Magpie0001

I guess this thread is just to voice my opinion, Im not looking to offend anyone, start rivalry or flaming.

Im Irish, Ive been all over europe & spent a while in the states too, I currently call Madrid (Spain) home. Ive met people from all over the world & some of them I call friends.

My problem is the attitude of some americans towards Europeans or Europe in general. Granted, USA is a big powerfull continent, It makes allkindsa shit & exports buckets of stuff. America is the superpower. Yaay, America!

What an amazing amount of americans dont seem to realise is that Europe Is full of people too! With cars & roads, we wear pants & we (unfortunately) know who Britney spears is. We have microwave ovens & we dont sleep on the floor with our animals(???), we sleep in beds.
We have widely diverse cultures, customs, languages & histories exclusive to each country.
Im all for patriotism. Patriotism is feeling, expressing, or inspired by love for one's country not hate for mine.
I guess what Im trying to say is we are different but we shouldnt be ridiculed because of our differences. The differences are what make me who I am.
Thanks for your time.
Comments Welcome.

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vermin

There are a lot of ignorant people in the world. I say ignorant instead of stupid because ingorance implies a lack of knowledge and a lack of desire to learn more. Most people seem to feel content with the misconceptions they have about other societies. This seems to be as true of Americans as it is of the Islamic world, Europe, Asia, Austrailia, Africa, even Antartica (damn close-minded penguins!). I would guess a lot of people judge other places by the movies they see. Scary thought when you consider what hollywood has been putting out. I try to keep in mind that people are basically the same no matter what language you speak or the tint of skin: we all love our children, we all like to eat, sleep, fuck, shit, imagine, work, without some asshole pointing a gun at us. I think.

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Stiltzkin

Agree with everything vermin said. I always manage to pass myself off as ignorant, though... well, I am, and so is everyone else. Don't forget that everyone is ignorant to some degree. I've never been to Europe, but I know that in some places, Europe is more modern than most of the USA. Nuff said, I think.

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rogue49

The problem is Americans are pretty much isolated from the rest of the world.
They don't see other cultures, thus they don't care about other cultures.
All they care about is their own perspective.

That's why the Iraqis don't have to worry about us trying to make a colony.
Many Americans just want to go home to the U.S.
The don't want to be involved in other nations.
The only reason they attacked Iraq in the first place, is they saw it as a home-base for terrorists, a threat.
This was the same mentality that kept them initially out of two world wars.
However, one you DO get the U.S. involved, they will go full-board.
But sooner or later, you'll have your nation back in your own hands.
They don't want to keep it.
(I know the exception to this was back in the 1800's with Mexico)

But most Americans are very ego-centric.
Hell, some don't even care or know about the rest of the U.S.
My best friend, even though she's pretty intelligent,
has no real idea where I am now...I'm out of her world.

Americans now these days keep their borders firm, figuratively at least.
They are in their own little world, and even though they might talk about it,
getting to actually act on moving is a whole other matter.

oblar

i think the problem in some people is a little deeper with some... I have a friend that is going to Europe tomorrow to spend some time with his girlfriend (doing study abroad)...

he was scared shitless.. I tried to tell him not to worry.. I have been to Europe several times.. It isn't a big deal, I actually enjoy it greatly and always wish I could go back and make it a little more permanent (my stay, that is).

but one thing he told me seriously pissed me off.... "I am going to kick those damned countries asses!" and then he went on a tirade about how the other countries cannot look down on who he is, for being an ignorant american, and he will show them what an american truly is..

it was sad that there are people who think like this..

i hope the people he meets over there are especially tolerant and patient, otherwise he will not have a fun time with an attitude like that.

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lurkette

There's a huge difference between patriotism and nationalism. Every nation has a right to feel proud of its identity. Every citizen has a right to be proud of some things about his or her country. The problem begins when people are ignorant, arrogant and afraid of difference, and believe that they should be able to force/coerce others into accepting their supremacy.

Apologies for arrogant Americans. Nothing much I can do about them - I find them as annoying as you do.

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Mad_Gecko

Thread very close to my heart.

There is a big wide world out there, that I personally think the yanks should stay the fuck out of. I only say this because I had the priviledge of being raised in the US, and I dont think many people can handle the freedom afforded the US citizen.
A lot of countries have NEVER been able to say what they want, nor even have a Gun to defend their beliefs.

Its funny but there is a saying "Be careful what you wish for, as it may come true", I believe this applies to people you wish on behalf of.

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Mad_Gecko

Sorry - Bad Edit:

Good luck to that fella.. He will only re-affirm what nationalistic feelings are there..

MMMMM........ Look forward to Nationalistic Socialism again..

"Those who refuse to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it"

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"If three of us travel together, I shall find two teachers."
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Nyenrodian

I have been raised in Holland and I believe the Americans couldn't handle the freedom WE experience.

siogo

Nyenrodian........You live in the most Civilized country I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot.

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Nyenrodian

Holland is not that different from the United States. Just like the rest of Europe. There are some subtle differences in cultures and some that are not so subtle. But I believe that in the end the cultures of Western Europe and the U.S.A. are pretty similar. Which is not surprising of course. The U.S.A. was founded by some people from the old world and from then on the U.S.A. has influenced our cultures as much as the other way around. So, this is a lenghty way for me to say that Holland is not more (or less) civilized than the U.S.A. or Western Europe. I haven't visited African or Asian countries so I will not comment on them.



Something that has always wondered me when watching American TV series is that Americans are really proud of their 'roots'. Like on the Sopranos (GREAT TV show), they aren't American. The Sopranos are Italian American. And there are numerous examples such as this.

How come this is so important to some Americans? Most have not visited the 'old' country yet they uphold some of the values. Why is that? If it is true at all since I get my info from TV and movies.

oblar

if you are referring to people being incredibly proud of their family line, going back a few hundred years, to a country and culture that they have never expierenced, then yes..

it does happen... There are people who will say they are Italian, when in actuality they may only be 1/3 italian and have never set foot in Italy (or Europe) in their lives..

i never really attributed this to a region though... more of a person trying to be proud of their family and their roots, even if they don't know much about it..

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"All that we can do is just survive.
.All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive." - Rush