No Stupid Questions

We're arrogant. Hope that helps

I'm a Canadian who has lived and worked in the US, so I've got some familiarity with it.

There is a pervading sense of exceptionalism buried deep in the American zeitgeist. It runs so deep that most people don't even notice it - even on the outer edges.

Case in point: My closest friends down there were staunch leftists. In a land of gun owners and meat lovers, they were vegetarians and pacifists who marched in protests against the government. Most of the time they were quiet, charming, soft-spoken, but firm in their beliefs. Pretty much the polar opposite of the "loudmouth American tourist abroad" stereotype.

And yet if you asked them if the US was the greatest country on earth, they'd say "well yeah, which is why we have to fight for it." An admirable sentiment, but the "well yeah" speaks volumes for how the country sees itself.

The protest singers who lived through McCarthy are the same. Woody Guthrie and his son Arlo would probably say that for all of its flaws and horror, the US is still the best nation we've got so far.

When you know deep in your soul that you're the best, it's hard not to let some subconscious arrogance show through.

I could say the same about Germans based on their tourists, but it's because the most obnoxious people tend to be the most noticeable. Then meme-level thinking makes the false assumption that millions of others must be identical to them, because "it's obvious" or some such irrefutable logic.

Where in Europe are you from? Cause Im from Europe and i feel like this is just a human trait. To answer your question though, america is basically the center of the world for a lot of people, and they truly do think america is better than the rest of the world. That's probably why.

We're trained like dogs by corporations to fight each other instead of them.

Noam Chomsky talked a lot about how political conversations in the US transformed into battles, as Republicans/Conservatives have adopted a policy of never working with Democrats to fix problems.

The U.S. is like any other country; it has its share of assholes. But I generally avoid painting everyone of however many million people with the same broad brush.

There is a somewhat obnoxious level of patriotism to Americans in general that comes from simply being the biggest economy and a net cultural exporter to the rest of the world; think blue jeans and coca-cola, metaphorically. (I'm sorry, Americans, but it's true. Put on your big boy pants and deal with the criticism like adults, please.)

But it only rises to the level of arrogance in those people who think that the rest of the world only exists because of them and should behave as some sort of client state to American hegemony.

That's not all Americans. Heck, I'd say it's not even most Americans. But they're just really really loud and drown out everything else.

More ashamed of my country than ever and feel stuck here. From California and feel like we have some dead corpse strapped to us.

It's not all Americans, but there is a certain type that when you see them, you know it.

I'm talking the type in baggy cargo shorts who 20 seconds after meeting them brags about having great weed and how many women they've fucked.

I had one of those come work with us in Mexico some 6 years back. We had an integrated karate dojo where all employees could train and at the first (and last) training he joined he immediately grabbed two women by their breasts because USA! USA! USA!

Since I ran that dojo he was banned right there and then, but the company owner did not wanted to fire him because he saw absolutely no problem with that behavior. Owner was Russian so take from that what you will about certain types of Russians

I think its because they tech how great a nation is America from a very young age. The country is great. It is the best. The ultimate true power. President is like more powerful than pop. God always their for America. White american people are true American etc etc. So it goes on and they become blind of truth. Hence it forms in their character. Its the main contributing factor I believe.

As an American that worked for a German company for ~10yrs, and spent a significant amount of time in Germany, I'd say many Germans have an arrogant personality trait.

theres some ~~confirmation~~ selection bias in that most americans will never have the ability to travel abroad. so the group youre interfacing with are the more entitled, wealthier class which is also a much smaller contingent of americans.

Others have already pointed out that we're indoctrinated into the myths of American exceptionalism and rugged individualism from a young age. I very much agree, but those myths are only part of it.

That indoctrination, combined with our lack of safety nets, shows up as a hypercompetitive attitude. ("It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.") We feel pressured to be the very best so we might earn the privilege of feeling secure and stable. Trash-talking and bragging are hamfisted attempts to portray high status.

If you look at our social injustice issues through that lens, the injustice makes a certain kind of disgusting, antisocial sense. One who's internalized the hypercompetitiveness will look at someone lying in the middle of the ground in a public city and think: they just aren't trying hard enough, they just couldn't compete. We look to others' misfortunes for reassurance that we're good enough, that we're at the front of the pack. To make oneself smaller, to put oneself second, becomes unthinkable. ("Second place is first loser.")

US citizen here, sounds like you have already figured it out:

And I know that America is a very individualistic culture that focuses on the self and the belief that everyone can achieve anything on their own.

This goes deep into the heart of the matter. A good portion of the population has been propagandized for literally decades that every man is an island and reliance on others is "pussy shit." There is no conception of society. No one wants to fix society, they all want to become rich so the rules of society just stop applying to them.

Temporarily embarrassed ~~millionaires~~ billionaires and all that.

For those of us with empathy and understanding of how economics and international relations actually function, let me tell you, it is a nightmare on our mental health. It has been that way long before Trump, too, I remember how viciously we wasted the world's outpouring of compassion after 9/11. In response to that compassion we went and swung around our big military dick in the middle east and wrecked millions upon millions of lives. It is a daily endless gaslighting by society that caring about people makes us weak. We often are literally denied opportunities to thrive because we aren't following the right "script." We will be passed over for jobs in favor of nepotism and social connections.

Like literally the entire fraternity/sorority culture in the US is and always was for forging early business connections so you can be a useless fucking loser but still rise to the top.

That culture has lead to the worst, dumbest, and least competent running the entire fucking country.

A lot of days it really feels like it would just be easier to let this system fucking kill me and let it win just to get it over with.

Somehow, though, people like me continue living out of spite for what America is and what it represents.

I’ve heard similar stories during my random travels around the world over the years. It’s unfortunate that people in Europe and elsewhere are subjected to these negative encounters. As you said, I don’t believe it’s every American, but from these consistently shared anecdotes, I learned early on in my travels that the USA is not always sending its best people. 

With that said, I would like to share some observations about this from the perspective of someone from the USA. Amongst my friends and other American travelers I have spoken with, there is a noticeable anti-American sentiment that we have felt from, for example, Europeans while we are traveling throughout Europe. It ranges anywhere from immediate, perceptible changes in demeanor upon hearing my accent, to unsolicited and overly judgmental comments on every aspect of American society, all the way to unprovoked anger. 

Many of the complaints I’ve heard from Europeans about Americans, I’ve ironically experienced myself from Europeans: arrogance, intolerance, racism, overt drunkenness and loudness, a lack of understanding about geography (Europeans don’t seem to understand how large the USA is), uninformed opinions they absorbed from sensationalized media sources, etc.

As a result of these experiences, we are sometimes hesitant to talk or discuss anything related to our country when forced into a conversation about these topics. The key word is forced. This is not to say we are afraid of admitting the issues that are prevalent throughout our society. In fact, I would say most Americans who are traveling would agree with you. It’s just that when we travel, it can be difficult to have a conversation with a European without being bombarded by unsolicited opinions on everything they believe is inherently wrong with me. While I have encountered this elsewhere, this tends to be a mostly European experience for me.

Having to hear that over and over can get tiresome, whether deserved or not. Especially since this isn’t something new, and has been going on for many years before the Trump and Bush eras. I’ve resorted to self-deprecating humor when any of those topics come up, which seems to assuage most people. I’ve noticed a lot of Americans do this online or in person, even some taking it to the point of self flagellation.  

All of this is to say that most of my travels and encounters with people around the world are positive. It’s a great way to experience other cultures and people different than our own self-contained society. It’s one of the reasons why I love to travel, and encourage most of my fellow Americans to do so. The more we learn about the world, the better we will be at being good neighbors. Until then, I’m sorry we keep sending shitty people to your countries.

I'm curious, have your interactions with Americans been with those that have traveled to Europe? The reason I ask is because I was able to visit years ago and wondered if maybe European's view of Americans is skewed because they mostly see those of us that come from well off backgrounds (upper income). I met young Americans that had been there multiple times because their parents paid their way while they were on summer break from school. In contrast, I was the exact opposite. You're not likely to see many low income folks visiting so you may have a skewed viewpoint.

All this shit could be said of every other country in the world. Americans don't have the market cornered on being a prick.

I watched a Chinese tour group practically destroy a museum exhibit. Germans don't tip. Some Brits still carry a colonial attitude when it comes to people of color. We had to ban an Indian family from this restaurant I worked at because they thought they could bring the caste system with them on their vacation. In my early twenties, I almost got into fist fight with a Russian guy who didn't understand why I couldn't break his $20 with the money in my till.

Go out into the world and actually interact with people instead of painting broad stereotypical strokes on the Internet. You'll see the capacity for being an asshole isn't relegated to one nationality or ethnicity.

With all the constant anti-American sentiment on here day after day I’d like to count every single time I return here in the “American humility” column, thank you very much. Signed, one of the “good ones.”

It's who we are.

But after more experience with meeting real Americans I noticed this personality type that I and I think many other non-Americans would describe as arrogant.

Where did you meet them?

Tourists are usually only rich people who can afford traveling around the world.

Regardless, Nationalism is an idea almost universally taught in every country. I was born in People's Republic of China and National Anthems, Flag Raising Ceremonies are a common thing. Chinese movies were all WW2 war movies portraying the CCP in a posiyive light. Similar to Americans with the Pledge of Allegience, National Anthem, and American movies also portraying the US in a positive light.

People grow up with nationalism, and of course feel very arrogant because they are part of a powerful nation, so they feel superior. And the US military bases all around the world probably make them feel like they own the world, especially if the Americans you were talking to were rich tourists.

America is a very individualistic culture that focuses on the self and the belief that everyone can achieve anything on their own.

Yes this is a thing I've noticed when I immigrated to the US. Apparantly parents in the US like to kick out their kids at 18, or sometimes at 16, and kids really want to run away from parents for some reason, even though its a very bad form a financial standpoint. In many Asian cultures, you aren't expected to move out until marriage.

People in western cultures seems very anti-mask, where as in Asian countries (even the Democratic ones), they are much more willing to wear a mask.

But I still think having a sense of empathy and sensitivity towards others is a very important core human quality that everyone should have.

Empathy isn't just lacking in Americans, but all around the world. But of course, western individualism is only making that aspect worse.