A trope many think about Americans is we're all uneducated buffoons who allowed an orange cretin into the most powerful seat in the country while simultaneously not knowing about the world. And while the first half of that is accurate, after reading this article, the second half will be slightly more wrong.
The world is a much bigger place than we think and it's important to understand what we might be wrong about when it comes to other countries.
Reddit user, u/Bobthecatisgreat, wanted to hear about:
What do most people get wrong about your country?
Even People Who Live There Don't Know!
explaining homer simpson GIFGiphyPeople always confuse Tower Bridge with London Bridge.
I live in the UK and this confused me until I went to them.
It's Only Partially True!
snails and frog legs are very uncommon.
Baguette isn't though, we eat those almost every day
Yeah, also "omelette du fromage" isn't a thing. Omelettes au fromage are delicious tho.
Speaking Of Us...
Many Americans are level headed, friendly people who value science and critical thought.
They don't get a lot of airtime however.
It's a lot more fun to hate on loud idiots.
Completely Misrepresented
How socialist Norway is. Yes, we have a strong government, but we have a blended economy with a lot of capitalism. It drives me crazy how American media describes us. A lot of our resources are privatized, and it is easy to start a company. People also have the choice to attend private or public school, or go to private hospitals. We do not have any less freedom than the US.
Same in Canada. From the way Fox News talks you'd think that we Canadians live in a socialist gulag with no personal wealth and no freedom of speech and no guns.
In reality, Canada has relatively liberal gun laws compared to many other countries (if you really want one, you can have one but you don't have much selection to choose from). Our hate speech laws have a very high bar to be enforced (just look at the number of brushes J Phillipe Rushton has had with the law - zero). Per capita we are not as wealthy as the states, but our social safety net fills the gaps for the working class and most of us make enough to live a good life. Sure I could probably afford a Mercedes AMG GTR if I were to work in the US, but I don't need an uber expensive car to feel happy.
Or Play Golf!
groundskeeper willie kilt GIFGiphyWe don't all wear kilts & chase haggis
Ive been to scotland. It was just gloom and golf course
A Simple Mix 'em Up
Thinking we're Switzerland, I said Sweden but don't wanna be rude and correct while you tell a story about how you liked the alps.
Also happens the other way around. 🥴
Completely Normal. Sorry.
We live pretty normal lives in South Africa.
It's not mad max on the roads.
People are shocked when I say we have roads, cars, houses, shopping centres...
So You're Saying Television Lied To me?
They think Mexico is a desert sh-thole.
But no, we also have forest, beaches, mountains. Still a sh-thole though.
Breaking bad told me its all seen in a piss yellow filter. This better be true or sooo help me.
But The Important Question Is: Was He A Fox?
Robin Hood probably wasn't from here, more likely Lincolnshire
I didn't even realise Robin Hood was a real person until I visited Nottingham.
Oh, Canada, Our Home And Escape Plan
the simpsons canada GIFGiphy- Think that we pronounce "about" as "a-boot".
- Many seem surprised to learn that Canada has a Queen.
- Americans somehow think that they can just "move to Canada" if they get sick of their own country.
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