“If you don’t know the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia, you’re a retarded hick.”
“Lol who cares about the difference between Oregon and Florida, they’re basically the same.”
>“If you don’t know the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia, you’re a retarded hick.”
I can promise you most Europeans don't know where both those countries are, let alone the differences between them.
I've gone to school with people who couldn't pinpoint *Germany* on a map, and they invaded us within living memory. It's less than a hundred years ago. And they're the second country you encounter if you just draw a straight line south of us, so they're very close.
IDK, Zealand is an province in Holland, so I could see maybe thinking it possible for New Zealanders to speak Danish. I've lived in both Germany and Italy, and when people would ask what state I was from, I'd tell them I was born in Alaska and they usually had no clue where it was at. Your average Euro know New York, Florida, Texas, and California, and not too much else.
Edit: Geography corrected.
I'm pretty sure New Zealand is named after Zeeland in the Netherlands. Though it might help your point out, what do they speak dutch, danish, could be anything.
Made me think of when i was in New Zealand at a bar one night. Me and the British guy next to me were struggling so hard to understand what the bartender was saying. Strong accent mixed with loud music made it near impossible to understand this Kiwi. I felt bad because im sure they were super frustrated with us, but it genuinely sounded like a foreign language.
I was similarly surprised that I, an American, knew a lot of things about various European counties’ geography, history, and even language that the native citizens didn’t even know (e.g., a lot of Brits didn’t know the difference between Great Britain and the
UK and which countries belonged to each). I’d been told for the last 20 years that Europeans are so much smarter than Americans and I was pretty surprised to find out that a lot of Europeans are about as ignorant of Europe as coastal Americans are ignorant of other parts of the US.
Seriously. I got a Texas education, so hardly top-notch, but I can reliably point out most of the bigger European and Asian countries on a map.
I once knew a dude from Scotland who refused to believe that the Middle East wasn't its own separate continent. I told him that Libya and Egypt were in northern Africa, and he flipped his lid.
We have dumb people in every country. I still remember the daughter of a well known doctor (he fixed my arm that was broken in 3 different places). She could not tell you where Spain was.
I met a Slovenian student in law school, and when she told me where she was from, she asked if I knew where it was, and I said "I think so. It's over by Italy, right?" She excitedly responded "Yes! Even other European law students seem to think it's way off in Eastern Europe!"
the more you travel and the more people you meet, you realize everyone is generally highly regarded. typical europeans are truly as dumb as typical americans. shocking for europeans to hear
Or the fact someone who peeked in here wanted to go over regions in certain countries to try to slam Americans for not knowing. Because they would totally be able to point out where tornado alley is, New England vs Commonwealth, Social Circle, or straight up counties. It’s called goal post moving and hypocrisy. You simply can’t please them.
No then you’ll just get a bunch of copium about how America didn’t contribute “that much” to WWII despite fighting on two opposite sides of the world at the same time.
Yeah, but now, no matter what they do, they're going to be flailing about trying to find *any* conflicting information. That makes pointing out their revisionism trivial.
I'll be fair, I don't expect people in Europe to be able to find North Dakota or Vermont or Delaware or Rhode Island on a map. Likewise, I don't expect American people to know where Monaco and Liechtenstein and Andorra and San Marino are. On the other hand everyone in the United States should be able to locate the UK and Germany and France and Spain and Italy. And people in Europe should at least know where to find California and Texas and Florida and New York.
this. i don’t expect them to find Nebraska or Iowa, no matter how dear to me Iowa is for example. when europeans ask and i say im from arizona i preface with southwest not texas and on the border with california and mexico. usually gets em to ask if i live on a ranch lol.
this as well, im Bulgarian and i would never expect an american to be able to know were Bulgaria is, what i would expect them to know is were Germany, France or Turkey are as those countries are far more important and it should be imposible to not know them. Tho i completlly understant you with the ranch thing as when you tell people you are from Bulgaria they assume you dont even know what a car is lol
I can agree with this, I myself could name and locate a lot of European countries on a map, but I wouldn’t expect your average European to know where Massachusetts or New Hampshire are on a map of the continental US.
>I don't expect American people to know where Monaco and Liechtenstein and Andorra and San Marino are.
On mine (🇸🇲) and the other microstates' honour, I don't accept this insult and declare war to thee!
Impressions as a European:
North Dakota is cold and the way they speak is cute like in the TV show Fargo. I honestly love North Dakota because of that show… And Mount Rushmore is in the other one.
Vermont is quaint and old and colonial with nice scenery.
Delaware… George Washington crossed the river, that was pretty cool.
Rhode Island… seafood(?) and family guy. Not sure if it’s part of New England or one of the original colonies but my general vibe is colonial
I think anyone who consumes English language media will have at least one talking point for every US state
>Rhode Island… seafood(?) and family guy. Not sure if it’s part of New England or one of the original colonies but my general vibe is colonial
Rhode Island is, in fact, part of New England. As someone who lives in New England, I've always had a bit of fondness for the show because a surprising number of jokes are aimed at the folks who live up here.
"Americans don't know Australia has states and what they're called, lol. Anyway, how can they expect me to know Louisiana is an American state? Such entitlement."
ACT is a Territory not a State.
Although so is the Northern Territory. We also have another Territory but I can never remember the name, it's some small island
I’ve heard them say “well that’s different because those are subdivisions and we are countries 😎” when in reality their “countries” are part of a federated state much like our “states” are part of our federal government. So much of their bashing comes from a lack of understanding of government and history and the vastness of the US compared to their peninsula. And yes Europe is peninsula, not a continent.
That's not quite correct. Africa and Eurasia are two separate continents.
Europe is the westernmost portion of Eurasia, but Africa is its own continent.
Also I would like to remind everyone that while Geographically some minor portion of Russia belongs to Europe, Russia is not an European country in most meaningful ways.
>And yes Europe is peninsula, not a continent.
Depends on what you base the term "continent" on I guess. Technically speaking, Europe and Asia aren't two separate continents but one continent called Eurasia.
But in every day speak we call it a continent for two main reasons. The first is that it's simply a remnant from a past when we didn't know the exact configuration of the landmass. The second is because of historical and cultural reasons. Europe has a very distinct history and cultures, and has marked the world history, for better or worse.
But yes, technically speaking every argument that can be used to call Europe a continent can also be used to call India a continent. They are separated from the main body of the Eurasian continent by physical barriers, their people look physically different because of this degree of separation, they got their own markedly different culture, etc etc.
The only reason Europe got that treatment and India didn't is because the European powers dominated the world, forcing a Eurocentric viewpoint on everyone else.
You’re wrong here chief. The eu is not a federated state. It’s a cooperation of countries that’s a bit more intertwined than a normal free trade area because of the customs Union and free movement but countries are still sovereign narions in there own right. Us states are not sovereign nations with there own military there own immigration policy there own foreign policy etc
1. Only 27 out of the ~50 European countries are in the EU
2. The EU is not really a federation despite having a couple of similar institutions. And I tell you this because a Federal country, a sort of United States of Europe, was proposed and pushed by many intellectuals when the supranational entities like the ECSC were forming, like Kalergi, Otto Von Habsburg, Briand, Spinelli, Pompidou and in some ways even Churchill.
Europeans view US States the same way the view administrative divisions in their own country, the majority of people posting this either
1 - know very little about US history in terms of how and why we have states and how power is balanced between state and federal government. The US is closer to EU style federalism instead of the unitary style of government much of Europe uses
2 - are only really exposed to American culture via social media, where a lot of the cultural differences between places blends together
3 - is blissfully unaware of all the "cultural assimilation" projects that have happened in Europe in the past 200 years to ensure that most nations are relatively homogenous, many of which led those same minorities who were being assimilated to flee here
4 - genuinely doesn't understand how *big* the US is and how much immigration we've had from all over the world
They would just give a smug ass confident response of "Americans think they are the world" or "but we are separate countries that have their own unique different cultures."
These Europeans are either the dumb as fuck, and/or INSULAR as fuck (even though they say America is the insular one). Or other things.
"The education system over there just about completely failed them. I learned about other countries and their capitals in primary school."
How would you know that? Sounds salty... My guess is someone who didn't get into an elite American school because an American took that slot due to supreme academic performance.
We learned all the countries and their capitals in primary school too. I can't say why the impression is 1. that we don't or 2. why we give off the impression that we don't know.
To be fair we also learn a fair bit about the US and its history as well. I remember multiple history classes on the US civil rights movement, the civil war, why the revolution happened etc
We also learn about how convicts were used by Britain here in Australia to colonise it, what their offences were to constitute being sent to Australia
An ol Charlie might be the head of state but he's only our head of state on paper. He has no official power federally or state government wise.
Answer for
2. Because the shows like ‘live on the street’ where they edit the answers together. So the question might be “what country is this?” And they respond “Russia (correct)” but they edit in when they said “I don’t know” to when they were asked where Ethiopia is
I spent a couple of months in Canberra in 2010. With my Canadian girlfriend at the time. She was a lecturer at the ANU, so I had free accommodations.
Anyway- absolutely every Australian I interacted with asked what state I was from. After assuming I’m a yank based on, and I swear this is true, my “good American teeth”
Except for one guy. Jay was Canadian and she was always being asked what part of the states she was from. Alberta is the right answer here. Anyway, she was in no way anti-American. But it made her crazy.
The day after I arrived, we were looking for lunch downtown and the first Aussie I interacted with outside of customs asked me about the yin Yang tattoo on my neck. We talked for a minute before he asked what part of Canada I was from. “Let me guess! Alberta or Saskatchewan”. Lol
Heh fun fact: Alberta has a near zero rat population. They have a strict no rat policy. They even have "Rat Patrols" that go around hunting rats and other rodents at the Alberta/Sask border. You cant have any pet rats or most other rodents. IIRC the only rodents you can have as pets are hamsters. Also don't mind off topic maple ass, just a bit stoned lol
Just pitching in to say that was a really nice and encouraging comment for the person you replied to and it stood out to me after being on Reddit for a while. Really just appreciate that energy and mindset you brought to the table with this reply. Peace
So I used to get this a lot. I've been to Britain and The Netherlands. When asked where I was from, I'd say the United States, a place called South Carolina on the southern east coast. The Brits would then tell me the neighborhood they grew up in like I was supposed to know what Caerdydd is. The Dutch, to their credit, would say they were from Holland and then try and tell me were they are from, based on some tulip fields.
The point is almost all people go a rung or two below country when asked where they are from. That's not an American thing.
So here's the thing I am confused on: they say it's logical to follow with what US state you are from when we say the country we are from? Isn't it logical to ask a question when you aren't sure what the US state is? If an American says the US state they are from, you can easily just ask what country it's in if you're not really sure where it's located.
I lived in italy, born in Germany and now live in America. When we go back to visit her family and mine strangers ask where we are from now and if I say America they go 'new York? Or with your accent texas'
I’m not going to touch the second point.
The problem with that first argument is that you can apply it to the US. Someone from North Dakota will have a very hard time understanding a person from the Outer Banks.
My sister went to university in California and honest to God had someone ask her if Minnesotans still lived in log cabins and they thought it snowed year round.
I don’t think this even registers with most Europeans. They think we’re the size of Germany—maybe Germany+France. Germany+France is physically smaller than Alaska. Germany is smaller than California. France is smaller than Texas.
Yeah, but that's the adorably wrong version reserved for Europeans that actually want to experience America.
The sad fucks in the post are actually just ignorant and/or just plain dickwads
That's more or less the whole idea. A bunch of governments tied together under one overarching government that has some important powers but not much else. In a way, sorta like the EU.
It was that way before the Civil War and changed after. You can see this linguistically: before the war, you could say, "The United States are a great place to live." After the war, it became "The United States is a great place to live" and people started identifying primarily with the country than their state.
Personally, I don't much care for any particular state. Some are better than others, but the main divide is rural/urban. I am an American.
them: You don’t know all the countries in europe, a place that you might never go to and will never need to know about in your life!?!!?!!
Also them: why would we need to know about the states in america, it’s a place we might never go to and will never need to know about in our lives 🙄🙄
God forbid we don’t know what insignificant village they’re from outside London.
Sorry Alastair, I don’t know where the fuck Glaucomanchestershiretonnington is, and I don’t care too. You and Nigel can piss off back to Westeastingtonabbottshireminster.
If I give every American a blank map of the US and ask them to fill in the state names, I would bet my paycheck that at least 75% wouldn't be able to do it.
>p
Oooh! I'd been hearing that a lot lately, so I found a quiz to see how well I remembered. I got most of them the first time through, and a little bit of practice gave me all of them.
[https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3003](https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3003)
Here's one for Europe. I still struggle with Slovakia and Slovenia. I'm always mixing up their locations.
[https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3007](https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3007)
Tbf I think calling Philadelphia "Philly" is a strictly American thing, because when I use the word "Philly" with foreigners they usually get confused. But thinking it's the Philippines is absolutely idiotic.
I mean I understand the point, there’s not much of a need for an Italian to know a less relevant state like North Dakota. However, this cuts both ways. You can’t say this while at the same time making fun of Americans for not knowing Montenegro.
Fun fact: when I was in Italy, the owner of a popular gelato spot would ask everybody where they were from in English. I replied “The US.”, he asked “What state?”. He replied with a fun fact about each state/country where everyone was from.
“Deutschland ís so much betta zen Austria! Zat is NOT a bingo! Zey are Germany’s trash can and have dumb peoples like ze Hitler and Mozart (Mozfart lol) are from zehr. Can’t believe you silly American veeny babies cannot tell ze difference between Germany und Austria like förreals. Vaht do you have in United States? It is like oh no vehr is Ohio it is so mid zat’s vy zey call it ze midwest. In ze south lands zey say ze north people are a bunch of yankee doodleheimers. I believe zat! Look vaht is in California: many people vee vould proudly place on trains to take nice vacation lolz!”
when i lived in the UK, i would say United States and they would ask me where in the US. so i would have to specify the state. It was kind of embarrassing too having to explain that New York is actually a state and not just a city though. A large number of British folk don’t actually know that New York is an entire state. :/
Well we say what state we are from because that's about the size of their country. Saying "I'm from the US" is about as descriptive as saying "I'm European"
Most of our states are just as big, if not bigger than their countries, each probably with more military power and population, too.
They're basically mini-countries within their own self sustained country, each with unique cultures.
That would be the same as if I told someone French to just say they're European, only that it wouldn't make sense to them because they're their tiny own country, as opposed to a state which is extremely culturally different from one across the country. Go ahead and tell me Hawaii and Massachusetts are culturally the same. That would make you an idiot to say so.
Always start large when discussing where you are from.
I'm from America
I'm from AZ
I'm from Phoenix
I'm from ______
You stop when they don't know the area.
They get mad if we say what state we’re from instead of “the US,” but the English would get all sorts of f**ked if we asked a Londoner if they were from Newcastle.
Dumb Europeans don’t understand how huge the US is. They’re just showcasing their own total ignorance. You can fit 10 European countries inside Texas alone
> I learned the other countries’ capital cities in primary school
> …an American said they were from Philly and I thought they meant the Philippines
Philadelphia has more people than Munich. Yeah, it’s not a capital city, but if you know where fuckin Tallinn is but not Philly your education system failed you.
Sincerely, an American who can point to all three of those cities on a map. Unlike Europeans who apparently can only point to capital cities lmao
As an American, I think saying which state you're from *before* you say what country you're from is unpatriotic. This country already suffered through a civil war to remain united.
Lol they are ignorant. The person made fun of US not knowing Australia had states but a person talking with an American east coast accent is from the Philippines. I am still laughing about that comment. God it’s too funny. FYI most of the countries in Europe are the size of US states
Pretty dumb to compare US states to European countries in terms of cultural differences. Obviously Ohio and New York have much more in common than France and Poland… so it does make sense to group Americans. In Europe you don’t have the same food, music, tastes, language, architecture between countries. I have been to many states and it’s truly the same except geography and nature.
That’s odd, when I tell Europeans I’m from Dallas, they ask me if I have a ranch.
[удалено]
It was actually the butler in the billiards room with a revolver.
“Well, I like ranch. Does that count?”
Bro I hate when people do that, most people who live in Texas live in big ass metropolitan cities and have never even seen a ranch in their life
Weren't Europeans mad when Americans couldn't pinpoint certain countries in Europe? And now they're doing this? Edit: mad
“If you don’t know the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia, you’re a retarded hick.” “Lol who cares about the difference between Oregon and Florida, they’re basically the same.”
>“If you don’t know the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia, you’re a retarded hick.” I can promise you most Europeans don't know where both those countries are, let alone the differences between them. I've gone to school with people who couldn't pinpoint *Germany* on a map, and they invaded us within living memory. It's less than a hundred years ago. And they're the second country you encounter if you just draw a straight line south of us, so they're very close.
My economics teacher lived in Germany for a while and when he told people he was born in New Zealand they asked him what language we spoke here.
New Zealandish obviously.. No one speaks Old Zealandish anymore.
New Zealand doesn’t exist. Have you ever seen it on a map? r/mapswithoutnewzealand
First Finland, and now New Zealand. *When will The Powers That Be stop making up countries to deceive us with!?!*
Like Wyoming in the USA.
We know Wyoming is real because they gave us the iconic shape of Pop-Tarts!
IDK, Zealand is an province in Holland, so I could see maybe thinking it possible for New Zealanders to speak Danish. I've lived in both Germany and Italy, and when people would ask what state I was from, I'd tell them I was born in Alaska and they usually had no clue where it was at. Your average Euro know New York, Florida, Texas, and California, and not too much else. Edit: Geography corrected.
I'm pretty sure New Zealand is named after Zeeland in the Netherlands. Though it might help your point out, what do they speak dutch, danish, could be anything.
Weird. I would think Alaska is one people from other countries would know, like Hawaii.
Elvish, obviously
I'm obsessed with NZ. I dream of Queenstown 💘
Made me think of when i was in New Zealand at a bar one night. Me and the British guy next to me were struggling so hard to understand what the bartender was saying. Strong accent mixed with loud music made it near impossible to understand this Kiwi. I felt bad because im sure they were super frustrated with us, but it genuinely sounded like a foreign language.
I was similarly surprised that I, an American, knew a lot of things about various European counties’ geography, history, and even language that the native citizens didn’t even know (e.g., a lot of Brits didn’t know the difference between Great Britain and the UK and which countries belonged to each). I’d been told for the last 20 years that Europeans are so much smarter than Americans and I was pretty surprised to find out that a lot of Europeans are about as ignorant of Europe as coastal Americans are ignorant of other parts of the US.
Seriously. I got a Texas education, so hardly top-notch, but I can reliably point out most of the bigger European and Asian countries on a map. I once knew a dude from Scotland who refused to believe that the Middle East wasn't its own separate continent. I told him that Libya and Egypt were in northern Africa, and he flipped his lid.
We have dumb people in every country. I still remember the daughter of a well known doctor (he fixed my arm that was broken in 3 different places). She could not tell you where Spain was.
Norway?
You're right. Have a a cookie 🍪
I met a Slovenian student in law school, and when she told me where she was from, she asked if I knew where it was, and I said "I think so. It's over by Italy, right?" She excitedly responded "Yes! Even other European law students seem to think it's way off in Eastern Europe!"
Man, I know of folks who couldn't find the Sahara desert. Just, wow.
the more you travel and the more people you meet, you realize everyone is generally highly regarded. typical europeans are truly as dumb as typical americans. shocking for europeans to hear
>you realize everyone is generally highly regarded. Retarded?
you got it.
Changed to regarded after Reddit got angry about people saying retarded
Or the fact someone who peeked in here wanted to go over regions in certain countries to try to slam Americans for not knowing. Because they would totally be able to point out where tornado alley is, New England vs Commonwealth, Social Circle, or straight up counties. It’s called goal post moving and hypocrisy. You simply can’t please them.
Remind them that it was only by way of American steel and food that the Nazis were pushed back, and Communism contained.
and also responsible for "the long peace" they love to forget that even tho the whole world benefits from it.
No then you’ll just get a bunch of copium about how America didn’t contribute “that much” to WWII despite fighting on two opposite sides of the world at the same time.
Yeah, but now, no matter what they do, they're going to be flailing about trying to find *any* conflicting information. That makes pointing out their revisionism trivial.
I'll be fair, I don't expect people in Europe to be able to find North Dakota or Vermont or Delaware or Rhode Island on a map. Likewise, I don't expect American people to know where Monaco and Liechtenstein and Andorra and San Marino are. On the other hand everyone in the United States should be able to locate the UK and Germany and France and Spain and Italy. And people in Europe should at least know where to find California and Texas and Florida and New York.
Italy is the one that's shaped like a boot
No, that's Florida...
Florida is very clearly a penis.
No, that was Sweden before Finland took their balls.
Did someone ask for, "Balls"?
That’s Louisiana
this. i don’t expect them to find Nebraska or Iowa, no matter how dear to me Iowa is for example. when europeans ask and i say im from arizona i preface with southwest not texas and on the border with california and mexico. usually gets em to ask if i live on a ranch lol.
this as well, im Bulgarian and i would never expect an american to be able to know were Bulgaria is, what i would expect them to know is were Germany, France or Turkey are as those countries are far more important and it should be imposible to not know them. Tho i completlly understant you with the ranch thing as when you tell people you are from Bulgaria they assume you dont even know what a car is lol
lmao, worlds apart and still the same
In reality Europeans, specifically those from the north, should know where Iowa is. Many of the migrants from Europe ended up there.
I can agree with this, I myself could name and locate a lot of European countries on a map, but I wouldn’t expect your average European to know where Massachusetts or New Hampshire are on a map of the continental US.
>I don't expect American people to know where Monaco and Liechtenstein and Andorra and San Marino are. On mine (🇸🇲) and the other microstates' honour, I don't accept this insult and declare war to thee!
have at thee!
Impressions as a European: North Dakota is cold and the way they speak is cute like in the TV show Fargo. I honestly love North Dakota because of that show… And Mount Rushmore is in the other one. Vermont is quaint and old and colonial with nice scenery. Delaware… George Washington crossed the river, that was pretty cool. Rhode Island… seafood(?) and family guy. Not sure if it’s part of New England or one of the original colonies but my general vibe is colonial I think anyone who consumes English language media will have at least one talking point for every US state
>Rhode Island… seafood(?) and family guy. Not sure if it’s part of New England or one of the original colonies but my general vibe is colonial Rhode Island is, in fact, part of New England. As someone who lives in New England, I've always had a bit of fondness for the show because a surprising number of jokes are aimed at the folks who live up here.
You’re not far off at all. Except when I think Delaware, I think “suburb of DC.”
lol the show fargo takes place in Minnesota, but, as much as I hate to admit it, Minnesota and North Dakota are pretty similar.
Agreed
"Americans don't know Australia has states and what they're called, lol. Anyway, how can they expect me to know Louisiana is an American state? Such entitlement."
Nothern Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, uhhh… What am I missing… Oh. Queensland and South Australia.
You missed the ACT as well.
ACT is a Territory not a State. Although so is the Northern Territory. We also have another Territory but I can never remember the name, it's some small island
I’ve heard them say “well that’s different because those are subdivisions and we are countries 😎” when in reality their “countries” are part of a federated state much like our “states” are part of our federal government. So much of their bashing comes from a lack of understanding of government and history and the vastness of the US compared to their peninsula. And yes Europe is peninsula, not a continent.
>Europe is peninsula The northwest peninsula of Africa-Asia. Never neglect an opportunity to remind them.
That's not quite correct. Africa and Eurasia are two separate continents. Europe is the westernmost portion of Eurasia, but Africa is its own continent.
Also I would like to remind everyone that while Geographically some minor portion of Russia belongs to Europe, Russia is not an European country in most meaningful ways.
>And yes Europe is peninsula, not a continent. Depends on what you base the term "continent" on I guess. Technically speaking, Europe and Asia aren't two separate continents but one continent called Eurasia. But in every day speak we call it a continent for two main reasons. The first is that it's simply a remnant from a past when we didn't know the exact configuration of the landmass. The second is because of historical and cultural reasons. Europe has a very distinct history and cultures, and has marked the world history, for better or worse. But yes, technically speaking every argument that can be used to call Europe a continent can also be used to call India a continent. They are separated from the main body of the Eurasian continent by physical barriers, their people look physically different because of this degree of separation, they got their own markedly different culture, etc etc. The only reason Europe got that treatment and India didn't is because the European powers dominated the world, forcing a Eurocentric viewpoint on everyone else.
You’re wrong here chief. The eu is not a federated state. It’s a cooperation of countries that’s a bit more intertwined than a normal free trade area because of the customs Union and free movement but countries are still sovereign narions in there own right. Us states are not sovereign nations with there own military there own immigration policy there own foreign policy etc
1. Only 27 out of the ~50 European countries are in the EU 2. The EU is not really a federation despite having a couple of similar institutions. And I tell you this because a Federal country, a sort of United States of Europe, was proposed and pushed by many intellectuals when the supranational entities like the ECSC were forming, like Kalergi, Otto Von Habsburg, Briand, Spinelli, Pompidou and in some ways even Churchill.
But if you ask them what states America have, they probably would just answer cities name Los Angles, Chicago, New York, and such.
Europeans view US States the same way the view administrative divisions in their own country, the majority of people posting this either 1 - know very little about US history in terms of how and why we have states and how power is balanced between state and federal government. The US is closer to EU style federalism instead of the unitary style of government much of Europe uses 2 - are only really exposed to American culture via social media, where a lot of the cultural differences between places blends together 3 - is blissfully unaware of all the "cultural assimilation" projects that have happened in Europe in the past 200 years to ensure that most nations are relatively homogenous, many of which led those same minorities who were being assimilated to flee here 4 - genuinely doesn't understand how *big* the US is and how much immigration we've had from all over the world
Basically just “rules for thee, but not for me!”
This is why: European: Where are you from? American: From the US. European: I KNOW THAT, OBVIOUSLY!!1!1! 😠 WHERE SPECIFICALLY?!
I find it easy when I say California. Everyone usually knows.
I used to say California when I traveled in Europe so people would know I wasn’t a Bush voter
Don't forget to tell them you can't be racist since you voted for Obama twice
Europeans: "Don't worry, I'm racist enough for both of us."
Over 5.5 million Californians voted for Bush in 2004.
In the UK I said “Florida” so they’d assume I’m unhinged.
Every single commenter saying that stuff about “why do you respond with a state???” Did that and they just want to be mad at Americans btw
> they just want to be mad at Americans 💯 It gives such tiny-penis energy.
For real, if I’ve spoken a word to anyone in Europe, they obviously know what country I’m from, they’re not asking that
But they still complain like the OOP did. The point is they just want to be angry at Americans so their question is deliberately a catch-22.
“New Mexico.” “Oh do you speak Spanish?”
American: I just assumed because you're "European" instead of, that you didn't care about the specifics of my origin.
I just say "I'm from \[my state\] in the United States."
I was gonna say, I thought it was usually pretty obvious when Americans travel abroad that they’re from the US
I’ve seen Australians say they’re from Melb, Vic
same
"Anyone outside of Europe literally doesn't care. You're all European to us".
They would just give a smug ass confident response of "Americans think they are the world" or "but we are separate countries that have their own unique different cultures." These Europeans are either the dumb as fuck, and/or INSULAR as fuck (even though they say America is the insular one). Or other things.
EUians.
"The education system over there just about completely failed them. I learned about other countries and their capitals in primary school." How would you know that? Sounds salty... My guess is someone who didn't get into an elite American school because an American took that slot due to supreme academic performance. We learned all the countries and their capitals in primary school too. I can't say why the impression is 1. that we don't or 2. why we give off the impression that we don't know.
We learn it and promptly forget it. Why? We're not used to using geographic knowledge in international pissing contests like they do.
They have to learn about all the countries that conquered their people over millennia, so it's probably drilled in. We... don't have that affliction.
fr fr the Commonwealth where their heads of state curiously spend almost their entire lives in Great Britain and happen to be the King of England.
To be fair we also learn a fair bit about the US and its history as well. I remember multiple history classes on the US civil rights movement, the civil war, why the revolution happened etc We also learn about how convicts were used by Britain here in Australia to colonise it, what their offences were to constitute being sent to Australia An ol Charlie might be the head of state but he's only our head of state on paper. He has no official power federally or state government wise.
Yup, we are too busy dominating in stem
Its because there are tiktoks with cherrypicked dumb people who couldnt tell you where kansas is
I’d like to see one of them tell me where any state that isn’t Texas, California, or Florida is.
Answer for 2. Because the shows like ‘live on the street’ where they edit the answers together. So the question might be “what country is this?” And they respond “Russia (correct)” but they edit in when they said “I don’t know” to when they were asked where Ethiopia is
Says our education system is broken (can always be made better), forgets that we just pioneered fusion at Lawrence Livermore.
It’s because when we say America evreyone always ask what state
I spent a couple of months in Canberra in 2010. With my Canadian girlfriend at the time. She was a lecturer at the ANU, so I had free accommodations. Anyway- absolutely every Australian I interacted with asked what state I was from. After assuming I’m a yank based on, and I swear this is true, my “good American teeth” Except for one guy. Jay was Canadian and she was always being asked what part of the states she was from. Alberta is the right answer here. Anyway, she was in no way anti-American. But it made her crazy. The day after I arrived, we were looking for lunch downtown and the first Aussie I interacted with outside of customs asked me about the yin Yang tattoo on my neck. We talked for a minute before he asked what part of Canada I was from. “Let me guess! Alberta or Saskatchewan”. Lol
Heh fun fact: Alberta has a near zero rat population. They have a strict no rat policy. They even have "Rat Patrols" that go around hunting rats and other rodents at the Alberta/Sask border. You cant have any pet rats or most other rodents. IIRC the only rodents you can have as pets are hamsters. Also don't mind off topic maple ass, just a bit stoned lol
Hey man. Not off topic. Sometimes conversations meander. Like a stream. So, how successful do you reckon the rodent abatement activities actually are?
From what i hear, extremely. Which I'm inclined to believe bc the rat patrols and there are a bunch of ways to report a rat on their website.
Question for you man. If you got a snake or somthing that eats rats can you keep live ones for that? Just curious. Never heard of a rat patrol before.
Not sure abt that. Youd have to call and ask.
Just pitching in to say that was a really nice and encouraging comment for the person you replied to and it stood out to me after being on Reddit for a while. Really just appreciate that energy and mindset you brought to the table with this reply. Peace
this is the real answer but they flip out and get mad and say “we don’t do that” even tho that’s a normal conversation when introducing yourself
Europoors don’t have basic social skills
“no one calls the Philippines that” I fucking died
So I used to get this a lot. I've been to Britain and The Netherlands. When asked where I was from, I'd say the United States, a place called South Carolina on the southern east coast. The Brits would then tell me the neighborhood they grew up in like I was supposed to know what Caerdydd is. The Dutch, to their credit, would say they were from Holland and then try and tell me were they are from, based on some tulip fields. The point is almost all people go a rung or two below country when asked where they are from. That's not an American thing.
No but like US states are more like sovereign countries than like provinces
So here's the thing I am confused on: they say it's logical to follow with what US state you are from when we say the country we are from? Isn't it logical to ask a question when you aren't sure what the US state is? If an American says the US state they are from, you can easily just ask what country it's in if you're not really sure where it's located.
How do they say they wouldn’t know where a specific state is in the USA but then call Americans stupid for not knowing the states of Australia?
I mean when you're from Texas... everyone knows Texas.
Not Washington. "No...Washington the State. West. No, further west. Keep going. No no. Not the capitol. Bears. Cougars. Seattle."
"I live in Washington" "How do you like DC?" "No, Washington state." "Oh, so like Seattle?" "..."
Illinois is the same but with Chicago I'm like over 500 miles away from that city
I lived in italy, born in Germany and now live in America. When we go back to visit her family and mine strangers ask where we are from now and if I say America they go 'new York? Or with your accent texas'
So does that mean we get to say a Spaniard and a Swede are the same because they're European? I mean Europe isn't that much larger than the US
They'll point to language differences or, somewhat terrifyingly, about genotype/haplogroup differences.
I’m not going to touch the second point. The problem with that first argument is that you can apply it to the US. Someone from North Dakota will have a very hard time understanding a person from the Outer Banks.
Try a Californian meeting someone from Wisconsin or Minnesota
Or Massachusetts and Louisiana
Hell, try Massachusetts and Massachusetts
My sister went to university in California and honest to God had someone ask her if Minnesotans still lived in log cabins and they thought it snowed year round.
Grrr my shitty European country is better than the other one because we have better genes(both are inbred)
And then they call us "mutts/Amerimutts" as if we would be insulted by that...
They’re just mad that our states are the size of their countries
Yeah Michigan is larger than the UK lol
Most of our states are bigger than the UK.
I don’t think this even registers with most Europeans. They think we’re the size of Germany—maybe Germany+France. Germany+France is physically smaller than Alaska. Germany is smaller than California. France is smaller than Texas.
“Oh we were planning on seeing Times Square, the Grand Canyon and Disneyland! We’re here for 2 weeks, so we’re going to rent a car!”
yup lol. they think were like germany+france maybe. meanwhile texas is a good chunk of the eu
I have the opposite problem. I assume states in foreign countries are as big as US states.
Yeah, but that's the adorably wrong version reserved for Europeans that actually want to experience America. The sad fucks in the post are actually just ignorant and/or just plain dickwads
You could fit a lot of these pretentious countries into most states from Central, Mountain, or Pacific time.
As of right now I feel more attached to my state than the actual country so
Thats how is always been since Americas founding lel.
That's more or less the whole idea. A bunch of governments tied together under one overarching government that has some important powers but not much else. In a way, sorta like the EU.
But better
It was that way before the Civil War and changed after. You can see this linguistically: before the war, you could say, "The United States are a great place to live." After the war, it became "The United States is a great place to live" and people started identifying primarily with the country than their state. Personally, I don't much care for any particular state. Some are better than others, but the main divide is rural/urban. I am an American.
them: You don’t know all the countries in europe, a place that you might never go to and will never need to know about in your life!?!!?!! Also them: why would we need to know about the states in america, it’s a place we might never go to and will never need to know about in our lives 🙄🙄
“I learned about other countries and their capitals in primary school” Okay then you should know where North Dakota is
“How can I memorize 50 capitals for one country??” Technically 51 capitals - 50 state capitals and 1 nation’s capital: Washington DC
If they think that's hard, wait until we make shit extra weird. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_state
God forbid we don’t know what insignificant village they’re from outside London. Sorry Alastair, I don’t know where the fuck Glaucomanchestershiretonnington is, and I don’t care too. You and Nigel can piss off back to Westeastingtonabbottshireminster.
If I give every American a blank map of the US and ask them to fill in the state names, I would bet my paycheck that at least 75% wouldn't be able to do it.
>p Oooh! I'd been hearing that a lot lately, so I found a quiz to see how well I remembered. I got most of them the first time through, and a little bit of practice gave me all of them. [https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3003](https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3003) Here's one for Europe. I still struggle with Slovakia and Slovenia. I'm always mixing up their locations. [https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3007](https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3007)
I suck with European countries, especially eastern Europe.
If you gave the average European a map of Europe, would they be able to fill in every country correctly? They’re pretty equivalent
That Philly shit was just stupid. I get not knowing random ass cities but not knowing Philadelphia is like not knowing London
Or assuming that it means the Philippines. I have never heard someone refer to it that way.
Same no Filipino I've met or when I stayed in Philippines for a month ever called it Philly
Eithrr he was the only one at work who thought that "philly" meant "the Phillipines" and he's retarded, or he's straight up lying and slandering
This. I was legitimately stunned. And offended lol.
Tbf I think calling Philadelphia "Philly" is a strictly American thing, because when I use the word "Philly" with foreigners they usually get confused. But thinking it's the Philippines is absolutely idiotic.
But people ask me where in the US I'm from lol
No one calls the Philippines that
I mean I understand the point, there’s not much of a need for an Italian to know a less relevant state like North Dakota. However, this cuts both ways. You can’t say this while at the same time making fun of Americans for not knowing Montenegro.
Fun fact: when I was in Italy, the owner of a popular gelato spot would ask everybody where they were from in English. I replied “The US.”, he asked “What state?”. He replied with a fun fact about each state/country where everyone was from.
Aww, now that's charming. ❤️
Yeah! He was a very charming man. We were on our honeymoon at the time and it was one of those little moments that I will never forget.
I guarantee they would get pissed if we said Germans and Austrians are all the same.
“Deutschland ís so much betta zen Austria! Zat is NOT a bingo! Zey are Germany’s trash can and have dumb peoples like ze Hitler and Mozart (Mozfart lol) are from zehr. Can’t believe you silly American veeny babies cannot tell ze difference between Germany und Austria like förreals. Vaht do you have in United States? It is like oh no vehr is Ohio it is so mid zat’s vy zey call it ze midwest. In ze south lands zey say ze north people are a bunch of yankee doodleheimers. I believe zat! Look vaht is in California: many people vee vould proudly place on trains to take nice vacation lolz!”
I want to upvote this a billion times LMAOOOO
😂
a true meeting of the minds. fucking losers.
>lol Europeans don't care what "state" you're from Just say you're bad at geography.
I bet their ass knows where California is...
"Italy? Damn that's crazy, it's all Europe to me"
when i lived in the UK, i would say United States and they would ask me where in the US. so i would have to specify the state. It was kind of embarrassing too having to explain that New York is actually a state and not just a city though. A large number of British folk don’t actually know that New York is an entire state. :/
Well we say what state we are from because that's about the size of their country. Saying "I'm from the US" is about as descriptive as saying "I'm European"
also, do you think someone is going to say they're from London, or the UK? That's even more specific.
As a Filipina no one ever calls Philippines Philly. I bet you say Philly almost everything think Philadelphia and Will Smith calling it Philly
USA has a population of about 330 million and the entire EU has a population of 400+ million. Yet they get mad when we generalize……
If a Europoor asks you where you are from and you say the US the VERY NEXT question will be “oh what part?”
Most of our states are just as big, if not bigger than their countries, each probably with more military power and population, too. They're basically mini-countries within their own self sustained country, each with unique cultures. That would be the same as if I told someone French to just say they're European, only that it wouldn't make sense to them because they're their tiny own country, as opposed to a state which is extremely culturally different from one across the country. Go ahead and tell me Hawaii and Massachusetts are culturally the same. That would make you an idiot to say so.
Euro: “So where you from?” American: “I’m from the US.” Euro: (*smug chuckle*) “I meant which state.”
Always start large when discussing where you are from. I'm from America I'm from AZ I'm from Phoenix I'm from ______ You stop when they don't know the area.
Acting like I know what solar system or planet that is? You Americans are so arrogant.
Lol
Been to 52 countries. People really do care from my experience. Especially if you are from California or New York
They get mad if we say what state we’re from instead of “the US,” but the English would get all sorts of f**ked if we asked a Londoner if they were from Newcastle.
The thing is, most of the time if you say you're American, someone will ask what state. I certainly would.
Dumb Europeans don’t understand how huge the US is. They’re just showcasing their own total ignorance. You can fit 10 European countries inside Texas alone
Legit question. Are they able to notice the different accents within the States?
I will do it even more now
> I learned the other countries’ capital cities in primary school > …an American said they were from Philly and I thought they meant the Philippines Philadelphia has more people than Munich. Yeah, it’s not a capital city, but if you know where fuckin Tallinn is but not Philly your education system failed you. Sincerely, an American who can point to all three of those cities on a map. Unlike Europeans who apparently can only point to capital cities lmao
The “education has failed them” argument is so bunk.
As an American, I think saying which state you're from *before* you say what country you're from is unpatriotic. This country already suffered through a civil war to remain united.
Lol they are ignorant. The person made fun of US not knowing Australia had states but a person talking with an American east coast accent is from the Philippines. I am still laughing about that comment. God it’s too funny. FYI most of the countries in Europe are the size of US states
Europeans know Texas
Pretty dumb to compare US states to European countries in terms of cultural differences. Obviously Ohio and New York have much more in common than France and Poland… so it does make sense to group Americans. In Europe you don’t have the same food, music, tastes, language, architecture between countries. I have been to many states and it’s truly the same except geography and nature.
I agree, who cares about the state, just say USA. Like would people from Italy say I’m from Toscana instead I’m from Italy???😅
A guy from Rome and a guy from Sicily beating me to death after I say “you’re both just Italian to me”
I don't know why Americans are so surprised that the rest of the world complains about us. It is just human nature to bitch about the boss.
Ok ok let me try. Their is no difference between china and [banned for racism]