The Average American?

[Sc@tterbrain 0]

All this walking around the issue.  Hell I'll admit it.  This is a complete copy off of bits originally done in the US by US media constantly.  Watch the Tonight Show with Jay Leno or listen to US radio, this is an old bit in the US.

The % of Americans that can name who is the Vice President, Speaker ofthe House, State Governor, or State Representative is quite pathetic.

Yes a LARGE number of Americans are competely apathetic and ignorant of the world that is more than 2 miles out their front door.  Yes, as an American that drives me nuts as someone that cares.

But the issue is SO much bigger than that.  As a non-American you laugh, ridicule, and inflate your chest.  

This should scare the hell out of every American, and everyone else.  Americans should be scared because their country is dying.  Everyone else should be scared because America is dying.  

If you don't believe that statement, you will be proven wrong in a most ugly manner.

It saddens me that I'm not sure that it can averted,  So be it.  

Sometimes you must lose everthing before you relize what you had.  Only then will you be willing to fight to get it back.

Nature is cruel, especially when humans are involved. And yet it has a funny way of balancing out. The people you saw in this video, I don't have high hopes for.

Is the future unwritten, or dose it repeat itself? Love to know the answer to that one.

[CsonkaPityu 0]

Quote[/b] ]This should scare the hell out of every American, and everyone else. Americans should be scared because their country is dying. Everyone else should be scared because America is dying.

Why everyone else? I mean besides Israel i cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live.

[Spokesperson 0]

Then there is another problem, what kind of political democracy is that? If people with money and knowledge can tell people things and make people believe in them (because they don't know better), those people can do anything they want with the country as long as they got popular support (from people with less knowledge than school children that is).

People who own newspapers, radio-stations and TV-stations can spread propaganda, lies or just ignore important information in order to serve their own interests. And people would never know.

Anhow, I don't think any country in the world is democratic. In most countries big companies decide or influence whole economies. Nobody voted them there. Nobody wants them to decide more than the people that were elected in "free" elections. Still they produce more diamonds than bread in countries with starvation. Anyone can't get elected either. One needs tons of money. Who has money? The companies. That should be why most politicians turn into or are corporate tools.

[PainDealer 0]

the geographic part of the film has to be something like 95% accurate. no offense to anyone but imo average americans generally don't know locations outside their country.

[Balschoiw 0]

I guess they are all just trying hard to get on the same level as their leader in charge

Quote[/b] ]"I believe that a prosperous, democratic Pakistan will be a steadfast partner for America, a peaceful neighbor for India, and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world." --George W. Bush, mistakenly identifying Pakistan as an Arab country, Islamabad, Pakistan, March 3, 2006

Quote[/b] ]'I don't know why you're talking about Sweden. They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.'' --George W. Bush, during an Oval Office meeting with Rep. Tom Lantos, as reported by the New York Times

Quote[/b] ]"More Muslims have died at the hands of killers than -- I say more Muslims -- a lot of Muslims have died -- I don't know the exact count -- at Istanbul. Look at these different places around the world where there's been tremendous death and destruction because killers kill." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004

Quote[/b] ]"This very week in 1989, there were protests in East Berlin and in Leipzig. By the end of that year, every communist dictatorship in Central America had collapsed." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2003

Quote[/b] ]"The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur." —George W. Bush, discussing the decline of the French economy with British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Quote[/b] ]"Do you have blacks, too?" —George W. Bush, to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Nov. 8, 2001, as reported in an April 28, 2002, Estado Sao Pauloan column by Fernando Pedreira, a close friend of President Cardoso

Would be fun to see him in quizshow sometime. Wait... No.

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

I can only blaim the average lower IQ of Americans their School system. What else could it be?

And no, I haven't seen that movie that was posted, since... Well, it's just some biased crap .

[sputnik monroe 102]

Quote[/b] ]Why everyone else? I mean besides Israel i cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live.

 How about Taiwan?

 Possibly South Korea and Japan.

 China isn't a big friendly teddy bear.

 

Quote[/b] ]I cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live

 I could very likely be reciprocal with your comment and direct it at your nation. But I wont because I try not to be mean.

 What troubles me is the amount of people that wish death and destruction on Americans, and why? When I was a young jingoistic fool of a teenager I use to hate France. One day I evolved and asked my self a question. Why do I hate France? I then put all my believed reasons up for review. "I hate them because they are arogant." was one reason, I then asked my self, how many French have I talked to and how many where really rude. I then compared that to how many of my own nation I met and how many where rude. The ratio was about the same. I stopped hating the French people.

 I think alot of people really have to ask them selves some questions. Why do you hate America or country X, Y or Z?

 I don't know why I bother. People believe what they want to believe. If you hate me and my nation that's your right and there is nothing I can do about it. I just believe there are bigger evils in the world.

 I'm sorry and I hope we never meet.

Don't feel like satan but I am to them ~Neil Young

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

Quote[/b] ]Why everyone else? I mean besides Israel i cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live.

How about Taiwan?

Possibly South Korea and Japan.

China isn't a big friendly teddy bear.

Quote[/b] ]I cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live

I could very likely be reciprocal with your comment and direct it at your nation. But I wont because I try not to be mean.

What troubles me is the amount of people that wish death and destruction on Americans, and why? When I was a young jingoistic fool of a teenager I use to hate France. One day I evolved and asked my self a question. Why do I hate France? I then put all my believed reasons up for review. "I hate them because they are arogant." was one reason, I then asked my self, how many French have I talked to and how many where really rude. I then compared that to how many of my own nation I met and how many where rude. The ratio was about the same. I stopped hating the French people.

I think alot of people really have to ask them selves some questions. Why do you hate America or country X, Y or Z?

I don't know why I bother. People believe what they want to believe. If you hate me and my nation that's your right and there is nothing I can do about it. I just believe there are bigger evils in the world.

I'm sorry and I hope we never meet.

Don't feel like satan but I am to them ~Neil Young

Well,

Here in Denmark there is absolutely anti-American opinions (including my own). It has mostly something to do with the war, the lies and the non-existent punishments to your government after it.

It just seems weird and very unfair. Not what I would call a free country.

Also, as an Atheist, I really really gets surprised from day to day to see how your politics ALWAYS bring in god for some reason. The worst part is, it doesn't seem like you guys care about it?!

Lately it was the Hillary and Mr. Obama making their speeches in churches!! WHAT!?

Also Ive seen some movies on youtube against Atheists... But oh well, it was CNN, so I didn't take it as objective - but I still can't figure out how ignorant THAT many people can be?!

It's like... WTF!?

[sanctuary 19]

Quote[/b] ]

I think alot of people really have to ask them selves some questions. Why do you hate America or country X, Y or Z?

The answer is simple : ignorance, the greatest plague of the world as it is why some people can easily manipulate other people, and force their thought on them.

When someone begin to know some people of a country he is "hating" , or instead is manipulated into hating by his country medias and all the propaganda bullshits that are often a part of most of the education systems and politician "showbiz" , his ignorance about them and their culture will change a very lot.

And so his opinion can come out of simple basic ignorance.

Then such person can understand why not only he was stupid to hate "country X", but on how more stupid he was by actually letting his thoughts being manipulated by some other people.

Never stay in your ignorance, educate yourself to see things like they are, not like some people with an agenda wants you to see them. You can strongly dislike a nation governement, but getting all that nation people under your hate is sheer ignorance.

[CsonkaPityu 0]

Quote[/b] ]Why everyone else? I mean besides Israel i cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live.

 How about Taiwan?

 Possibly South Korea and Japan.

 China isn't a big friendly teddy bear.

 

Quote[/b] ]I cannot think of any country that needs you guys to live

 I could very likely be reciprocal with your comment and direct it at your nation. But I wont because I try not to be mean.

Oh stop taking things so personally. It was an honest question.

Quote[/b] ]This should scare the hell out of every American, and everyone else.

Why? The only reason i can think of is that since you guys possess nukes you might actually use them in your desperation.

If i'd say "the death of the Hungarian Republic = DOOM!" Then you could come and tell me how worthless my country is (which it is - but that's besides the point). Until then stop trying to reciprocate.

Anyways about the video... i don't think all these people are necessarily stupid. We used to have a game in my elementary school quite similiar, where we rapidly asked someone the simplest questions and when he couldn't answer it was supposed to be the testimony of his stupidity. These were really simple questions like "3 plus 2!?" but barely anyone answered within the first few seconds.

Same went on during tests, kids could solve the more complex math tasks but when they made them simpler (my school system got dumbed down a lot) everyone was confused and was expecting somekind of twist, complexity and was thinking "it's a trap! this can't be this easy!".

"Where was the Berlin wall?" now someone who isn't absolutely sure would start thinking: "It can't be in Berlin otherwise he wouldn't ask it... noone's that stupid!"

Same applies to these interviews, when you ambush someone on the street with trivia - someone who probably has his mind on something completely different - you won't get no good answers out of him. There's a reason why we think ahead, the brain is like a filecabinet and when something completely random gets asked it usually takes time to get the answer from all that trash we collect into our heads.

Couple all that with video editing and you have a grade-B comedy show.

"Hope we never meet" Oh come one now you started hating me a for a lifetime because i asked a question? Well snap...

[kerosene 0]

I think Anti-americanism picked up since Bush got in, the tabloids in Europe picked up on it and Micheal Moore started shifting a lot of books, so people with no real interest in politics started having all these strong opinions..

The funny thing is people I know will start saying this and that about America or Bush, but their the exact kind of people who would be 100% behind him if they were American. People who read The Sun for example.

[GrimErazer 0]

"Where was the Berlin wall?" now someone who isn't absolutely sure would start thinking: "It can't be in Berlin otherwise he wouldn't ask it... noone's that stupid!"

That is a quite good measurement: if you do not know the instant correct answer of this - even in the middle of your deepest sleep - , your common knowlege and level of education is very poor...

In brief: the U.S. citizens are not (necessarily) stupid, but only commonly very poorly educated!

[Balschoiw 0]

Keeping in mind that not even 20 percent of the US citizens (immigrants included) own a passport that would enable them to stick their nose outside the US it´s just natural that their international knowledge is somewhat limited. If you have no interest in other countries than yours you will not learn AND remember things about it.

And in gross most US citizens only care for something with a US flag on it. There gotta be a slogan somewhere that staying in the US is patriotic, no ?

[hellfish6 7]

Far be it from me to stand up for the idiots in my own country, you've got to look at this in context.

You can go to any country in the world and put together a clip exactly like this. I can find you Swedes who can't find Finland on a map, I can find you Japanese who don't know where Hokkaido is, and I can find you Frenchmen who couldn't find Switzerland on a map to save their life.

Naturally, if I was setting out to make fun of an entire culture like this, I'd also edit out all the people who actually got anything right. Nothing funny about that.

You've also got to remember that all these people who come across as idiots on camera, also probably know a lot more than you do about a lot of other things. I'm sure there are neurosurgeons who can't tell you the capital of Illinois - does this make them stupid?

America has the luxury of geographic isolation. Rest assured that the people actually in charge of implementing policy know what they're talking about. If only the same was true for the people deciding policy...

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]I'm sure there are neurosurgeons who can't tell you the capital of Illinois - does this make them stupid?

No but it would scare me to wait for the surgeon in Illinois while he´s on a plane to Washington

[Ironsight 1]

You can go to any country in the world and put together a clip exactly like this. I can find you Swedes who can't find Finland on a map, I can find you Japanese who don't know where Hokkaido is, and I can find you Frenchmen who couldn't find Switzerland on a map to save their life.

They should compile a vid like that of the Dutch. Especially students, some are so fucking stupid...

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

I think Anti-americanism picked up since Bush got in, the tabloids in Europe picked up on it and Micheal Moore started shifting a lot of books, so people with no real interest in politics started having all these strong opinions..

The funny thing is people I know will start saying this and that about America or Bush, but their the exact kind of people who would be 100% behind him if they were American.  People who read The Sun for example.

no, anti american feelings are hidden deep within the european 1970ies generation. And this generation now runs the media and the intellectual elite of the center left.

In Germany this generation (68er) once accused their parents of not having fought the Nazis. Today we know better and the once so critical 68er generation turned out to be the most egoistic in the history of our country. This arrogant Mr.KnowItAll-Generation enjoyed its luxurious lifestyle at the cost of future generations such as mine.

And this generation was highly prejudiced, mostly against the US (due to reasons such Vietnam, capitalism, pershings etc). That wasnt a problem back then but now it is. They grew older and a certain percentage now holds important positions with great public influence.

I mean look at it. Noone gave a FU.CK about the incredible cruelties and slaughter in Chechnya but when the incidents at Abu Ghraib became public the entire western world repsonded with great distress.

All those that constantly feel obliged to accuse the americans of having double standards should look into the mirror before.

[Thunderbird 0]

No wonder the US of A is known to be influential on the rest of the world, but the way americans are perceived negatively is often justified, that doesn't give us the right to generalize all americans as unitelligent money grubbing idiots, though.

Since having seen different places in europe, I must admit that the culture's concept is different in every country, but you would hardly see people not knowing that israel's main religion is judaism.

With no offense, the US reputation in terms of general and cultural knowledge unfortunately seems not to be that brilliant here.

I could understand that some americans on this board feel offended by some comments but these remarks should not be taken personal.

regards,

TB

[Postduifje 0]

They should compile a vid like that of the Dutch. Especially students, some are so fucking stupid...

That's nonsense! If you didn't live on the other side of the Great Slovak Ocean I would prove it to your face!

[Ironsight 1]

They should compile a vid like that of the Dutch. Especially students, some are so fucking stupid...

That's nonsense! If you didn't live on the other side of the Great Slovak Ocean I would prove it to your face!

Off course there are exceptions, but I am suprised by the stupidity of some students here, especially on the subject geography.

And don't say it's because of the pot and the booze, I do both and it never degraded my brain one bit...

[hellfish6 7]

no, anti american feelings are hidden deep within the european 1970ies generation. And this generation now runs the media and the intellectual elite of the center left.

In Germany this generation (68er) once accused their parents of not having fought the Nazis. Today we know better and the once so critical 68er generation turned out to be the most egoistic in the history of our country. This arrogant Mr.KnowItAll-Generation enjoyed its luxurious lifestyle at the cost of future generations such as mine.

And this generation was highly prejudiced, mostly against the US (due to reasons such Vietnam, capitalism, pershings etc). That wasnt a problem back then but now it is. They grew older and a certain percentage now holds important positions with great public influence.

I mean look at it. Noone gave a FU.CK about the incredible cruelties and slaughter in Chechnya but when the incidents at Abu Ghraib became public the entire western world repsonded with great distress.

All those that constantly feel obliged to accuse the americans of having double standards should look into the mirror before.

Its the same here. The people who were hippies back in the 60s and 70s (referred to as Baby Boomers) are widely considered to be the most concieted of all American generations. They generally typify your "Ugly Americans".

I'm pretty interested to see how my generation (Gen-X) and the next generation (Gen-Y I think?) fare, as our two generations have grown up totally disgusted with our parents' generation, and far more in touch with the rest of the world than they ever were.

Just look at my MSN contacts - 5 Americans, 4 Dutch, 3 Finns, 3 Germans, 3 Canadians, 2 French, 1 Japanese, and a couple Brits. At any given moment of any given day I can have a conversation, for free, with anyone anywhere in the world. There's tons and tons of information out there for my generation to digest. I hope we make use of it.

[dm 9]

... and a couple Brits.

Pah, I thought I meant more to you than that...

I think the media (both "professional" and "amateur") do not help the American's case. Generally speaking, the professional media are a bunch of assholes who jump on every negative point, or are too politically entangled to provide an unbiased and clear view on the United States.

The amateur media (places like break.com et al) are possibly doing a worse job of tarnishing the image, since they specifically post the videos, pictures and stories of stupidity at its "best."

Sure America has its idiots, but so does every other country. America would seem to be being "victimised" at the moment because they are the most active in western societies. I'm sure if you looked into eastern or asian society they would have "local" scapegoats too. Ofcourse, America suffers there too, because their power projects around the world. I'm sure that Britain, if she were still great and retained her empire would be recieving the same flak that America does today...

[Ironsight 1]

The amateur media (places like break.com et al) are possibly doing a worse job of tarnishing the image, since they specifically post the videos, pictures and stories of stupidity at its "best."

I tend to think the opposite. Have you checked the girls at Break? The college humour on Break made me want to study in the USA.

[JdB 151]

I'm sure if you looked into eastern or asian society they would have "local" scapegoats too.

True, but the level of education and the need for global awareness in that area are both alot lower than they are in the western world. People in such places are usually content with making a living, rather than caring about what happens on the other part of the globe.

[M4XSs 0]

People in such places are usually content with making a living, rather than caring about what happens on the other part of the globe.

True I think if oil keeps getting pumped to America they won’t give a fug about the rest of the world.

But in their case they responsible about lots of those problems clearly so ignorance is not a defense.

Their wrong options and greed sorry to say.

However, putting all of them in the same basket is not fair also.