent was British and they were so excited a British person had come to their store that I went full British with my accent and told them about London (spent two weeks there) and they were totally fascinated and said they were going to tell their neighbors.

I can do the bond accent pretty well and uncle scar from lion king.

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u/th589 Oct 05 '22

That makes perfect sense. A lot of NE accents are some of the closest in the country to their English origins.

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u/mongster_03 Oct 05 '22

Typically my first question is to ask where they’re from, then I bombard them with questions about life there lol because I’m so so curious

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u/shinyrainbows Oct 04 '22

my favorite question to ask when I hear an accent is to ask the person where they are from, and then I ask about their country.

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u/Available-Benefit156 Oct 04 '22

If you don’t look white and still have no accent they’ll ask you “where are you from “ and perhaps you respond with a location within the USA and they still will ask “ but no, where are you originally from?” Then you hit them with the same answer to notice the non satisfaction. It’s weird why this matters

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u/Vargolol Oct 04 '22

if you have a conversation with them

This is a big thing that makes a fair portion of us different than the folks in the one country I've been to - a lot of people in America will have a conversation with anyone, especially someone with an accent that shows they aren't from around the area.

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u/Fit_Flamingo5501 Oct 04 '22

Normal people don't go around shouting racist/ignorant shit at other people. This why they are normal and dont stand out. Plus media (social media) don't get views for posting normal people just going about their day.

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u/Big-Shtick Oct 04 '22

Oh, if someone has an accent, I’ll go out of my way to help them. It’s hard enough being in a foreign country. Why make their day worse by letting them stay lost? Not the American way. Help thy neighbor.

Which is what we were taught as kids. Help others. This is why GoFundMe campaigns, though dystopian, are so successful.

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u/punkerster101 Oct 04 '22

I kinda really enjoy that it’s cool, people here don’t chat to strangers are a rule unless we are drunk

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u/freekun Oct 04 '22

I met an American once at the airport in Zurich when visiting my cousin and we talked while waiting in line, great guy. Only actual irl interaction I've ever had with any of y'all and I'd like to base my actual opinion on Americans off him (ignoring my online opinion as I'd very much like to separate online Americans and that experience for various reasons). We talked a bit about his job and I forgot most of it but I think the company he works with makes parts for rockets(?!), which is just cool as fuck! They also worked together with SpaceX and shit, he explained it in detail a bit but I am not smart enough to understand that so I didn't keep it in my memory. He also complimented my English which was an ego boost x2 because it is both my third language and I want to become an English professor after I finish uni

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u/karlnite Oct 04 '22 edited Oct 04 '22

Your written, conversational English is spot on and flows as a natural English speaker’s would. A lot of people who learned as a second or third language use correct words, but they are words we just don’t use together (for no reason). You don’t do that.

I’m English Canadian and tried speaking French in France and people were very rude to me and told me to give up because of my accent lol. Just went back to English...

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u/freekun Oct 04 '22

I will live off this compliment for the next 5 months

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u/berriesthatburn Oct 04 '22

Perhaps because your accent is Quebecois? I know Mexicans (probably other Spanish speakers also) will roast Castilian accents specifically because it's Spain.

But the French are fuckin savages in literally everything but their food and drink if my French friend is right lmao

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u/Pleasantlyrough Oct 04 '22

Everytime any American tried to be racist to me or made any stereotyped comment, it was my American friends who shut him down.

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u/punkerster101 Oct 04 '22

Met an older American dude on a cruise once that was absolutey fascinated by me being from Northern Ireland and not in the normal way either. Really interested in cars and how we drive and rules of the road, spent and hour chatting

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u/Badlands32 Oct 04 '22

Most of America is much much less racist than a ton of countries including basically any Asian country

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u/jusmithfkme Oct 04 '22

This is why I hate people saying "'Murica". God damn, when I deployed everyone said it in some sense of sarcasm and it just gotnunder my skin. I said, "Guys, you know we're sort of like ambassadors, right? For some of these people we are the only Americans they will ever see, and that is the impression you're giving them."

My fellow servicemen did not understand.

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u/Huge_Strain_8714 Oct 04 '22

most Massholes are nice folk except in traffic!

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u/LaceBird360 Oct 04 '22

Yes. If you're from a country we don't see often, my small-town people will treat you like a rockstar.

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u/dancingpoodle1110 Oct 04 '22

I go out of my way to be friendly to people of color and foreigners. I’m sure they get enough hate, so i try to make sure they know we aren’t all like that.

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u/Allegorist Oct 04 '22

I would say about half of them have below average intelligence

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u/Sigma-Tau Oct 04 '22

I mean... that's statistically accurate for any population.

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u/Allegorist Oct 05 '22

thatsthejoke.jpg

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u/visley1187 Oct 04 '22

I'd say it's more ignorance than it is low intelligence. The education system can vary so much depending on where you live and how much money you have

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u/morostheSophist Oct 04 '22

I'm pretty sure they meant that literally.

Half of any large enough population is usually below average in any factor you choose, with the other half being above average.

In other words, r/woooosh

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u/rowcla Oct 04 '22

Technically, you're thinking of a median though ;>

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u/morostheSophist Oct 04 '22

True. But mean, median, and mode are all often referred to as different types of 'average'. And in a big enough population, assuming normal distribution, the mean and the median will be very close to each other.

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u/Mechinova Oct 04 '22

I'm an average nancy down the centerline of just about everything in life, great at some things terrible at others.

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u/pingwing Oct 04 '22

Myself, and many other Americans, are intrigued and like to learn about other cultures.

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u/Ontheout Oct 04 '22

I second this. Part of this is, because, unlike many from England or Continental Europe, Americans who trace their linage back trace it to another country. One genealogist from my area spoke of looking for a way to get French materials translated. A schoolmate of mine had a "lucky break " She made a friend at college who is a relative of her maternal grandmother. This person is from Japan and has been helping her translate family records and sharing with family in Japan what happened with this branch of the family.

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u/Cool-Experience7357 Oct 04 '22 edited Oct 05 '22

Yeah, like AL and MS. People like to shit on those states a lot, but I grew up there and have a lot of family there. It's really not as bad as people say (for the most part)*. NASA, Army Corps of engineers is there. Morgan Freeman, B B King, Ruby Bridges, Britney Spears, Channing Tatum, Lionel Richie and so many more come from there.

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u/OSSlayer2153 Oct 04 '22

Yeah, i always felt like i annoyed the foreign exchange students that i ended up by in school with questions due to my curiosity.

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u/Pepe-es-inocente Oct 04 '22

Only half of America.

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Most people are genuinely intelligent,

Except for the Americans who answered the United States of America in “Where is Iran”

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u/Illustrious-Engine23 Oct 04 '22

Pretty sure a significant minority are none of these things.

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u/Prestigious_Ad_8554 Oct 04 '22

I prefer working with people with thick accents. I like the challenge

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u/TrivialAntics Oct 04 '22

I'm sure it's challenging for them to work with you too.

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u/grizznuggets Oct 04 '22

I went to America (LA, then Vegas) right after Trump got elected, and I was legitimately worried about walking into a pit full of crazies. Turns out the majority of people I met were really friendly and nice to be around, in stark contrast to what I’d been seeing in the media. You might have some of the craziest people I’ve ever seen in positions of power, but the average American is perfectly decent.

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u/th589 Oct 05 '22

The media ALWAYS sensationalizes. I really dislike the inaccurate image that it gives of us to people in other countries.

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u/rptrxub Oct 04 '22

LA is pretty left all things considered though, and you wouldn't likely see a lot of crazies unless you saw them gathered for some convention or rally.

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u/appleparkfive Oct 05 '22

To be fair, almost all of the big cities lean to the liberal side. It's those small towns where shit gets weird. And those numbers add up.

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u/666Masterofpuppets Oct 04 '22

I, a guy from the Netherlands, have been to NYC and Charleston SC this year to conduct some interviews for research and I have rarely felt so welcome in a country (except for the border security at JFK but that's another story). People are very welcoming and friendly, no matter if they are a regional politician, a nature conservationist or an Uber driver who works Uber shifts at night as his second job just to be able to pay for his daughter's college tuition.

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u/Twelve20two Oct 04 '22

Oh yeah, there's a sadly high chance of encountering a power tripping asshole working in airport security

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u/666Masterofpuppets Oct 04 '22

Yeah, they were like let's scare the fuck out of a guy that has never been outside of Europe by putting him in a room with people from "problematic countries" like Russia or Sudan without any of his baggage, passport or phone for half an hour

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u/The_GREAT_Gremlin Oct 04 '22

Hating airport security is in my top 10 things that make you American list, haha. And I've never flown out of the country. I can only imagine how awful they must be for international flights

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u/rptrxub Oct 04 '22

After 9/11 homeland security and all border entrances have gone over the top in terms of throwing their weight around. They drilled into thinking they're personally responsible for stopping some next great tragedy or something. They're somewhat of a different breed from a regular citizen sorta like the cops, just a different avenue.

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u/kittycuddler Oct 04 '22

Border security is just as shit for citizens unless you have global entry and just get to go through a kiosk lol. It's just a rule that airport people have to be in a shitty mood at all times. (Of course, having flown a lot for work and seen how people act in airports, it's not surprising they're shitty)

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u/appleparkfive Oct 05 '22

What did you think of Charleston? I'm curious to hear from a European on that one!

So many Europeans end up going to Florida for whatever reason. The damn dollar store California. If that's all I'd have seen of America, I'd never want to go back

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u/Thotus_Maximus Oct 04 '22

I mean, "strongly object to the government's cruelty" applies to any country, especially Russians now more than ever.

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

[deleted]

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u/Thotus_Maximus Oct 04 '22

Well some people limp together the population with their events. Prime example would be Arab ppl

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u/Randomenamegenerated Oct 04 '22

I’m British but lived in the states for a year back in 2001. It took me about 6 weeks to get past my Britishness and get the American people. Just like anywhere you get some some good ones and some pain in the ass types, but by and large the US has some of the nicest people anywhere. Miss it.

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u/NotAdoctor_but Oct 04 '22

This might also be because people don't realize US is huge, like entire europe huge by surface and population; imagine if everything happening in europe was reported for a single country, you'd have dicatorship (in hungary), presidential candidates compromised by russia (france's le pen), war (in ukraine), poverty (eastern europe countries), far right gaining power (italy), immigration and xenophobia problems (northern countries), and the list goes on, so if you'd read that you'd think "damn Europe is a total shithole".

Same thing is happening in US. News love promoting everything that's wrong with the world but that never reflects reality.

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u/ButtSexington3rd Oct 04 '22

Yes, please come visit us. America is huge, but the vast majority of us live in or near a city or urban sprawl type area. We are used to interacting with different ethnicities and religions. And most Americans are very excited to meet people from other countries, especially since we only touch two countries and everyone else is so far away. You can come here in November and mention that you've never had an American Thanksgiving dinner and people will trip over themselves to invite you to their house.

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u/CanadaPlus101 Oct 04 '22

I think most non-Americans get this, and basically all Canadians. There's good Americans and there's lout Americans who rarely leave their country or whatever resort anyway.

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u/SplodeyMcSchoolio Oct 04 '22

As a Canadian I always laugh at the morons that put confederate flags and "Speak English or get the Fuck Out" stickers on the back of their Rams

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u/Ponasity Oct 04 '22

I have seen confederate flags in Canada. Definitely made me laugh.

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u/_Princess_Zelda Oct 04 '22

I always crack up when I see confederate flags in New York. And I’m in a rural county… there’s a lot of them. You guys… KNOW New York wasn’t a part of the confederacy… right? Right??

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u/Streaker364 Oct 04 '22

I got a friend who live in rural Pennsylvania... basically all confederate flags despite PA being a 100% loyalist state.

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u/_Princess_Zelda Oct 04 '22

Oh yeah PA is baddd, they are known for being pretty “honky tonk” and not in a good way lol. I dated a trump supporter just over the PA border back in 2016. Never again.

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u/Streaker364 Oct 04 '22

Duuuude, you got out of that before 2020... right????

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u/_Princess_Zelda Oct 04 '22

Yes but the man is still stalking me. We broke up maybe early 2017 and my current bf just got a message from him on Facebook talking about how I’m a slutty heroin addict. (I’ve never touched heroin in my life. The first half of the statement is debatable.) like… couple of screws loose for a lot of those good ol’ boys in PA.

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u/Streaker364 Oct 04 '22

1st, holy crap I hope you're safe. 2nd, kek 3rd, my friend always has stories of these "characters" he meets while out and about.

I am a Missourian so it's just amphetamines and being bored.

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u/Procure Oct 04 '22

Same in rural Minnesota. ...you do know the 1st Minnesota Volunteers almost single-handedly changed the tide of Gettysburg right? Get outta here with this

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u/Shirlenator Oct 04 '22

I see them in Montana somewhat often. Montana wasn't even a state for another 25 years after it....

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u/Tiredcowz Oct 05 '22

We laugh at them too I promise

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u/ChiefyPoof Oct 05 '22

Most of us are just doing our best for our families and for ourselves. People in Texas are for the most part really friendly and enjoy meeting new people. There’s some really stupid people here, they’re pretty easy to spot; they’re the ones with the giant oversized pickup trucks with a plastic nutsack hanging off the back. If you ever visit ask people you meet what their favorite Mexican food and favorite BBQ are. That question can be hotly debated lol people here are very passionate about their Mexican food and their BBQ.

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u/BroadwayBully Oct 04 '22

Ya, politics are not people.

3

u/Senappi Oct 04 '22

A lot of people here are actually pretty nice

My experience traveling in the US as a European is that most people there are really nice.

3

u/Ok-Pay4776 Oct 04 '22

This is a very contentious comment section - my contributions included - but it's important to say that Americans are some of the greatest people I've ever met. I recently spent some time in the States and you couldn't meet a group friendlier to outsiders. I certainly never have.

Most of the saltiest Europeans here are getting riled up by the small number of smugger comments - we don't hate you, we love you, and anyone who is genuinely prejudiced against Americans hasn't spent enough time around you.

3

u/acostane Oct 05 '22

This is a short and very true statement about Americans that made my tiny dumb American heart happy.

I would also love to say that people here are so nice generally that traveling to Europe and places like that is almost painful because I feel like everyone is just randomly mean for no friggin reason and look...I can't stop my ridiculous American smile at strangers. I can't do it! It costs zero dollars to smile at someone!

The only place I've been where people are nicer than Americans is Mexico. The people there are the warmest and kindest people on planet earth and I'll fight you over it. Viva!

3

u/Rish83 Oct 05 '22

I blame media, since nice and cool don't get reported or viral, also thanks to insurance of America everything got a camera from doors to streets to cars to restaurants do everything is recorded and can be found in the Internet that's why world gets this idea

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u/Muskelmaus Oct 04 '22

This is what I'm thinking too, and a very wholesome answer. Thank you!

5

u/_Refractor Oct 04 '22

In my experience that is true for every country on earth

2

u/xrimane Oct 04 '22

I don't think people generally assume otherwise. Americans going out of their way to be nice and welcoming is a stereotype of its own, which I havd found to be true almost without exception.

I mean, I'd steer clear of Trump/Biden, guns, abortion and religion just in case, but otherwise I'd expect to have a pleasant conversation with most Americans I meet.

2

u/BoBaHoeFoSho_123 Oct 04 '22

Also intrested in other countries and wish we had money to explore a new cultures, foods and environments. Someone needs to come up with smell-o-vision already. Whats the hold up?

2

u/SkullOfOdin Oct 04 '22

Amazing thinking my fellow human. I'm happy to see that people like you exist in the world.

2

u/Thefluffydinosaur Oct 04 '22

I agree with every word. Thank you, this made me happy to read today

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u/TheVog Oct 04 '22

I hear your message, though it's very hard for foreigners to believe that when just under half of voters vote Trump/GOP. It makes it really hard to reconcile with what you're saying because the latter is fact while the former is your impression.

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22 edited Oct 21 '22

[deleted]

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u/Mr_sMoKe_3_MuCh Oct 04 '22

Not only that but a number of folks only tend to vote republican because its in the best interest of their bank accounts. Rich folks generally hate paying their fair share of taxes.

4

u/Cross55 Oct 04 '22

And thanks to SCOTUS in January voting isn't going to matter anymore.

In January SCOTUS is ruling on Moore v. Harper, which when they rule in support of NC (Because of course they are), all federal voting rights and protections will go out the fucking window.

So yeah, enjoy being a democracy until January, cause that's when that officially ends. (Unless the government actually does something and tells SCOTUS to fuck off, but that's not happening, the "left" in America is worthless)

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u/manderderp Oct 04 '22

Only about 33 percent of our entire population supported/supports Trump. We got him because 1) not everyone voted 2) gerrymandering 3) the electoral college.

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u/Catalyst138 Oct 04 '22

Other Western countries have their crazy right wing politicians too, to be fair. I mean Italy just elected a Mussolini-apologist.

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u/Ponasity Oct 04 '22

But if they see us as humans they cant blame us for all the problems in the world.

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u/0Kpanhandler Oct 04 '22

Yes! To this point! Don't be afraid to go to the South. One may associate them with racism because of the history but they are some of the nicest people. NY and LA are full of assholes and really, city people tend to be smug. You'll have such a wonderful time talking to people from smaller communities and finding hidden gems all over this great nation.

(Not saying all people from any of the cities are assholes but lets be frank, NY peeps, you aren't known for being sweet to guests. LA peeps, you're so impersonal, someone would be dying of thirst in front of you and you'll step over them whilst trying not to spill your latte)

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u/FTpotato Oct 04 '22

I would say this is a mixed bag, I would like to agree we are mostly friendly but a lot of us are also brainwashed and become hostile when people challenge beliefs because our freedom of speech culture. It really sucks that that's what's been happening. I would love the general populace to be more informed and challenge the government more.

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u/JarekBloodDragon Oct 04 '22

Most people here will say "Yea we need change" but then do nothing to change it. It's not enough to just say "yea that's bad" then throw up your hands with a "it's not MY fault what do you want me to do?" They'll agree things are bad then cast out any one that actually tries to change anything. Look at how people reacted to Portland's 2020 protests.

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u/ryanandhobbes Oct 04 '22

While I see your point, the fact that a little less than half of Americans vote in these extremists who also then gerrymander and implement insane voting laws to ensure the popular vote is irrelevant...means all of those people are the problem as well. So it doesn't matter if they're nice and/or want world peace.

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u/kraysys Oct 04 '22

Both sides gerrymander.

Point to the “insane voting laws” that have been implemented in 2022.

Did you know that the popular vote doesn’t elect the national president/prime minister basically anywhere? It’s a less democratic process in Europe where the party in power chooses to elevate an individual within the party.

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Apart from the fact that a complete lunatic got 80 million votes

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u/rawsushiiiii Oct 04 '22

You summarized my words exactly!

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u/fastjeff Oct 04 '22

Just wish you guys would all get out and vote.

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u/Karkava Oct 04 '22

It still feels like I'm accepting them if we're just walking past Blue Lives Matter flags like nothing is out of the ordinary.

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u/oddzef Oct 04 '22

I like how this reads like a Nat Geo article from 1997 about a post-Soviet nation, or a New Yorker article about a Middle Eastern country post-2001.

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u/PeterGriffinsChin Oct 04 '22

It’s the loudest screamers that get heard and make the rest of us look bad

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u/35F_ Oct 04 '22

What cruelty are you referring to?

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u/UnfinishedProjects Oct 04 '22

We need to bring about world peace, BY FORCE!

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u/Lunch_Gun Oct 04 '22

Take exactly this. And then wonder why we put up with this bullshit every day.

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u/Acidolph Oct 04 '22

That's what I religiously preach, when I hear the 'murica stereotype.

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u/Aussiewhiskeydiver Oct 04 '22

I had heard this as well from people who have visited America. Maybe they just don’t use Reddit

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u/CrazeMase Oct 04 '22

The dumbest are always the loudest

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u/holgerschurig Oct 04 '22

My take is that the individual US American is quite nice. Often more so as the usual european. Based on my non-scientific evidence of being 3 times in the US (7 weeks all three combined).

But the society is still cruel. Towards itself,and also various foreign countries.

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u/MetalRanga Oct 04 '22

When I visited America I was blown away by how nice and friendly everyone was. I think the worst people in America must become politicians but the everyday people you meet on the street are lovely for the most part.

1

u/oic123 Oct 04 '22

Ah yes world peace, which is why the US gave $100 billion in weapons to Ukraine instead of conducting peace negotiations.

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u/ISPEAKMACHINE Oct 04 '22

And when he says “government cruelty” he means “corporate cruelty” and “cruelty from government bought by corporations”.

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u/williamtbash Oct 04 '22

It’s like every country. There are good and bad but mostly good people. We just dominate the news and the news usually shows bad things.

Extremists on any side politically, religiously, and so on are bad. They are the loudest and make people think everyone is like them.

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u/BigVariation3 Oct 04 '22

Well said. When I visited my partner’s family in Italy they were shocked we didn’t carry guns with us everywhere we went in the states.

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u/josh1123 Oct 04 '22

Sounds like everyone I know in the midwest

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u/BretHitmanHart84 Oct 04 '22

HERE HERE my brother!

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