Why are Americans so defensive about America?

[Anonymous]

The same way all the posters from other countries "Europe" "Asia" (could you be any more vague?!) hate generalizations, so do we.

For the most part, Americans love to romanticize Europe especially. Aren't you paying attention when we talk about how effortless French women are, how walkable the cities, how lovely and old all the villages are, so full of history.. The social democracies of Scandanavia, universal healthcare, no guns. I could go on and on. A lot of us (surprisingly) cannot emigrate to one of these countries. It is very very difficult for Americans.

So it just gets irritating when some yap who has the lovely fortune to choose to live here, in the good ol' USA, goes on and on about things back home. It's fine if you also are from Sweden and laud their education, but stop slamming ours. You get to be here. etc. You have a choice to go home. And the worst part is the generalizations. Americans eat twinkies. No. Full Stop. We are all so different.

[Anonymous]

Only the old people. Young people are quick to criticize (health care) and praise(defense) America, depending on the subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The same way all the posters from other countries "Europe" "Asia" (could you be any more vague?!) hate generalizations, so do we.

For the most part, Americans love to romanticize Europe especially. Aren't you paying attention when we talk about how effortless French women are, how walkable the cities, how lovely and old all the villages are, so full of history.. The social democracies of Scandanavia, universal healthcare, no guns. I could go on and on. A lot of us (surprisingly) cannot emigrate to one of these countries. It is very very difficult for Americans.

So it just gets irritating when some yap who has the lovely fortune to choose to live here, in the good ol' USA, goes on and on about things back home. It's fine if you also are from Sweden and laud their education, but stop slamming ours. You get to be here. etc. You have a choice to go home. And the worst part is the generalizations. Americans eat twinkies. No. Full Stop. We are all so different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:m’eh….I’ve seen a fairly broad cross section of the world - certainly not all of it, but a representative sample, let’s call it - and I’ve always been happy to come back here.

I can like America better than anywhere else without diminishing everywhere else. Just because I like America more doesn’t necessarily mean I think the UK (or many other places) sucks.

But yeah, America is pretty great.

Exactly. I've traveled all over the world, to some pretty remarkable places. And yet, the best part of each trip is always coming back home. The US will always be the best country to live in for me and my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not American right OP? So people are not going to react well to you criticizing us. Plenty of people in the US are critical of their own country - but most people don’t like it when someone from another country is criticizing your own.

Bingo. Amazing that this has to be explained to the OP (or anyone). I have a British friend who lives here in the US, but always used to yammer about things she hated about this country. She was totally tone-deaf to the notion that when you're a guest in someone else's country, you keep your negative thoughts to yourself. Interestingly, she is now a US citizen and is far less likely to criticize. I think she's gained "pride of citizenship" and now has a stake in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the UK and growing up, when people criticized the UK, it was not a big deal. WE criticized ourselves. Of course there are some stereotypes I disagree with like that ALL the food is terrible. But a lot of them have merit. I feel like we constantly spoke in my family and other families about ways in which other countries were better. France had better access to good quality food and a better attitude to cooking. Japan was healthier. Most places had better weather. Having a royal family was possibly very dumb. English people are often pale and excessively embarrassing in a football abroad context. I could go on. It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT. And immediately tell you to 'go back where you came from'. Like - WTF? Americans cannot possibly think that everything about America (obesity, drug prices, health insurance, severe weather + trailer parks, trump etc etc) is amazing. It's just not feasible - that would be lying. So what gives? Doesn't positive change happen when you are able to look inwards, see other possibilities and dream of a better way? Do ppl think they will burst into flames if they admit that Twinkies are... sub optimal?

I mean... the UK is chock full of trailer parks, obese people, junk food, and all of the other things you mention. I guess the difference is, Americans wouldn't go to the UK and tell British people all of the things that are wrong with their country. Hint, hint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aussie here. Agree it’s very incredibly easy to get a rise out of Americans by saying something vaguely uncomplimentary about the good ol’ USA, no matter whether it’s true or not. This thread is a classic example - OP says Americans don’t take criticism well and immediately some posters don’t take this well.

People don’t like ‘outsiders’ criticising them - kind of like, I can criticise my own family but you had better not try. I don’t think the US is unique in this and it’s possibly a bit like an automatic reflex. Certainly it’s not everybody and perhaps an anonymous discussion board is prime territory for this kind of interaction.

But American exceptionalism seems pretty well entrenched with some and it’s strange how, no matter how carefully you try to couch something that is vaguely critical, there are always people who immediately respond with some sort of patriotic war cry and ‘go back to your own country’. Or they counter your point by arguing that everybody in the world is clamouring to come so it simply must be the best country in the world.

Regarding the bolded, very true. How do you react when non-Australians criticize Australia? We'll wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same way all the posters from other countries "Europe" "Asia" (could you be any more vague?!) hate generalizations, so do we.

For the most part, Americans love to romanticize Europe especially. Aren't you paying attention when we talk about how effortless French women are, how walkable the cities, how lovely and old all the villages are, so full of history.. The social democracies of Scandanavia, universal healthcare, no guns. I could go on and on. A lot of us (surprisingly) cannot emigrate to one of these countries. It is very very difficult for Americans.

So it just gets irritating when some yap who has the lovely fortune to choose to live here, in the good ol' USA, goes on and on about things back home. It's fine if you also are from Sweden and laud their education, but stop slamming ours. You get to be here. etc. You have a choice to go home. And the worst part is the generalizations. Americans eat twinkies. No. Full Stop. We are all so different.

+100
We were in Europe (specifically, the UK, France, and Italy) this summer with my mother who has mobility issues. I can't think of many other places that are more miserable for a person who can't walk well. Even using a wheelchair is treacherous. Absolutely awful and not disability-friendly, at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone mentioned insecure up thread. That is a perfect word to describe the American psyche. From a country that spends more on national security than anyone else…
They sure aren’t getting their return on investment!

Yes, you'd think that our border would be airtight and fully secure with all the money that flows toward it... instead it's a national security nightmare. Thanks, Biden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because if not for America everyone would be learning German or Japanese or both. That those in the UK and Europe do so because of America.

It’s pretty simple.

Euw.
America can’t coast on jumping into help a war nearly 100 years ago forever. If it weren’t for the ancient Greeks we wouldn’t have writing but they aren’t still swinging their d**** around. Plus America has also contributed some pretty cr*ppy things too - and individual Americans are responsible for neither the good nor the bad.
This is not a good excuse for not being able to take feedback.

But we don't have to or care about your feedback. We really don't. It isn't required. Besides, every piece of feedback usually involves asking the U.S. to change something for the benefit of the opinion-giving recent immigrant or foreign nationals country. No person, organization, or country is offering feedback for our benefit.

+ a million
And the US is the only country in the world that is criticized for cracking down on illegal immigration. Enough, already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not American right OP? So people are not going to react well to you criticizing us. Plenty of people in the US are critical of their own country - but most people don’t like it when someone from another country is criticizing your own.

So when does one get to criticize it? I’m a naturalized citizen who has been here since my early teens. I see faults with both where I came from and the US. I see what OP is saying. Criticizing your country doesn’t mean you don’t love it. Or make it better. And it’s funny hearing an American say you can’t criticize someone else’s country when the US does it all the darn time to others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not American right OP? So people are not going to react well to you criticizing us. Plenty of people in the US are critical of their own country - but most people don’t like it when someone from another country is criticizing your own.

So when does one get to criticize it? I’m a naturalized citizen who has been here since my early teens. I see faults with both where I came from and the US. I see what OP is saying. Criticizing your country doesn’t mean you don’t love it. Or make it better. And it’s funny hearing an American say you can’t criticize someone else’s country when the US does it all the darn time to others.

What is America not doing for your country back home that it is not doing? I am sure that is the source of your complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all of us are. Some of us recognize the many flaws in our country, and are willing to point them out even though the other side calls this "unpatriotic"

This! For any American who has traveled a lot as I have OP...we know there are places in northern Europe where white children might have a better childhood than they would here in the US...with better healthcare and less gun violence.. For white college-educated adults, life in several parts of the US can be pretty great. I love England. I just don't want some German telling me how great Germany is given that they slaughtered 6 million humans in the Holocaust (some of whom were my relatives)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aussie here. Agree it’s very incredibly easy to get a rise out of Americans by saying something vaguely uncomplimentary about the good ol’ USA, no matter whether it’s true or not. This thread is a classic example - OP says Americans don’t take criticism well and immediately some posters don’t take this well.

People don’t like ‘outsiders’ criticising them - kind of like, I can criticise my own family but you had better not try. I don’t think the US is unique in this and it’s possibly a bit like an automatic reflex. Certainly it’s not everybody and perhaps an anonymous discussion board is prime territory for this kind of interaction.

But American exceptionalism seems pretty well entrenched with some and it’s strange how, no matter how carefully you try to couch something that is vaguely critical, there are always people who immediately respond with some sort of patriotic war cry and ‘go back to your own country’. Or they counter your point by arguing that everybody in the world is clamouring to come so it simply must be the best country in the world.

Regarding the bolded, very true. How do you react when non-Australians criticize Australia? We'll wait.

I really don’t care if people criticise Australia. It doesn’t mean I will agree with them or won’t engage in robust debate, but I certainly wouldn’t be offended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not American right OP? So people are not going to react well to you criticizing us. Plenty of people in the US are critical of their own country - but most people don’t like it when someone from another country is criticizing your own.

So when does one get to criticize it? I’m a naturalized citizen who has been here since my early teens. I see faults with both where I came from and the US. I see what OP is saying. Criticizing your country doesn’t mean you don’t love it. Or make it better. And it’s funny hearing an American say you can’t criticize someone else’s country when the US does it all the darn time to others.

What is America not doing for your country back home that it is not doing? I am sure that is the source of your complaints.

Your question makes no sense. Can you re-phrase it? Btw-Last time America (which is a continent not the US by the way) interfered with our country we ended up with a dictatorship. So the US can stay put. I do love the US but that doesn’t mean I don’t have criticisms. But my question stands…who does get to criticize the US? Born citizens? What about those born to undocumented immigrants? Or just people whose families have been here for generations? The fact that so many people are getting defensive in this thread proves OP’s point.