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Old 04-18-2013, 09:48 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,666 posts, read 60,249,386 times
Reputation: 101006

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Quote:
Originally Posted by mintgum84 View Post
I worked in Public Affairs for years. In London and then overseas, inc to the US. I travelled, met many people and observed.

Also, having spent years in academe I interacted with the most able citizens who shared the frustration that too many of the people have a narrow vision of the world.
Interesting. I've lived and traveled all over the world all my life, and based on my own first hand observations, I don't think that Americans are any more ignorant or irritating than any other nationality I've interacted with. I found the list to be about 20 percent accurate - the other 80 percent was nothing more than the rantings of an inflexible, closed minded person.

 
Old 04-18-2013, 10:17 AM
 
686 posts, read 1,117,408 times
Reputation: 286
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon View Post
Interesting. I've lived and traveled all over the world all my life, and based on my own first hand observations, I don't think that Americans are any more ignorant or irritating than any other nationality I've interacted with. I found the list to be about 20 percent accurate - the other 80 percent was nothing more than the rantings of an inflexible, closed minded person.
I didnt say irritating. Just unaware of the wider world.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 10:21 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,764,559 times
Reputation: 7419
Quote:
Originally Posted by mintgum84 View Post
I didnt say irritating. Just unaware of the wider world.
What a generalization. Only in some of the areas is this true, and it's mostly in the rural areas (although still there are a fair number of people in rural areas who aren't poor who have travelled a bit). People in areas like NYC, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, DC, Seattle, Portland, Houston, Boston, San Francisco/Bay Area, etc are on average well aware of the wider world.

And you could say this about other parts of the world. In my travels across the world, I have met many, many ignorant people about the rest of the world outside of their own region (with the exception of a few places) too. The whole notion that the US is ignorant and everywhere else in the world isn't is ridiculous.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 10:31 AM
 
Location: East Coast of the United States
27,268 posts, read 28,333,820 times
Reputation: 24774
In my travels to countries around the world, I have noticed that a significant number of people are OVERCONFIDENT about what they think they know about the rest of the world.

Talking out of one's ass seems to be a universal human trait no matter where you go.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 10:31 AM
 
Location: Weymouth, The South
785 posts, read 1,872,230 times
Reputation: 475
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon View Post
Interesting. I've lived and traveled all over the world all my life, and based on my own first hand observations, I don't think that Americans are any more ignorant or irritating than any other nationality I've interacted with. I found the list to be about 20 percent accurate - the other 80 percent was nothing more than the rantings of an inflexible, closed minded person.
Yeah, I mean he's only been travelling the world for 9 years, no doubt visiting several dozen countries, along the way learning 9 additional languages and experiencing many new things, and for the most part it seems relishing it. You'd have to be so closed minded to do all that. You've travelled the world too it seems, are you also closed minded? If you'd say not, why is he just because your opinions differ?


Yep, it's me again, back to stand up for a guy who probably couldn't care less about all of you people and your criticisms of him.

Does it really help all of you retain some sort of security to dismiss his opinions as, in this case, 'the rantings of a closed minded person'? Is it really not possible for you to just accept that there is one guy in the world whose opinions of your country and it's people aren't all positive? I don't agree with all he says either, but I'm not calling him a moron, or closed minded, or any other such thing because of it. He's seen what he's seen, and he liked what he liked and disliked what he disliked, why can't that be ok? The fact is the opinions of a single person shouldn't matter to you, and can of course be dismissed. There's no need to call him names or make baseless assumptions about him in order to do that.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,764,559 times
Reputation: 7419
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer View Post
In my travels to countries around the world, I have noticed that a significant number of people are OVERCONFIDENT about what they think they know about the rest of the world.

Talking out of one's ass seems to be a universal human trait no matter where you go.
Truth. I have noticed this too. There are intelligent/well informed people in most places, but there's also people who think they know more than they really do...everywhere around the world.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 10:48 AM
 
8,584 posts, read 9,058,690 times
Reputation: 5890
He's correct about way too much advertising, but wrong about some Irish don't drink.
Apparently he didn't spend enough time in NYC or Jersey. Folks there would be happy to put him in his place, pronto, if need be.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 11:05 AM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
3,092 posts, read 4,940,013 times
Reputation: 3186
Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceTenmile View Post
Yeah, I mean he's only been travelling the world for 9 years, no doubt visiting several dozen countries, along the way learning 9 additional languages and experiencing many new things, and for the most part it seems relishing it. You'd have to be so closed minded to do all that. You've travelled the world too it seems, are you also closed minded? If you'd say not, why is he just because your opinions differ?


Yep, it's me again, back to stand up for a guy who probably couldn't care less about all of you people and your criticisms of him.

Does it really help all of you retain some sort of security to dismiss his opinions as, in this case, 'the rantings of a closed minded person'? Is it really not possible for you to just accept that there is one guy in the world whose opinions of your country and it's people aren't all positive? I don't agree with all he says either, but I'm not calling him a moron, or closed minded, or any other such thing because of it. He's seen what he's seen, and he liked what he liked and disliked what he disliked, why can't that be ok? The fact is the opinions of a single person shouldn't matter to you, and can of course be dismissed. There's no need to call him names or make baseless assumptions about him in order to do that.
I don't see where anybody has called him a moron. Also, if he doesn't care about what we say then why do you care so much?

We just simply pointed out the fact that he makes a lot of generalizations about Americans and does come off as close-minded. Now, if an American wrote a similar article about the U.K. are another European country, I imagine you would be the first person in line to call them a "typical, xenophobic, close-minded, ignorant American" simply because they pointed out some things about Europe that they didn't like. So why is it that when a European criticizes the U.S. it's "telling the truth and being honest", but when an American does the same to Europe it's considered "uncultured, ignorant, and close-minded". Nobody that has stood up for him has yet to answer that question.

I'm not a blindly patriotic person. But the double-standard here is blatant.
 
Old 04-18-2013, 11:18 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,666 posts, read 60,249,386 times
Reputation: 101006
Quote:
Originally Posted by mintgum84 View Post
I didnt say irritating. Just unaware of the wider world.
No, that's not all you said. You concurred with the entire list of 17 rants, and then added your own as well:

Quote:
Accurate list. Much of the US is like that (loud, uninformed about the wider world etc).
 
Old 04-18-2013, 11:20 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,666 posts, read 60,249,386 times
Reputation: 101006
Quote:
Originally Posted by UTHORNS96 View Post
I don't see where anybody has called him a moron. Also, if he doesn't care about what we say then why do you care so much?

We just simply pointed out the fact that he makes a lot of generalizations about Americans and does come off as close-minded. Now, if an American wrote a similar article about the U.K. are another European country, I imagine you would be the first person in line to call them a "typical, xenophobic, close-minded, ignorant American" simply because they pointed out some things about Europe that they didn't like. So why is it that when a European criticizes the U.S. it's "telling the truth and being honest", but when an American does the same to Europe it's considered "uncultured, ignorant, and close-minded". Nobody that has stood up for him has yet to answer that question.

I'm not a blindly patriotic person. But the double-standard here is blatant.
Thank you for this excellent response. I was going to answer that post, but my words would be redundant.
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