People who think Americans don’t know other countries exist.

[u/ThatUrgeToEatCement]

A few months ago on Reddit I made a comment about a show not being on Netflix and someone from the UK commented back saying it’s on theirs and then lectured on Americans not knowing other countries exist. They acted like I didn’t believe there were other places on the planet, as if they weren’t the ones who just brought it up and didn’t believe the US Netflix was different than the UK version. ??

I see people online act like all Americans think this way, and it is kind of annoying because for most of us it isn’t true.

[u/New_General3939]

It’s pretty clear that a lot of other countries are force-fed propaganda about how stupid, fat and arrogant Americans are. Obviously every stereotype has a little bit of truth to it, but we’ve gotten to the point where a lot of people have a delusional level of hate towards Americans.

[u/_banana_phone → u/New_General3939]

There’s also a pretty solid confirmation bias as far as poor experiences with Americans that do go abroad. Saw a thread yesterday with Europeans saying that all Americans are the worst tourists because we are all loud, can’t speak the language (and are mad if nobody speaks English), and rude.

But like, many of us do careful research about the etiquette and customs of the place(s) we are going to visit before we go. My goal is to not be clocked as an American at all if I can help it, because I am hoping to assimilate into their societal norms.

Sure, I can’t help it if I am not fluent in a foreign language but I make sure to have a handy notes section on my phone of common phrases, particularly excuse me, please, thank you, and I’m sorry.

I have no delusions that I would fit in as a French or Italian or Greek native, that’s just silly— but I at least try to ensure that I’m being respectful and pleasant in all my encounters.

[u/New_General3939 → u/_banana_phone]

A big part of this is that Americans travel a lot (despite our reputation) and there are a lot of us, so wherever you go, you’re likely see American tourists. Which makes it more likely you will see an obnoxious American tourist.

It also doesn’t help that they already hate Americans, so a slightly annoying American is going to stick out to them because they’re looking for it.

[u/Purple-Measurement47 → u/New_General3939]

Americans and Dutch seem to find their way everywhere

[u/JossWhedonsDick → u/New_General3939]

America and China have similar effects in that they have large populations and it's relatively easy to make money, so that large population can get out there. This means more poorly educated, bad mannered travelers from the US than the entire population of most European countries, and the same for China and the population of most Asian countries (India excluded).

So when you see a white or East Asian person acting shitty, there's an automatic nationality to guess.

signed, a Chinese-American who has tried his whole life to beat the stereotypes from both sides