As an Aussie, what do we honestly think about Americans?
Given that Medium is an American platform is dominated by American users, maybe you guys have wondered what other countries honestly think about you? Or maybe you already know the answer?
I mean, most of the Americans on Medium aren’t going to be representative of the average American.
Anyway, I found this Buzzfeed article (no, I don’t normally read Buzzfeed), which was written about a Reddit post, where Australians were asked “What’s the Australian view on Americans?”
It isn’t uncommon for Buzzfeed “journalists” to read a Reddit thread and then a clickbaity article about it (and yes, I understand the irony here, but I don’t give a fuck). Nevertheless I’m going to go through each of these answers and tell you whether or not I agree with them.
- “Fine individually, weird collectively.”
My response: Yup, pretty much.
2. “They seem to think that we think about them more than we actually do.”
My response: Umm…. yes and no. I’m not really sure about that one.
3. “I’ve met a few Americans and they are very polite, cool people — pity their government sucks.”
My response: Yes, I agree 100%. And I’m not talking about Democrats or Republicans, just the way that the country is run in general.
4. “I’ll be honest, I’ve disliked most Americans I’ve met. Generally speaking, they’re loud, rude and obnoxious. They have twisted views of the world, barely understand anything that’s not American and I hate having to always explain ‘Oh, it’s like X thing you have in the States.’
I have met a few decent ones though. Like anyone, if you’re a nice and respectful person there’ll be no issue.
Don’t even get me started on the country itself, It all just drives me nuts.”
My response: They said it, not me. But sure, some Americans can be like that. I haven’t personally met them though. Nevertheless, I’m reminded of this Fawlty Towers clip:
And the fact that any popular British or Australian TV show needs to be remade by Americans (probably because they don’t understand the humour), implies that, yes, they have trouble understanding anything that’s not American. They can’t just enjoy the original show for what it is.
There are so many examples of this, and usually the American version is not as good as the original. One of the worst examples I can think of is the Aussie show “Kath and Kim” (the creators misunderstood the show completely). Or the British show “Skins”.
The Office and House of Cards are two of the very few exceptions, whereas in the American version is actually really good (although I haven’t seen the original House of Cards, so I can’t compare it). But the US Office is arguably superior to the original. I like both of them but they are different. The UK version is more realistic, in a rather depressing way.
And I agree with the last bit. It’s a country with a lot of issues.
5. As an American who’s migrated here, I’ll say that a lot of the Americans you’ll encounter in Australia are like this [referring to the above Reddit submission]. They’re typically either fairly well-off tourists or fairly well-off upper class people here on work visas in a corporate position. Either way, it’s not a good overall representation and I try to avoid the other ‘yanks’ here.”
My response: Sounds about right. Although the ones I’ve met here are generally fine.
6. “There definitely is a stereotype of Americans being ignorant and self-important (thinking everything should be like it is in the USA, no other places exist etc.). However, stereotypes are stereotypes, and generally this attitude won’t translate into personal interactions. As long as you’re chill, it’s chill.”
My response: Yup.
7. “My family spent a couple of years living in Kansas when I was a kid and I went to school there. We’ve got many stories to tell. Of course, people are people — sometimes nice, sometimes not nice. But Americans really are ignorant about their place in the world and that makes them sometimes incredibly funny, sometimes sad, sometimes fucking infuriatingly stupid and, rarely, incredibly rude bitches.”
My response: I can believe that that was their experience. But these are their words, not mine.
8. “Growing up, there was this stereotype here that Americans were fat, rude, uneducated and war-obsessed. This would have been around the Bush-era. With that being said, I absolutely love Americans. I have been to the States twice (granted it was California twice and Hawaii, but I would love to see more!) and people are as hospitable and friendly as they are here, if not more so. I could give a bunch of individual examples of American people being very generous and kind toward me, but the long and short of it is I think they are great.”
My response: I haven’t been to the USA so far, but I will agree with them. And this person is very accurate about the stereotype. And I myself was in my teens during the (early) Bush era.
9. “The bad: You’re generally thought to be loud, rude and non-team players, with very little idea about the rest of the world. You’re also intense and individualistic people, who are currently going through a time of division socially and increasingly suffering with wealth disparity. Your militaristic endeavours are sometimes suspect. Plus, your gun culture and the inability to see its problems seems crazy.”
“The good: We share a language and have similar cultures. If England is the mother land, then you’re the brother land. Generally, a can-do attitude and a good work ethic is seen and respected. We realise your regional differences too — you’re a diverse people, as are we. Also, multiculturalism is more common and seems to be working better in our countries than elsewhere, not that there aren’t large cohorts of racists present. You’re definitely seen as a wealthy nation, with innovative tech, the most globally consumed entertainment and a fucking big arsenal.”
My response: That’s all true.
10. “Current thoughts are that half of the people in the United States seem sane. The other half are batshit crazy and are willing to publicly display their racist and bigoted views. That certain states just love authoritarianism and that the country as a whole is a place I have no desire to ever go to.”
My response: I think that there is a lot of truth here.
11. “The perception of the US as a nation has definitely gotten worse since 2016. As for Americans themselves, I try to remember that America’s own media tends to give special attention to the worst and craziest among the population and that the America we are being shown isn’t necessarily the whole picture. I doubt you’ll find many people, if any, who think badly of every single American.”
“I don’t really think we’re [Australians] that much better than Americans in a lot of areas. I still think our living standards are better than the US, but we are a long, LONG way away from perfect. So I try not to hang too much shit on America.”
My response: Yes, this is true. I wouldn’t trade places with an American, but in some ways, we really aren’t much better than them. For example, racism, homophobia, etc. happens here, just like it does over there.
We also make funs of Americans for being quick to sue people over anything but then again, we’re more like them than we like to admit.
We also laugh at how patriotic Americans are, but than we can be very patriotic in our way. Still, I very rarely see Australians flying the Australian flag out the front of their house.
12. “Whenever I’ve met an American, I thought they were very friendly. We tend to get along, except sometimes my accent is too thick for you guys to understand so I gotta tone it back.”
My response: Yup, that happens. But then again, I often had trouble understanding the Scottish accent when I was over in the UK.
13. “When I was a kid, I used to think the USA and Americans were really cool. That’s where all the famous people and movie stars are, but as an adult I just feel bad for them. They have terrible healthcare and tertiary education system. There is a rapidly disappearing middle class, making the gap between the extremely poor and extremely rich huge. There’s so much crime and the gun laws are genuinely terrifying. I think celebrity culture and the concept of the American dream puts unrealistic pressure on the people there. I used to want to go there as a kid, but as an adult now I don’t.”
My response: I agree with all of this. I would still like to visit one day but I can totally understand people not wanting to.
14. “We [Australians] think you [Americans] think you’re the centre of the world and it would do you good to be exposed to more international ideas, issues and news. Personally, I don’t like the way Australia is going with parochial media either, but at least we don’t kid ourselves about being the centre of the world.”
My response: Yes, 100%.
15. “Gun laws and gun control are a huge part of why a lot of Aussies have a bad view of the USA. When you grow up in a country where guns are strictly controlled, to the point where most of the population has only seen a gun on a cop’s belt…and then every time you read or watch any American news, there has been another shooting, you can see why it negatively affects our views.
My response: Yes, this is sadly very true. I would have eight years old when we had a terrible mass shooting and strict gun control measures were introduced. And it seems to have worked because we haven’t had any mass shootings since. Make of that what you will, but the situation in the US just makes me feel sad for the people living there, not knowing when there will be another mass shooting.
16. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve met some lovely yanks and some dopes. The only thing they all had in common was that they were opinionated and human. If you’re a cunt, you’re a cunt. Like all cultures, though can’t expect ’em to be the same or treat ’em shit for being different. Our media is inundated with American stuff, news, entertainment, even sport. But as far as American people go, they’ve all been good to me.”
My response: Yes… however, I want to clarify that “cunt” doesn’t necessarily mean what it does in the USA. I believe that over there, it’s a word that only used towards women and it’s considered highly offensive. Here, the meaning very much depends on the context, and it can be said towards people of any gender.
Someone might say to a mate “You’re a funny cunt, aren’t you?” and that would be considered banter. But if it’s said with contempt, it can be considered very offensive. And no, it’s not socially acceptable to say in every situation. My mum hates the word and there are a lot of people here that do, contrary to popular belief.
There is also a saying in Australia that you call your mates “cunt” and you call cunts “mate”.
Nevertheless, I don’t normally use that word when I’m writing on here, because I know that Americans and Canadians generally don’t like it.
17. “On the one hand, we love America and all things American. On the other hand, we love to laugh at you and even sneer a bit at certain things you get completely wrong in our eyes. But these sort of international judgements are always massive generalisations. For example, we might say ‘Americans think they are the most important people on the planet and are very ignorant of the rest of the world’, but of course that isn’t true of many of you.”
My response: Yup, this is true.
18. “Something I haven’t seen mentioned is that religion seems to be much more of a public spectacle than it is here. There are more Australians that identify as having no religion than any specific Christian denomination and we prefer our politicians not to bring up it up.”
“Also the way you guys cling to the constitution as some measure of absolute and unchangeable (despite the amendments) moral superiority seems a bit strange to me. The respect towards the flag, the anthem and the military is a bit intense. Plus, some parts of the US seem very formal. Like, I’ve never called a boss or a parent’s friend Mr./Mrs. whoever. So more religious, individualistic, enthusiastic and respectful towards authority.”
My response: Yes, I have talked about before and how the two countries have different attitudes have religion. There are religious Australians but over here, your religious beliefs are mostly seen as a private matter. We don’t really care either way, as long as you’re a decent person.
And yes, I’ll agree with the rest of it.
19. “I have a few American friends and have visited the US a couple of times. My American friends are great, really open and honest and we always have interesting convos. If there’s one negative quality about Americans in general, I’d say there is a bit of an entitled attitude that comes across as arrogant sometimes. You can get that attitude with some Australians as well though.”
My response: Yes, that’s true.
20. “The general view of Americans (that we meet here anyway) is favourable. Of America — unfavourable. Everything from the politics, healthcare, education, social security, adherence to awkward imperial measurements is truly baffling to us. Your systems are so broken and bizarre, yet they’re defended so vehemently.”
My response: Yes, this is something about the USA that I really don’t understand. Maybe because most Americans don’t know any different and you they grew up being told they live in the best country in the world.
At least that is the perception here. Apparently you guys even recite the Pledge of Allegiance (to the flag and the country) every morning before school. That really surprised me, as it sounds incredibly bizarre to us. Aside from on special days like Australia Day, ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, we don’t usually get patriotic like that.
21. “Most Americans I’ve met in Australia are great. Probably because they’re well travelled and if they want to stay here they probably already have the qualities that make them fit in in a place like Australia. It is crazy how outgoing they often are though haha.”
My response: Yes, this is true. Americans, generally speaking, come across as loud, outgoing and extroverted. I’m not saying that that’s a good or bad thing, just an observation.
For copyright purposes, the Reddit usernames associated with these comments can be found by clicking on the link at the beginning of the article.
Final comments from the author
So… as you can tell, most of us (at least those of us who pay attention to the rest of the world) see the USA as a messed up country with a lot of issues. Politically, the country seems to be divided into two groups of people (city people who tend to be Democrats and rural people who tend to be Republicans) who hate each other, and this is not healthy.
The USA has been described to me as being like several countries in one, and each region (e.g. the West Coast, the Southwest, the Deep South, the Midwest, the Northeast, etc.) is quite culturally different. And we don’t really have that to the same degree.
You know how Southerners feel pride at being Southern? We don’t really have anything that is comparable to that. Queenslanders, Victorians, South Australians, Tasmanians and Western Australians all have a strong sense of pride in their state, but really, they’re all culturally very similar, whereas “the South” is very culturally different to the rest of America, whereas we just don’t have that here. Culturally, Australia has no real equivalent of Texas or Florida or Alabama or Mississippi, at least not on a state level.
Nevertheless urban Australia (where most of us live) is completely different to rural Australia. The outback is almost like a different country (not that I’ve ever actually ventured into the outback).
Side note: I left out New South Wales on purpose because they tend to think of themselves as just Australian.
The USA has a population of around 330 million, whereas Australia has around 26 million. And if you remove Alaska and Hawaii, the two countries are about the same size. Also, the majority of Australians still have British and Irish ancestry, because prior to the 1950s, we had very little immigration from elsewhere. Whereas your average American might have ancestry from some combination of the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico and various African countries.
My point is that USA has many more people than us, it is more diverse than us, each region is different and in such a country, just about every kind of person will be represented.
I also believe that the USA s capable of achieving great things… when it wants to. The USA has given us:
- the internet, along with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google, Medium, Reddit, Netflix, eBay and so much more (all of those are used here).
- most other modern technologies that we have today
- American pop culture (we tend to devour American movies, TV shows, music, etc.)
- fast food
- processed food
- mass production and commercialism
Hey, I didn’t say they were all good things. But the world would clearly be a difference place without the USA.
And in all fairness, if it wasn’t for the USA, Australia might have been taken over by the Japanese in World War II (if I understand correctly — it’s been a while since I studied WW2).
Australia does have a strong military alliance with the US (because it kind of has to, who else are we going to rely on?). That being said, we need the US a lot more than the US needs us. Without the support of powerful countries like the US, if any certain other major powers wanted to invade us, we would be screwed. That is just a fact.
If you’re American then make of this article what you will. But the takeaway is that we don’t wish we were you, we don’t think you’re the best country in the world, but at the same time, we also don’t hate you guys either.
