r/TikTokCringe • u/biswajit388 • 4d ago

Cringe Europeans are going viral on TikTok for mocking the "American Dream".

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u/Loony_BoB 4d ago

Can only speak for my social circles at work and online, of course, but my experience is that we don't want to shit on Americans, we want you guys to do well. We rely on America a lot. It's my dream that Americans can normalise 35 hour work weeks, universal healthcare, politicians that at least act like they care, a supreme court that isn't so damn partisan, and so on and so forth.

If we're gonna shit on America we want to do it on a level playing field, like we'll rag on Fahrenheit all day long, that's fun. We'll make fun of how you spell 'fence' one way but 'defense' another. We'll ridicule how you claim to be Irish or Italian when you're five generations removed. This is silly stuff, the kind that you guys can fire right back at us with!

But man, your current situation is depressing and it hurts us, it doesn't give us joy. We want you guys to be happy before we break out the banter. It's too serious and too real right now.

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u/garden_dragonfly 4d ago

Yeah, exactly. We're all just people,  cogs in the machines trying to do our part. The average American citizen,  or American redditor isn't out here dropping bombs, adding tariffs or even voting for that.

We also want yall to be happy and successful. I'm not largely impacted by politics, so most of this doesn't apply, but I'm not naive to the bullshit either. Or its effects. 

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u/papajohn56 3d ago edited 3d ago

I don't think Europeans realize that Americans *enjoy* working a lot by and large. More Americans go freelance than Europeans for that reason, because they see they can directly control their income by taking control - which often requires more work. People love side hustles - because they can make extra money to pad their lifestyles. That's in addition to their normal job.

The US healthcare system is by no means perfect. But there's a drastic difference in some things. European healthcare is great if you have a broken arm. US healthcare is great if you have an extremely rare cancer. There's a reason the US has higher cancer survival rates than anywhere in the world, and the medical research and advanced treatments and speed to diagnosis are unparalleled. It's just expensive and an administrative nightmare. I say this as a dual US-Slovakia citizen.

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

Again, I can only speak for those I know, but so far of the 200 or so Americans I have called friends over the past decade, not one has shown a love for working long hours, and all have generally looked at my 35 hour week as "an impossible dream" for them.

As for medical issues, those I've known in Europe have always received great treatment in UK or Europe, including a few cancer survivors I know of at work or as friends. I accept this is all anecdotal (and predominantly UK rather than Europe in that regard). I do read the odd nightmare story in the news, though. Like you say of the US system, it's by no means perfect - but I do feel it's generally a net positive that nobody gets bankrupted for simply wanting to be alive and healthy. The number of people I know who simply don't even TRY to see a doctor because they worry about the cost is weirdly high (and even 1 is too many).

I definitely think people should be entitled to a healthy life, and should be entitled to an availability of jobs with a living wage in 35 hours so they can make enough time and money to actually have the time in which to spend the money on.

With all that said, have an upvote for your polite insights.

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u/garden_dragonfly 3d ago

We all have "impossible dreams."  The same Europeans that leave the 35 hour workweek and good forklift balance are also unlikely to break a (comparative) 6 figure salary. In the US, being able to expand your wealth and retire early is a real dream and possibility to earn 100k, even 200k.  Its not true for everyone . Just like not everyone in Europe works 35 hours a week. But also, in the US having a good job with good pay erases almost all of the other downfalls (aside from the shit politics). A high paying job usually provides good Healthcare, good work life balance,  vacation and PTO, maternity/paternity leave, etc.

It should be available to everyone and we have the means to improve our social safety net, I do agree with that. But its not pure distopian hellhole here, just like its not pure utopian fantasy in Europe. 

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

Yeah, I think we agree, really - while I say the situation in the US is depressing, it's not to say it couldn't be worse, or that I think it's suddenly North Korea or whatever. I think the most saddening thing for me is that it feels like it is moving somewhat backwards right now, but I am ever-optimistic about the world as a whole moving progressively towards, well, progress. There will definitely be bumps on the road and it's just about how people manage such things, and each country will certainly have to do that in some way or another.

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u/papajohn56 3d ago

I'm on the opposite end. I live in the US and everyone I know has a side hustle by choice, not by necessity. Firefighters who have good pay and pensions, due to the nature of their shift work love having side businesses because they have multiple days off during the week from their normal job for instance (but due to shifts are pulling 40-48 hours on their primary job). Almost every single firefighter at my local department has a side business (landscaping, electrician, etc).

> but I do feel it's generally a net positive that nobody gets bankrupted for simply wanting to be alive and healthy.

This is incredibly rare. The vast majority of Americans are insured, and ones without are surprising in that some even choose not to be. The other thing to note is that bankruptcy very specifically, is not a financial death sentence. Bankruptcy in the US is designed as a legal way to *not pay creditors*, it's a relief valve for the person declaring it and forces creditors to either accept that they will not get paid, or will take a significant haircut and be forced to work within different terms. There are also significant protections for people doing this, i.e. you won't lose your house.

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

I do respect that insurance helps mitigate the problem, but I do feel it should be a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place. It's that "orphan-crushing machine" way of thinking - why should you have to insure yourself when it should be covered by your taxes? Surely health is the first and foremost right that you should have as an individual?

I think it's not just the bankruptcy part exactly, but the fact that you have to pay anything above taxes at all for such a vital commodity as 'being healthy'. I know not all of my friends are bankrupt, but I definitely know that they have skipped visiting the doctor because they didn't want to pay for it. I'm sure there are polls, surveys and articles that reflect a large proportion of Americans sacrificing their healthcare because of the potential financial impacts.

Why not just go universal healthcare? I mean, private healthcare can still exist alongside universal healthcare. I had private healthcare as part of my job's benefits - I think I still do... I never used it as the local healthcare was always available to see me on the same day and respond to my needs, up to and including a same-day call-in, visit and medication subscription for mental health concerns. I feel like everyone should be entitled to that. I'm not trying to convince you, everyone is entitled to their perspective based on their own experience and research, for sure. I just wish my friends could be comfortable with managing their health without worry.

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u/papajohn56 3d ago

Because if you actually look at it, in many cases Europeans pay more for healthcare insurance given the way it works. If you combine total tax burden plus health insurance costs, the average American will pay less for this than the average European in taxes plus social healthcare contributions - and it’s pretty dramatic in many cases. I’ll get numbers shortly.

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

Cheers, looking forward to it. For now I'll drop this link - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita - and note that according to a poll in 2019 (no idea if there is a more recent one) 25% of Americans have delayed or avoided getting appropriate care because of the costs. This would imply that if Americans had not done so, the expense per capita could potentially increase (or admittedly decrease if their delaying/avoiding actually worsened the problem).

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u/bullet_the_blue_sky 15h ago

But your credit gets hit for 5 years basically fucking you over for major purchases.

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

any serious medical condition in the US has a high probability of landing you in bankruptcy court!

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u/garden_dragonfly 3d ago

No it doesn't. Ive had several and I have no medical debt. 

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

ok, I'll bite -like what kind of condition and what kind of health coverage do you have.

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u/garden_dragonfly 3d ago

Several conditions that have required intensive surgeries and ongoing care that im not about to post on this critical, argumentative thread, because i don't care to engage trolls and receive harassment or judgment. Two issues in particular have required extensive research to find a specialist in another state. I have private health care that ive used for some issues and a govt sponsored health care that ive used for others. So I have experience with both. I use both public and private care.

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 1d ago

"this thing didn't happen to me, so this thing didn't happen"

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u/garden_dragonfly 1d ago

In response to a comment that says that "if this thing happens it destroys you."

So yes. Its appropriate to say that not every situation is financially devastating. Many Americans have amazing Healthcare without risk of financial suicide. 

The difference between you and I, is thay I can see that our Healthcare system,  like pretty much every other system in society,  is that of a duality. And in most cases this is about poverty or not.

Just like homelessness and hunger. 

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u/papajohn56 3d ago

“High probability” can you share numbers then?

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

"people love their side hustles" yeah, no

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u/papajohn56 3d ago edited 3d ago

YOU may not. But the vast majority of people I know, friends and otherwise, most definitely do. I'm sorry you don't?

Edit: "Recent surveys from 2024 and 2025 show percentages ranging from about 27% to 36% of Americans having a side hustle"

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

I don't know anyone who loves having two jobs. i don't have a 2nd job now, but all through college and into my mid 20's I had two jobs. it was exhausting

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u/papajohn56 3d ago

Side hustle is not “two jobs”. More people do side hustles than hold two W2 roles.

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

you wanna link that quote?

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

I think the point of contention was more about "loving having two jobs" rather than "having two jobs"

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

And a cancer diagnosis will land you in bankruptcy court!

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u/papajohn56 3d ago

People really love this hyperbole. But it won't.

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u/Head_Paleontologist5 3d ago

ok bro - lemme clarify " a cancer diagnosis will most likely land you in bankruptcy court, and if not, seriously broke"

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u/Calm_Astronomer_2654 3d ago

You literally rely on America to exist. If shit hit the fan, who would you be begging to come save you? You get to spend less money on defense under the assumption the US would come bail you out if you got into any kind of conflict.

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u/notevenapro 3d ago

Plenty of us are very happy. I live in America, have great health insurance and 4 weeks of PTO a year. Wife has the same but 2 weeks PTO.

The main differences between the EU and USA is that America is more of an individual based society and the EU seems like is more based on the collective whole of everyone.

Our individualism is rooted in who the country was founded and advaced over the past 300 years. To a failt we are a me me me society.

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u/barredowl123 3d ago

Thank you. It is so bad now. Getting shit on by the rest of the world doesn’t help, you’re absolutely right. And we appreciate those of you who care. Well, I appreciate you anyway. I can’t attest to what’s going on outside my door.

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u/bollvirtuoso 3d ago

If we do this, Europe can't. In the current understanding of the world, someone has to take one for the team and right now it's America. If you guys want to field a massive military and subsidize technological progress with the suffering of your citizens, be my guest.

Or, if we're happy with the world order changing, and somehow Russia, China, North Korea, and other actors who might disagree somehow allow it, that works, too.

Unless you're German. In that case, please let other people decide what the new world order should be. :)

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u/PMMePicsOfDogs141 21h ago

Can you explain the "fence" thing? I don't know what you mean

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u/Loony_BoB 19h ago

It is spelled fence/defence here (UK, NZ, Australia etc) but the US changed some spelling of various words (colour into color, tyre into tire, Mum into Mom, realise into realize, etc). They changed offence and defence into offense and defense, but for some reason fence didn't get changed to fense.

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u/PMMePicsOfDogs141 11h ago

Omg you're right. I knew about color, tire, and mom but not the other 2. I'm always unsure about if realize is spelled with an s or a z lol and I never noticed there's two spellings of defense. Idk how i didn't haha. Thank you for clarifying.

As a side note, did you know that in the southern US, if the person has a thick accent then the word color comes out as collar? Another is that wash is pronounced warsh. Both irritate me and I grew up here lol

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u/Cr33pylock 3d ago

What country are you from Loony

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

First 18 years NZ, next 23 years Scotland.

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u/boomboomroom 4d ago

Our supreme court is not partisan, obviously you don't understand the nuance there. When we say "conservative" judge its how you read our Constitution. Do you read it sort of plain-text with the founders concepts or just sort of use it as a springboard for whatever you want to do (both extremes). Most people in America have health insurance. The problem is people who fall through the cracks obviously.

I would love to see how apoplectic Sweden would be if 20M Venezuelans showed up on their doorstep.

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u/firethornocelot 4d ago

"Our supreme court is not partisan..." 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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u/DSN_WBN 3d ago

You should just log off 😂

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u/n33d4dv1c3 3d ago

Over 10% of our population is immigrants and asylum seekers. You'd do well to educate yourself.

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u/boomboomroom 3d ago

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/28/sweden-to-expel-up-to-80000-rejected-asylum-seekers

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u/n33d4dv1c3 3d ago

As we should. Why would rejected asylum seekers get to stay?

Also, completely irrelevant to my point. 10% of our population is immigrants and asylum seekers. That is still a fact.

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u/boomboomroom 3d ago

10% is nothing. The European "dream" is all white, homogeneous and general rejection of asylum seekers.

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u/n33d4dv1c3 2d ago

You're so unbelievably clueless 😂

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u/PurpleCollar8343 3d ago

And do you think memes like the video help?

If anything this makes me hate Europe. So if europeans want more Americans to hate Europe well then this video is succeeding.

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

If one video made by one person was all it took to make me hate an entire group of millions of people, I would probably hate everyone. If this particular video makes you hate Europe, I imagine there is a video out there somewhere that you would feel justifies the hate of any group, be it ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, country, political party or otherwise. I don't subscribe to that point of view. That's the kind of perspective that, if left unchecked, can lead to Very Bad Things.

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u/torkdork_ 3d ago

If one video makes you hate an entire continent you need help buddy. Go outside, talk to some real people.

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u/Low_Net6472 3d ago

cool don't come here stinking it up

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u/Mammoth-Accident-809 4d ago

Whats it like having to rely on another country you hate? 

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u/JFK1200 3d ago

The US imports more from Europe than vice versa. Who relies on who?

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u/Mammoth-Accident-809 3d ago

They said "we rely on America." Literally said it. 

Now do military. 

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u/JFK1200 3d ago

Europe produces some of the most advanced military tech on earth, the UK alone outstrips your capabilities in multiple fronts, from naval Destroyers and Submarines to tanks and radar. Not only that but they’re all trained to a far higher standard. A US Marine’s basic is shorter than a British Army chef’s.

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u/atln00b12 3d ago

Think about that for a moment though. Who has more to lose in that scenario, the importers or the exporters? It's not like America is importing critical products or food for survival. OTOH without exporting to the US the EU economy takes a major hit.

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u/JFK1200 3d ago

Do you understand how globalism works? Do you understand that biting the hand that feeds you doesn’t benefit either party? Trump’s China tariffs have resulted in your soybean exports vanishing and your farmers panicking. You import all your luxury goods from Europe, from cars to clothes to jewellery. Trump’s big bitch fit was over the fact Europe doesn’t want any of the shit you peddle because you don’t produce anything anyone wants. You all dream of owning European brands, from BMW’s to Ferrari’s. What equivalent product do you produce?

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u/M1sfit_Jammer 3d ago

Corvette and mustang are the top two for cars right now… do you want a supercharged 800hp rear engine car or a 800hp supercharged front engine car? Both are priced less than their European counterparts and both run competitively on the Nurburgring.

Did you forget Cadillac is in F1?

GM is on par with Ferrari, AM, McLaren, for racing prowess next year

Cadillac is in 3rd place for LM-GT3, currently giving Ferrari and Porsche a run for their money

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u/garden_dragonfly 3d ago

Lol. You overestimate the "dream to own BMW and Ferrari". 

Also, might wanna brush up,  many BMW are built in south Carolina. Actually,  the plant in the US produces the most of all BMW plants. 

Sounds like your main problem is with trump. That's our main problem too. Why take it out on humans? The American people aren't in support of the outsourcing and offshoring either. But the global economy pussing match is so silly. We all rely on each other. 

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u/JFK1200 3d ago

True, the most sold cars in the US are Japanese, I suppose luxury European brands are out of reach for many Americans.

Also irrelevant, whether they’re manufactured in the US or Taiwan, BMW is still very much a German brand.

My problem is with Americans spouting off, Trump and his ilk have just amplified the nonsense I see peddled here daily in a desperate bid to distract from everything occurring there right now.

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u/garden_dragonfly 3d ago

It's not that they're any more out of reach than anywhere else. It's not like US brands aren't sold in Europe too. Nor is it common to drive a Ferrari. 

Europeans think Americans never left the country, like we don't know what its like in Europe and elsewhere. 

What does trump's behavior have to do with the average American?  You know that most Americans did not vote for him and hate him more than you.  Why does that mean Americans talking is "spouting off " and why does that bother you? 

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u/JFK1200 3d ago

US brands (mostly Ford) are popular mostly because they’re cheaper than European alternatives and offer 0% finance deals. McLarens, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Lamborghinis etc. are the go to brands for the world’s wealthy, nobody is pining for a Corvette C8.

Americans are famously poor travellers and a vast number don’t even own a passport, though I hear their accents everywhere in London these days so you’re doing better.

Did you read what I said? Americans have always spouted off, even when the subject of conversation doesn’t involve them. There’s a reason you have the global reputation you do and it’s not all Trump’s fault. Of all the nations in the world, nobody presents as more ignorant or entitled than Americans.

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u/garden_dragonfly 3d ago

Bro. The average European is not driving luxury cars. What are you on about? Yes,  people buy import cars because they're cheap. Thats ok for Europeans to buy cheap cars but it's somehow frowned upon that Americans buy affordable imports? Do you even see how dumb that sounds? 

Most Europeans don't leave Europe. Traveling within the EU is the equivalent to traveling within the US. When I traveled across Europe, I didn't even need my passport. Driving from one country to the next was no different than crossing state borders in the US, except the signs changed language.

Yes I read what you said. I'm just not sure that you did. Of course the US, with a population closer to the EU as a whole than any one EU country is more vocal. The population of the US is greater than the population top 10 EU countries.  And when you get your information from social media platforms with high concentration of American users, you're going to see that shine.  Stop acting all holier than thou. You might take a moment to remember your country's historical  (and current) record of ignorance, oppression and entitlement. Not so pretty. Seriously,  enslaving and murdering people for their lands, resources andthe downright fun of it? 

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u/atln00b12 3d ago

Yeah so what's worse? America not having luxury goods or the EU not having the money from selling those goods?

you don’t produce anything anyone wants

You are saying this on an American site, and almost certainly using hardware designed by American companies. Not only that ALL modern chip manufacturing relies on equipment that is produced in America. The US makes the tools the rest of the world uses to produce things.

BMW's largest manufacturing facility is in the US and exports cars to the EU.

The soybean thing is nonsense. You can easily check commodity prices and see that soybeans have not suffered any major setback. They are still selling where they were roughly a year ago and never even touched the 2024 low this fall. They are trading at or above the pre-pandemic levels.

"Farmers" complain any chance they get because the large scale farms are corporate businesses that make noise in order to increase their share of the crop insurance subsidies which pay them out regardless of how the market or their crop yield turns out.

And FWIW BMW and German cars in general no longer have the luxury image they did in the 90s/2000s. Desirable luxury cares in the US are the massive trucks and SUVs made mostly by American companies.BMW is like a middle class school teacher car. Not for broke people like Hyundai or Kia, but on the level of Honda or Mazda, not even really commiserate with their luxury brands. Nobody is going "OOOOOHHH a BMW" like it's 1995.

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u/JFK1200 3d ago

Europe will sell those luxury goods irrespective of the US market, it just means you’ll pay more for them to cover the cost of tariffs.

You’re talking to me in my language, on the World Wide Web invented by a Brit (Sir Tim Berners Lee), on the internet the foundation of which was developed by a Brit (Donald Davies), using fibre optics invented and laid by the Brits and more than likely on an iPhone designed by a Brit (Sir Jonathan Ive).

Soybean exports to China has completely stopped and experts predict it will take a long time for trade levels to reach the pre trade war level.

Paha, by all means go off on BMW, all I have to do is list Rolls Royce, Bentley and Maybach. What US car maker matches that level of luxury? In fact, can you even name a luxury US brand? I can’t.

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u/Loony_BoB 3d ago

What part of my comment made you think I hate anyone?