Typical American

So this is a rant and I know my hubby is sick of hearing it. It drives me crazy to hear or read people saying "Typical American/Yank" followed by a slew of not so nice adjectives. You know the ones, fat, lazy, gun toting, war mongering, ignorant, conceited, greedy, cry babies, blah blah blah. Its been worse the last few days with the Olympics. I was just reading an article on the BBC about the US suspecting doping on the part of the young Chinese swimmer that broke a record. The comments at the bottom were so Anti American...I really want to cry. Not a week goes by for me where someone makes a comment about my country and its people....all 314,000,000+ of them. I just don't get it. I can't imagine painting a whole group of people I don't know with the same brush. My daughter has gotten the same things from kids at school. She said mom...if one more person asks me if we all eat cheeseburgers and pizza every day I may scream. The last day of school a boy said to her...hey do all Americans eat cheeseburgers and she said...well, I don't know every American, but tell me, are all English kids ignorant?? She had finally had it.
My husband, when he lived in the States never had to deal with people talking bad about the UK. The most offending thing he was asked was why the Brits like warm beer.
I feel like its such a hostile environment sometimes. Not physically hostile...but verbally. I mean, in the pub....I would never insult someone I just met just because of where they are from. Why does it seem like its ok to badmouth every country that is NOT part of the UK ( hear it about all countries here not just the US).
Ok...I'll stop now. Just needed to get it off my chest. I love this country I really do, just wish some of the people were nicer.

Don't let it bug you. There are ignorant people everywhere. Unfortunately, America is  an easy target for criticism. Some of it valid and some of it not. When people paint all Americans with the same brush, it just highlights how hypocritical they are and it's not a reflection on you. Stick up for yourself when you think it's necessary and shrug off the rest. It's not worth getting upset about it. 

I know you needed to get it off your chest, but it's hard to refute when so many of the stereotypes are true, though. 

I mean, I'm fat.  I have cringed LOTS of times at loud-mouth Americans.  The guy who complained about the Chinese swimmer WAS a cry-baby.  I know a few people back in the US who DO live on fast food.  I,unfortunately, know an American guy here in Glasgow who wears all these 'Right to bear arms' t-shirts and baseball caps.  My own parents see absolutely no need to get passports and/or travel because, they say, we already live in the best country in the world... why go anywhere else?

I've lived here a LONG time.  You've just got to shrug it off, if it bothers you.  Or join in when you agree with them! 

My husband, when he lived in the States never had to deal with people talking bad about the UK. The most offending thing he was asked was why the Brits like warm beer.

I'm surprised that's the only comment he got.  Whenever I go to the US for a visit (rarely, anymore), someone will almost always mention the fact that if the US hadn't joined in WWII, the British Isles would be speaking German now. (to which I usually reply something in German). Or someone will ask why the British 'all have such bad teeth'.

 

I have to say I agree with a lot of what Tracey said, but also - I am always surprised when I hear ex-pats saying things like this because other than a friend of my husband's who likes to wind me up, I have honestly never come across British people who unfairly paint all Americans with one brush. Maybe I'm just lucky.

I absolutely mean no offense, but I do wonder if the people who notice the "anti-Americanisms" are maybe being a bit sensitive?  If you're being upset by comments in an online newspaper, maybe just don't read them. 

I know you needed to get it off your chest, but it's hard to refute when so many of the stereotypes are true, though. 

I mean, I'm fat.  I have cringed LOTS of times at loud-mouth Americans.  The guy who complained about the Chinese swimmer WAS a cry-baby.  I know a few people back in the US who DO live on fast food.  I,unfortunately, know an American guy here in Glasgow who wears all these 'Right to bear arms' t-shirts and baseball caps.  My own parents see absolutely no need to get passports and/or travel because, they say, we already live in the best country in the world... why go anywhere else?

I've lived here a LONG time.  You've just got to shrug it off, if it bothers you.  Or join in when you agree with them! 

I'm surprised that's the only comment he got.  Whenever I go to the US for a visit (rarely, anymore), someone will almost always mention the fact that if the US hadn't joined in WWII, the British Isles would be speaking German now. (to which I usually reply something in German). Or someone will ask why the British 'all have such bad teeth'.

 

I've seen all of this here though (except the right to bear arms). I'm not heavy. I don't know anyone in American who lives on fast food and I'm constantly cringing at loud-mouth Brits. I thought we had the monopoly on being loud, but I can now safely say we do not. Yes, there are people in America who are a walking, talking stereotype, but there are tons of people who do not fit the stereotype. So, it's not fair to say that a nation of 300,000,000 + are fat, ignorant and stupid. Especially when the UK has its fair share of fat, ignorant and stupid people. I would never dream of painting all of the UK with that brush though.

Regarding the swimming, she is definitely innocent until proven guilty and I never thought anything was amiss until DH showed me the analysis of what happened and why it's strange. It's definitely questionable. The couch should have gone about it a different way though because now he just looks like a case of sour grapes even though his opinion is valid.

I have to say I agree with a lot of what Tracey said, but also - I am always surprised when I hear ex-pats saying things like this because other than a friend of my husband's who likes to wind me up, I have honestly never come across British people who unfairly paint all Americans with one brush. Maybe I'm just lucky.

I absolutely mean no offense, but I do wonder if the people who notice the "anti-Americanisms" are maybe being a bit sensitive?  If you're being upset by comments in an online newspaper, maybe just don't read them. 

Maybe I am a bit sensitive, but its not just online comments. I get the same kinds of things to my face, but to make it ok they then tell me, OH but not YOU! You're nothing like that! Geee thanks so much, but you just insulted my friends and family.

I don't like stereo types and try my best not to think of people that way. I mean when I was younger...yeah I did think all English men were perverted drunks like Benny Hill  Obviously though, I've grown up and try not to paint people with such a broad brush.

Maybe I am a bit sensitive, but its not just online comments. I get the same kinds of things to my face, but to make it ok they then tell me, OH but not YOU! You're nothing like that! Geee thanks so much, but you just insulted my friends and family.

My experience so far has been some people find out I'm American and see it as an opportunity to tell me why America sucks and I'm more than happy to discuss that especially when I agree, but when it isn't constructive and just a bunch of stereotypes, I politely excuse myself from the conversation. They do always say "but obviously you're not like that!" On the other hand, some people get wicked excited when they find out I'm American and proceed to gush about it to me and question my sanity for moving to the UK. So, I tell them what's great about their neck of the woods, why I love it and why people would want to move here. Then some other people just don't care. Those are my favorite people!

On the other hand, some people get wicked excited when they find out I'm American and proceed to gush about it to me and question my sanity for moving to the UK. So, I tell them what's great about their neck of the woods, why I love it and why people would want to move here. Then some other people just don't care. Those are my favorite people!

Lol, I get them too, but they're normally gushing about Florida  I also get the ones that say I'm crazy to want to live here, but I tell them...each country has its good and bad points, but they're both lovely. I honestly LOVE it here, and most people here are great, but I occasionally get the ignorant ones that thinks its ok to insult me. We were at a birthday party a few weeks back for one of hubbies co-workers. I didn't know a single person there other than hubs. We sat at a table of about 10 people and one started going on about the "Yanks" that own the company. I just bit my tongue. Someone must have pointed out to the two guys going on and on about America this and America that....that I was American. They suddenly shut right up.But they barely spoke a word to me through the rest of dinner. Needless to say, we didn't stay long.
Guess I just need thicker skin or have the mouth to speak up and disagree with them when I do.

I've learned it's best not to read comments on videos or articles on the internet. It always baffles me how ignorant people can be. I've tried to read them and they ALWAYS make me feel so much more stupid afterwards!

I mean, go look at the comments of any video on youtube, they are always full of hatred or people arguing back and forth. People going off on political, religious, or gay marriage rants on (for example) a Coldplay music video.

In the end, you just have to think that these are close minded people, who are sitting at their computers, judging a group of people and associating a whole country for something that one person did. I doubt half of them read the whole article or even understood what was going on before they went off on a rant. Negative, sad people. You have to feel sorry for them really.

Then some other people just don't care. Those are my favorite people!

Definitely my favourites... and luckily for me, they are the majority.
I rarely ever get asked where I am from, and when I do, I always throw in that I have been here 26 years or whatever, so people just go 'oh, you're used to the weather then!' or something innocuous like that.  No one here in the UK EVER tries to talk to me about US politics or 'the Yanks' or whatever.  I must have 'DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT' written across my forehead.   

I guess I've just been lucky. No one seems to care that I'm American. I like it that way. Makes it easier to fit in rather than constantly feeling like an outsider. I do see the occasional stupid comment on-line but I don't take it personally. I know they're referring to a certain type of American, not all Americans. I've only ever gotten the garden variety "why on earth did you leave California to come here?" question but for the most part, no one really says anything about it, thank God. No one's ever been rude about it before. I think most people think we're nuts for not living in the US, because I'm from California and CA is obviously sunny and wonderful and everything's exactly like it is in the movies. 

Hear what you're saying, but I just usually take the piss out of my self in those situations. When my wife visited the U.S she had to put up with everyone banging onto her about Irish stereotypes, so there's people like that everywhere. 

Hear what you're saying, but I just usually take the piss out of my self in those situations. When my wife visited the U.S she had to put up with everyone banging onto her about Irish stereotypes, so there's people like that everywhere. 

"Does he/she have red hair?" That one drives my Irish husband nuts.

I don't think you're being over-sensitive. I've seen it a lot lately. It's not just Brits either. I've noticed a lot of "Yank-bashing" from the Canadians, as well. I just look at it like "Yank-bashing" is a new form of online social entertainment for the ignorant and socially-inept.  Plus, they have bad teeth! 

Years age we were in Portugal and were having water rationing. The water was being cut off aside from 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening. I had been in the shower when the water went off one morning, and soaped up from head to foot, so it was a major problem that particular morning.

We were laughing about it later and a longtime friend of my husband commented that 'you Americans take too many showers anyway'. He was VERY serious, and at the time, I didn't know quite what to say, particularly as it was also obvious on multiple occasions that he needed to shower a bit more often. So I let it pass.

Sometimes folk don't quite realize that jokes aren't jokes, and sometimes it's just pure ignorance. If it is directed at a child, it's a form of bullying and the school needs to be informed (my opinion). Otherwise, just consider the source, and don't dignify it with an answer.