The Student Room Group

Americans

I am probably going to offend someone with this topic (if there are Americans on here) but I will try to step carefully. Just want to know if anyone on here feel the same.

I do have a bit of issues with Americans, and although I really don't want to judge the country as a whole, I find that a lot of the negative stereotypes there are, tend to be true. I'd like to add that I have American friends from all over the place (NY, LA and the Southern States as well), they are all well educated and they travel a lot, internationally.

On the positive side, they're quite extroverted, enthusiastic and very social. But I don't think social counts for much if it's not genuine. Once you get to know an American girl she's all "heey" when she sees you, will write nice things on your fb wall but I feel like it stops there. And they are pretty much like that with everyone they see. It's like emotional sluttiness - giving it all away and putting no meaning to it. Being open and friendly is a good thing, but it seems to me that there is all surface. For the American girls I know, when it comes down to it, they rarely make anyone a priority and think mostly about themselves. "Oh my Goood we need to go out next weekend!" is pretty much a standard response.

Also the conversations are quite bland. The list of topics is usually the same: gossip, got so drunk last night, reality/Kim Kardashian's marriage, she slept with that guy, I hooked up with that guy, what on earth is she wearing.
There is no culture. I never meet an American girl who's read a good book I haven't read, seen a film I haven't seen, can tell me about an exhibition, can tell me about a genuinely exotic and interesting trip, who has any kind of opinion that isn't just general opinion or political correctness. And these are girls who do their masters in London.

I want to like American girls, I just really find it hard (I'm not English either btw).
With an economy fuelled by materialism and consumerism and a mass-media influencing 'superficial' lifestyles, it's of no surprise that apparently American men are tired of demanding American woman and with America being the nation with the highest divorce rate. You might be able to find quirky interesting girls on tsr if you are looking for somebody who has hobbies, reading, travelling, not just celebrities and their lifestyles.
Reply 2
Original post by Anonymous
On the positive side, they're quite extroverted, enthusiastic and very social. But I don't think social counts for much if it's not genuine. Once you get to know an American girl she's all "heey" when she sees you, will write nice things on your fb wall but I feel like it stops there. And they are pretty much like that with everyone they see. It's like emotional sluttiness - giving it all away and putting no meaning to it. Being open and friendly is a good thing, but it seems to me that there is all surface. For the American girls I know, when it comes down to it, they rarely make anyone a priority and think mostly about themselves. "Oh my Goood we need to go out next weekend!" is pretty much a standard response.

I noticed that when I lived there. Every interaction is exceptionally shallow. There seemed no interest in really getting to know anyone. Unless they wanted to convert you to the Godsquad, of course.

Original post by Anonymous
Also the conversations are quite bland. The list of topics is usually the same: gossip, got so drunk last night, reality/Kim Kardashian's marriage, she slept with that guy, I hooked up with that guy, what on earth is she wearing.
There is no culture. I never meet an American girl who's read a good book I haven't read, seen a film I haven't seen, can tell me about an exhibition, can tell me about a genuinely exotic and interesting trip, who has any kind of opinion that isn't just general opinion or political correctness. And these are girls who do their masters in London.

Going to agree on this too, from my experience of living there..

American friends: "let's watch Bridezilla! Or E! News! Let's go to downtown LA and see who we can spot! OMG, did I tell you about the time Kobe Bryant hit on me?"

British friends: "fancy a bit of Peep Show? Let's check out the V&A this weekend. Oh, I have a book you need to read, let me lend you it."

I'm not America bashing for the sake of it, I know there will be some very interesting and intelligent Americans. I just haven't ever met any.
Reply 3
What the hell are you on about? You find shallow people in every country. You want to talk about art and culture with a girl? Go to a museum or gallery and talk to a girl there. I could easily say that all British people love watching TOWIE. You are generalising OP.

In my experiences, Americans are extremely friendly and kind (and not in the negative way that you describe). Some of them are interesting, some are not. They're just like every other people on Earth.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous
I am probably going to offend someone with this topic (if there are Americans on here) but I will try to step carefully. Just want to know if anyone on here feel the same.

I do have a bit of issues with Americans, and although I really don't want to judge the country as a whole, I find that a lot of the negative stereotypes there are, tend to be true. I'd like to add that I have American friends from all over the place (NY, LA and the Southern States as well), they are all well educated and they travel a lot, internationally.

On the positive side, they're quite extroverted, enthusiastic and very social. But I don't think social counts for much if it's not genuine. Once you get to know an American girl she's all "heey" when she sees you, will write nice things on your fb wall but I feel like it stops there. And they are pretty much like that with everyone they see. It's like emotional sluttiness - giving it all away and putting no meaning to it. Being open and friendly is a good thing, but it seems to me that there is all surface. For the American girls I know, when it comes down to it, they rarely make anyone a priority and think mostly about themselves. "Oh my Goood we need to go out next weekend!" is pretty much a standard response.

Also the conversations are quite bland. The list of topics is usually the same: gossip, got so drunk last night, reality/Kim Kardashian's marriage, she slept with that guy, I hooked up with that guy, what on earth is she wearing.
There is no culture. I never meet an American girl who's read a good book I haven't read, seen a film I haven't seen, can tell me about an exhibition, can tell me about a genuinely exotic and interesting trip, who has any kind of opinion that isn't just general opinion or political correctness. And these are girls who do their masters in London.

I want to like American girls, I just really find it hard (I'm not English either btw).


I guess you get that with a lot of cultures though to be honest :yep:

I've met Americans who are great and have read every book under the sun including great classics and who introduce me to films they've seen that I haven't. I've not met any doing their masters in London yet probably since I don't attend uni yet myself but I'm sure you can find them :h:
Reply 5
Don't y'all be talking smack 'bout 'Merica!
Original post by Tudball
Don't y'all be talking smack 'bout 'Merica!


I'd never even let such a revolting thought cross my mind, good Sir :yep:
what a stupid, stupid thread.
Original post by Nephilim
What the hell are you on about? You find shallow people in every country. You want to talk about art and culture with a girl? Go to a museum or gallery and talk to a girl there. I could easily say that all British people love watching TOWIE. You are generalising OP.

In my experiences, Americans are extremely friendly and kind (and not in the negative way that you describe). Some of them are interesting, some are not. They're just like every other people on Earth.


er... sorry but we're talking about the country which voted in george bush..
there are some amazing people in america- in some ways exceptionally so- but a significant proportion of americans subscribe to a value system a lot of the world finds repulsive- its never fair to generalise about any country but there are significant differences between countries- people form continental europe tell me they find british people shallow (as you point out)- and I can see where they're coming from- a lot of british people do have some really bad qualities-

In my experience, rich people from unequal societies tend to be boring, superficial and selfish- I'm thinking of england, mexico and the us- my american friends were a lot of fun but when I visited one of my closest friends from my year abroad in Baltimore without the fun of being abroad I realised she isn'y someone I want to be friends with... and even in new york which is unique in its cultural richness, I was struck by how peoples values I encountered reflected negative american stereotypes- so many people drive SUVs, are casually misogynistic, are ridiculously nationalistic (which to me is hugely problematic- its fine to be in touch with your cultural identity but this is more an 'America is automatically the best country in the world and can do no wrong'- considering the seriousness of the problems America has, it comes across like these american patriots either aren't aware or don't care about the religious extremism, threat to democracy, racism, massive social inequality,close-mindedness (etc!)

and yeah all of this is political but its when you meet people and it seems like they just don't think (and it does affect you when that person is your friend and they don't take care of you as their guest..)
Original post by alawhisp
I noticed that when I lived there. Every interaction is exceptionally shallow. There seemed no interest in really getting to know anyone. Unless they wanted to convert you to the Godsquad, of course.


Going to agree on this too, from my experience of living there..

American friends: "let's watch Bridezilla! Or E! News! Let's go to downtown LA and see who we can spot! OMG, did I tell you about the time Kobe Bryant hit on me?"

British friends: "fancy a bit of Peep Show? Let's check out the V&A this weekend. Oh, I have a book you need to read, let me lend you it."

I'm not America bashing for the sake of it, I know there will be some very interesting and intelligent Americans. I just haven't ever met any.



Peep Show sucks along with most of the comedy they have on Channel 4/E4. Student love E4 for some reason :rolleyes:


I love the superiority comlex British people have. The 'we're intelligent and Americans are dumb' mentality. Most Americans i've talked to are cool, chilled out and intelligent.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 10
Original post by jblackmoustache
Peep Show sucks along with most of the comedy they have on Channel 4/E4. Student love E4 for some reason :rolleyes:

I don't have a TV licence bud, and when I did live somewhere with one, I never watched E4.. Different things amuse different people, I suppose.

Original post by jblackmoustache
I love the superiority comlex British people have. The 'we're intelligent and Americans are dumb' mentality. Most Americans i've talked to are cool, chilled out and intelligent.

Lucky you. I've had the opposite experience. Like I said, I'm sure they exist, I just haven't met any yet.

P.S. It's not that they are dumb, per se, rather it's that their education system is different and focuses on different things. There's also the popularity of home schooling. And some schools actually teach creationism as fact.. If that isn't a dumb thing to do, I don't know what is.
The British are just as shallow. The thing is, Western societies have a common popular culture, so this is why all of us (whether American, British, German, etc.) are similar in that regard.
Reply 12
Original post by hennessybubbles
er... sorry but we're talking about the country which voted in george bush..
there are some amazing people in america- in some ways exceptionally so- but a significant proportion of americans subscribe to a value system a lot of the world finds repulsive- its never fair to generalise about any country but there are significant differences between countries- people form continental europe tell me they find british people shallow (as you point out)- and I can see where they're coming from- a lot of british people do have some really bad qualities-

In my experience, rich people from unequal societies tend to be boring, superficial and selfish- I'm thinking of england, mexico and the us- my american friends were a lot of fun but when I visited one of my closest friends from my year abroad in Baltimore without the fun of being abroad I realised she isn'y someone I want to be friends with... and even in new york which is unique in its cultural richness, I was struck by how peoples values I encountered reflected negative american stereotypes- so many people drive SUVs, are casually misogynistic, are ridiculously nationalistic (which to me is hugely problematic- its fine to be in touch with your cultural identity but this is more an 'America is automatically the best country in the world and can do no wrong'- considering the seriousness of the problems America has, it comes across like these american patriots either aren't aware or don't care about the religious extremism, threat to democracy, racism, massive social inequality,close-mindedness (etc!)

and yeah all of this is political but its when you meet people and it seems like they just don't think (and it does affect you when that person is your friend and they don't take care of you as their guest..)


During the Gore vs Bush campaign, Bush didn't appear bad at all. Also, Bush was not as bad as people think -- even Noam Chomsky said that Obama is worse than Bush.

When you say "a value system most people find repulsive" I assume you mean traditional, conservative values/ideals. Just because "most people" (Europeans mostly) find it repulsive, doesn't mean it is. Anti-semitism was once rife in All of Europe and was considered the normal and correct view, whereas it was only found in small amounts in America. Don't forget that the Republican party was founded by a group of slave-abolitionists (whereas the Democrats supported slavery). America was much more progressive than Europe on these fronts.

There is more misogynism in Britain, than in America (it was carried over from Britain to America). You do realise that Britain has more of a "We are the best people in the world" than America. And not only that, but Britons think that everyone else in the world are lower than them.

Religious extremism? People are allowed to vote and create policies based on their own beliefs and ideals, whether they be values from religion or from somewhere else -- that is what democracy is. Most people have no idea what "Separation of Church and State" even means. It was charted to prevent any religious organisation from directly controlling the nation (i.e. The Catholic Church, etc). Just because you disagree with a religious person's values doesn't mean you are allowed to stop them from voting/making decisions based on those values (Not singling you out. I'm just making a point).

I do agree with you about the racism in America, especially anti-black views. Like that story about the Neighbourhood Watch guy shooting the black kid in "self-defence". The police didn't even bother investigating the case well, because the kid was black. The way that some police officers and precints treat african-americans is disgraceful.

Close minded-ness? ALL people with strong beliefs are close-minded. Whether you are left-wing or right-wing, you believe that you are correct, and anyone who opposes you is wrong. It's called being human.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Nephilim
During the Gore vs Bush campaign, Bush didn't appear bad at all. Also, Bush was not as bad as people think -- even Noam Chomsky said that Obama is worse than Bush.

When you say "a value system most people find repulsive" I assume you mean traditional, conservative values/ideals. Just because "most people" (Europeans mostly) find it repulsive, doesn't mean it is. Anti-semitism was once rife in All of Europe and was considered the normal and correct view, whereas it was only found in small amounts in America. Don't forget that the Republican party was founded by a group of slave-abolitionists (whereas the Democrats supported slavery). America was much more progressive than Europe on these fronts.

There is more misogynism in Britain, than in America (it was carried over from Britain to America). You do realise that Britain has more of a "We are the best people in the world" than America. And not only that, but Britons think that everyone else in the world are lower than them.

Religious extremism? People are allowed to vote and create policies based on their own beliefs and ideals, whether they be values from religion or from somewhere else -- that is what democracy is. Most people have no idea what "Separation of Church and State" even means. It was charted to prevent any religious organisation from directly controlling the nation (i.e. The Catholic Church, etc). Just because you disagree with a religious person's values doesn't mean you are allowed to stop them from voting/making decisions based on those values (Not singling you out. I'm just making a point).

I do agree with you about the racism in America, especially anti-black views. Like that story about the Neighbourhood Watch guy shooting the black kid in "self-defence". The police didn't even bother investigating the case well, because the kid was black. The way that some police officers and precints treat african-americans is disgraceful.

Close minded-ness? ALL people with strong beliefs are close-minded. Whether you are left-wing or right-wing, you believe that you are correct, and anyone who opposes you is wrong. It's called being human.



im not trying to personally attack you or your vales- I was just trying to make the point that sizable chunks of America is characterised by particular, negative things- I'm not defending my country particularly- our country does have a lot of faults (I would argue on the whole that most of northern europe is generally superior) but your comment implied that America has nothing wrong with it in particular and is no better or worse than any other country so people are just finding fault with it in a way thats totally unfounded- and thats just not true

Whatever Europe or America's values were in the 30s or before is really irrelevant-w e're not talking about history here- we are talking about how it is now (labour used to represent the working class in the UK!)

I think there is a lot of nationalism in the UK but it appears to be much more widely accepted in the US- nationalist displays in the UK like flying our flag is generally associated with right wing extremists..or at least, it is a characteristic of people with poor education who are looking for something to be proud of and feel like they belong to something.. and we aren't obliged to sing our national anthem in school which as far as I'm aware you do in the US

and asserting that I find the religious extremism in your country unpleasant and disturbing is not anti-democratic- tolerating other views does not mean you don't criticise them- public debate is also central to a democracy and I have it on good authority that no-one could be elected president in the US unless they claim to believe in God. my point is that people who stand on road sides with signs like 'God hates fags' are a very unlikable part of the US and I have learnt a lot about the very strong religious beliefs of parts of the US- where a lot of people are very intolerant of other views.

and I totally disagree with you that people with strong opinions are close-minded- close-mindedness is a similar quality to intolerance- a close-minded person would maybe not speak to his or her own children just because they were gay and shun them, whereas a parent who strongly believes that being gay is wrong might nonetheless tolerate their child because they love them and try to talk with them about their sexuality instead of just imposing their own beliefs on others- close-minded people are rigid and don't think, strong minded people think carefully about their believes and base them on experience and information (as opposed to say, their upbringing)
Reply 14
Original post by hennessybubbles
im not trying to personally attack you or your vales- I was just trying to make the point that sizable chunks of America is characterised by particular, negative things- I'm not defending my country particularly- our country does have a lot of faults (I would argue on the whole that most of northern europe is generally superior) but your comment implied that America has nothing wrong with it in particular and is no better or worse than any other country so people are just finding fault with it in a way thats totally unfounded- and thats just not true

Whatever Europe or America's values were in the 30s or before is really irrelevant-w e're not talking about history here- we are talking about how it is now (labour used to represent the working class in the UK!)

I think there is a lot of nationalism in the UK but it appears to be much more widely accepted in the US- nationalist displays in the UK like flying our flag is generally associated with right wing extremists..or at least, it is a characteristic of people with poor education who are looking for something to be proud of and feel like they belong to something.. and we aren't obliged to sing our national anthem in school which as far as I'm aware you do in the US

and asserting that I find the religious extremism in your country unpleasant and disturbing is not anti-democratic- tolerating other views does not mean you don't criticise them- public debate is also central to a democracy and I have it on good authority that no-one could be elected president in the US unless they claim to believe in God. my point is that people who stand on road sides with signs like 'God hates fags' are a very unlikable part of the US and I have learnt a lot about the very strong religious beliefs of parts of the US- where a lot of people are very intolerant of other views.

and I totally disagree with you that people with strong opinions are close-minded- close-mindedness is a similar quality to intolerance- a close-minded person would maybe not speak to his or her own children just because they were gay and shun them, whereas a parent who strongly believes that being gay is wrong might nonetheless tolerate their child because they love them and try to talk with them about their sexuality instead of just imposing their own beliefs on others- close-minded people are rigid and don't think, strong minded people think carefully about their believes and base them on experience and information (as opposed to say, their upbringing)


Hmm, I can see that we're not gonna agree on some things, so let's just agree that America and UK both have their up-sides and their down-sides :tongue:

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