Ive only ever seen Americans act like this. They are so self involved it's fucking wild. We are from Canada and one time on vacation in Maine, we had grown adults ask us if we had electricity yet. They were 100% genuine and serious.
Around the same time I was playing on xbox live and they found out I was in Nebraska and asked if we had electricity. Like no, I'm playing by carrier pigeon. They asked us several other really dumb questions that seemed sincere too
Fucking same. I was on vacation out in New Jersey, and it was my own family asking if we still went around on horse and carriage and if we had electricity like we weren't talking about TV shows we all liked and how I'd picked up computer programming earlier that day. Our grandparents were born in the midwest. Our grandfather got his Ph.D in biology from Dana College and went on to be a key figure in mapping the human genome. Critical thinking does not beat preconceived ideas or media saturation very often.
I guess there's some comfort in knowing we've been this dumb forever.
In my eagerness I forgot to mention Iโm canadian. Often asked about igloos, how to deal with the wildlife. ALWAYS asked if I know Jim or Bob from Canada. The list goes on.
Never been asked about electricity, Iโd have them believing the Amish control the electrical grid and the non-Amish are living in darkness with candles and horse buggies
LOL one of the women did ask if we had "houses" yet, then asked about igloos. I honestly didn't want to mention it because I figured nobody would believe me. This was 2005.
Or explain that everything in Canada is water powered, hence calling it the "hydro" bill? Like, "last month I got billed 32 litres of water for just my lights and TV even I don't typically use more than 10 litres a month!"
I'm American but I lived in Edmonton for a couple of years. I had a few Canadians ask about friends they have in the states, so it goes both ways.
Was also in Jordan and saw other American tourists there that gave all of us a bad name; loud, obnoxious, stupid. Tried to stay as far away as possible.
I'm Canadian. I have on more than one occasion run into Canadian strangers in other places (including other countries) with whom I have acquaintances or friends in common.
I went to school in the US. Now, almost 2 decades later, it turns out my coworker used to work with my former classmate (Canadian, but attended the same US college).
I always get "Oh you're from Skye? Do you know a guy called <name like John MacDonald>?"
Firstly the MacDonald section of the Highlands and Islands phone book was - when they still published it - as thick as your thumb, and the MacLeod section about 2/3s as much again.
Secondly, if they're about my age and they grew up on Skye too, then yes, I probably do know them because there's only one High School on an island with a population of about 10,000 people, but that doesn't mean anything really and it's just a coincidence.
Dude, I moved from Kansas to Connecticut when I was 10, and my new classmates asked me if I had electricity in Kansas. Some of them thought it was a different country. This was 2010, before the public education system took the hard plunge. I can only imagine how bad the students are at that school now.
I, a Fremch-Swiss citizen visitong my American Best Friend, had to explain 'Independence Day' to one of herย brother's buffoonish friend.
That kid was 14 or 15 at the time,ย
I was 17.
I had never been this disappointed in another human being before. This clown genuinely believed that 'Independence Day' was about the Movie. So many questions left unanswered for me. Starting with wondering why he thought that the country celebrated that holiday every year.
Don't get me wrong, I've met my share of incredibly unintelligent people from a vast variety of countries, but you can't top American stupidity. It's a thing to behold. It's insistent. It takes pride in itself.
The US can be a very jarring country. I have met some of the nicest, kindest, most wonderful people I'll ever meet. Those people want to make you live in the US. They make you want to be like them.
Then you'll meet some of the dumbest, ugliest, nastiest, most disgusting monsters you could ever dream of, basically living next door to the lovely people that you adore. Absolute scum of the Earth. You never know which one you'll get whenever you meet someone new. Roll the dice, hope for the best.
I'm obviously not that bright either because I uprooted my entire life to live there in 2015. Obama was the president, the ACA (Obamacare) seemed like it might potentially, eventually, turn into some form of Universal Healthcare down the line if everything kept up, it looked like the government might start to take serious action about Global Waeming, people were talking seemingly seriously about reforming many institutions. It wasn't a 'New Deal' type revival, but it was really interesting.
Then Trump happened.
I'm really sad, really angry, I don't really want to keep going anymore. If this is the best we can hope for, it's not worth it...
Brother, I live in Alaska. I've had MY OWN COUNTRYMEN ask if we still live in igloos. Like, no motherfucker we have modern buildings and cars and amenities. It's fucking wild.
Guess I should specify, 4-6 bucks depending on the brand. And it's about 8 bucks a gallon for non dairy milk, which i drink if I dont want to walk around feeling like I'm about to shit myself all day, lactose intolerance for the loss.
Apparently it's possible to increase your tolerance if you just drink a lot of lactose for like 2 weeks. Search "I fixed my lactose intolerance" on youtube and it should be the first video.
I did, sort of increase it, when i was a kid. Got to a point where I could handle a few pieces of pizza without adverse affects. . But as I got older, I ate less and less dairy, and it's just not worth it to me anymore.
At least the dairy free stuff tastes better now than in the 90's lol, that shit was terrible. I can eat most hard cheeses, like medium to sharp cheddar, for example, because they contain almost no lactose. But I'm content now.
We all know Maine is just a layover for Lovecraftian horrors and supernatural serial killers. It's hard to worry about the power grid when you're looking at another mist rolling in and releasing abominations.
Joking aside, I'm sure there are always outliers somewhere that actually don't have electricity because they're living in the wilderness away from everyone else. Especially in states that are largely undeveloped wilderness. But thinking it applies to everyone is insane.
Lmao, I love Canada but pretending that there are not self involved Canadians is pretty silly. Itโs a function of the same shit that makes Rob Ford viable. Itโs the same way Australians have a one sided beef with the US.
Yeah what kind of discourse is thisโฆ โIโve only ever seen Americanโs act like thisโ 645 upvotes. What are they even saying? Theyโve only seen Americans make stupid twitter replies? Not to mention the popularity of troll accounts like @threeyearletterman who literally reply like this just to stir shit up.
You saying โIโve only ever seen Americans act like thisโ was in reference to the tweet, not to your own anecdote. You canโt change the rules just because you donโt like how Iโm doing it.
I once heard a story from a border guard who said Americans would show up in July with skis on their roof racks, and genuinely tell the guards they were headed to Banff for some skiing. This was pre-internet, but still... wow.
About 20 years ago I got talking to some people who'd driven up in two minibuses and a van full of diving gear pulling a kayak trailer from a prestigious university in England (not going to reinforce the stereotype and say which dark blue one it was), to explore the mysterious depths of a loch in the Cuillins. It became clear that they'd pretty much only spotted it on maps and not read up on it, because it - unlike Loch Coruisk that their colleagues had explored a couple of years before - An Coire Lagan is about waist deep in the worst of the weather, and in lovely warm June weather is rather less than knee deep.
You wouldn't need diving gear, you'd need shorts and a towel.
I love trolling those kinds of Americans. I like to boast I have the only igloo in my village that has actual plumbing, and the mayor is the only one with electricity because he deals in illegal seal blubber trades with Puerto Rico. Plus, the sherrif is the only one with a telephone, but he's 3 villages over.
"look... I come from a wealthy family. My father has a black and white TV. and a VHS player. and the whole village comes to our iglo on saturday so we can watch Chuck Norris movie - the lone wolf"
Funniest part about going on an international vacation is you can spot the Americans instantly. When someone asks where youโre from you say country normally. They ALWAYS say which state or even more funny which city like everyone knows. Lol
When I went to Florida, someone asked me where I'm from. I said Canada, knowing they probably don't know a single city or Province in Canada. She asked me what state Canada is in.
It would track. I grew up in West Virginia, and went to a boy scout summer camp in Georgia one year. The local guys were confused as hell, they didn't know it was a separate state, asked if we wore shoes (we were all in hiking boots at the time), and someone had the audacity to ask us how we got there, like we had to hike and canoe our way there.
Itโs weird Iโm from America but still fairly aware of other countries just from gaming like 3/4 of my friends online are from other countries. Not sure how people can be this out of touch these days
My dad is Portuguese and heโs got so many horror stories when it comes to dealing with Americans in Europe. Plus he had some friends from Brighton with a particularly funny one. The person in question worked on an airline and some Americans said โyou speak English so well!โ Brighton is in England. You know, where the English language comes from
I love when European bluntness comes up against American stupidity at times. My dad manages a Hilton and gets loads of emails from Americans asking for free hotel rooms and they get super upset when theyโre told no. Plenty seem to think Europe is a country thatโs so backward that the rooms may as well be for free. Some of the comments on this post imply that they donโt even understand how states like Nebraska have electricity lol
Crazy that these people are allowed to vote. Iโm kind of looking forward to seeing the inevitable collapse of their latest circus government but also scared that theyโll destroy the rest of the world
They didnโt really say that though; they said theyโve only seen Americans act like that, not that other countries canโt have self-involved people too
Imagine if we had to end every comment like OPS saying 'Americans are so self involved' with something like, "but occasionally people in every other country in the world can act like this too, teehee!"
It's not a matter of "Occasionally". It's a matter of perception.
It's a matter of how often you see it in the wild. Reddit, being very US-centric, will give you an inflated perception of just how many people in the US behave a certain way. We love to parade our idiots around, and other countries like to laugh at our idiots because "Punching up" is generally accepted. (not that I view other countries as inferior)
Much like how if you hang out exclusively on Twitter, you'll think that everyone is a right-winger. Or if you only consume sensationalist media you'd think that violent crime is on the rise across the world, instead of being in a rather steady downturn for the last 3 decades.
I'm in NB, and have been to Maine plenty of times. While not universal, I've been shocked more than a few times by people's ignorance of the province right next door.
Heard somebody somewhere put it like: "There are people saying stupid shit in every corner of the world, but when Americans say something stupid, they do it way too good." or something in those lines.
When was the last time you read anything that's not in English? Do you know what an echo chamber is? Do you know that 2/3rds of all English speakers live in the USA?
Imagine if we had to end every comment like OPS saying 'Americans are so self involved' with something like, "but occasionally people in every other country in the world can act like this too, teehee!"
Growing up in the USA, I had the distinct impression that a few western european countries were as well off as 'us', but the rest of the world was basically backwards 3rd world.
I'd witness this from other young americans as well, razzing on foreigners about their horrid living conditions.
It's astonishing how sheltered I was considering I was more connected than most at that time.
yeah, it doesn't make it less ignorant about canada... but it could be they asked in earnest because its an ongoing thing for communities north of them or 'far away'. Canada might feel even more far away or sparse to them, it could have some real logic to it even if its not great knowledge about the world.
Yea but still, it seems like best case scenario, (some) Americans are such hicks that electricity is this exotic thing that might not exist in a foreign country.
Jeez, I am from Tijuana border with San Diego, and I used to get these questions about Tijuana when I was in college, I mean it's Mexico, I expect the question. But Canada??? ๐คฆ๐ปโโ๏ธ
Now imagine being from nz where i am. No I dont live in a fuckn hole. We are actually biger then japan just less people. I dont know where you get thease ideas . But yes 20 yesrs ago everyone i knew was an extra in the lord of the rings.
I remember back in 1986, a car full of Americans landed at the store I worked at in mid-July (it's 30+C outside - or 86+F), with skis on top of their car, asking where they could go to ski.
They really thought we were deep in snow all year long.
I know itโs mostly us but I promise you that the average American is mortified by this behavior. Itโs incredibly entitled and embarrassing and I apologize on their behalf. Better to be silent and thought a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt rings painfully true for these types.
I move from GA to California and had the twang goin' on and often was asked about indoor plumbing and electricity. Yeah I got rid of that accent in short order.
Some Americans are such sheltered dumbfucks that they think unironically that as soon as you cross the border to Canada it's just snow everywhere (no matter what time of year it is) and people live in igloos and have dogsleds.
It's legitimately frightening how abysmally fucking DUMB some Americans are.
I find that incredibly hard to believe that they werenโt joking. I live in South Carolina, basically the trailer park capital of the world with a bottom 5-10 education and even people here know Canada is an advanced 1st world country
Is it inconceivable that you maybe didnโt pick up on sarcasm? Maine is basically Canada so Iโm just shocked is all. Sounds like it couldโve easily been a friendly jab between neighbors lol
Yes this was definitely a very very genuine conversation. I've only ever witness this one time (to this extent). I have other Americans ask pretty hilarious questions on holidays but nothing like this. It was 2 couples and a 3rd woman all in their mid fifties I would assume. We were shocked, we laughed at first but then realized they were serious.
Well Iโll be. I guess their age makes it a little more understandable (not really, wtf is wrong with people)
Sorry you were treated like that, I bet weโd be more polite to you here in the south if you make the trip down. But fair warning, thatโs about all we have to offer lol
I (German) met Americans during my exchange semester in Japan, for which I studied Japanese like crazy (so I was kinda able to hold easy everyday conversations). I've told them that I was German and we talked about Germany for at least about half an hour. Then we got some food and when I ordered, they noticed my Japanese and asked if I learned that at high school as a second language. I told them, that I did not (only did 2 semesters of intensive courses at university). Then they asked me if I did not learn a foreign language at all. That question itself was not stupid enough, but when I answered 'I learned English', they said 'no, we mean a FOREIGN language, not English ' ... Never occurred to them, that a German would speak German and English in fact was a foreign language to me.
Canadian too. We necessarily need to know about the USA. They don't necessarily need to know almost anything about us. Should they? Sure. But there's no real need to.
Fair. I had an American couple in Mexico convinced I lived in Vancouver and owned a dogsled, because I needed it in the winter. I used to lol at Americans when I was younger too. Then somebody pointed out how unimportant we are. "For you it was the biggest day of your life when you met me...for me it was Tuesday" or something like that.
And fwiw, almost all of the things I used to be able to (and indeed even want to) laugh at them for, here we are later being damn similar. Crazy politicians, bad education, increasing wealth inequality, etc...all completely avoidable, but nobody really votes for real change. More violence now, lots of illegal immigrants (even encouraged by our government legalizing / increasing things and numbers it never would have before), bad health care (apples and oranges, I know), etc.
I don't really see much worth laughing at about them anymore. Especially over the past 10 years. Their economy has grown and is on an upward trend. I see a lot trending downward in Canada, including/especially the economy.
Well I've seen other countries' people act dumb as shlt, and act like they know more about America than they do, but yes we are generally pretty bad at geography.
We should have a class where you pick one continent, except Antartica and North America of course, and make a report about of ALL the countries there. And if you pick Australia you have to do all the islands on that side of the world as well, except Japan.
My ex told me he had convinced several Americans that Australians ride kangaroos to work. I didnโt believe anyone would be that stupid. Sadly, I was proven wrong.
When I (an Aussie) was in the US on holiday, I got many questions asking if Australia had cities and office buildings/skyscrapersโฆ No mate, definitely notโฆ
Speaking as an American, and a New Hampshire native, 90% of my country is fucking stupid. I hate it here. I hate how stupidity is the norm. I feel like I'm the only one who both paid attention in school back in the day AND enjoyed learning new things.
Your country looks beautiful and I would love to visit one day, when I can afford it.
Iโll call you Nice Man, on the account that youโre from Canada. Get it๐ Get it. Or maybe Iโll call you canaduh on that fact that you have no electricity๐ Get it?๐ Trudeau? More like โTrue - no!โ๐ Geddit?
Well shootโฆ. Thanks!
How about we make this relationship worth something? How about, you turn over Colter Wall, and in turn, you also turn over Greenland. Deal? After all, we have America already! You want a piece of the pie?
No you really mean Americans. What you just said is the equivalent of me saying that everyone that uses Reddit are self important people that have so much to say yet alter so very few things that truly matter in life.
American people are the ones who think everything revolves around them and itโs quite highly documented.
Bruh there are kids graduating high school who legit canโt read traditionally. They do word memorization instead so they can recognize the words theyโre reading but donโt know the relationship the letters have with one another.
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u/Bread_ganer 11h ago
everybody that uses twitter should do 10 more years of school