This is long text.
I have met many people from a lot of nationalities in the internet. US-Americans are a special thing in the internet, but I don't know how it is in the land of the free itself. Probably the stupid ones keep staying on the internet, while others behave like "normal" people, but I don't know for sure.
A majority of people lives on an other continent. They have internet as well and they also can speak english. Why assume, that they do not exist? Look, I don't like clichés. But in far eastern Europe there was always this cliché about US-Americans, that they are ignorant as fuck. Living in western Europe today, this cliché is still present, that's something people like to think.
And I really don't know how to feel about that, I think there is a tendency that this cliché may apply. Not because "people are dumb hahaha", but more how the US propaganda works. Like it makes them defaulting to USA most of the time.
I was always aware, that there is a world outside, no matter how many friends had and people I met. Even when I visited school, it was always clear, that other countries exist, they are present and they also may have other laws, morals, cultures. Let me repeat it: Other laws, different morals and culture.
On social media plattforms like Reddit and YouTube, where US Americans are not an absolute majority, it is easy to experience. I am also not talking about topics which are obviously centred around the US.
Few example:
Everything related to age is an absolute clusterfuck and you better not engage in any of suchs discussions. They can't comprehend, that it is different somewhere, like in the most of the world. Some 13yo child murdered his mother and was then charged as an adult. Sounds stupid for me, to be honest.
But it were most of the time US-Americans who absolutely supported this decision:
- Only an adult could have so much criminal energy, so he should be threatened like one.
- He planned it and showed so much brutality, only an adult could do this.
- I hope he dies in pain
I asked if it is OK now, if this 13yo adult could vote, drink alcohol and also have sex with people 40 years older then he is. I mean he is treated like he is an adult. After that, peak mental gymnastics were applied on me and I was not liked that much. They were just angry at me. And didn't give me an proper explanation, why this 13yo old is now an adult.
However I was blocked few days ago from commenting in a post in a subreddit, because I kept saying that being 17 doesn't mean to be a child. There is need to differ. I know that this is legally different in other countries, but this matter won't be resolved by insisting: "I live in the USA and in my state you are a child if you are under 18 and I don't care" where you all live". - I am not lying, that was something I read.
US fucking legal system is the standard for the entire world. For real, I rather receive an unsolicited dickpic, where I can at least block the person or inform mods/admins, but there is no way avoid a unsolicited legal advice, why you should sue your neighbour according to law in Florida, despite obviously living somewhere 5000km (3106 miles in freedom units) far away in a different country. I understand the intention, its a friendly one. But this happens on international social media sites. And it happens often.
Also no point in talking about prison sentences. While people which are unluckily not living in Freedomland has the tendency to understand and accept, that there are differences in each country and someone may like or dislike it, pure ignorance is striking many in US Americans. But why, even if you point out that you are from somewhere else? Because morals!
It is morally correct to do x,y and z. But not a,b and c. Why is it morally correct? Because there is an everlasting, unchangeable moral in the world which is rooted in the USA. When is this card used? Often when something is illegal in Freedomland, but legal in the majority of other countries.
Morality is not the right thing to decide if something is OK or not. In some places in the wide world it is morally wrong to be gay and Ramsan Kadyrow will make sure that this moral principle there will stay for sure. This is an other topic of course.
Its like you are desperately trying stay in denial. I thought once that probably some younger people behave that way. Being young means, that you are probably developing in a different pace then others in you age. Many things have an influence if you behave more like a child or an adult. Being very very young also means to believe into absolute things. This usually should change till adulthood. But no, older Yankees prefer to behave the same. What kind of brainwashing is USA performing on their population!? It is absolute effective.
The last thing is easily observed on Reddit. Also on Facebook and YouTube. But Reddit is full of this. They have such an fetish with pedophilia, it is absolutely an insult to vicitms and also a relativization of it. Its like they are actively searching for any clues for anything remote probably illegal by the law of a yankee state.
I indeed feel insulted, if they start calling something pedophilia, if it is indeed not. I experienced very bad things as a child and I also met other victims. But it were almost always USians on Reddit on YouTube who handled this matter with such disrespect. It always sounds more like an excuse for canalising their rage towards someone, never real care for victims of sexual abuse and violence - adult or child. Discussing that or making your point in this matter is like talking with a gorilla, which starts throwing shit at you as soon as you make a sound.
At least I rarely read something about their racist system in categorising people. Something about black, the Caucasus and Spain. But OK, this is present for a long time there and people are used to it. This doesn't change fast.
I actually somehow accepted this stubbornness and the urge to be in denial and I just think my part. I am sure, very sure that those morons don't represent the entire US population. I know and met people from US in a political context and they were totally normal people. But maybe they were it that way, because they are well educated communists?
I met younger and older reactionary people from Russia, Britain, Germany, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Moldavia and Chechen. Reactionary? Yes. But even they were not really comparable with US-Americans on Reddit, Facebook or YouTube.
There is something very wrong with people in USA and I think capitalism is to blame for it. Where can I find US-Americans, where this cliché from the Soviet Union about them, don't apply so easily? Or am I dumb and don't see them, because the annoying ones are so annoying that it is easy to notice them?
Thank you very much if you read it all. It took a very long for me to write it all and I am proud, that I did it without DeepL!
I do think your points are valid, though I think part of the reason for Americans mostly viewing everything in American context comes down to the size of the U.S. The country is so big and there is even a bit of diversity of culture in different regions. Each U.S. state was (debatablely) originally meant to act as its own nation, with the federal government being something more akin to the EU.
The analogy isn’t perfect, but what I am getting to something here. Though I have never been to Europe, I do understand that there is a larger breadth of culture, largely a product of much more long standing civilization and history, most of which developed centuries ago when long distance travel was less easy. In the modern era, it is more common to travel in between countries and even speak multiple languages, making it much more obvious how diverse the cultures of the world can be.
Coming back to America, it is a settler colonial nation that is much younger in scope, so the culture is a bit more hegemonic but far larger in scope. All that is to say, an American who lives in New York could travel to Florida (roughly 1100 miles), and the culture would be a bit different, but no where’s near the equivalent travel of, say, a trip from Poland to Italy.
Again, I want to be clear, this is not a defense, just an explanation of part of the reason you see such American centric discussion. For many Americans, even if they have traveled, they very well may have largely only ever experienced the greater American sphere of culture.
Nope
Many countries have federal systems of government.
I agree that American culture is very hegemonic (particularly for USians) and that contributes to the effect.
Be fair, that's still absolutely massive, the same respective area you put it over in Africa has thousands unique cultural identities, languages, traditions, etc.
Size absolutely does play a part, but its not enough to excuse the sheer amount of ignorance. Russia and China are massive as well, China is around the same landmass with almost 4 times the population, and the average Chinese isn't as stupid.