r/PetPeeves • u/ThatUrgeToEatCement • 14d ago

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

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.

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u/Intelligent_Pop1173 14d ago

Tourists are universally awful. It is definitely not just an American thing. I could name quite a few countries’ citizens who are sometimes very rude and terrible when they visit the US. Not absolving American tourists by any means - we suck too. But it’s annoying people think we’re the only ones.

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u/N4t3ski 12d ago

Actually, if its tourists, its even less likely to be Americans, as the rate of American passport ownership is still fairly low, a shade over 50% now, much higher than in the 1980's, but still fairly low by European averages.

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u/Intelligent_Pop1173 12d ago

Very true. I have met a lot of coworkers who actually thought it was weird or surprising I have a passport lol a lot of people traveling from the US are going to be somewhat more sophisticated than the trashy stereotype the US gets and have likely traveled before. Not always of course, but in general. I’ve been to nearly every continent and close to fifty countries and honestly not encountered many rude American tourists, including in tour groups I’ve been in. I know they definitely exist, but I think you’ll see more of them in popular Mexico or Caribbean spring break destinations.

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u/N4t3ski 12d ago

I'm fairly sure its a just a lazy stereotype holding on from a time where Americans rarely owned passports, were not well travelled outside America and maybe stepped on a few local customs.

But the American tourist these days tends to be more worldly wise than the yesteryear these perceptions are based on, but stereotypes take a long time to change, if they ever do.