Why are Americans so defensive about America?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

The criticism we hear isn't about American coffee. The criticism is along the lines of oh you say you are democracy but you invade other countries and seek to impose your values on them when you don't uphold your values. These kinds of statements always have an agenda behind them. Or the criticism is along the lines of your cities are not walkable and people have to drive far to work and you all do not get a lot of vacation time--but yeah, you complainers come here to take advantage of the economy that requires these sacrificies. Oh, and specifically for European criticizers, what is the size of your country's defense budget? How much do you contribute to NATO? I thought so.

EXACTLY. It's frankly criminal how little European countries contribute to NATO, compared to the U.S.

[Anonymous]

And another thing!

European coffee is absolute garbage. You've convinced yourselves, and for a while American tourists, that you have the coffee thing on lock. You don't. Firstly, coffee isn't grown in Europe, you're importing it the same as us. Secondly, Europeans are famous for burning their coffee. French Roast, Italian Roast-- garbage. We know what you're doing. You're taking stale beans and burning them to cover the taste. Then you claim that the taste of char is "bold" and for discerning coffee drinkers. Let's be honest, it tastes like hot trash and has none of the nuance or subtlety of more lovingly toasted beans. Finally, in Europe the cups of coffee are tiny. It's uncivilized and unacceptable to sell little thimbles of coffee to other people and look at them directly in the eyeballs and call it a "large." GTFO. This is why dunkin donuts is taking over Europe, and by the way, their macarons are better than yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And another thing!

European coffee is absolute garbage. You've convinced yourselves, and for a while American tourists, that you have the coffee thing on lock. You don't. Firstly, coffee isn't grown in Europe, you're importing it the same as us. Secondly, Europeans are famous for burning their coffee. French Roast, Italian Roast-- garbage. We know what you're doing. You're taking stale beans and burning them to cover the taste. Then you claim that the taste of char is "bold" and for discerning coffee drinkers. Let's be honest, it tastes like hot trash and has none of the nuance or subtlety of more lovingly toasted beans. Finally, in Europe the cups of coffee are tiny. It's uncivilized and unacceptable to sell little thimbles of coffee to other people and look at them directly in the eyeballs and call it a "large." GTFO. This is why dunkin donuts is taking over Europe, and by the way, their macarons are better than yours.

Each to his/her own, mate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And another thing!

European coffee is absolute garbage. You've convinced yourselves, and for a while American tourists, that you have the coffee thing on lock. You don't. Firstly, coffee isn't grown in Europe, you're importing it the same as us. Secondly, Europeans are famous for burning their coffee. French Roast, Italian Roast-- garbage. We know what you're doing. You're taking stale beans and burning them to cover the taste. Then you claim that the taste of char is "bold" and for discerning coffee drinkers. Let's be honest, it tastes like hot trash and has none of the nuance or subtlety of more lovingly toasted beans. Finally, in Europe the cups of coffee are tiny. It's uncivilized and unacceptable to sell little thimbles of coffee to other people and look at them directly in the eyeballs and call it a "large." GTFO. This is why dunkin donuts is taking over Europe, and by the way, their macarons are better than yours.

Thank you!! We were in Europe last summer and the coffee was grotesque everywhere. I was so looking forward to an Italian cappuccino and was beyond disappointed by how bitter it was. In France, no cream/milk or sweetener/sugar was ever offered - you had to ask for it and they would shoot you a dirty look if you did. I was so happy to be back here and have my perfect cup of coffee, whether at Starbucks, Dunkin, or our local coffee shop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Honestly - if you're living here, enjoying all that the US has to offer, but are not a citizen, then you should keep your criticisms to yourself or at the very least, only discuss among your fellow expats. Pretty sure Australians, Brits, French, etc. would be mightily pi$$ed off if American expats constantly whined and moaned over all the things lacking in those countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And another thing!

European coffee is absolute garbage. You've convinced yourselves, and for a while American tourists, that you have the coffee thing on lock. You don't. Firstly, coffee isn't grown in Europe, you're importing it the same as us. Secondly, Europeans are famous for burning their coffee. French Roast, Italian Roast-- garbage. We know what you're doing. You're taking stale beans and burning them to cover the taste. Then you claim that the taste of char is "bold" and for discerning coffee drinkers. Let's be honest, it tastes like hot trash and has none of the nuance or subtlety of more lovingly toasted beans. Finally, in Europe the cups of coffee are tiny. It's uncivilized and unacceptable to sell little thimbles of coffee to other people and look at them directly in the eyeballs and call it a "large." GTFO. This is why dunkin donuts is taking over Europe, and by the way, their macarons are better than yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Vegemite is a war crime.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Vegemite is a war crime.

Bravo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Honestly - if you're living here, enjoying all that the US has to offer, but are not a citizen, then you should keep your criticisms to yourself or at the very least, only discuss among your fellow expats. Pretty sure Australians, Brits, French, etc. would be mightily pi$$ed off if American expats constantly whined and moaned over all the things lacking in those countries.

Something something 'muh freedoms', 'snowflakes', and 'safe spaces'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Honestly - if you're living here, enjoying all that the US has to offer, but are not a citizen, then you should keep your criticisms to yourself or at the very least, only discuss among your fellow expats. Pretty sure Australians, Brits, French, etc. would be mightily pi$$ed off if American expats constantly whined and moaned over all the things lacking in those countries.

Something something 'muh freedoms', 'snowflakes', and 'safe spaces'.

DP.

Whereas our critics are de Tocqueville reincarnated?

Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Honestly - if you're living here, enjoying all that the US has to offer, but are not a citizen, then you should keep your criticisms to yourself or at the very least, only discuss among your fellow expats. Pretty sure Australians, Brits, French, etc. would be mightily pi$$ed off if American expats constantly whined and moaned over all the things lacking in those countries.

Something something 'muh freedoms', 'snowflakes', and 'safe spaces'.

DP.

Whereas our critics are de Tocqueville reincarnated?

Please.

Didn't realize that there was a litmus test for who is allowed to express their opinions. Dangerous territory you're wandering into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of you are making valid points about people whining and criticising. Fair enough. But I go back to OP’s original point “It BAFFLES me that any time you say anything about America is sub par, Americans FREAK OUT.”

The key word is ANYTHING. If I say I think American coffee is horrible, I guarantee there will be posters telling me to go back to my own country and that there are millions of people clustered at the border who are desperate to come so American coffee must be great (okay, I made the last bit up but you get my point).

Just to use your own example - if you were French and I (an American) was visiting France and told you how horrible the French coffee is, what would your reaction be? Insert any country, btw. The point is, you DO NOT go to someone else's country and proceed to tell them how bad it is, even if you're just talking about the coffee. This should be obvious, btw.

Honestly, if I was back in Australia and you were an expat living there and said you hated the coffee, the college system, mandatory voting, vegemite or whatever, I might ask you about it or engage in robust debate but why would I be insulted? No place is perfect and everyone has different tastes and predilections. Where does this extreme sensitivity to criticism come from?

I do get that relentless whining or endless comparisons are tedious/annoying, and that tone and delivery matter, but that’s not what this post was originally about.

Are expats who have lived here a long time allowed to voice the same criticisms that everyone else does on DCUM or is that just seem as ingratitude for the privilege of living in the US?

Honestly - if you're living here, enjoying all that the US has to offer, but are not a citizen, then you should keep your criticisms to yourself or at the very least, only discuss among your fellow expats. Pretty sure Australians, Brits, French, etc. would be mightily pi$$ed off if American expats constantly whined and moaned over all the things lacking in those countries.

Something something 'muh freedoms', 'snowflakes', and 'safe spaces'.

DP.

Whereas our critics are de Tocqueville reincarnated?

Please.

Didn't realize that there was a litmus test for who is allowed to express their opinions. Dangerous territory you're wandering into.

Don't be ridiculous.

Did you read the previous comment?