Nationality Stereotypes (split from Atrocities thread)

[DanieMarie]

In other news...we also get slammed for being proud of our ancestors/country of origin or race. We can't win.

I know this isn't as much of an issue with other nationalities, but it doesn't tend to go over well when you're proud of your German heritage. Not in Europe, anyway.

[Medusa]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

I know this isn't as much of an issue with other nationalities, but it doesn't tend to go over well when you're proud of your German heritage. Not in Europe, anyway.

Yeah. I was specifically thinking of your country actually. German history goes past the years of Hitler. People just get snotty.

Like 'yeah! I'm an American!
Yeah? Were all of your ancestors born here? huh? Huh?
Native American. Yeah I'm an American! Screw how the white man treated us and took our land.
Yeah? How were you treating your fellow Native Americans there?
Uhuh. Do tell.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

My understanding is that, pretty much anywhere in the world, if you say "I'm proud to be American," somebody will try to beat the shit out of you, so I feel your pain, DanieMarie.

You'd think France & England would be nicer, but, from what I'm told, it ain't so.

[anunitu]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

Could this have anything to do with everyone saying"I am insert country-American" as in Irish-american,hispanic-american,rather than just AMERICAN!!

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

Could this have anything to do with everyone saying"I am insert country-American" as in Irish-american,hispanic-american,rather than just AMERICAN!!

I never liked all that, myself.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

Could this have anything to do with everyone saying"I am insert country-American" as in Irish-american,hispanic-american,rather than just AMERICAN!!

IMHO - it has more to do with a preference for being pissy to the obligation of saying thank- you.

I'm probably missing something, but I don't know what.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

My understanding is that, pretty much anywhere in the world, if you say "I'm proud to be American," somebody will try to beat the shit out of you, so I feel your pain, DanieMarie.

You'd think France & England would be nicer, but, from what I'm told, it ain't so.

Conversely, almost everyone loves Australians!

I can't remember who it was that I was recently talking about this with (it may have been Heka actually), but we think it's because Australia hasn't really pissed anyone off (except it's own people).

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

How could anybody hate Australians?

Ya-all have such lovely accents!

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

My understanding is that, pretty much anywhere in the world, if you say "I'm proud to be American," somebody will try to beat the shit out of you, so I feel your pain, DanieMarie.

You'd think France & England would be nicer, but, from what I'm told, it ain't so.

When one of our daughters went to India, she and her husband went on a road trip to various places and in almost all of them she was the only westerner there. Everyone kept going up to her to shake her hand because they all thought she was an American!

Also it depends where you go and what their particular beef happens to be. Go to Greece on a UK passport and I have always been harangued about the Elgin Marbles.

[thalassa]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

Now Canadians...most people love them (for the same reason they don't hate Australians). It doesn't even matter if someone meets a jerk of a Canadian, they pass them off as the exception and not the rule. Its that reputation for good manners. In fact, since the hubby has the "up North" accent, he gets the Canadian treatment once in a while by tourists over here (also when he was overseas). And their sailors are ADORABLE. Absolutely ADORABLE. And speaking of Canadian sailors, one of them and helped me get a giant sheet of ice off my car yesterday as I grumbled about our "deathly cold" (he was from Newfoundland). And guess what? He was totes adorable and polite.

Americans on the other hand are "loud and rude" and (and when in the company of a lot of rednecks, also "backwards and dumb"), but if you get to know them, really they are just "easily excitable" which can apparently be "kind of refreshing in small doses" (according to my conversation with some Danish sailors). Danish sailors are pretty much as awesome as Canadian sailors.

TBH, my least favorite people are the French--maybe its just that their military are poor examples of what it means to be French, but the French Marines we had onboard were the most class-ist, racist and sexist assholes I've ever met in a group...and poor hygiene...it was so bad (one rape and two more attepmted rapes), our female sailors had to have male escorts to travel the ship after working hours, we had to post guards on the female berthings, and they ended up taking most of the females off the watchbill at night until the CO finally was able to get them off the ship...which is pretty bad--I've been sexually harassed in the Navy from time to time and I've even been felt up a few times (I crushed some "egos" as a result, and broke one nose), but I've never actually felt threatened until then. Maybe its unfair to judge an entire country on the basis of its military...but its what the rest of the world does...:devilish:

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

.. Americans on the other hand are "loud and rude" and (and when in the company of a lot of rednecks, also "backwards and dumb"), but if you get to know them, really they are just "easily excitable" which can apparently be "kind of refreshing in small doses" (according to my conversation with some Danish sailors). Danish sailors are pretty much as awesome as Canadian sailors. ..

This statement reflects a lot of what I encountered while being stationed at various overseas duty stations. Didn't really matter where it was it was always the same old thing, "Why are Americans always so loud, rude and trying to compare us to America?" We'd go into stores with American tourist and you could see the people cringe when they came in. Then the tourist almost always got louder and louder thinking it seemed if they spoke louder the person would some how understand them better. Then using English and getting pissed because the local population may or may not have understood English. Many times when they did speak English that caused a laugh from the tourist as they commented on their usage or how it sounded.

Then when we'd get up to the counter you often could see they were still shaken or angry. Perhaps thinking, "Oh great some more Americans!" Yet the moment we tried to use their language and speak to them it changed. Then once they found out we were stationed near by it changed further. I can't count the number of times I was told "Oh, your alright and try to be respectful of our ways" or something very similar. Granted it wasn't like that all the time as there were issues that affected how we were perceived as well. It's like the city of Odessa in the Ukraine loved having our ships and us there back in the day but hated all the hookers that descended on the city when they knew we were pulling in. So it was a double edged sword.

Other times I think we might even have caused issues because we would try to speak the language of where we where and they tried their broken English. So if a tourist was in the place they then assumed the person would speak in English to them as well. Then get pissy when they wouldn't or didn't speak it as well as the tourist though they had with us.

I do think it goes the other way though as well when you consider how many American's think your in America you should speak English. I know a number of military or former military think that because we tried our best to learn their ways for where we were at so they should learn ours. In Spain I expected everything to be in Spanish but I shouldn't make a call here in the States and have to select a button to get an English speaking person for instance.

Many times I saw service personal or their families who were out and out ashamed of the tourist or even our own families who came to visit. We got to see the ugly American up front and personal so many times.

But I think many times its not because we have pride or anything in our heritage or nationality it's because they have an image of the US much like the US had of the USSR during the cold war. We didn't see people we saw propaganda and created images that were created to control and influence the population. That fed and drove the attitude towards any one they were viewing as it usually went upon whomever was in the hot seat at the time.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

My understanding is that, pretty much anywhere in the world, if you say "I'm proud to be American," somebody will try to beat the shit out of you, so I feel your pain, DanieMarie.

You'd think France & England would be nicer, but, from what I'm told, it ain't so.

Yeah, people don't usually like it. They're not horrible to people just for being American, but something bothers people about American pride.

To be honest, I'm not really a fan of national pride from anywhere. I mean, it's not something you -do- and most people don't have a lot of control over their nationality. Its not like being proud to be a doctor or something like that. But I think that's the German in me talking. People here tend to be pretty neutral about their nationality, and I've been living here for a decade (almost all of my adult life!)

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Nationality Stereotypes (split from Atrocities thread)

A wise man once told me 'My country right or wrong usually sounds very much like 'My mother, drunk or sober.'

[DanieMarie]

Re: Atrocities and national shame

Now Canadians...most people love them (for the same reason they don't hate Australians). It doesn't even matter if someone meets a jerk of a Canadian, they pass them off as the exception and not the rule. Its that reputation for good manners. In fact, since the hubby has the "up North" accent, he gets the Canadian treatment once in a while by tourists over here (also when he was overseas). And their sailors are ADORABLE. Absolutely ADORABLE. And speaking of Canadian sailors, one of them and helped me get a giant sheet of ice off my car yesterday as I grumbled about our "deathly cold" (he was from Newfoundland). And guess what? He was totes adorable and polite.

I'd be lying if I said that being Canadian abroad didn't have its benefits. People are really helpful and friendly towards you. I've travelled as both a "German" and a "Canadian" (because I've travelled with my boyfriend and he has a very thick accent and we always speak German together, so people hear us and just think we're Germans and that I speak extremely good English), and I've noticed a really big difference in how people treat Germans vs. Canadians. Like, some people will be a bit cold towards us, and then I'll mention that I'm Canadian and they'll totally change.

I think it's the same for Americans vs. Canadians, too. As a Canadian, most people in Europe think you're American unless you say otherwise, unless you're one of those Canadians who plaster Canadian flags and maple leaves all over their clothing and gear (and oh, how that annoys me). When you say you're Canadian, people are automatically nicer to you. It makes me feel bad for Americans, because they're generally very courteous, friendly, polite tourists. Bus tours generally aren't, but bus tours of any nationality tend to suck.

Our time might come, though. Our government is starting to piss people in other countries off a lot. Lately, I've been getting the same treatment from politically aware people that Americans got under Bush. Like, I'll say I'm Canadian, and they'll be like "what is Canada doing to its environment? Why did you elect Harper??"

[iris]

Re: Nationality Stereotypes (split from Atrocities thread)

There's a really good web comic about the Scandinavian stereotypes http://satwcomic.com/good-to-see-you-england Denmark is usually drunk... not far off really.