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How would you describe people from Europe (Im Slovenian)? How are Europeans different from Asians, Latinos, Americans...?
Are you asking about the difference between Europeans/Americans and people from the third world countries?
If yes, this question is relatively easy to answer.
However, I must add that the Anti-American feeling is real, in Europe as in the rest of the world. More precisely: many Europeans, not by all means everybody, have an overall negative opinion of the role the US has in the world.
That's my experience with most Europeans and Canadians. I wouldn't say the 'entire world' as I never had that experience with Asians, Latinos, Africans, etc. It's basically with 'white people' who aren't American.
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Originally Posted by noela
I don't think that this is specific to current times, either.
It's basically the Bush administration. It's less so during these Obama years, and almost non-existant during the Clinton years. (I'm American who has lived in many countries starting since 1996).
Last edited by Tiger Beer; 10-08-2011 at 01:16 PM..
That's my experience with most Europeans and Canadians. I wouldn't say the 'entire world' as I never had that experience with Asians, Latinos, Africans, etc. It's basically with 'white people' who aren't American.
Last year I lived in a student house and one of my roommates was a black Brazilian girl and she was very much anti-American And wasn't Chavez (from Venezuela) popular partly due to his anti-Americanism? I'm pretty sure America isn't all that popular in the Middle East either
Anyway, I really don't think Europeans, Canadians or Australians really "hate" America. I certainly don't. However, the perception on this side of the ocean is that Americans believe they live in "the greatest country in the world" and that they are highly condescending of other countries. I think that is why people from those other countries, when talking to Americans, try extra hard to demonstrate that their country is just as good, if not better, than America. They believe that their country is considered inferior in the eyes of Americans so they feel the need to 'defend' it, if that makes sense. In reality, most Europeans really aren't that nationalistic about their country. We love to complain about anything and everything
Quote:
It's basically the Bush administration. It's less so during these Obama years, and almost non-existant during the Clinton years. (I'm American who has lived in many countries starting since 1996).
That's true, most Europeans love Obama, mainly because he recognizes things that are positive about Europe (like Universal Health Care) and doesn't have that attitude of "if it's not typically American then it's worthless". I really liked the speech he held in Berlin.
Last year I lived in a student house and one of my roommates was a black Brazilian girl and she was very much anti-American And wasn't Chavez (from Venezuela) popular partly due to his anti-Americanism? I'm pretty sure America isn't all that popular in the Middle East either
To be fair, I did spend six months living in Brazil, and I do remember an anti-American element there at times. Not as bad as among Europeans though. It wasn't among poor people though, usually the upper classes, and usually the most racially pure European-blooded Brazilian. That's unusual for a black brazilian to be anti-american though. She probably picked it up living in Europe.
But, what I don't get about Brazilians is the way they destroy their rainforest and still constantly relocate their inidigeous. About two weeks ago, there was a huge loss for 30,000 indigeneous people because the government found their land would be better to create a damn and destroy their entire ecosystem for hundreds of miles. I don't see how they can have those kind of negative policies and than lecture another country when they have so many atrocities right in their own backyard happening 'today'.
But over here in Asia, Asian people are fairly indifferent to my nationality. We talk about all kinds of other stuff, anything but that. I was just with an Aussie the other day who was rampantly anti-American and yelling at me about my healthcare system out of the blue. I spent an hour agreeing to all her stuff. That's what I don't get, I actually agree with most of these people who just go off about it, but they want me to defend it. It gets tiring. I wish more Europeans (or in her case, Aussie) could just get beyond my nationality and we could talk about anything else.
When I meet Indian people, I don't yell at them about their caste system. But you meet a lot of Europeans, and they feel completely comfortable yelling at you and lecturing you about some political thing that you probably agree with. Not all Europeans, but just enough to make an impression.
Since you mentioned Middle Easterners and anti-Americanism. Despite that, when I meet Middle Easterners, they generally really want to talk to Americans. They might have media anti-american stuff, but one-on-one, they'll be very happy to have a conversation and talk with an American. They don't lecture, they don't assume. Usually just met with a lot of genorisity and openness, in my experience. My personal favorites are the Persian/Iranians. I honestly can't think of one bad or unenjoyable conversation I've ever had with anyone of Middle Eastern origin.
Last edited by Tiger Beer; 10-08-2011 at 08:12 PM..
To be fair, I did spend six months living in Brazil, and I do remember an anti-American element there at times. Not as bad as among Europeans though. It wasn't among poor people though, usually the upper classes, and usually the most racially pure European-blooded Brazilian. That's unusual for a black brazilian to be anti-american though. She probably picked it up living in Europe.
But, what I don't get about Brazilians is the way they destroy their rainforest and still constantly relocate their inidigeous. About two weeks ago, there was a huge loss for 30,000 indigeneous people because the government found their land would be better to create a damn and destroy their entire ecosystem for hundreds of miles. I don't see how they can have those kind of negative policies and than lecture another country when they have so many atrocities right in their own backyard happening 'today'.
But over here in Asia, Asian people are fairly indifferent to my nationality. We talk about all kinds of other stuff, anything but that. I was just with an Aussie the other day who was rampantly anti-American and yelling at me about my healthcare system out of the blue. I spent an hour agreeing to all her stuff. That's what I don't get, I actually agree with most of these people who just go off about it, but they want me to defend it. It gets tiring. I wish more Europeans (or in her case, Aussie) could just get beyond my nationality and we could talk about anything else.
When I meet Indian people, I don't yell at them about their caste system. But you meet a lot of Europeans, and they feel completely comfortable yelling at you and lecturing you about some political thing that you probably agree with. Not all Europeans, but just enough to make an impression.
When I meet Middle Easterners, they generally really want to talk to Americans. They might have media anti-american stuff, but one-on-one, they'll be very happy to have a conversation and talk with an American. They don't lecture, they don't assume. Usually just met with a lot of genorisity and openness, in my experience.
That's been my experience in Europe as well. The only criticism I ever got from foreigners was that Spanish tourists from Madrid told me I don't speak Spanish correctly, and the English telling me I don't speak English correctly If it ever gets political, I'd have to bite my tongue to not get into a heated debate, because I don't debate rehashed, cheap microwave dinner talking points that most Europeans and Americans digest. I also know more about world geography than the average person, and probably know the history of a European country more than its average native inhabitant
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindavG
However, the perception on this side of the ocean is that Americans believe they live in "the greatest country in the world" and that they are highly condescending of other countries.
That's true, most Europeans love Obama, mainly because he recognizes things that are positive about Europe (like Universal Health Care) and doesn't have that attitude of "if it's not typically American then it's worthless". I really liked the speech he held in Berlin.
The funny thing is, that's also exactly how Americans feel about Europe and Europeans. So, the feeling is mutual among the two places.
Most Europeans love Obama because he's not their president if Obama was prime minister of UK, he'd be out on his butt like Gordon Brown, who is, possibly, the closest you can get to Obama in Europe. I think Europeans need to get over their insecurity and stop with the non-sense bashing that serves no purpose. Europeans are just as brainwashed as Americans, but more Americans are awake to the men behind the curtain than Europeans are.
Europeans are just as brainwashed as Americans, but more Americans are awake to the men behind the curtain than Europeans are.
How on earth can you possibly know this? Americans have a reputation for living in a bubble, always happy, think everything is great. For example, here in Europe a lot of people are increasingly against the EU. In fact, Germany is now the most eurosceptic nation in Europe. We are very aware of the men behind the curtain, especially us in the UK who are sick to death of our politicians and know our main parties are totally useless and will never change.
In my own opinion, from meeting many Americans, they tend to think the US is number one, it has no faults, everything is fine. In Europe, especially here in the UK and even places like Sweden, we know things are ****, and we do not pretend everything is okay when it isn't.
So in my opinion, Europeans are generally better educated than Americans are more worldly. I probably know more about the US then the average American. A lot of Americans are surprised when I tell them facts about the US and US states they didn't know themselves. One American I met thought everyone in Canada spoke French.. I was appalled and I can completely understand why so many Europeans bash Americans from their experience.. why do you think American tourists try to pretend to be Canadian?
I've lived on both sides of the Atlantic and there are just as many "ignorant" Europeans as there are "ignorant" Americans (& everyone else too ranging from the Canadians to the Australians, etc.). Many Europeans only know things about the USA that they get from 1) Hollywood movies, 2) American television shows, or 3) the things they hear from the media (mostly negative, but some positives too). Many know very little about American geography (many can only name a very select number of states), history, or how the political system works. Many think the south is a giant, all inclusive theocratic, ultra-conservative, hillbilly-infested, everyone carrying a gun and will shoot you in a second hellhole and that the rest of the country is basically: the east coast= NY, west coast = California and everything else in between is basically "their" idea of Texas, with DisneyWorld and Florida thrown in there somewhere. The best bit though is that a vast majority of these people haven't even step foot in the USA once in their lives. I could go on for ages.
I'm definitely not trying to bash Europeans. I lived in Europe for years (loved it!) & some of my closest friends are Europeans, but there is just as much "ignorance" about the USA in Europe as there is "ignorance" about Europe in the USA. My point is, there are ignorant people everywhere, in every country on earth.
P.S. American toursits are often held in high regard in many countries. In this European conducted survey, Americans were actually voted the second best tourists in the world (behind only the Japanese). And the best tourists in the world are... | Reuters
From my own personal experiences, British tourists can be rather loud and obnoxious. My cousins in Italy and (especially) Spain often express the same sentiments to me as well. And I've never met an American who has claimed that there is nothing wrong with the country. In fact, I find the complete opposite to be true (especially in the hard times of today). Oh well, everyone's opinion is different!
Last edited by CityLover9; 10-08-2011 at 10:13 PM..
How on earth can you possibly know this? Americans have a reputation for living in a bubble, always happy, think everything is great. For example, here in Europe a lot of people are increasingly against the EU. In fact, Germany is now the most eurosceptic nation in Europe. We are very aware of the men behind the curtain, especially us in the UK who are sick to death of our politicians and know our main parties are totally useless and will never change.
In my own opinion, from meeting many Americans, they tend to think the US is number one, it has no faults, everything is fine. In Europe, especially here in the UK and even places like Sweden, we know things are ****, and we do not pretend everything is okay when it isn't.
So in my opinion, Europeans are generally better educated than Americans are more worldly. I probably know more about the US then the average American. A lot of Americans are surprised when I tell them facts about the US and US states they didn't know themselves. One American I met thought everyone in Canada spoke French.. I was appalled and I can completely understand why so many Europeans bash Americans from their experience.. why do you think American tourists try to pretend to be Canadian?
I always hear about these types of Americans, but have never met them personally. I can't tell if they really exist, or if it's some rumour that always gets perpetuated.
Maybe since I am an American, I'm usually highly aware of a very critical American on 'America'. Most of our books, our intellectuals, our movies, even our mainstream hollywood movies often, often, often criticize our government and our very way of thinking. The Simpsons routinely does it almost every episode, and our bookstores are routinely filled with books doing exactly that.
I've always felt that most Europeans get their anti-Americanism from devouring our American books, movies, films, intellectuals, etc. who are just being self-critical about ourselves.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed
I'm aware of that. the main issue I have with Europeans that have negative views of the U.S., it's not my damn fault that the U.S. is run by European central banks and the Federal Reserve. I get tired of Europeans blaming me and other ordinary Americans for what the U.S. does abroad. As if we, somehow, dictate American foreign policy! Europeans need to stop being brainwashed and realize the average American on the street is not commanding what the State Department or the White House does. Like Internet Europeans complaining that I have Iraqi blood on my hands, no I don't! I didn't send the troops to Iraq did I?
Anyway, I know Europeans aren't bad people. Just largely misinformed, and ignorant of how the U.S. works outside of Europe (much like how Americans are ignorant of how the political process works in Brussels). When I was in the UK I didn't encounter a single negative opinion of me or the U.S., I think it's mostly a university student thing.
Trimac, we know what you mean, but for the purposes of staying on topic, this'll have to do
I've never had a European come up to say to me that I have Iraqi blood on my hands or anything like that, even though Australians are heavily involved in both Iraq and Afghanistan. People also forget we sent alot of troops to Vietnam as well, since where America went we went too.
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And wasn't Chavez (from Venezuela) popular partly due to his anti-Americanism? I'm pretty sure America isn't all that popular in the Middle East either 
If it ever gets political, I'd have to bite my tongue to not get into a heated debate, because I don't debate rehashed, cheap microwave dinner talking points that most Europeans and Americans digest. I also know more about world geography than the average person, and probably know the history of a European country more than its average native inhabitant
