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I have a close friend and colleague from Paris that I worked with in Philadelphia. She once told me that she attributes the American attitude of independence an
by Cd00d 5y ago
I have a close friend and colleague from Paris that I worked with in Philadelphia. She once told me that she attributes the American attitude of independence and self-reliance on the fact that we still can run into animals that will kill us. Our perspective is directed by the inherent risk of living with wild (I don't think she had downtown Philly specifically in mind when forming these observations/ideas :) )
- capableweb 5y ago> She once told me that she attributes the American attitude of independence and self-reliance on the fact that we still can run into animals that will kill us That would have been plausible I suppose if it wasn't for the fact that animals that can kill humans exists in many other places, but the attitude of Americans (fortunately) doesn't.
- fartattack 5y ago
- voz_ 5y ago> but the attitude of Americans (fortunately) doesn't. Perhaps you meant "Unfortunately"? I know it is very vogue to bash America and Americans these days. Perhaps you have spent too much time online, or have had some very negative experiences, but I do not share your view at all. Almost all Americans I have met are kind, helpful, and friendly. Coming from Eastern Europe, it's been an overwhelmingly positive change to have the default be "How can I help you", rather than "Fuck off".
- adventured 5y ago[flagged]
- uglytruth 5y ago[flagged]
- sanedigital 5y agoHoward Campbell Jr. is a fictional character from a fictional novel. You're relating the personal opinions of a single novelist as if they were representative facts. You think the average American is poor? You should spend some time in Southern or Eastern Europe, Southeast or South Asia, or pretty much anywhere on the entire African continent.
- voz_ 5y ago
- truthspeaker9 5y ago
- ROTMetro 5y ago
- notahacker 5y agoI'm not quite sure how an offhand remark upthread about one of the quirks of US culture has culminated in a post explaining that Western Europeans are "faux elitist snobbish... hasbeens fading in consequence" that are just "too arrogant about their position in the world", but it's not the German or French participants in this thread bragging about [ludicrous exaggerations of] their power. I mean, this particular tangent supports the notion that delusions of grandeur might be an issue for some, but not in the way you think... If, as you suggest, countries need to live in fear of conquest not to resent Americans[1], I'm not sure that's evidence that it's other countries whose citizens are most likely to be exhibiting attitude problems. [1] I'm not actually convinced this is the case, much like I'm entirely unconvinced that my country is "de facto ruled by the US", or that negative stereotypes about US culture and politics emanate from our desire to recapture our Empire (the people that obsess about that history tend to like the US and our political relations with it more. They're also a lot more obsessed with imperial grandeur than your average German!)
- uglytruth 5y ago
- anonfornoreason 5y agoI am an American, born and raised here. It's a great place, people are great. Just like anywhere, there are good people and bad, there are kind people and mean, there are helpful people and not helpful. Over and over I encounter good people with views that I don't agree with, that would help me in a heartbeat and I would help in a heartbeat. If you fall victim to the mentality that everyone sucks, guess what, everyone will suck in your eyes. Personally, I think the modern western culture is pretty sick, there's a ton of narcissism, people are sucked into their fake worlds behind their media screens. That doesn't mean they are bad people, it means that the incentive structure of western society is fundamentally broken. Don't confuse bad people with people who are under sway of a broken media system.
- snek_case 5y ago> Americans are sure kind and friendly alright--as long as you happen to subscribe 1000% to whatever divisive flavor of propaganda an individual has been brainwashed to believe You, my friend, are spreading your own flavor of propaganda right here in this post. Take a moment to breathe. There's both good and bad things in america, but it sure isn't the worst place to be born or to live in.
- voz_ 5y agoI cannot tell if this is a troll comment, or in good faith. Where do you get off assuming my accent?
- sanedigital 5y agoI spent 5 years overseas, living in several European countries and embedding myself in non-English speaking communities. Small-minded, short-sighted, and provincial thinking is the norm everywhere. Your average person thinks their country, language, race, etc. are the best around, regardless of where they're from. Your post is the worst kind of "divisive flavor of propaganda". You've been led to believe the US is some sort of awful place full of awful people. And I get it, I used to think that too. But the truth is its just a place—a place full of people, the same kind as anywhere. I hope you find the source of your anger and are able to work on it. Otherwise that toxicity is going to stay with you the rest of your life.
- uglytruth 5y ago
- voz_ 5y ago
- truthspeaker9 5y ago
- voldacar 5y ago
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoIt certainly was not the kind of comment we want on HN. But your comment also breaks the site guidelines.
- stillugly 5y ago[flagged]
- lessthanseventy 5y ago
- cultofmetatron 5y agobeing eastern europe is the key there, that basically means you're white. I'm not surprised you're treated well in America. For the rest of us, it can be hit or miss depending on where in the country we're in.
- Tenoke 5y agoI'm willing to wager that no matter your ethnicity you'd have an overall much worse time in Eastern Europe (where I am also from) than most of the US.
- cultofmetatron 5y agoI spent 3 months traveling around ukraine in 2020 (I know.. hell of a year to be traveling) While lviv and ukraine were lovely, I had to remind myself that I'm comparably wealthy compared to most of the people I was meeting and of course, money changes a lot of things.
- sharikous 5y agoI don't know. I, for one, am happy the USA exist as a country and Americans exist as a people. The attitude of independence and self reliance has to do obviously with low population density, history and ancient cultural roots, but is commendable. Judging by the news there is also a lot to complain about, and these days more then in the past, unfortunately. But it's a bit stupid to give up on the good things of your culture because of internal bashing
- truthspeaker9 5y ago
- ajuc 5y agoWild animals can kill you anywhere in the world, in Europe too. Just not the spectacular ones like lions, more mundane ones like bears, wolves, vipers. And of course anything with rabies or borreliosis.
- EleanorKonik 5y agoI'm not sure how that explains Australia, heh