Does the world hate America?

[Forever trying]

I'd be interested to know if historically, those nations who were world powers at one time, had the same complaints made about their own citizens. I mean, were the Brits always regarded as wonderful people wherever they visited? Was there ever such thing as the "ugly Englishman" syndrome? How about the French or Spanish (or Romans and Greeks--just kidding!)? Are the Yanks the only world power in history to have such claims made about her citizens?

Before WW2, Britain was the world power according to many. There were views against them (such as with americans). But primarily, the dominion nations who looked to Britain for protection actually loved England. Hey, look at history. Most of the dominion nations happily went to two world wars for Britain. Many signing up to serve the "Mother Land". Now, perhaps that was a bit naive thinking back then. But not many western nations (or other) are exactly jumping to help the US in their wars, are they? If so, as small a commitment as possible.

To those who decide to stay out altogether, well... We all heard of the tongue lashings France and Germany got, didn't we?! I'm sure Canada got some of that treatment too, from my memory.

 

[Milla]

But primarily, the dominion nations who looked to Britain for protection actually loved England. Hey, look at history. Most of the dominion nations happily went to two world wars for Britain.

Call me crazy, but I think you'll find that while such opinions were much less common in dominion nations comprised less of British emigrants and more of native people. I'm thinking, say, Sierra Leone wasn't exactly writing valentines to Mother England.

I'd be interested to know if historically, those nations who were world powers at one time, had the same complaints made about their own citizens. I mean, were the Brits always regarded as wonderful people wherever they visited? Was there ever such thing as the "ugly Englishman" syndrome? How about the French or Spanish (or Romans and Greeks--just kidding!)?

To tell the truth, I think the "ugly Briton" stereotype is much livelier in modern Russia than the "ugly American" stereotype. This is probably due to the recent influx of horrible middle-aged British lady tourists. O but they are crazy-making. Obviously I am not old enough to know first-person how the British were percieved during their heyday, but it is my impression that not enough British were coming to Russia for anyone to form an opinion. Their ambassadors were considered very stodgy and dull, though. The French and French culture, on the other hand, were beloved of Russians, never mind Napoleon and all that.

I don't think the "ugly American" stereotype has ever been particularly alive in Russia/USSR. "Dumb American," yes. "Ugly American," no.

 

[Father Niko]

Im sorry if i sound stupid, but sometimes there are shows with people from outside the US or even inside the US that seem to loath America and hate it. Do you know why this might be?

Well one thing can be that they dont like the way US handels its politics, one example is the way the handeled Iraq, but i think there is some problems with in all countrys, even if they hate US it does not mean that they hate those who live there.

 

[Scribbler]

Well one thing can be that they dont like the way US handels its politics, one example is the way the handeled Iraq, but i think there is some problems with in all countrys, even if they hate US it does not mean that they hate those who live there.

As an American who is neck deep in our culture and policies, let me make 2 points,...

1. Honestly, calling our movies/shows "American Cultural Exports" is off the mark.
"Hollywood cultural exports" is more apt. A good number of Americans(especially us Red Staters) have nothing but contempt for the Hollywood crowd and the drivel it produces. Most foreigners get a view through America through it's Entertainment, or the Brainless Egoists who star in it. While Sean Penn (whose education consists of 6 weeks of auto repair school) may draw International Attention for his opposition to the war, 90% of us see him as a self-serving clown who disparages his country to make himself more appealing to the other egoists and/or foreign media. Ditto for Madonna, Alec Baldwin, Dixie Chicks, Barbra Streisand, etc, etc, etc....
2. We certainly have nothing against the UN,...we would love if the Int'l community would take a more active role in peacekeeping. It would take more pressure off of us. But the US realizes that there are bad people in the world, and "resolutions" & "sanctions" will not stop them any more than they would've stopped Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, etc.
Hussein massacred his own people, attacked his weaker neighbors, built up his arsenal with weapons he promised the UN he wouldn't have, and either possessed WMD or did his best to obtain/develop them. The UN did little more than wring it's hands. If he stood here today with an arsenal of Nukes and Bio weapons, threatening to attack Iraq/Kuwait/Israel, would the UN condemn us for putting him down? No? Well, he's trying to get them. We can either do this now or later. No, We DO NOT want to get involved in other countries affairs, but not to the point of burying our heads in the sand and pretending that no threat to peace exists.
Anyways, thats my two cents. Or two "blessings", as it were...

 

[Locked_Away]

Americans, though interesting as a people, do seem a bit "cowboy"ish when it comes to butting into other nation's problems. Perhaps if they would allow things to resolve on their own, things will even out through time.

Though sense that tragic event of the American Twin Towers 11 of Sept. I must agree with Bush on that extent of his actions.

 

[coreXian]

A couple of things as an American:

Don't trust what you see on TV & Movies, they were typically created from an individualls opinion and by no means sum up the whole.

I love you guys, especially you Kiwis and Aussies. I know where you are on the map and actually have several friends in New Zealand (which is beautiful, by the way). Usually the geographical ignorance wears off after some exposure to other places. This actually describes people from many nations (not just Americans) as pointed out already.

I think politically, we like leaders that support our moral beliefs; the problem comes when we can't agree on those beliefs, and thus the dislike of us on that field. However, in our defense, we had to elect the person who was going to do the least amount of damage to what ethics are left in our society. We don't agree with everything he pushes, but feel that since we're already in the war, a change in leadership could potentially cause worse damage in the long run. I didn't personally like any of our candidates, but I knew there were some that could bring a serious moral collapse, and, frankly, that could be much worse than a war (spiritually speaking).

We're not all wealthy and ignorant. In fact, several of us are quite the opposite (speaking as a recent graduate from university, with many student loans ). Not upset with any of you, just wanted to let you know it's not as hopeless as it seems. We are equally as frustrated, as Christians, with the sin in the world.

 

[Hark3N]

I would say that I don't hate Americans. I don't like them either. For one, they took english and completely raped it. Many of them still belief that wild animals roam the streets in Africa (it is actually true in some of the countries, but then again, that streets are dirt).

Another thing that really annoys me, is that little phrase on the $1-bill. In God we trust. Which God? Certainly not my God, becuase He is not made of paper.

Anyway, I'd better say goodbye, before I get nasty here.

 

[Milla]

I would say that I don't hate Americans. I don't like them either. For one, they took english and completely raped it. Many of them still belief that wild animals roam the streets in Africa (it is actually true in some of the countries, but then again, that streets are dirt).

Another thing that really annoys me, is that little phrase on the $1-bill. In God we trust. Which God? Certainly not my God, becuase He is not made of paper.

Anyway, I'd better say goodbye, before I get nasty here.

This is just silly. Seriously. It's fine to dislike America for these reasons, but to dislike Americans for these reasons? You think all the citizens of the USA are working for the treasury department? Or that individual Americans are personally responsible for the state of the English language? (In any case, it is widely believed among linguists that standard American English has more in common with the English spoken in Britain at the time of the American Revolution than modern standard British English does; and whether this is even true, language is fluid. English hasn't been around for long; it's not like Americans are despoiling some millenia-old linguistic tradition.

 

[Chrono Traveler]

Ah, I'm not a big fan of my own country. Mostly because even with the freedoms we have, there is still a long long way to go.

Once at school, this kid in class was being really loud, and making stupid comments to boot. I put my head down and muttered to myself "blah, sometimes, I can't stand the people in this country" The girl in fron of turned around and said "Well!, if you hate America so much why don't you go and @#$@$@% move to Japan"

Funny, cause I find Japan very interesting(hey, I'm not saying theres nothing wrong with Japan either) But whenever I start talking about loving the Japanese culture, people get offended(cept for my friends).

 

[Scribbler]

I would say that I don't hate Americans. I don't like them either. For one, they took english and completely raped it. Many of them still belief that wild animals roam the streets in Africa (it is actually true in some of the countries, but then again, that streets are dirt).

Another thing that really annoys me, is that little phrase on the $1-bill. In God we trust. Which God? Certainly not my God, becuase He is not made of paper.

Anyway, I'd better say goodbye, before I get nasty here.

"RE: "In God We Trust"...How you deciphered this as some "paper god" escapes me. The "God" they refer to is God, the one of the bible, the one we believe in. Say what you like, my country has never been ashamed to give thanks to Him, or put Him first. Most, if not all, American Christians list this as the reason our country has so much success. We pray to Him before Gov't meetings, we have a national solely for the purpose of giving thanks to Him, and yes, we stamp our money with "In God We Trust".
If you put Him first Always, He will bless you, whether you're a man, woman, or even a nation. If this "really annoys you", you may be a tad sensitive.

 

[Cadillac]

Im sorry if i sound stupid, but sometimes there are shows with people from outside the US or even inside the US that seem to loath America and hate it. Do you know why this might be?

Why do rich hate the poor?

Why the underachievers always dispise the overachiever?

Answer my questions, and I will promise you, you will answer yours.

 

[refusethemark]

What really annoys me is the phrase "God bless America". How egotistic is that? There are OTHER COUNTRIES in the world that need blessing WAY more than America does (and I'm not talking about Australia). Also the phrase "Proud to be an American"... so does that mean you're inferior and have nothing to be proud of if you're NOT an American??

The other day I got very very annoyed when I found out that in the past 20 years or so Americans have taken British TV shows and made their own versions of the same show with American actors, American jokes etc... Now I know that you could say "Oh but Americans would understand it better cause it relates to them more". But if the rest of the world has to put up with American shows being made exactly how they were and if Australia doesn't change shows from any other country and leaves them alone, why should America? Is nothing good enough for America but its OWN stuff? Personally I believe America is missing out on so much good stuff because of that attitude, but it's their loss so *shrug*

Don't get me wrong, I do not 'hate' or 'dislike' American people. I know plenty of them and they are wonderful people. But I DO strongly dislike the self-centredness of the nation as a whole where everything is about them and the way they consider themseles the best at everything. Its a big lack of humility and nobody likes that in anyone, let alone a whole nation.

 

[liveforHIM]

People tend to see the bad things more than good things. Or put it another way, people are more impacted by negative things done to them than positive things. I have travelled to different places and seen the hatred to Americans. When people hate America, they probably hate American government's foreign policies. Many of those don't speak for all American citizens. I am sorry for those who have this hatred but remember Jesus gives us the love inside our hearts so we can live together with love.

 

[goldenviolet]

WOW. i was born here. there are so many different cultures and such here. i was raised that that was being American was all about.... the freedom to celebrate who you are. even our calendars honor world wide and cultural events. as a land of mixed lanuages and people being american means equality for everyone. if someone feels mistreated because they don't speak the 'right' lanuage it's a fedral crime of dicrimination. my friends are from other countries... and my dream is to visit them and see other places on this world. my pen-pal and treasured friend is from Aussie.... on saterday nights we curl up and watch the real british comedies. we feel they are way cleaner than American hollywood (which is a discrace to more than half the people i know). on my dead end street we have six or more different cultures. everyone i've become nieghbors with all have they're own cultural TV channels. i've heard comments like that all my life. it makes me uncomfortable. there is sin and bad ways everywhere you go... not just here.

 

[goldenviolet]

i've heard that americans are unwelcomed in most countries... i wonder if that is true. am i dissplaced because i was born in a land that stands out so negatively..... should i lower my head further than what i do when i see what we all do to one another? i feel extreamly small anyway. there is so much violance and sinful things going on. when i stand in the mist of what i cannot control, i do feel so small. God and my spiritual family are all i want in life...
love the Lord thy God with all your heart...and love one another. *sniffle*

 

[Scribbler]

What really annoys me is the phrase "God bless America". How egotistic is that? There are OTHER COUNTRIES in the world that need blessing WAY more than America does (and I'm not talking about Australia). Also the phrase "Proud to be an American"... so does that mean you're inferior and have nothing to be proud of if you're NOT an American??

The other day I got very very annoyed when I found out that in the past 20 years or so Americans have taken British TV shows and made their own versions of the same show with American actors, American jokes etc...
Don't get me wrong, I do not 'hate' or 'dislike' American people. I know plenty of them and they are wonderful people. But I DO strongly dislike the self-centredness of the nation as a whole where everything is about them and the way they consider themseles the best at everything. .

#1. Really..do you feel the same about "God save the Queen"? God Bless America ( and In God We Trust) is not a call to ignore other nations and focus on ours,...it's simply an acknowledgement that everything comes from Him, and if you put him first, He will bless you. Nobody is stopping other nations from singing "God Bless Zimbabwe" or "God Bless Australia". "O Canada" doesn't mention any nation other than itself, does it? It's an American song thanking God for His blessings, just that. We may not sing songs asking for blessings on, say, Haiti, but we do send our share of Missionarys and relief workers there, wouldn't you say?
RE: "Proud To Be An American"- yes, I agree- I've always been THANKFUL to be one, not proud.
#2. As far as changing TV shows, hey EVERYONE does this. Many foreign programs/movies/etc. simply take a formula, change the setting & language and create a version more suited to their culture. Having traveled to 36 countries, I am amazed at things that started here have reached so far. Rap videos in Israel, "Jerry Springer" style shows in Latin America, Soap operas in Scandanavia, etc. Every nations cultural exports get transformed into a local version. Besides, we love British culture over here. Not as much as Canada or Australia, but given our Melting Pot of cultures, we just don't have as strong of ties to the UK.
#3. Finally, if we thought we were the best at everything, we would never buy other nations products, eat other nations cuisine, listen to other nations music, or celebrate the culture of other nations.
Peace to you.

 

[Multi-Elis]

Talking about pride in beeing American, I heard somebody say something really interesting the other day: Nationalism, is being proud in your nation because you are better than other nations. Patriotism, is a word that should be used to express natural pride and thankfulness to the country's heritage. So there is really nothing wrong with being proud of some of the values taught in America, some of the life styles, and aspects of history. Notice that I made my remarks moderate- because I think that the countries that have things to be proud about has just as much to be ashamed about.

i've heard that americans are unwelcomed in most countries... i wonder if that is true. am i dissplaced because i was born in a land that stands out so negatively

I have experience with this in a small way: when I lived in Israel, there were two main youth camps that went on at the same time. One was started by Americans, the other by Israelis. The American one brought a lot of cool American culture with thim and a charismatic way to worship God. The Israeli one was built on a more israeli way of living, and on churches who were against being worldly in any way, very serious, and against the gifts of the holy spirit. With the great success of the American camp, (they went from 20 to 100 in a couple years) there was a new rivalry. Each camp thought it was better than the other. I was from the American one originally, and loved it so much that when I went to the Israeli one, I innocently started to tell everybody how great it was. And everybody there was so mad at the American camp for bringing in American punk culture, for being wild and crazy, and for getting into things like speaking in tonges. So they would spend all their time explaining to me what was wrong with the camp I liked so much, and I really couldn't understand why they hated me so much. After all, I never said that the American camp was better than the Israeli one, They were two different things, and people should experience both. But they understood me to be implying that the American one was BETTER. And they were so annoyed at me, that they could do nothing but try to "balance me out" by pointing out the bad. And they did truely disslike the other camp without ever having been gone to it.

So if you have the patience to read this story, you will have seen how this disliking-America mecanism works.

My advice: Just be yourself, who you are, with your american accent, with your over friedly face expressions and with what you like about your haritage, because that is who you are and that is what you like, and you shouldn't have to change who you are and what you like just because some intolerant immature people can't stand the politics and lifestyle of your country. You can't try to change your identity in order to please all sorts of peoples and nations. But as long as you try to connect with the people in the countries you visit, respect their norms (not talking too loudly, not advertising to bluntly that you are a tourist, doing their froms of politeness) you should have no problem. If you do, it's theirs. If you show openess, respect and awareness of mentality and norms, you've done your part. Anybody who tries to demand more of you is in the wrong.
Many people in other countries have stuped steriotypes of America, and it's about as smart as thinking that all French like Chirac. (if you look at what happened 3 years ago, you will see that most people don't like Chirac at all, they just saw him as the lesser of two evils) If people want to continue having stuped steriotypes, continue seeing you as a represtentative of politics and refuse to see you as an individual, that's their problem.

Maybe I can say that one of the political problems of America is not being connected, respecting, open, and aware of other countries and their mentality, but this list of political problems with other countries is just as long as the problems that can be listed about america.

It is true that part of the disslike to America stems from a need and a desire to preserve ones own identity, but this is just a virtual way to keep your identity, because whether you like America or not, your heritage and way of life shouldn't change too much. It is true that sometimes there is this feeling that "not dissliking America a little bit, means liking them, wich means agreeing with them which is not what we do" There is nothing to do about this. It's human nature.

 

[BlackRain]

i'm from the united states and i'm not even that fond about it. while there may be jobs and all that jazz...it's not the promise land people in the states think it is. i've been around the world. i looooove it! i've found that we are prideful and prejudice against people from other countries. we just don't admit it. its just as messed up as people from other countries think it is. we could anytime soon become a country without as much freedom...we take advantage of the fact that we can choose this and that, but really...i don't see anyone around the world begging to come here. i met a cool lady in japan who was obsessed with the states...i just kind'a kept my mouth shut. her whole house was in red, white and blue decore with american flags EVERYWHERE!!! i don't really see many people saying that they hate they're country and want to move here. the only thing that is keeping us "strong" is that we have a good defense...i think. but even that could be taken away tomorrow. we don't live in the moment...we don't take a minute to sit down and just relax. we're so busy and always going. when i was in mexico, mexicans told me that they can tell if you're american by the way we walk. we're always in a hurry. its true! so whats with that?! we think we rule the world....WE DON'T! i'm not this united states hater...i just don't see why we think that its so fine...thats all. i like it...i'm just not this crazed obsessor about living here. i don't see why we can't give an acknowlegement of other countries and take time to understand their cultures and so on. we need to be humbled. i'm not saying this to make people outside the united states "happy" or whatever you want to call it...its my opinion and its my perspective. wow...it felt good to let all that out....

 

[goldenviolet]

My advice: Just be yourself, who you are, with your american accent, with your over friedly face expressions and with what you like about your haritage

i have had a difficult time understanding this because it seems like an insult. the rest didn't. except maybe the accusing american's as being loud tourist.... although i read the post that stated that too. i read them all. i was curious. i still don't understand it all. everyone is pointing fingers at one thing or another. we all have issues. we all are connected. we are all diconnected. we all have good and bad. we all have something that stands out. we all have people who see past all of these things. we all have people who can't or won't. and we all have people who can't figure it all out too.
we have people who work hard to know more about them. we all have people who don't care.
and just for fun i thought i'd throw this in: my back ground is german and french.
and my husband is italian and portuguese. and back to the origional post... i watch british tv every saterday with all four of my kids and hubby. my hubby speaks seven lanuages. we have our own library which has books in the lanuages my husband speaks ....(he reads them to me sometimes) and we have books about and from all over.....and right now i'm listening to south afrikan music from juanita du plessis...
all in afrikaans. i'm almost afraid to post this! i wonder if it will be picked apart.
i just know we are all God's children and our faults are no different from anyone elses no matter where we live. i don't think having a narrow point of veiw (on purpose) is one of my faults. we should set an exsample to those we meet and know when we can. the Bible says there are many pieces of the body but only one head. and there are many traditions and ways of serving God. all that matters is that when we hear God's voice we listen. love the Lord thy God with all your heart...and love one another

 

[Twizzla]

I know quite a lot of Americans. My brother in law is an American, and my sister lives over in Illinois. I've travelled to about 20 states, and really enjoyed my time in the USA. I don't hate America... but I'm not much a fan of your government, the attitudes of many Americans to the rest of the world, your war mongering president and of course Oil Wars: Bush Strikes Back!

I can't believe 51% of Americans can actually stand him...