Heh I don't hate Americans. Recently met an exchange student here, and he was incredibly nice, easy going, mellow and overall a great guy.
Americans are a hard breed to define - there are so many types of Americans that I am not sure it is possible to give a good definition. The poor black American in Texas is way different from the succesful Asian businessman in LA. They live under completely different circumstances and the culture is more different that that between two neighboring European countries.
What can tick Europeans off, I guess, it the culture (or lack thereof) Americans very succesfully export to the rest of the world - and for such an export to be succesful, there must be some sort of a demand.
Temptation Island. 'nuff said. Then again, Big Brother was a European production.
What is also a bit irritating to me as a European is the minority middle class white American's lack of humbleness - "we're great, we're patriotic and everything we do is better than anything anyone else can do. Love us or get the hell out; critique is not welcome". This attitude can be found in a minority of Americans, but the arrogance involved is greater than even that found in the French.
Comments such as "we saved yer bellybutton in two world wars" are first of all incredibly simplistic but also stink of this arrogance/superiority complex.
There are some other differences - like European welfare state semi socialistic thinking, which conflicts with the American one. The exchange student I talked to said what struck him most is in Denmark, everything is so *normal*. All are pretty content, all are middle clas, and people make sure to take care of each other if stuff goes wrong, whereas in the US, it is much more competitive; a more Darwinistic society (for good and bad, I see positive aspects of this) where the weak are weeded out. More of a "succeed or die" scenario. I won't go into the flaws of the Danish approach, but they're there and fairly obvious.
Lastly, the US is the biggest power on earth. it has the most powerful industrial might, one of the greatest economies and there has never been such a potent force on earth - greater than the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians.
Such a force will *always* be a welcome target, a uniter, if you will, for others.
Incidentally; watched David Letterman show yesterday. he had a clip of some dumb commercial and called the kid "European", whereupon the audience booed. "Tough crowd, booing at Europeans he said with a wry smile".
I suspect this is just healthy siblings rivalry. It has all the traits and characteristics of it (and I know, I have two older brothers and a younger sister). This is how it mostly is
Til someone stomps someone on the toes
.
So, dumb ugly Americans, take your socalled football, that has next to nothing to do with a foot or a ball, and go the hell away
.
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Baron Claus "StSanta" Von Ribbentroppen
9./JG 54 "Grünherz"
"I don't necessarily agree with everything I think." - A. Eldritch
[This message has been edited by StSanta (edited 01-24-2001).]
