[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by kka25)
Interesting.



Care to give some situation based example?



What kind of charm and ignorance are we talking here?
How's Utah different than NY?





Well, from what I heard, the southerners are the respectful one and not the westerners.

It really just depends on the individual more than the place. "Southern hospitality" is famous in America. However, today you would only see it displayed by well to do descendents of plantation (and slave) owners. These elite make up a very small portion of the south, and they more than most other groups, are usually the most bigoted. They are polite, but only if you are a white southern Protestant who is on a similar socioeconomic level. They have the facade of being rich and respectful, but in my opinion, they are even more racist than your average hillbilly.

[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by Nephilim)
All this thread proves is how big the Liberal and Conservative divide is in America. The liberals hate the conservatives and vice-versa. Contrary to what most believe, there are stupid people and smart people and average people in every state of the U.S. And to the British and Europeans here: your countries also have stupid, average and smart people -- it's arrogant and ignorant to think otherwise.

You are right, but the reason I seem to be picking on the South is that they are what most Europeans think of when they think of Americans. Of course, myself, as well as most people in the US are the opposite of what we appear to be. I am not bashing the South just for fun, I am just telling people that those people, more than any other people in the US, fit the description of "ugly American" the best. That much is indisputable. Are there some from the south who are not like that? Of course. But a lot are. Also I think most people here need to realise that their own nation has its fair share of idiots. Why would they not think otherwise. For all the good-natured, witty Europeans that I have met, there have been an equal amount of encounters where I felt discriminated against for being American.

[Liquidise.]

I grew up east of San Francisco in a small town that had a really tightly knit urban community and I can tell you that I never witnessed any of the stereotypes mentioned in the above posts (maybe apart from fat people). I guess it really depends on where you're located, since the United States is a giant country.

[namithailoveyou]

These stereotypes are what people absorb from the media/pop culture sources.

For one, US culture is a lot more than hamburgers and hot dogs. Tell a New Orleans Cajun chef that and he may beat you up lol.. (or a Tex-Mex chef in San Antonio or something). US cuisine is quite diverse, stuff like cheese steak, apple pie, peach cobbler, biscuits, sweet potato pie, etc.

And the US is culturally more complex than people often think, since there is and never has been a singular US culture. It depends on region (South/ex-Confederacy is different to California or New England), age, ethnicity (black, Hispanic, white US culture), even sexual orientation.

[kka25]

(Original post by ConnorTheYank)
It really just depends on the individual more than the place. "Southern hospitality" is famous in America. However, today you would only see it displayed by well to do descendents of plantation (and slave) owners. These elite make up a very small portion of the south, and they more than most other groups, are usually the most bigoted. They are polite, but only if you are a white southern Protestant who is on a similar socioeconomic level. They have the facade of being rich and respectful, but in my opinion, they are even more racist than your average hillbilly.

>.<

So, we non-southerners should stay away from them? Why do they dislike non-southerners really?

[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by Joinedup)
that's a coincidence, I used to live next door to some americans from philly, the Balbeas. Do you know them?

No, I do not know anyone with that last name. Please tell me more about your thoughts on them as people and as Americans.

[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by kka25)
>.<

So, we non-southerners should stay away from them? Why do they dislike non-southerners really?

It really makes me sound like an ass when I say bad things about Southerners, but they seriously need to forget about the Civil War. One time in North Carolina, when I was like 8, I went into a shop where I wanted to buy some fishing supplies, as I was near the beach. On one shelf are some bumper stickers with stupid sayings on them like "Yankee go Home" and similar phrases. Most had the Confederate flag on them. The man at the counter had a hat with the Confederate flag on it. The day before, at a store near a battlefield in Virginia that sold souvenirs and Civil War memoribilia, the store owner gave me a death glare when I went to pay for my items; a miniature Union flag as well as an Irish Brigade (union regiment) flag.

[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by namithailoveyou)
These stereotypes are what people absorb from the media/pop culture sources.

For one, US culture is a lot more than hamburgers and hot dogs. Tell a New Orleans Cajun chef that and he may beat you up lol.. (or a Tex-Mex chef in San Antonio or something). US cuisine is quite diverse, stuff like cheese steak, apple pie, peach cobbler, biscuits, sweet potato pie, etc.

And the US is culturally more complex than people often think, since there is and never has been a singular US culture. It depends on region (South/ex-Confederacy is different to California or New England), age, ethnicity (black, Hispanic, white US culture), even sexual orientation.

That is exactly what I am trying to say. Very true, man.

[Nephilim]

(Original post by ConnorTheYank)
It really makes me sound like an ass when I say bad things about Southerners, but they seriously need to forget about the Civil War. One time in North Carolina, when I was like 8, I went into a shop where I wanted to buy some fishing supplies, as I was near the beach. On one shelf are some bumper stickers with stupid sayings on them like "Yankee go Home" and similar phrases. Most had the Confederate flag on them. The man at the counter had a hat with the Confederate flag on it. The day before, at a store near a battlefield in Virginia that sold souvenirs and Civil War memoribilia, the store owner gave me a death glare when I went to pay for my items; a miniature Union flag as well as an Irish Brigade (union regiment) flag.

Well, these days the Confederate Flag just symbolises "The South" and their culture, not the Confederate's actual values. They are just proud of their culture -- southern hospitality, country music, southern food, etc.

[Joinedup]

(Original post by ConnorTheYank)
No, I do not know anyone with that last name. Please tell me more about your thoughts on them as people and as Americans.

right, I'm teasing you a bit. There's a stereotype of americans saying things like 'oh I met a guy from lancashire once, do you know his family' ?

they were real people though, they were alright. Kids a bit bratty but the mum had died and the dad was putting most of his effort into his business. The dad's business took off and they moved to a bigger house, sent their kids to a private school and they started acting like they were too good to give their old neighbours the time of day anymore. Wouldn't say I think that's a generic american characteristic.

[buchanan700]

Honestly - not trying to insult anyone, but these are just things that pop in my mind and I'd rather be honest.

Bad things
Stupid (especially the south, and especially Geography and worldly things)
Fat
Loud
Racist
Overly patriotic

Good things
Hospitable
Sporty
Patriotic
They try hard

[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by Nephilim)
Well, these days the Confederate Flag just symbolises "The South" and their culture, not the Confederate's actual values. They are just proud of their culture -- southern hospitality, country music, southern food, etc.

To an extent, that is true, but many Confederate values are synonymous with Southern values.

[ConnorTheYank]

(Original post by buchanan700)
Honestly - not trying to insult anyone, but these are just things that pop in my mind and I'd rather be honest.

Bad things
Stupid (especially the south, and especially Geography and worldly things)
Fat
Loud
Racist
Overly patriotic

Good things
Hospitable
Sporty
Patriotic
They try hard

I give you points for being honest . Most of the things you stated are much more prominent in the South. I am singling them out, but for good reason. They are the region that kept slaves for 200 years, not the North. The fattest cities in the US all happen to be in the south, namely Texas. The facts don't lie. I have no shame in blaming these things on the south, because they deserve it for the most part.

[Libertinedreamer]

(Original post by ConnorTheYank)
I am from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Maybe 30 minutes away from Philly.

Now we know this i suppose we can ask the real burning question us Europeans want to know .........do u know the fresh prince??

[Nephilim]

(Original post by Libertinedreamer)
Now we know this i suppose we can ask the real burning question us Europeans want to know .........do u know the fresh prince??

Bel Air is in LA.

[Scootaloo]

Can somebody explain this whole Chick-Fil-A issue (I mispronounce it Chickfilla sometimes hahaha) . Were there really loads of people who showed up to support them?

Thanks!

[battycatlady]

Well, this thread is pretty revealing. I didn't know the differences between the Northern and Southern states were still so huge! Anyways, the only stereotype I really associate with America is that they are far louder that us Brits, but that's from experience. I've met lots of Americans from various states on cruises and all of them have been loud haha, but heh it's a good thing. All the Americans I've met have been really friendly, up for a laugh and have been great to talk to.

What I really want to know- do the teens in America really have those large beach parties late at night where everyone wonders around in bakinis and plays volleyball, or is that just something that happens in the movies? :')

[dem503]

(Original post by ConnorTheYank)
I live in the United States and i want to give people insight as to how the US is. Americans are very often stereotyped and i want to help people understand us better. No, i am not a blindly patriotic American; i will adress all input from a neutral, truthful perspective.

Yes, America is a big country full of millions of vastly different peoples, and if you went around to see how many people fit into the classic stereotypes then it won't be that many. But that's not how stereotypes start, its when you get a higher percentage of the population being (for example) fat, lazy, not knowing geography etc compared to other countries.

So going on the usual 'americans are obese' sterotype, no one actually thinks every single american is fat, its just that a larger proportion of the american public is obese compared to most other countries.

[Nephilim]

(Original post by dem503)
Yes, America is a big country full of millions of vastly different peoples, and if you went around to see how many people fit into the classic stereotypes then it won't be that many. But that's not how stereotypes start, its when you get a higher percentage of the population being (for example) fat, lazy, not knowing geography etc compared to other countries.

So going on the usual 'americans are obese' sterotype, no one actually thinks every single american is fat, its just that a larger proportion of the american public is obese compared to most other countries.

I was really surprised to find out that New Zealand is the 3rd most obese country in the world

[Ice Constricter]

(Original post by Mockery)
You're really changing the argument to how literal my post should be read huh? You have basically come here with the sole intention to seperate yourself from the south and shift all the stereotypes of the US, as a whole, onto them.

I'm singling out America because they always seem to have something to say about others, but don't accept any remarks back, which is essentially what you're doing, but to your own countrymen in this case.

Stick to black font cause writing like that makes you look like a tool.