Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Stereotypes About Their Home Country Annoy Them The Most

People Explain Which Stereotypes About Their Home Country Annoy Them The Most
Juliana Kozoski on Unsplash

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."

definitelymy1account

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!

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Stefan Molyneux; Charlie Kirk
@StefanMolyneux/X; Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Far-Right Podcaster Gets Epic Fact-Check After Claiming Charlie Kirk Never Called Anyone A 'Fascist'

Stefan Molyneux, an Irish-born Canadian White nationalist podcaster who promotes conspiracy theories, White supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement, jumped to MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's and his fellow hatemonger Charlie Kirk's defense on X.

Writer Peter Rothpletz (Peter Twinklage) shared Trump's widely criticized Truth Social post about Rob Reiner after the actor, writer, director, philanthropist, and activist and his wife were murdered.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tucker Carlson; Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images

Tucker Carlson Dragged After His Conspiracy Theory Prediction About Trump's Speech Is Way Off

Former Fox News personality turned far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson was widely mocked after he made a bold prediction about what President Donald Trump would announce during his primetime address to the nation on Wednesday—namely that the U.S. would go to war with Venezuela.

But it turns out Carlson was very, very wrong. The speech was nowhere near that consequential and Trump spent the majority of it complaining about former President Joe Biden.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; JD Vance
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Getty Images

AOC Has Iconic Reaction After She's Asked If She Could Beat JD Vance In 2028 Presidential Election

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had quite the response to recent polling that suggested she could beat Vice President JD Vance in a hypothetical 2028 presidential election.

A new poll from The Argument/Verasight shows Ocasio-Cortez narrowly edging out Vance in a hypothetical 2028 presidential matchup, with 51 percent of respondents backing her and 49 percent supporting him.

Keep ReadingShow less
marathon runner on starting block
Braden Collum on Unsplash

People Break Down The Greatest Comeback Stories They've Ever Heard

At the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, runner Billy Mills won the 10k meter race—the first and still only runner from the United States to win Olympic gold in the 10k.

Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakȟóta tribe of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux Nation) from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Mills' Mother Grace died when he was 8 years old and his Father Sidney died when he was 12.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Who Work In Someone Else's Home Share The Most Revealing Things They've Noticed

Going into strangers' homes isn't the most fun thing to do.

I always get nervous.

Keep ReadingShow less