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The United States upholds its status as the major global power through economic strength, technological innovation, military capabilities, and diplomatic influence.
As the leader of the free world, the country remains relevant to virtually everyone abroad, too. However, people's perception of it can vary dramatically, and due to factors such as media bias, political agenda, and historical context, misleading information can find its way into these talks as well.
So when Reddit user PW6YLenen made a post on the platform, asking others to share the lies about America that they're sick and tired of hearing, many had things to say.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The American dream, anyone can start homeless and become a billionaire just through hard work, ingenuity, and good ol' American bootstraps.
It's b******t. America is something like 27th for economic mobility.
RELATED:
#2
That we are all the screaming, loudmouth, karen tourists that visit other countries and yell "why don't you speak english." Believe me we hate those people too.
Colin Matthews 11 months ago
Oh god no it’s a world wide problem. Just look at all the UK package tourists in Spain “oi Pedro bleedin egg and chips…”
#3
That we dip most things in ranch and we are all addicted to fentanyl which is a LIE. I can’t stand ranch and I dip EVERYTHING in fentanyl.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 11 months ago
I'm American and I only like nacho cheese or BBQ sauce for a dip. Raw veggies I eat naked (them, not me).
#4
How racist it is. I'm Egyptian and you can tell I'm Arab just by my appearance. There's way more racism in my homeland AND in surrounding region than the west in general tbh.
Apart from a comment here or there, mostly from some inebriated youths, I haven't had a racial experience. (I live in the south). All are friendly and sweet and also soooo polite. They seem to take a genuine interest in where I am from etc.
USA actually has discriminatory and anti racism laws. America is a fabulous country and I'm glad to be an American today.
#5
Americans are fat because they’re lazy and can’t control themselves. In truth, the available food is garbage. You have to go out of your way to choose health, and even the things that claim to be healthy are mostly advertising loopholes. “Low fat” means “high sugar.”
#6
A lot of people in Eastern Europe think that Americans are all rich. Meanwhile, the Americans are trying to budget for toast and trim their own toenail infection to avoid going to the hospital.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 11 months ago
Americans who can afford to visit Europe, East, West, whatever, ARE RICH. The rest of us are poor AF.
#7
That it’s a meritocracy. Talent, skill, and hard work make a difference, but not as big a difference as wealth and connections especially when combined with a willingness to exploit
marcelo D. 11 months ago
That is a meritocracy. The lie of meritocracy is that is you work hard and earn it, you will be better, but the meritocracy concept is a lie that doesn’t account the difference in circumstances people star with. It doesn’t account that a rich kid will go to better schools and had to only study while a poor kid will go to crappy schools, and will either have to work or help around the house taking time from studies, that malnutrition has effects ln studying children, etc. The other lie of meritocracy is claiming “he failed a hundred times and just kept trying, and then bill gates made microsoft”, except only a rich kid can fail a million times and keep trying. Regular people need to work to eat and get a home. Regular kids don’t have parents that gives them hundread of thousands in loans and have contacts The lie of meritocracy is claiming that if you make it, it is solely on your hard work and not on a lot of external factors to the person, like the money and connections they had.
#8
Not from the US but have lived there. Mine would be that people are only surface nice but nothing beyond that and then become rude.
Very untrue - my family was met with a lot of genuine kindness from the beginning and a lot of people went above and beyond providing help and expected nothing in return. Just sweet, helpful and nice people in thr local community.
Becky Samuel 11 months ago
And yet whenever I mention that it's normal to take in a package for our neighbours, or even to get to know them in the UK, I'm met with downvotes and derision.
#9
That we have no concept of the metric system.
Look, we know it exists. We learn about it in school. And it’s used exclusively in medical and scientific applications.
But it’s just not what we use in our day to day lives.
Thenatural 11 months ago
Uk here....we measure ourselves in ft and inches,our weight in stones and lbs,distance in miles and yards but in building works I use metric
#10
That American has no culture.
For starters, American food is so much more than hamburgers & fries. The South has particularly delicious food with jambalaya & gumbo from LA, shrimp & grits, key lime pie, & lowcountry boil from the lowcountry of GA & SC, barbecue from NC & TN, biscuits & gravy from Appalachia, & soul food from the deep south. American food is actually amazing.
The US is also home to music genres like jazz, country, & rock. We have unique dances like Appalachian flatfooting & American contra dance.
There is SO much more to the US than what the world sees in media!
Bernd Herbert 11 months ago
If someone says anything like "xyz has no culture" you know that person has no clue whatsoever
#11
That we're all intellectually disabled, morbidly obese larda**es who binge reality TV all day while munching on butter sticks and guzzling alfredo sauce.
Colin Matthews 11 months ago
Harsh! I don’t think anyone suggested ALL Americans are that way. Just 40% or so
#12
This one seems silly but.. For some reason, people think we are the only country with those cheaply made public bathroom stall doors etc - the metal ones with the cracks that you can kind of see into, etc. I’ve used bathrooms that have these in three different countries just this year.
Bisha Moten 11 months ago
Not sure why so many people run with this one, when they don't seem to realize that everything about them is done that way for a reason. The cracks/gaps? Gotta be there or the doors won't swing or latch right. The gap at the bottom? ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirement. To facilitate quick entry in the event of a medical emergency.
#13
Not so much a lie as a misconception. I've seen a few English bloggers remark about how hard it is to get vegetables in US grocery stores, and remarking that the only things available are pre-made salads and the like.
My guess is that they walked into a Texaco expecting it to be like Tesco, and we're understandably disappointed. 7-11, Walgreens, and CVS aren't grocery stores either. Look for an Aldi, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Sweetbay, or a Walmart Neighborhood Market. If you don't care about money, you can check out Sprouts or Whole Foods.
Robert Trebor 11 months ago
I travel all over the USA and visit supermarkets to buy things for my lunches and dinners, and regardless of the time of year or the place, there is always a huge variety of fresh vegetables available.
#14
One of the stranger myths I see repeated about America by foreigners is about food. Usually it's something like "American [beer/cheese/chocolate/bread/etc.] is all crappy and terrible." No, you just picked the cheapest version from a chain grocery store and then acted like it's the only one we have. It's like if I went to the UK and s**ttalked British food because all I ate was sausage rolls from Greggs.
#15
I got so tired of hearing from foreign exchange students that America has no culture. Like b***h, you’ve visited one f*****g state, you can’t just decide the whole country is absent of culture.
SirWriteALot 11 months ago
Most places in the US don't have that "ancient" feel. Take pretty much any town in Europe and you'll find ancient buildings, narrow alleys or even prehistoric artefacts. I think that's where a lot of that "no culture" thing comes from. That said: it's pretty stupid to tell someone you're visiting that their country sucks (because that's what you're doing)
#16
That we are all rich or doing good in life. This is false. A staggering amount of people live paycheck to paycheck. Most Americans can not afford a 1,000$ emergency expense and there are people in this country who starve to death or die due to lack of medical care.
Michael Largey 11 months ago (edited)
The people who enjoy prosperity do so precisely because of those who suffer from want. And vice versa. It's a system.
#17
There are a lot more important ones, but I constantly hear that we all wear shoes in the house. No one I know hangs around the house in shoes.
DadManBlues 11 months ago
I think this misconception has been created by the movies, where no one ever takes their shoes off when they enter an apartment, they never go to the toilet, and they never say goodbye to the other person at the end of a phone call.
#18
I do think it’s funny when these 95% white European nations that are really hard to move to and gain citizenship as opposed to the US, call us racist.
#19
"America has no history". Blatantly untrue and offensive, to say the least.
Ace 11 months ago (edited)
Nobody denies that the US has history, no idea where you got that idea from. It's just relatively recent history compared with that of lots of other parts of the world, is all. ETA: I cannot believe that so many people are apparently unable to read. Hint: "US History".
#20
That we are all as divided as the media (or social media) would have us to believe. Most people are actually good people. You see the extremes online and in the news. There is an exhausted majority who isn’t filled with extremist hate.
#21
Mistake number 1: referring to America as a monolith. Virtually all of these comments are both true and false to varying degrees depending on the part of the country you’re in. The US is a f*****g massive country, and a lot of folks, especially Europeans don’t seem to get just how truly gargantuan it is. Their countries are more comparable to individual states than the US as a whole.
BrownTabby 11 months ago
I’m assuming you extend the same courtesy when talking about China, Russia and India?
#22
I live overseas and one of my Chinese friends always asks me about gun violence and how scary America must be.
I found out recently she's from Xinjiang, aka the place where Uighurs are being sent to concentration camps.
BrownTabby 11 months ago
So basically she’s the Chinese equivalent of an American who has a lot to say about third world countries but not the atrocities in their own country?
DadManBlues 11 months ago
I won the Diversity Visa Lottery but didn't ask for the Green Card because of the mass shootings in the US. The last few years have forever erased my will to move to America with my 3 kiddos.
Andy Frobig 11 months ago
The Uighur problem is shameful and inexcusable, but I don't think many people are walking around a school or a mall and suddenly concentration-camped out of nowhere
Casey Payne 11 months ago
This is more of a presentation problem than a perception problem. I live in California and my family lives in Florida. When we talk on the phone, we routinely have to ask each other if hell has opened up where they live or is that just the news we are exposed to. We laugh about how media sucks and move on with our lives.
Yer maw 11 months ago
Not gonna lie, I would never move to America on this basis alone. I never have to think about guns in any way. I couldn't live somewhere knowing my kid could be shot just going to school
#23
Rural America is not all BS, guns and racism. Mostly we're all just getting by like everyone else, trying to be good people and want everyone to be nice.
BrownTabby 11 months ago
My right wing neighborhood is nicey nice to The Right People too. It’s just when brown people do ~uppity~ things like running for mayor that they start drawing swastikas.
#24
Americans being ignorant about foreign languages and monolingual. It’s a true stereotype, but not about Americans. It’s true to native English speakers- as UK & Australia have similar rates of monolingualism.
There are also many states in the United States where that just simply isn’t as true as they think it is, like LA county, southern Arizona, Texas, southern Florida etc.
The Darkest Timeline 11 months ago
If English weren’t the lingua franca in many places, English speakers would be far more multilingual
#25
That we are fat and lazy.
I’m not fat…
#26
I’m not necessarily sick of hearing it, but when I went to Europe I had TWO separate people ask me why American men like fat girls so much. I said, “What do you mean?” They said, “I see pictures of American women and they’re all fat. So, your men must like that?”
I was so caught off guard I just laughed.
Kristina Pelėda 11 months ago
Oh yeah, because only reason why women exist is to be appreciated by man 🥴
#27
How terrible it is - as told by people who’ve never been there or have never been anywhere else.
BrownTabby 11 months ago
Americans who are so poor that they’ve “never been anywhere else” are in the best position to criticise the US.
#28
That we're all dumb. I had several men in England come up to me and tell me that, and surprisingly, later expect me to go home with them.
#29
That Americans aren't "well traveled" for having never been out of the country.
B***h, it is 2,791 miles from NYC to LA. It is 286 miles from London to Paris. It would take less than ,10 miles to travel from Portugal to Finland than crossing the entire Continental US. You can travel so far in the US without crossing the border, entering into multiple biomes/climates.
Just bc Americans may not leave the US doesn't mean they aren't well traveled, and that's excluding Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Strontium Dog 11 months ago
To me "well travelled" means having been to different countries and experienced different cultures, languages, cuisines etc. "Well travelled" doesn't mean "covered a lot of miles". I can do that just going around the block a couple thousand times
#30
The US is one of the most racially and culturally tolerant nation. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of issues, but we call it out, we're trying to change it. Almost every other nation in the world is a homogenous culture/genetic group dealing with immigration as if it's a novel concept that humans move, when humans have been moving for thousands of years. Further countries that have diverse native populations, there's the issue of erasing those cultural differences. China had like a dozen distinctrregional cultures like a century ago, and they're being homogenized. The US is not the only nation to genocide indigenous peoples.
What do you think ?
Multa Nocte 11 months ago
Another article that pulls out the anti-Americans. Writing from France it honestly looks like jealousy or insecurity. I come here to read fun articles, see some funny things, and look at cute animal pix. Between the anti-American feelings of so many readers and possibly BP itself, this is getting too predictable.
LokisLilButterknife 11 months ago (edited)
BoredPanda has become such a nasty and negative place anymore. From their rampant censorship to creating divides against readers to drive traffic to their site, I'm suprised if this site is going to last any longer. I keep on holding out thinking that they wil get better, but sadly they just seem to be continually ignoring their readers and fostering hate and xenophobia. It's actually pretty darn disturbing. I just saw another reader comment that their comments were deleted when they provided a suggestion on an listicle and pointed out something that needed to be corrected.
Load More Replies...
Ubedhheij 11 months ago
Hey quick question I live in the US and why does a lot of people elsewhere not focus on other stereotypes about other countries and only on the US?
LokisLilButterknife 11 months ago
Because BoredPanda likes to create divides against their readers in order to drive traffic to their site. They know that listicles like this are going to get their U.S. readers riled up and that the comment section is going to be filled to the gills with comments. It's a pretty pittiful and sad tactic to increase site traffic. I have family in the United Kingdom, U.S. and Denmark and their are sadly problems in all countries. There is no denying that the United States is experiencing a very disturbing rise in nationalism and fascism, however, BoredPanda never addresses its American readers who are pushing back against the hatred in their country. It never mentions the American readers who are fighting for positive change like standing up for LGBTQIA+ rights and women's rights.
Load More Replies...
Caroline Sinclair 11 months ago
Every country has bad people and the occasional bad leader, but the American ones affect the rest of the world more than most.
Christopher H 11 months ago
I feel like all the people in the comments need to read the title of this again. It's not a list of things that Americans think are great about here; it's misconceptions about the US. Do we have guns...yes, does everyone have a gun...no, do we feel unsafe here...no but there are unsafe areas. But you have active shooter drills at school? Sure but it never made me feel unsafe because we did the drill. Just like I don't feel unsafe when I'm watching the safety presentation on a plane.
Thenatural 11 months ago
But wouldn't you rather live in a country where active shooter drills were unnecessary? You sound a bit desensitised to it tbh...
Load More Replies...
Randy Sanders 11 months ago
If you don't like me cause I'm an American, I don't care. If you don't like me because I'm an a**hole, OK. I still don't care much. To let it bother me requires that I give you power over me, and I simply refuse.
Julie S 11 months ago
I think because America is so big you will always get extremes. If only 10% of Americans are obese that can still work out to be more people than live in some European countries. So of course you get the trope that "All Americans are obese" or "All Americans are stupid". It's just that there are so damn many of them!
Carl Roberts 11 months ago
In before the dozens of anti-American comments...from American Bored Panda members.
LokisLilButterknife 11 months ago
Hey Carl, non-American here. I've been on this site since it started about eight years ago, and I find the amount of American bashing on BoredPanda pretty darn disturbing and tiring. They have a really nasty trend of writing listicles bashing U.S. readers and the United States every week. It may have been silly at first, but now it's just turned into this rather creepy form of xenophia. Furthermore, it creates a divide against readers. BoredPanda treats all people from the United States as a monolith, when they are not. The United States has an incredible amount of problems, but BoredPanda fails to acknowledge the people in the United States that are standing up for positive change and pushing back against the rise of nationalism. BoredPanda fails to recognise that countries are not monliths! Stereotypes are cruel in any shape or form, and it's pretty damn pittiful that BoredPanda keeps on perpetuating them.
Load More Replies... The Darkest Timeline 11 months ago
Unlike some people, I don’t take it too personally when there are comments that are negative towards Americans. We’re the dominant power in the world; that’s always going to put a target on your back. And, quite frankly, power should be held to account; it’s okay to hold up a mirror to the strong and ask them to reflect on what they do with that power. Most of it is just ignorant stuff or stereotypes and, hey, this is the internet so there’s a lot of that in case you hadn’t noticed. Ultimately, I either ignore it or find a way to politely educate the person(s) making the comment if I think it is error. Bottom line, though, is that it just isn’t worth getting worked up over and has no effect on my life; if a few anonymous folks want to take a swing, have at it because it won’t change a thing.
Multa Nocte 11 months ago
Another article that pulls out the anti-Americans. Writing from France it honestly looks like jealousy or insecurity. I come here to read fun articles, see some funny things, and look at cute animal pix. Between the anti-American feelings of so many readers and possibly BP itself, this is getting too predictable.
LokisLilButterknife 11 months ago (edited)
BoredPanda has become such a nasty and negative place anymore. From their rampant censorship to creating divides against readers to drive traffic to their site, I'm suprised if this site is going to last any longer. I keep on holding out thinking that they wil get better, but sadly they just seem to be continually ignoring their readers and fostering hate and xenophobia. It's actually pretty darn disturbing. I just saw another reader comment that their comments were deleted when they provided a suggestion on an listicle and pointed out something that needed to be corrected.
Load More Replies... Ubedhheij 11 months ago
Hey quick question I live in the US and why does a lot of people elsewhere not focus on other stereotypes about other countries and only on the US?
LokisLilButterknife 11 months ago
Because BoredPanda likes to create divides against their readers in order to drive traffic to their site. They know that listicles like this are going to get their U.S. readers riled up and that the comment section is going to be filled to the gills with comments. It's a pretty pittiful and sad tactic to increase site traffic. I have family in the United Kingdom, U.S. and Denmark and their are sadly problems in all countries. There is no denying that the United States is experiencing a very disturbing rise in nationalism and fascism, however, BoredPanda never addresses its American readers who are pushing back against the hatred in their country. It never mentions the American readers who are fighting for positive change like standing up for LGBTQIA+ rights and women's rights.
Load More Replies... Caroline Sinclair 11 months ago
Every country has bad people and the occasional bad leader, but the American ones affect the rest of the world more than most.
Christopher H 11 months ago
I feel like all the people in the comments need to read the title of this again. It's not a list of things that Americans think are great about here; it's misconceptions about the US. Do we have guns...yes, does everyone have a gun...no, do we feel unsafe here...no but there are unsafe areas. But you have active shooter drills at school? Sure but it never made me feel unsafe because we did the drill. Just like I don't feel unsafe when I'm watching the safety presentation on a plane.
Thenatural 11 months ago
But wouldn't you rather live in a country where active shooter drills were unnecessary? You sound a bit desensitised to it tbh...
Load More Replies... Randy Sanders 11 months ago
If you don't like me cause I'm an American, I don't care. If you don't like me because I'm an a**hole, OK. I still don't care much. To let it bother me requires that I give you power over me, and I simply refuse.
Julie S 11 months ago
I think because America is so big you will always get extremes. If only 10% of Americans are obese that can still work out to be more people than live in some European countries. So of course you get the trope that "All Americans are obese" or "All Americans are stupid". It's just that there are so damn many of them!
Carl Roberts 11 months ago
In before the dozens of anti-American comments...from American Bored Panda members.
LokisLilButterknife 11 months ago
Hey Carl, non-American here. I've been on this site since it started about eight years ago, and I find the amount of American bashing on BoredPanda pretty darn disturbing and tiring. They have a really nasty trend of writing listicles bashing U.S. readers and the United States every week. It may have been silly at first, but now it's just turned into this rather creepy form of xenophia. Furthermore, it creates a divide against readers. BoredPanda treats all people from the United States as a monolith, when they are not. The United States has an incredible amount of problems, but BoredPanda fails to acknowledge the people in the United States that are standing up for positive change and pushing back against the rise of nationalism. BoredPanda fails to recognise that countries are not monliths! Stereotypes are cruel in any shape or form, and it's pretty damn pittiful that BoredPanda keeps on perpetuating them.
Load More Replies... The Darkest Timeline 11 months ago
Unlike some people, I don’t take it too personally when there are comments that are negative towards Americans. We’re the dominant power in the world; that’s always going to put a target on your back. And, quite frankly, power should be held to account; it’s okay to hold up a mirror to the strong and ask them to reflect on what they do with that power. Most of it is just ignorant stuff or stereotypes and, hey, this is the internet so there’s a lot of that in case you hadn’t noticed. Ultimately, I either ignore it or find a way to politely educate the person(s) making the comment if I think it is error. Bottom line, though, is that it just isn’t worth getting worked up over and has no effect on my life; if a few anonymous folks want to take a swing, have at it because it won’t change a thing.
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