No Stupid Questions

Been to various parts of the US. Met open racists on a few occasions. How likely you are to encounter them will vary by location, but your experience will most likely be great. There are many racists in America but most of them are not the kind who will choose some black tourist in the middle of the city to harass. You'd have to get pretty unlucky to get more than a snide look. Most of the people you will interact with as a tourist will be customer service reps, who, generally speaking, will be extremely cordial, even if they were to be the kind of American who has some issues with race. The one color Americans respect more than black or white is green. If you have money to spend, they'll be only too happy to help you spend it. Cops will treat you better if you have money too, and not even in the sense of bribes. Dress like you have money and they'll treat you like you do.

That said, non-racial crime is still very much a thing, especially against tourists, so keep to the safety of well lit, populated areas as much as you can unless you have a local to tell you where it's safe.

Oh, and try some authentic Mexican food if you can. It's delicious.

I am actually impressed that someone still wants to visit the usa in this times, especially as a poc. Aren't the red flags already bright enough?

Depends where in the US you are going i guess but in general people aren't openly racist to strangers. I can't imagine you would have any issues. 2 years from now who knows, things are going to shit quicker than I could have ever imagined. People are going to be asking about your accent likely, we don't meat Germans very often. I don't think I have ever met one in person. I live in the middle of nowhere though. I'd guess most if any attention you get would be positive.

I have lifelong experience in the deep south and rural areas which is where the worst of it is. They usually will not say anything to your face but some they might say something to their friend behind your back (and be completely embarrassed if they find out you overheard it). Remember these aren't cartoon buff guys with bats where half of them are named Skeeter. It's not as overtly in your face as much as media likes to portend.

It's also wildly different who is black. If it's the man who's black, then there is this sentiment that "they're invading our women" and it gives them a predatory feeling. But if a white man picks a girl of any race then they don't really care. It's the same sentiment that if a white man wants to date a black girl or smash his hand with a hammer or eat 200 hot dogs in a sitting, he's got that god given American Freedum to do what he wants.

America is a big place, and how people will react to you depends entirely on where you go. Racial incidents increased after Trump took office in 2016 and they probably will again now, but in general you're totally safe.

You'll be fine everywhere you go. No one will even notice you. What you see online and how it is in real life are wildly different. Enjoy your trip

If you encounter the police, they can kill your girlfriend and earn a 6 month paid vacation.

This is not a joke. Act accordingly.

There's plenty of racism around, but I wouldn't worry about it as tourists. What you read about is the general systemic problems related to living here in the day to day. That's pretty different from visiting as a tourist. As a tourist, you're pretty unlikely to experience anything like that.

As many people said there is racism in the US, but that's cause everywhere has its flavor of racism.

If you're visiting the US as tourists it's highly unlikely you'll encounter anyone being outwardly racist, especially if you keep to major tourist destinations.

In any major US city you'll run into people of all different colors and people from all over the world working and living together, just like most big/international cities.

I’m an American. Wanna trade places? Germany seems a lot less Nazi recently.

Your description sounds to me like someone was trying to explain how the US is a melting pot of cultures and they did an extremely poor job 😂

Essentially because we are a country of immigrants people with similar cultures tend to group together. For example there are parts of cities that are predominantly Italian or Chinese. Not because we are racist but because that just happens naturally. People want to share an experience a culture similar to their home country.

Obviously there is always a chance that someone will say something but just ignore them or tell them to mind their own business. You have our blessing to treat those people with absolute disrespect.

I assume that's probably not the case

Go there. Test it out. Troll them. Record them. Have fun!

I've lived all over the US. You won't have any such issues. Enjoy your trip and take some nice photos!

If you get lost or need some help, say you are visiting from Germany and need some help. People will be glad to give it.

Wear a hunting camo baseball cap, you'll both blend in just fine.

If you're not pro Trump I would just tell you to boycott the US until it gets its shit together, especially considering that you're planning to go to a red state.

Don't come here. Shit's fucked.

We were hearing stuff that some Americans socially divide people by their ethnicity. I just wanted to ask online whether this is true and if there could be any concerns

Unfortunately it is true, but it's not everywhere. Generally speaking, the larger the population of an area, the less likely you'll experience hostility. Coastal cities with large populations are highly unlikely to give you trouble. Rural aeas with lower populations have a higher chance of giving you trouble.

We even heard things like that in some places they divide people by "skin color" and base different cultures on that (we noticed that people from America even speak and behave differently based on whether they identify as "black" or "white") and even have schools for primarily people with dark skin or so.

Yes, segregation was a dark chapter in America's history. Officially, segregation was outlawed, but unofficially it still happens in some areas. Some of the conservative regions are trying to go back to the days of segregation and slavery. They create laws that aren't specifically racist, but still have that effect.

As to different cultures, we have a lot of them. Most of the country speaks English, but we have a lot of different accents that seem like a different language entirely.

I dont know German, but I would draw a parallel to various English accents in the UK. Irish, Scottish, Cockney, Geordie, and so on.

As to the way white and black people talk, I suspect it has more to do with wealth and social class rather than race. Poor white people and poor black people tend to socially isolate from one another, creating distinct accents. But it's not uncommon for intermingling.

I have a coworker who grew up in a poor black neighborhood and he has a "black accent" (for lack of a better term). If your only interaction with him is on the phone, it would be easy to assume he's black.

There's a huge difference between living somewhere and visiting it as a tourist. Most places encourage tourism and are happy to demonstrate their hospitality. Stick to the tourist areas, start interactions by saying "We're tourists from Germany..." and you'll have no problem.

I'm not sure what other people here mean when they deny that there is racism in the US. There are plenty of racists in this country. It's true that they're much less likely to hang you from a tree for being in the wrong neighborhood -- I guess if your standards are that low then we have indeed made great progress. But again, they're generally not going to mess with tourists in tourist areas.

Almost nobody is going to care unless you go places nobody cares about.

We don't segregate people by color, but some people self segregate. There are areas with more black people or more white people, but there is no laws that say you or her can't go somewhere because of skin color.

I am assuming she is black. There is a small chance that some people will say rude things to one of you because you are with someone of a different color. Don't confront them, just walk away. The cops would love to ruin their whole day, so govern yourself accordingly.

We see a lot of Germans in the tourist spots, your accent will be considered adorable and we will love to know where you are from and will likely fail to repeat the name of your home city unless it is Berlin, Frankfort, or Munich. If you are from Bayern, you are from Bavaria. If they ask you to say something in German, "etwas" is funny, but you will have to follow it up with an actual sentence. Throw in an "umgebung", it's a fun word to us.

Also you need to understand that America is very large. Germany is smaller than our states of Illinois and Indiana, look at those states on a map and understand that things are further apart than you may think.

If you can manage the 2hr drive, Chattanooga has an awesome aquarium with a massive glass walled tank.

Ask the hotel desk where are some good local spots to get food, but the best places are not in the information pamphlet they may hand you. I hope your pants fit loose, our food can put weight on you very easily if you take in too much of our hedonistic freedom. Tip your servers, that is how they afford to live.

Ich höffe das Eures Urlaub wunderbar sind und der Amis sind freundlich. Ich weiß das Sie Amerika lieben werden. Mein Deutsch schlecht ist, tut mir leid, es ist zwanzig Jahre her dass ich Deutsch gelernt habe.

No you don't. Just don't act like the death valley Germans and you'll be fine.

So others have already addressed most of your concerns, so, I'll just leave it at that.

but, eh, I do want to point out that it's surprising to me that EU people frequently seem to assume we're all just one big sameness. Like you would look at me weird if I suggested French and Spanish cultures were the same, right? In terms of population size and landmass both, the US is more comparable to the EU as a whole, and we have a lot of diverse sub cultures here.

Some of that is divided along racial lines- do remember that roughly half of the 340 million people in the US aren't white, and even if we were, most of our states have their own cultural quirks (and that includes variations in accents and dialects.) Which really shouldn't be that surprising, considering at 85 million, Germany has subtle variations of culture too. y'all don't all speak Standard German (which is funny because we tend to think of the stereotypical German as being Bavarian. complete with the lederhosen. I blame Oktoberfest.)

hell, some of your dialects may in fact be different languages than Standard German (Low Saxon, for example.)

Suffice it to say, we've got a lot of variation here, and the culture that you experience will largely depend on where you go. and since you've mentioned Nashville... definitely need to try the BBQ there. it's delicious.

I would stay far away unless you're trying to learn about the rise of fascism first hand.

You'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about it honestly. While the U.S. has issue with racism, nobody is going to bother you on a vacation trip.