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PingPing
beigetreten: Feb 9, 2007
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Re: Describe an American
April 29, 2007 - 04:41 AM
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Jack1289 wrote:
Lazy, superficial, self-absorbed, inconsiderate, insolent, arrogant, ignorant... I could go on all day, the majority of americans aren't great people.
This post was edited on: 2007-04-20 at 04:56 PM by: Jack1289  not all americans are like that. the magority mite be like that but thats not all americans.
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jessievanm
beigetreten: Feb 5, 2007
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Re: Describe an American
May 1, 2007 - 04:25 PM
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Maybe it's just because I live in a different kind of place or something, but I find it really hard to believe that the majority of people in America are self-absorbed, arrogant, etc. Granted, I don't travel much, but I could probably count the number of jerks and truly inconsiderate people I have met on one hand... Even the most of the teenagers are cool where I live  Also, just as an aside, I think the main point behind this thread was not to avoid stereotypes, but just to find out what the average person thinks of when they think of Americans - I know I'd be interested in finding out.
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Arslan Jumaniyazov
beigetreten: May 13, 2004
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Re: Describe an American
May 2, 2007 - 06:47 AM
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jessievanm wrote:
Maybe it's just because I live in a different kind of place or something, but I find it really hard to believe that the majority of people in America are self-absorbed, arrogant, etc. Granted, I don't travel much, but I could probably count the number of jerks and truly inconsiderate people I have met on one hand... Even the most of the teenagers are cool where I live * Also, just as an aside, I think the main point behind this thread was not to avoid stereotypes, but just to find out what the average person thinks of when they think of Americans - I know I'd be interested in finding out.
You are right. You have seen me in Peace and Conflict discussions boards continuously criticizing the US foreign policy. But that is specifically against the government officials. I have little trust in any government in the world, in fact. As for American people, they are just like any people in the world. I have many Americans friends here in tig and elsewhere.
You can obviously see arrogant people but also Americans who criticize that same American arrogance! There are extreme nationalists who support whatever the current government do but the most scathing critics of the American foreign policy I have seen come from America itself. You can also see fundamentalists and liberals. You have all kinds of people. If you try to homogenize Americans under certain categories, that means you start stereotyping about them. Therefore, in my previous post I briefly stated that an American is a human being, with his/her good and bad qualities, who lives in the United States.
Arslan
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Jacobs
beigetreten: May 29, 2007
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Re: Describe an American
June 4, 2007 - 10:48 AM
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Arslanik wrote:
wvanbokk wrote:
Describe the average American, in as much or as little detail as you wish.
I had to try to explain what an American is more times than I can ever count. But still I cannot answer it. The best description of an American for me is this: a human being living in the United States!
Arslan
couldnt find something better to say then this 
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rakkel
beigetreten: May 18, 2007
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Re: Describe an American
June 4, 2007 - 11:53 AM
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Describe an American? Okay.
Blind! As much as I love America, I have to say that American's are (many of them at least) ignorant or indifferent to current events (besides Paris Hilton's jail time) and the realities of human suffering within their own borders and outside of it. American's though are well-educated and aware, it just doesn't affect them. It's hard to describe, but every time I come back to America from a new place, I have something to say to friends or family when they complain about little things, or something doesn't meet their "standards." I feel the need to remind them how well off everyone is, but they just look at me funny and say that in a few weeks I will be Americanized again.
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ntadepalli
beigetreten: Jul 24, 2005
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Re: Describe an American
June 18, 2007 - 05:12 AM
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We think that the qualities of American govt. are the same as the qualities of Americans. It is a mistake that we continually commit.
on that basis Americans are arrogant first. They normally have one set of rules for themselves and another set rules for non-Americans.They are interested in globalising their own ways.
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Raine
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Re: Describe an American
June 24, 2007 - 11:17 PM
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Sk007, what's hegemony? i dont thnk i've ever heard of it and was just wondering.
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Becky
beigetreten: May 9, 2006
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Re: Describe an American
June 24, 2007 - 11:27 PM
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Jenny,
If you dont mind, I can provide the definition. I just took it straight from Encarta:
hegemony:
"authority or control: control or dominating influence by one person or group, especially by one political group over society or one nation over others"
In addition, you might hear the term "cultural hegemony" as well. So, it does not just refer to political dominance.
I hope that helps...its a good word to know!
Becky
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Raine
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Re: Describe an American
June 24, 2007 - 11:43 PM
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oh...Americans are a diverse group of people who, unfortunatly, are too often unable to figure out what life is about and so just give up and live the life that media and their peers tell them to live. that is what makes all of the Lazy, superficial, self-absorbed, inconsiderate, insolent, arrogant, ignorant people. unfortunantly, highschool has revealed to me far too many people who fit these catagories but i think maturity comes with time and greatly decreases the numbers.
i do know that these people dont make up all of america. in my school, it was interesting because walking down the halls could lead to hearing discussions of religion, makeup, girlfriends, classic rock music, Political canidates, AP Chemistry homework, the purpose of life, and Chuck Norris all in one day. i once new a girl who wore a cape to school for a week "just because she felt like it." she broke down quite a few judgement barriers and helped decrease the conformity in our school. another friend of mine was obsessed with Japan and Dance Dance Revolution. He sang Britany Spears songs and hung out with his friends after school to have ruler sword fights. i bet you didnt picture them when you thought of an american.
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Raine
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Re: Describe an American
June 24, 2007 - 11:46 PM
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rschack
thanks for the definition. 
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Chel
beigetreten: May 5, 2006
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Re: Describe an American
June 27, 2007 - 11:35 AM
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Why try to tie down such a large group of people to a single description or definition? Like in any group of mass, there are your good and bad, your driven and lazy, your selfless and selfish. American is just a nationality. What makes a person is not the country they tie themselves to, but who they choose to be.
To classify Americans, or any group of people, under one definition is a sick use of stereotyping. What does it matter if one man is American, another Armenian, and another Peruvian? How does that change who they are internally and what they can offer to the world? If one is going to judge another at all, judge a man based upon who he is, not where he’s from.
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Jacobs
beigetreten: May 29, 2007
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Re: Describe an American
June 27, 2007 - 07:31 PM
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umm she got a serious point in here
and add to that the USA is BIIIIIIIG
so if you are talkin about culture would be still difficult to talk about 
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Uli Heinrich
beigetreten: Nov 10, 2006
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Re: Describe an American
June 30, 2007 - 05:37 PM
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Sure you should "judge a man based upon who he is, not where he’s from". Yet experience tells me that, at least here in Europe, many of the people talking ignorant bs with a very loud voice happen to be Americans... I think most stereotypes (also about other nationalities) haven't developed for no reason.
Of course I've met a couple of different Americans. Like during my exchange students stay I got to know five Americans a little. Two of them were very weird, two were very nice, and one was weird, but kind of nice. Still I'd say Americans tend to be loud, ignorant, exaggeratedly friendly, emphasizing their Christianity to an extend that irritates me, living in their own quite isolated "American universe", and uhm just be weird... not my kind of people.
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Chel
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Re: Describe an American
June 30, 2007 - 07:18 PM
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UliH wrote:
Sure you should "judge a man based upon who he is, not where he’s from". Yet experience tells me that, at least here in Europe, many of the people talking ignorant bs with a very loud voice happen to be Americans... I think most stereotypes (also about other nationalities) haven't developed for no reason.
Of course I've met a couple of different Americans. Like during my exchange students stay I got to know five Americans a little. Two of them were very weird, two were very nice, and one was weird, but kind of nice. Still I'd say Americans tend to be loud, ignorant, exaggeratedly friendly, emphasizing their Christianity to an extend that irritates me, living in their own quite isolated "American universe", and uhm just be weird... not my kind of people.
True, most stereotypes do evolve for a reason, but even if 51% of Americans were as you described, that leaves 48% entirely misrepresented. Yes, there are some overly Christian Americans, but for every one of those, there is one who isn’t Christian at all. I do fault us for thinking that we’re powerful enough as a nation that we can just go somewhere and be respected as an individual, but still, not all Americans are like that. We’re as diverse a group of people as any, and should not be held responsible for the actions of the few who caused these stereotypes to come about. To brand any nationality of people at one thing or one way is to close your mind to everything about them. For example, you in Iceland are not all stumpy Viking people with bad accents. Now tell me how you’d react if the rest of the world went around stereotyping you under that banner, anyway. I get how people might have given you the wrong impression, and on behalf of every sane person in America, I apologize for their vulgar behavior, but I promise that isn’t even close to a representative sample. People will be fools, no matter nationality or creed. But just because a man who comes off as a fool happens to be and American does not mean we are all that way.
And God, Buddha, and Allah help us if an “American universe” ever actually comes to be.
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Uli Heinrich
beigetreten: Nov 10, 2006
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Re: Describe an American
June 30, 2007 - 08:21 PM
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Well, Scarletta, as far as I understood, the task was to describe the most typical American, not to emphasize their diversity *
"We’re as diverse a group of people as any" - Sure: every (?) nation has developed some typical characteristics.
I haven't closed my mind at all. According to my observations so far, most Americans don't seem to be my kind of people, but I do treat people as individuals and I'm still open to meeting my American soul mate *
Anyway, I understand that you're bothered by this stereotype stuff... I'm not originally from Iceland, but from Germany - probably just as heavily stereotyped as the US. So what's your image of Germans? * I guess some of it is indeed quite typical for many Germans (though of course not for ME!). I only get pissed when someone insists on that stereotype applying to ALL Germans, by all references to WWII or by people equaling Germany and that weird southern Bavarian culture actual Germans don't have anything to do with *
"But just because a man who comes off as a fool happens to be and American does not mean we are all that way" - Of course not. I just stated that considerably many people publicly behaving as fools are Americans. I can't say much about what percentage of the American population they represent, since the decently behaving Americans don't attract that much attention... Besides, other countries may have just as many fools, but speak a less common language, so they are less likely to be identified as fools *
Do you want me to explain that "American universe" thing..? That would take some more time.
edit: P.S.: Do you really think Icelanders have a bad accent? I think it's totally cute. The ones with the worst accent are unfortunately the Germans (but of course not ME).
This post was edited on: 2007-06-30 at 08:26 PM by: Uli Heinrich
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