Believe it or not, the British don't have bad teeth, Canadians don't say "eh" after every sentence, and the widlife in Australia generally leaves you alone. People in Germany aren't all Nazis, either (you should read a history book sometime).
But many people believe these stereotypes, much to the annoyance of people actually from these countries.
As an American, it's pretty frustrating to hear that everyone thinks we're all packing heat (we're not) and that it's the Wild West out here (okay, that one might have a kernel of truth).
People shared their thoughts after Redditor FewWorldlines5534 asked the online community:
"What stereotypes about your country annoy the f*ck out of you?"
Colombia
Not all of us are drug lords, not all of us are murderers, not all of us work in the cocaine business. No, we are not living in a horrible cartel war, we are not living in that sort of anarchy Narcos presents."
"We are more than the legacy of PABLO ESCOBAR. THAT WAS 20-30 YEARS AGO. Colombia is a totally different place, it has recovered. Especially Medellin."
hencker
Colombia is a beautiful place!
It has its problems (because what place doesn't) but it is so different now.
Australia
"We do not cook shrimp on the barbie, because we call them prawns. Also the first people to live here weren't convicts, they were the indigenous people, who are among the oldest cultures in the world."
If any of you haven't read about the Stolen Generation, you're in for a sobering read.
The United States
"I hate how ever since Trump has gotten elected Americans get a bad rep abroad. Every time I go to another country, and you say you're American, people chuckle or make a snide little joke about Trump like half the time. We're not all Trump supporters and in fact most of us don't like him either."
JabTrill
Also true.
The majority of the country does not support Trump and he was a remarkably unpopular President.
Sadly, his impact on international relations will be felt for a long time.
Brazil
"Everyone here randomly plays football all the time, loves carnaval to death and every woman has a pornstar body. Brazil is way more than that."
PicksandLenses
It is absolutely more than that—people would learn so much more about Brazilian culture if they actually visited (or spent some time with people who are Brazilian!).
Germany
"People still think we're a bunch of Nazis... I don't think people realise that us Germans don't actually support anything that happened."
h-e-c-k-0
Germany is one of the few countries to successfully reconcile its sordid past, and that took a lot of work and cultural conditioning.
Ireland
"People making car bomb jokes knowing nothing about Irish history. Sure the IRA were flat out terrorists after we got independence, but before and during the fight for it, they were vital to get freedom."
SomeFreshMemes
The significance of The Troubles no doubt means little to most people outside Ireland and to make light of it is a big faux pas.
Canada
"That we end every sentence with "eh" and drink maple syrup by the gallon and have moose and igloos in our backyards."
cumbun9
To be fair, if I were Canadian I'd probably be drinking maple syrup everyday.
Great Britain
"A lot of Americans seem to think we're inbred because we're an island. This is dumb, because it's a very big island (10th biggest in the world), and it's not isolated, we've been invaded, invading, and trading with the mainland for thousands of years."
TheKnightsToppler
The history of Great Britain is very, very long and quite a few people would learn a lot more if they simply picked up a history book.
Italy
"We do gesticulate a lot, but we definitely don't yell like crazy."
CastleFi
I think in this case there is a profound difference between Italians and Italian Americans.
Iceland
"Iceland. We're not some utopian Disneyland filled with quirky superstitious people that all believe in elves."
amicubuda
Wait, you mean you're not?
That's okay, though—Iceland is a fascinating place everyone should visit, elves or not.
Remember, the world is an enormous place filled with people from all walks of life, and they don't take too kindly too stereotypes.
Expand your horizons by having conversations with as many people as possible.
You'd be surprised how quickly your preconceived notions will vanish.
Have some annoyances of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!
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