Poll: do you hate Americans?

[S.H.A.R.P.]

I don't hate North Americans. Plenty of folk here on the Escapist are fine people, yet also come from North America. Some groups in the USA however don't present themselves in an ordinary fashion. I guess it is the same with other countries, but for some reason, some North Americans seem to be proud of it.

Take for example the mindless patriotism some inhabitants pride themselves upon. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your country, but only to a certain extend, and with a certain rationality should one pertain that idea.
Also the idea is that the US is the "Land of the free, home of the brave" while in fact your rights are as citizens seem to be taken from you more each day. That combined with the rights you take, and have took from others by meddling in foreign affairs, invading countries and all. If a government considers itself superior, and needs to show that to the world by being a nuisance to others, bugs me somewhat.

There's plenty of contradictions and idiocies that US Government policy, and citizens of the US are guilty of. Again, this may be the same with other countries, but for some reason it really shows in the States..

 

[Kais86]

I'm American and I still can't stand most of the people around me, then again I live in the buckle of the bible belt (or Oklahoma as some people call it, although other states WILL fight for that title, why is beyond me but that's one reason I hate them) and I don't care too much about how people treat their religions here, nor do I care too much for how they behave, normal every day people will prove to be morons or "bad" (not even the good kind of "bad", just not someone I want to be near) the moment I decide to take the chance to get to know them.

 

[keyton777]

I don't hate Americans but I certainly hate their foreign policy from the Bush administration and the blind retards following whatever their administration says they should follow, with no question (ie. the somewhat questionable "patriots" that often pop up).

The minute the country ceases the "herpa derp, we should police the world and beg Europe to join us so we can let them clean our shit up" attitude, i'm sure everyone would appreciate the good parts of the country a lot more. I mean god damn, you were BFF with Iraq and Saddam 20 years ago and didn't get angry until he fucked around with your oil supply. If you want to arbitrarily shoot shit up, go ahead, but please do it by yourself, m'kay?

Also, I really hope that the poster writing the white flag comment is a troll, 'cause seriously, wtf is Iran ever going to do to you? They have a shitty army, no proper long range missile equipment and even if they got nukes to launch at Israel (who is 99.9% likely to have some of their own, although they refuse to admit it), so what? Everyone else has them anyway and Iran knows just as well as China, India, Pakistan, all of Europe and yourself that if they launch one, Teheran would be gone 5 seconds later.

you do know what M.A.D. is right? mutually assured distruction
one country launches ONE nuke, and everyone will launch nukes, the world will end in a NUCLEAR FIREBALL. only an idiot would launch a nuke with that threat in place



or everyone with nukes will launch them at the offending dickhead i forget what it is, either way, that country is gonna get vaped

 

[DonPauliani]

AMERIKUH, FUCK YEAH!


In truth, I hate all people.

 

[keyton777]

Hey, I don't hate America, I just think they have funny accents.

how many of us have accents?
i know i dont
i know the south and the far north have them

then again what do you expect from a country made up mostly of the run off, and refugees from other nations

You know, there is such thing as "American accent", right?

Because I'd imagine that the British accent is the "correct" accent, seeing how it's their language.

yeah but then you got american english and british english, not like we could come up with our own language and expect all our kids to learn it, have you seen our educational systems?
the set up changes like twice a year

 

[Aeroflame]

I hate the *stereotypical* American.

How many Americans actually resemble stereotypical Americans is up for debate. But no doubt you can still find those kinds of people anywhere, though maybe to a lesser extent.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

If you can't tell the difference between political satire/commentary and pure, misanthropistic hatred, then you automatically lose the credibility required to ask that question. Doubly, if you're trying to inject some of that lost credibility by instantly labeling people's opinions as a fad, again based on political satire.

I don't hate them, by the way, but they certainly don't give me much reason to like them in general. I have online American acquaintances I'm plenty fond of.

 

[US Crash Fire]

I don't "hate" Americans, in fact, most of you are great people. The two reasons people don't like you.

1) Disney
2) Xbox Live.

Most Americans act like idiots on XBL and insult you for everything you do. Disney is filled with cheesey american kids who think they're great because they're in a musical movie, and then they get their own shows or a serious acting career, if you want people to stop disliking you...Kill Disney.

i dont think ANYONE would disagree with you on the disney part.
but i dont think its XBL thats the problem... ITS THE MUTHER FUCKING HEADSETS!
i dont know if their the same the world over but the ones we het here are uncomfortable as hell and the new ones loosely sit in the controller and come unplugged at the slightest touch. plus the wireless ones are shit and you lose them al the time. so when you finally put it on you just want to scream at something!

maybe we should get rid of headsets. and not XBL.

BTW in kidding and i have never said anything bad to anyone on xbox live unless i know them personally.

 

[keyton777]

If I'd say "yes I hate Americans" I would be basing that hatred on the numerous experiences I had with a grand majority of them having screamed at me through a headset mic telling me to go fuck myself and my mom because of my accent. You can't honestly say you hate an entire country just because the news broadcasts another group of bloated, loud-mouthed American citizens who frankly everyone should dislike, even other Americans.

It's a shame, but it's these negative things that leave a mark in other countries. Same with countries in Europe: Britain's got chavs, the Dutch get high all the time...
You can't do anything about the negative images getting the upper hand here. I'll just give a nation the benefit of the doubt until some indisputable evidence comes along that all of them but a small amount of exceptions are idiots.

Though you have to admit, a nation who elects Bush twice can not be rated high on the board.

those creeps you ran into online, are part of what i like to call the "idiots"
the most they do all day is work, drink beer ( a lot of it) and play XBL till dawn just spewig insults
you could say we are the home of a great many trolls

but at least we have a lot of reallly good people you might run into everyonce in a blue moon, that will just talk with you, might have a bit of trouble figureing out a few words, but then again the average american doesnt encounter someone from britan often

 

[keyton777]

If I'd say "yes I hate Americans" I would be basing that hatred on the numerous experiences I had with a grand majority of them having screamed at me through a headset mic telling me to go fuck myself and my mom because of my accent. You can't honestly say you hate an entire country just because the news broadcasts another group of bloated, loud-mouthed American citizens who frankly everyone should dislike, even other Americans.

It's a shame, but it's these negative things that leave a mark in other countries. Same with countries in Europe: Britain's got chavs, the Dutch get high all the time...
You can't do anything about the negative images getting the upper hand here. I'll just give a nation the benefit of the doubt until some indisputable evidence comes along that all of them but a small amount of exceptions are idiots.

Though you have to admit, a nation who elects Bush twice can not be rated high on the board.

those creeps you ran into online, are part of what i like to call the "idiots"
the most they do all day is work, drink beer ( a lot of it) and play XBL till dawn just spewig insults
you could say we are the home of a great many trolls

but at least we have a lot of reallly good people you might run into everyonce in a blue moon, that will just talk with you, might have a bit of trouble figureing out a few words, but then again the average american doesnt encounter someone from britan often

i probably misspelled britain im very sorry

 

[Greymin]

I have been fortunate enough to live and work in 5 different countries and regularly visit many more, rather disturbingly I can confirm that most popularly held stereotypes are generally based on fact, however I can also confirm that the proportion of a'holes to nice folk is more or less the same everywhere.

So get over it folks we are all pretty much the same regardless of country, colour, religion, sex, age or shoe size. If you do have a negative opinion of the entire population of any one of the above then I am afraid that it says rather more about you than them.

 

[Lord Krunk]

You know, there is such thing as "American accent", right?

Because I'd imagine that the British accent is the "correct" accent, seeing how it's their language.

It's not what you say, but how you say it.

I think I was talking about the southern accent earlier, by the way.

 

[Galletea]

I believe the beef with the States is due to their international relations. The USA hasn't exactly covered itself in glory by refusing to adhere to various international initiatives, such as the Kyoto agreement, without there being a definite benefit to the country, and repeatedly refuses to be involved in the international community as a whole. Being the world's superpower, this is bound to lead to some resentment.

 

[photog212]

So I've come up with a theory as to why people from the US and people from Europe (ie the general populace) have such difficulty seeing eye to eye. The problem is...drumroll please... the damn ocean. It is really, really expensive to cross. Therefore, the impressions we have of each other is based upon what we see, on television, foreign policy dictated by leaders most of the populace disagrees with, or some other form of misinformation. We rarely if ever meet someone from Europe (especially outside of major cities). It's a lot easier for a Brit to travel to Ireland or France than it is for the US. And, the people who do make it across the pond fall into one of two categories.
The first is the stereotypical US tourist. A fannypack and cargo short clad overweight family uncomfortable with any city block that doesn't contain a McDonalds or Starbucks. We understand if you hate these people because we do as well.
The other type is the respectful traveler. They come to your country and appreciate it for its differences. However, since they're not wearing US flags on their T-shirts they usually go unnoticed. I encourage all people to come to the US, experience what a great country this can be (not saying we're better) and give us a chance.

 

[US Crash Fire]

If you can't tell the difference between political satire/commentary and pure, misanthropistic hatred, then you automatically lose the credibility required to ask that question. Doubly, if you're trying to inject some of that lost credibility by instantly labeling people's opinions as a fad, again based on political satire.

I don't hate them, by the way, but they certainly don't give me much reason to like them in general. I have online American acquaintances I'm plenty fond of.

im not saying that Yahtzee is at the head of some organization trying to kill all american people to make more room for the Mexicans and Canadians. im saying after so many negative comments on the US you have to wonder if thats what he believes or if its actually satire thats relevent to the game he happens to be reviewing. because the part in his review about the american military all being so selflessly patriotic it makes him want to puke, could have been left out. im not saying he's wrong for feeling that way, if that is how he realy feels. i just kinda want to know why it seems like the world hates america. as for peoples opinions being a fad. peoples opinion of a certain Mexican song and matching dance were great in the mid 90s! was it a fad? YES AND SO WAS THEIR OPINION OF IT!

 

[US Crash Fire]

So I've come up with a theory as to why people from the US and people from Europe (ie the general populace) have such difficulty seeing eye to eye. The problem is...drumroll please... the damn ocean. It is really, really expensive to cross. Therefore, the impressions we have of each other is based upon what we see, on television, foreign policy dictated by leaders most of the populace disagrees with, or some other form of misinformation. We rarely if ever meet someone from Europe (especially outside of major cities). It's a lot easier for a Brit to travel to Ireland or France than it is for the US. And, the people who do make it across the pond fall into one of two categories.
The first is the stereotypical US tourist. A fannypack and cargo short clad overweight family uncomfortable with any city block that doesn't contain a McDonalds or Starbucks. We understand if you hate these people because we do as well.
The other type is the respectful traveler. They come to your country and appreciate it for its differences. However, since they're not wearing US flags on their T-shirts they usually go unnoticed. I encourage all people to come to the US, experience what a great country this can be (not saying we're better) and give us a chance.

so the problems not terrorism!
its TOURISM!
i understand their pain. im from hawaii. the tourists from the mainland (CONUS) are annoying as shit and they mock the hawaiian culture while trying to experience it via tour bus.

 

[DeathScythe_Zessinthal]

when will people realise that americans as we know them today are not a race at all but an independant colony of mixed races and cultures. alot of them without the common sense to prevent their beliefs reaching laughable extremes.

the best example would be some of them believing the bible as absolute historical fact and that humans co-existed peacefully with dinosaurs 5000 years ago (facepalm material)

americans are the natives that the british colonists nearly killed off and i like them because they went through all that and still stuck to their beliefs and cultures

 

[Sewblon]

I am an American. I hate our current government but I mostly just hate Jack Thompson, that guy needs to sign up with World of Warcraft so he will have something more worth while to occupy his life, and PR personnel, They are a blight upon the face existence, no-nothing assholes, and their pancreases are stupid.

 

[L1ddl3monkey]

Americans in real life are the nicest people I've met out of any country I've been to.

Americans on the internet are annoying loudmouthed idiots. My friends and I are all "older" gamers (mid twenties to late thirties) and we all agree that squeaky voiced abusive screaming American kiddies have made playing online with our PS3's impossible. So we hate online Americans for ruining something we love.

To all online Americans of the whiney lose-your-temper when you get beaten variety: No I'm not cheating; I'm just better at it than you. And no I'm not a "fag"; go ask your mum she'll tell you.

 

[US Crash Fire]

Americans in real life are the nicest people I've met out of any country I've been to.

Americans on the internet are annoying loudmouthed idiots. My friends and I are all "older" gamers (mid twenties to late thirties) and we all agree that squeaky voiced abusive screaming American kiddies have made playing online with our PS3's impossible. So we hate online Americans for ruining something we love.

To all online Americans of the whiney lose-your-temper when you get beaten variety: No I'm not cheating; I'm just better at it than you. And no I'm not a "fag"; go ask your mum she'll tell you.

yeah its kinda upseting what people will say and do with anonymity. its like no one belives in doing the right thing even when no ones looking. and i dont think our kids are being taught that either.