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Americans posing as Canadian abroad (pg. 12)
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| Beat Blog |
Oh, and by the way, I'm not questioning the intelligence of any of you Americans.
I think you're a very intelligent bunch of people; it's your social graces I'm complaining about. |
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| Clovis |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beat Blog
Oh, and by the way, I'm not questioninf the intelligence of any of you Americans.
I think you're a very intelligent bunch of people; it's your social graces I'm complaining about. |
By "your" you mean the 15 people out of 250 million that you remember being obnoxious. Think about how stupid that sounds. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Clovis
You have absolutely no way of proving this at all other than backing it up with popular belief. |
in this instance "popular belief" is more than good enough for me! :toothless |
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| Beat Blog |
| quote: | Originally posted by Clovis
You have absolutely no way of proving this at all other than backing it up with popular belief. |
Yes, that's correct. Have studies been done that I could consult?
This is not "popular belief" though. My whole life has been spent tied to and experiencing American culture first hand. 90% of television and movies I've watched have been American.
Granted, sitcoms, cartoons and Hollywood movies aren't a good way to measure a culture because they appeal to the lowest common denominator, but I've also watched thousands of hours of documentaries, news, chat shows and current affairs.
I've also met my fair share of yanks.
| quote: | | Originally posted by Clovis Thats a fact. There may be a multitude of reasons why you perceive this to be true, but it isn't. All you're doing is perpetuating stereotypes. You take X examples of cases where you knew someone was American and they were being obnoxious, with no way of quantifying how many Americans you didn't know were yanks, didn't bother you, and were not retarded. |
You're still missing the point, and it's hard for me to explain. It's not just obnoxiousness, arrogance, insularity that the rest of the world detests about you all - it's a whole combination of factors.
Here's a simple example: why do Americans chant "USA! USA! USA!" when they've gained a personal or team victory within their own country? |
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| Beat Blog |
| quote: | Originally posted by Clovis
By "your" you mean the 15 people out of 250 million that you remember being obnoxious. Think about how stupid that sounds. |
1. This is not my personal opinion. Millions share it.
2. My experience is based as much on absorbing American culture as it is on actually meeting you guys.
3. Anecdotal evidence from friends and family is no different to my own, which is pretty similar to point "1" I guess. |
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| idoru |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beat Blog
Here's a simple example: why do Americans chant "USA! USA! USA!" when they've gained a personal or team victory within their own country? |
Depends on what you're talking about. Are you talking sports such as Major League Baseball, National Football League, etc.? People don't chant "USA!" at those.
However, if they're playing a team from another country, then that is different. I'm sure that had said game been in the other teams country, national pride would be just as strong, albeit perhaps through a different way of showing it. The "chant" argument is weak, surely you can come up with something better? |
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| Beat Blog |
^^^
Nah, I'm talking about events within the USA. i.e someone gets a good exam score and chants "USA!". argument I know, but it's the simplest and most precise I can think of at the moment.
Here's some interesting reading by an American author on this subject:, again, just the tip of the iceberg.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0429-20.htm |
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| barbina |
| quote: | Originally posted by idoru
Screw it, lets ALL be lesbians! |
too many lesbians and not enough proof! :whip:
hahah <3 |
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| Clovis |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beat Blog
Here's a simple example: why do Americans chant "USA! USA! USA!" when they've gained a personal or team victory within their own country? |
I've never, ever heard anyone do that except for Homer on an episode of The Simpsons.
Thats a great article, but the insularity of a nation has nothing to do with your perception of Americans abroad. By and large these are stereotypes which are easily propagated because of the exact examples you mentioned.
| quote: | | You're still missing the point, and it's hard for me to explain. It's not just obnoxiousness, arrogance, insularity that the rest of the world detests about you all - it's a whole combination of factors. |
Again. You're stereotyping. Theres nothing else to call it. I prefer not to do that, no matter what country i go to. I try and give every single person I meet a clean slate and keep assumptions to a minimum no matter what country they are from.
For every stereotype you bring up I could list 100 examples that defy it, what of those? |
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| Beat Blog |
| quote: | Originally posted by Clovis
Thats a great article, but the insularity of a nation has nothing to do with your perception of Americans abroad. |
I has EVERYTHING to do with Americans abroad, because your behaviour overseas is influenced by your knowledge of other places, and America's insularity insures this is very low.
I'll continue this discussion later tonight; I'm at work right now. |
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| Clovis |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beat Blog
I has EVERYTHING to do with Americans abroad, because your behaviour overseas is influenced by your knowledge of other places, and America's insularity insures this is very low.
I'll continue this discussion later tonight; I'm at work right now. |
I have vastly better knowledge of geography than most everyone I met in France, what now. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Clovis
I have vastly better knowledge of geography than most everyone I met in France, what now. |
well of course, you get educated every time your country invades a new one. of course the french, who cannot fight, only learn about the rest of the world when they get invaded. and we've been protecting them from that since waterloo. |
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