All About Americans

We eat too much
We work too hard and too much
We don't exercise enough
We have too many guns
We're too friendly
We're obsessed with capitalism
We're racist
We're ignorant
We love violence

These are all stereotypes of Americans. While some are very true, others are just not. One thing I will say is that us Americans are much more willing to talk to strangers than the British. I tend to use that to my advantage though, and one of my friends, Micky told me to do so. He said, you're really outgoing, use that to your advantage. So I have. I am no longer afraid to talk to strangers in the UK because of this stereotype that Americans are outgoing. I may be using this stereotype as a scapegoat to ask strangers for directions or help finding things in stores, but why not use it to my advantage? Also, what's the worst thing that could happen (besides someone shanking me with a knife for asking directions)? It's hard at first to put yourself out there because when you ask someone for help you're allowing yourself to be vulnerable, but I find it worth it. It also helps that I like interacting with humans. Technically speaking I'm an ambivert, so right in between introvert and extrovert. Ambiverts are flexible, emotionally stable, and intuitive-or they're supposed to be, anyways. Every ambivert is different, but I'd definitely say I'm a flexible and intuitive gal.

Another stereotype that I do agree with is that us Americans work too much. We work and work and forget to really live. I know older generations save and save all their money as if they will be able to use it in the next life. I really think people would be happier if they took more vacation time or extended weekends to be a full 3 days. It makes sense to work to live, not live to work. Also, there's a balance if you truly love your job and your job is your life. I think it's important to take some time to relax if you have a career. Just my opinion. :)

Racism, I find is more prevalent in the US. The UK has little to no racism at all. It's very, very refreshing that racism isn't a huge thing in the UK. Now, that isn't to say that there isn't any racism. There will always be issues with racism in societies. It's hard to describe and this might upset some people, but in the UK I feel like people don't look at other people and think about what color their skin is. That does, indeed happen in the US. When I'm in the UK I actually notice ethnicity less because everyone has the same kind of British accent and you can't tell someone's ethnicity by how they talk. This is where I discuss the elephant in the room. In the US, you can sometimes tell what ethnicity someone is by how they speak, despite being a native born American. For example, one of my roommates in college was Guatemalan, and you could tell she was by the way she spoke. In both England in Wales, (I can't account for Scotland and Northern Ireland because I've never been) everyone that was born or raised there has the normal regional accent for their area. Another example, Sandra from the British TV show GoggleBox that I watch is Jamaican. However she sounds just like any normal English person because her accent was influenced by where she lives, not where she's from.

Violence is also prevalent in American media. There are arguments that it desensitizes us to violence, but there is no research that proves this point. I feel like I see more violence on American TV than English TV (shows). It's funny, in the UK there is swearing on TV after a certain time, but in America there is no swearing on TV-but violence isn't a problem. I'll never forget the first time I heart the f bomb on TV in Wales. I was so surprised and amused. I mean, it's just a damned word. It doesn't hurt anyone, does it? Violence is disturbing, words can hurt, where is the point we say enough? We can't really know because there are so many variables. We can't study the impact of violence and swearing on TV because we can't study humans' effects in their natural habitats. We can't describe violence. There's no one way to describe what violence means. Do you see how I can tear apart so many aspects of things that are subjective?

So what was the point of this blog post? Basically, I can accept that Americans aren't perfect. We have our flaws. The United Kingdom's citizens aren't perfect either. But it doesn't mean that one is necessarily better than the other.


.....who am I joking, America is the best. Sorry, I'm heavily biased ;)

Leah