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Post by Aqualung on Mar 7, 2009 23:52:09 GMT -5
Im weird as well. I run up and down the street screaming WHEEEEE if I get bored. But Americans are just......cracked...what does that mean? Correction: RR people are cracked, not Americans What she said.
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Post by schizophonic on Mar 8, 2009 7:38:27 GMT -5
Lol I know that, my best friends girlfriend is American, and she rocks. Its just that your country is split into millions of tiny different minorities that have a nasty habit of bitch-slapping anybody that says something that not remotely attached to their views It's a shame, but the stereotype of loud, belligerent nationalists does come from somewhere. Apparently, from the RR board....
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Post by maanantai on Mar 8, 2009 7:53:45 GMT -5
It's sad how few, loud and stupid "individual" can ruin the reputation of so many, but it happens all the time. Everywhere. In small scale and in large scale (from families, to clasrooms and from villages to whole nations) No one notices the silent, intelligent and funny persons or the normal people, who just don't want to argue.
I confess, that before getting to know FSTDT my opinion about Americans was based on loud and badly behaving idiots, who after all are in minority.
AND I would like to thank you all for giving me some of my faith in humanity back, even that I know that most of it is gone forever.
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Post by schizophonic on Mar 8, 2009 11:30:09 GMT -5
It's sad how few, loud and stupid "individual" can ruin the reputation of so many, but it happens all the time. Everywhere. In small scale and in large scale (from families, to clasrooms and from villages to whole nations) No one notices the silent, intelligent and funny persons or the normal people, who just don't want to argue. I confess, that before getting to know FSTDT my opinion about Americans was based on loud and badly behaving idiots, who after all are in minority. AND I would like to thank you all for giving me some of my faith in humanity back, even that I know that most of it is gone forever. Well, you do have to keep in mind that we're a poorly educated nation by first world standards. I often feel that those of us who aren't loud and annoying are in the minority, though that may just be my skewed perceptions.
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Post by Caitshidhe on Mar 8, 2009 11:51:36 GMT -5
I, like Schizophonic, sometimes feel like those of us who DON'T fit that stereotype are in the minority. My opinion of Americans is of the loud, ignorant, obnoxious, poorly-behaving types. And I AM an American. Sometimes I want to go to every other country and apologize personally on behalf of the entire country for the stupidity of the Ugly Americans. Though the kind of Americans you encounter will obviously depend on what part of the country to visit or live in. If you go into the Bible Belt, you're likely to encounter people not unlike the RR crowd; in the more liberal states, you're more likely to find normal, intelligent human beings.
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Post by The Lazy One on Mar 8, 2009 13:19:32 GMT -5
I, like Schizophonic, sometimes feel like those of us who DON'T fit that stereotype are in the minority. My opinion of Americans is of the loud, ignorant, obnoxious, poorly-behaving types. And I AM an American. Sometimes I want to go to every other country and apologize personally on behalf of the entire country for the stupidity of the Ugly Americans. Though the kind of Americans you encounter will obviously depend on what part of the country to visit or live in. If you go into the Bible Belt, you're likely to encounter people not unlike the RR crowd; in the more liberal states, you're more likely to find normal, intelligent human beings. Seconded. Some of my friends have immigrated from other countries, and are usually shocked at how I act. One girl from Korea told me, "You don't act like an American." I was confused, until she explained. "You don't behave like the Americans we saw on television. You respect other people's cultures." I was floored. I think it was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.
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Post by erictheblue on Mar 8, 2009 13:31:23 GMT -5
Seconded. Some of my friends have immigrated from other countries, and are usually shocked at how I act. One girl from Korea told me, "You don't act like an American." I was confused, until she explained. "You don't behave like the Americans we saw on television. You respect other people's cultures." I was floored. I think it was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. About 11 years ago, I did a study abroad in London, then spent about 5 week backpacking around western Europe. I saw "ugly Americans" in action, and saw how attitudes of the locals changed when my friends and I tried to fit in. My ability to speak French, German, and Italian is mostly limited to "Do you speak English," "I don't speak [local language]," and "Where's the bathroom," but even those small attempts made people a lot more helpful. (Of course, maybe they thought I was Canadian!)
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Post by The Lazy One on Mar 8, 2009 13:37:43 GMT -5
Seconded. Some of my friends have immigrated from other countries, and are usually shocked at how I act. One girl from Korea told me, "You don't act like an American." I was confused, until she explained. "You don't behave like the Americans we saw on television. You respect other people's cultures." I was floored. I think it was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. About 11 years ago, I did a study abroad in London, then spent about 5 week backpacking around western Europe. I saw "ugly Americans" in action, and saw how attitudes of the locals changed when my friends and I tried to fit in. My ability to speak French, German, and Italian is mostly limited to "Do you speak English," "I don't speak [local language]," and "Where's the bathroom," but even those small attempts made people a lot more helpful. (Of course, maybe they thought I was Canadian!) I just feel bad about people who come to America and encounter the morons. Way to make our country look good, guys.
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Post by Caitshidhe on Mar 8, 2009 13:43:03 GMT -5
Yeah, that's about all I can say in any language. I took four years of Spanish in high school and two years of French in college, and all I can remember how to say in either language is "I don't speak French/Spanish. Is there anyone here who speaks English? I'm not American, I'm Canadian." (Gotta have my bases covered.) I lived in the UK until I was seven and my parents went to France, Germany, and Amsterdam--they saw their share of Ugly Americans there. My mom actually apologized to the owner of a cafe in Paris, I think, for the behaviour of a table-full of bitchy American tourists. And when I went back to England a few years ago for a few weeks, I ended up on a bus with a stereotypical Ugly American couple, and I got so sick of their whinging and complaining about having to walk so much and about the food that I just turned around and said, "WILL YOU BEHAVE YOURSELVES? YOU'RE A GUEST IN THIS COUNTRY!" It shocked them to be told off by someone who was a) herself an American, and b) sixteen years old.
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Post by Sandafluffoid on Mar 8, 2009 13:47:31 GMT -5
I think you probably get it twice as bad from us Brits, because American culture places great importance on confidence and pride whereas British society enjoys, or at least used to enjoy, quiet desperation, politeness and reservedness. Modern Britain is a lot worse than you but we like to pretend that we're not, jsut so we can feel better than someone.
The only bad American experience I've ever had was an insane Alabaman exchange teacher who talked very loudly in a very nasal voice, and called people dollface andwouldn't shut up about 'Sweet potatah pah"
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Anti-Goth
New Member
IT'S A CONSPIRACY!
Posts: 32
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Post by Anti-Goth on Mar 8, 2009 14:03:16 GMT -5
They actually had few threads about FSTDT disappearing/being down/moving, but none of those lasted even a day. Just like their thread about that poor little 9-year-old girl where they were most upset/sad about the abortion part I just knew they'd be BAWWing over teh preshus rape babbies. You gotta link?
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Post by maanantai on Mar 8, 2009 14:06:18 GMT -5
They actually had few threads about FSTDT disappearing/being down/moving, but none of those lasted even a day. Just like their thread about that poor little 9-year-old girl where they were most upset/sad about the abortion part I just knew they'd be BAWWing over teh preshus rape babbies. You gotta link? Sowwy, no link and thread long gone.
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Post by schizophonic on Mar 8, 2009 14:07:51 GMT -5
Seconded. Some of my friends have immigrated from other countries, and are usually shocked at how I act. One girl from Korea told me, "You don't act like an American." I was confused, until she explained. "You don't behave like the Americans we saw on television. You respect other people's cultures." I was floored. I think it was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. We have a lot of foreigners around here, in part due to the SIT site here. Even in a blue state, they're surprised that we're not all xenophobic asshats.
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