stupid Americans?

[Hakaii]

Good to know that some are not so ignorant. ^.^
But I don't really think that an average European should know all the names of the states of America (besides, they don't make us memorize them at school, and there's a first rate education in Finland). After all, it's a country, not a continent.

Quote:
Findland (didn't think I'd forget yours, did you?)



Hah, great spelling

Excuse me, Harina, do you speak German by any chance?

[mechana2015]

I got the impression, that, like Borat, the creators of the show edited cropped and altered things, and ignored normalicy in favor of focusing on idioticy.

But I don't really think that an average European should know all the names of the states of America (besides, they don't make us memorize them at school, and there's a first rate education in Finland). After all, it's a country, not a continent.

... as to Europeans not knowing US states, it might actually be favorable to know some of them, if only as economic knowledge. Several US states have GDPs higher than many nations. For example, as of 2005, California had the 8th highest GDP in the world and a gross state (national if was independant) product in excess of 1.5 trillion dollars.

Oh, and what about the other nations in america anyhow... y'know like canada and stuff. (America IS a continent, actually... two. North and South. The country is United States of America.)

[ShiroiHikari]

Well, this may be a joke, but the fact remains that the American education system leaves very, very much to be desired. :\

[Warrior4Christ]

As soon as you mentioned Julian Morrow, I knew what you were talking about. XD

The clip in question is actually from a show called The Chaser's War on Everything, which is an australian comedy show. They have a segment called CNNNNN, which is their fake news team. It's actually a really funny show, and quite a few quality clips are on youtube.

Actually, "The Chaser" is the name of the comedy team, and they had a news parody show called CNNNN (only four Ns) a few years ago, and that ended, then they started a new show called The Chaser's War On Everything (then that one ended last year). So they are two different shows, and that clip is obviously from CNNNN (Chaser's War still has segments from America).
In the background of one of the shots in that clip is a Fungry's logo, which is their fast food restaurant parody.
Another funny one is where Julian goes around in some city in US claiming to be John Howard (prime minister of Australia), and some people claim they've seen him on TV, and get photos taken with him, etc. XD

Rick Mercer did it better!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_to_Americans

I've seen that one too. XD

I'm always blown away by the number of people who not only have no idea that Wyoming is even a state. I've been asked if I'm from the town of Wyoming in Texas before, after saying I'm from Wyoming. And if they know it's a state, they ask if we still travel around in covered wagons and ride horses to school. Seriously.

To a lesser extent, I was talking to a friend from Tasmania, who rang up a government department for something, and was asked which state they were from, or their address or something. I can't remember if the person on the phone insisted that Tasmania wasn't a state, or Tasmania wasn't part of Australia, but it's even more funny because they work for the government! Besides, there aren't that many states to remember...

After all, it's a country, not a continent.

Australia is both.

[soul alive]

You know you're doomed when the government workers insist your state doesn't exist...

I lived across the hall from a girl my freshman year of college who seriously thought cars ran on double/triple A batteries.

[uc pseudonym]

I'd say that's an amusing video, but that's all it was intended to be. We all know that many people tend to be ignorant of international affairs, essentially regardless of location (though I wonder how Vatican City would fare, if it counts). Hopefully not the majority, but enough to make a video like that without too much trouble.

All that worries me is the guy who didn't know the number of sides a triangle had. I'm going to hope he has a very good reason.

[Reba]

I'm sure Ejimacated.

[Hakaii]

Well, this may be a joke, but the fact remains that the American education system leaves very, very much to be desired. :\

...But you can't say that about our Military!!! Hooah!!! (pronounced "OohRah!")

[Lady Macbeth]

While I agree fully that the state of the American education system leaves much to be desired, part of the blame rests on the students themselves and their parents.

I was perfectly set up as a child to be one of those "redneck failures" - my family was poor white working class and went downhill from there when my dad was injured and could no longer work. However, my mom believed fully (and still believes to this day) that children could work their way out of that poverty hole by becoming educated - so instead of having big screen TVs or Harley Davidsons (both things that seem to for some reason be classic of the rural poor AND things that my parents covet but never had) my parents spent money buying books, school supplies, encyclopedias, and educational toys. When we were old enough for TV (my parents did not put babies in front of TVs) we watched some cartoons but mostly educational programs on PBS.

Thus, when my eighth grade Social Studies teacher made us memorize the (then new) states of the former Soviet Union, I was not among the complainers. While my classmates were whining that they "were never going to need to know fifteen million 'stan' countries," I did my homework and memorized them. It came in handy when my brother had to call home from a stop-over in Kazakhstan while he was deployed to Afghanistan and my mom asked where "Ka-Something-istan" even was.

Yes, my mom is one of those Americans who can't find Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or any other countries we're involved with on the world map. However, my brothers and I were fortunate enough that she realized the shortcoming and did not want us to grow up the same way. Thanks to her and my dad being totally dedicated to our educations, you won't find us on one of those comedy programs.

That same Social Studies teacher also made us memorize the preamble to the Constitution and gave us extra credit if we could memorize the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. We had to know the full contents of all three documents (though not necessarily verbatim) for an exam in that class. Sometimes, teachers who are hard on their students are trying to teach them certain lessons for a reason, but unless the students have a drive to learn, it's most often wasted.

Here's some food for thought from middle school Social Studies - what's written on the tablet in the Statue of Liberty's hand and what's her actual name?

[Radical Dreamer]

Here's some food for thought from middle school Social Studies - what's written on the tablet in the Statue of Liberty's hand and what's her actual name?

I know what's written there, though I haven't got it memorized...if that makes any sense. XD "Give me your poor, your tired, your hungry..." etc. XD Though as for her real name, I don't know that.

[Lady Macbeth]

I know what's written there, though I haven't got it memorized...if that makes any sense. XD "Give me your poor, your tired, your hungry..." etc. XD Though as for her real name, I don't know that.

BZZZT! Second try. "The New Colossus"...

[i]The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land]

...is engraved on a bronze plaque on the inside of the pedestal, not on her tablet.

[Puritan]

Good to know that some are not so ignorant. ^.^
But I don't really think that an average European should know all the names of the states of America (besides, they don't make us memorize them at school, and there's a first rate education in Finland). After all, it's a country, not a continent.

Ahh, but many of our states have both the size AND the population to be a European country. And a number of them even have the economies as well. Be that as it may (and I will not excuse the oft-touted American ignorance in geography), I have to wonder if we really are much worse off than the rest of the world. I suspect that many Europeans know geography better than Americans are seen as knowing because it makes a difference in their lives (many travel across borders pretty regularly, either for work or vacation, or have friends or relatives in other countries like we have friends and relatives in other states). Not to excuse the lack of knowledge people have (I think it is very important to have a good geopolitical knowledge of the world as a whole), but I really wonder if, taking into account what affects their daily lives, Americans really are much more ignorant. Most people simply remember the things that affect their lives and ignore the rest, and I think that holds true over most of the world. We just seem to get the video time.

Though, I have to admit, anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, I know where Luxembourg and Lichtenstein are, and I have played Axis and Allies enough to be able to at very least give you the general location of most countries in the world (you end up invading and defending so many of them time and again the names stick. I still remember that Vietnam was once part of French Indochina), even beyond my work to keep up with world geography and politics. I'm not exactly a representative sample...

[Mave]

Born in Asia, we hardly learnt anything about the U.S. in our education system except that this country is not too popular with the rest of the world. We were typically warned about being Westernized (ah the horrors) but we imported loads of entertainment and technology anyway.

Before coming over to the U.S, I only knew of the following locations: New York (NYPD Blues), Oklahoma (the musical), Texas (cowboys), Los Angeles (Full House), Bel-Air (Fresh Prince of Bel Air), California (Californian sushi roll), Florida (some song pertaining to Miami I can't remember), Las Vegas (gambling) and Beverly Hills where there are loads of rich kids (Beverly Hills). Hollywood is a strange land where ppl slept with each other and divorcing seemed like a hobby.

As a whole, the black ppl in police shows always looked unfriendly and mean (with the exception of those in the Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), the white ppl were super rich and spoiled, and the President had a thing for interns. Oh yeah you can also get shot for being in McDonalds.

.........

You may now laugh at how little I knew about the U.S. then. For that reason, I wouldn't give Americans a hard time for not knowing much about the rest of the world.

I echo what UC said about the dude who was intellectually challenged by triangles, though. That's quite worrisome.

[Nate]

All that worries me is the guy who didn't know the number of sides a triangle had. I'm going to hope he has a very good reason.

That's what makes me suspect that the interview was scripted. I mean, I can understand people not knowing who was in the Coalition of the Willing or being able to locate Iraq on a map, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who seriously doesn't know how many sides a triangle has.

[Maledicte]

I'd love to make my own video, "Talking to Frenchmen."

Just, you know, to even things out.

[Sammy Boy]

I have met quite a few intelligent and articulate Americans in my life. I have also met quite a few that were not so.

The fact is, I have met informed and intelligent people from all ethnic / nation groups, as well as unreasonable people from all ethnic / nation groups.

I do not consider any group to be superior or inferior. I did not watch the video, and I do not know what its purpose is, but I am guessing it is to ridicule Americans.

I find that distasteful. I am ignorant about the history and geography of many European, Asian, and Middle Eastern places myself. Everyone is ignorant about something...

[harina]

Excuse me, Harina, do you speak German by any chance?

No I don't.. except for "Ich müss essen machen", which is the only sentence I remember from a short German course. Why?

Oh, and what about the other nations in america anyhow... y'know like canada and stuff. (America IS a continent, actually... two. North and South. The country is United States of America.)

Yeah I know. But it was too difficult to say ".. all the states of the United states of America".

I'd say that's an amusing video

Oh, that's a relief to know. 'Cause it made me sad and desparate.

I suspect that many Europeans know geography better than Americans are seen as knowing because it makes a difference in their lives (many travel across borders pretty regularly, either for work or vacation, or have friends or relatives in other countries like we have friends and relatives in other states).

Well, I wouldn't say so. At least I don't have any friends/relatives in other countries of Europe (and the only European country I've been to is Sweden, which is kinda sad, though I've been to US and Canada too) and I still can name the countries in it.. So the rest of Europe really doesn't make a difference in my own life in a 'physical' way, except for school classes.



I find it kinda sad that we are not taught anything about Asian history (nor the history of South Africa or Australia, as far as I can remember), nor precise geography. So I have to admit I can't place Vietnam and used to think that Singapore is north from Hong Kong.. People think that it's only useful to know about places and cultures that are close to your own (that's why they teach us every detail about eg the wars and other things in Europe). I think education should teach us to understand many different kinds of people and cultures, to prevent possible controversy and such. (I may sound a bit naïve but it's still kinda difficult to express myself in English precisely.)

[Radical Dreamer]

I have met quite a few intelligent and articulate Americans in my life. I have also met quite a few that were not so.

The fact is, I have met informed and intelligent people from all ethnic / nation groups, as well as unreasonable people from all ethnic / nation groups.

I do not consider any group to be superior or inferior. I did not watch the video, and I do not know what its purpose is, but I am guessing it is to ridicule Americans.

I find that distasteful. I am ignorant about the history and geography of many European, Asian, and Middle Eastern places myself. Everyone is ignorant about something...

Quoted for truth and emphasis. We should definitely be careful when it comes to stereotyping any group of people; it's generally where racism/prejudice starts.

[harina]

I do not consider any group to be superior or inferior. I did not watch the video, and I do not know what its purpose is, but I am guessing it is to ridicule Americans.

I find that distasteful. I am ignorant about the history and geography of many European, Asian, and Middle Eastern places myself. Everyone is ignorant about something...

(Sorry, didn't notice your message earlier.) The purpose of this thread was not to make fun on Americans. I just wanted to know if there are lot of people there who don't have much common knowledge, because I would find it kinda.. alarming (probably not the best word, but I can't make up another), not funny.

[termyt]

It's OK to make fun of Americans. We do stupid things and we have people who are foolish and downright mean. But we are also, as a group pretty kind and generous - often the first and largest contributor to those in need around the world.

All that worries me is the guy who didn't know the number of sides a triangle had. I'm going to hope he has a very good reason.

There's also a chance the fellow was not answering the question we heard.

[Stephen]

Stupid, is not limited to one race, one nation, or one gender. It is an embraced trait that many people add to their resumes.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

It is an embraced trait that many people add to their resumes.

That is a pretty stupid thing to do. xD

[mitsuki lover]

Unfortunately,yes it is true Americans are just that stupid and it doesn't matter if it WERE a satire or not,if you read anything about what Americans
say about geography,politics,history,etc.a lot of us ARE that dumb.This is not just based on a stereotype this is based on an unfortunate fact.
Ask the typical American who won last year's American Idol and they can tell you,but ask them who Al Smith was and you get all kinds of answers.
For the record Al Smith was the first Catholic to run for President as a Democrat in the 20th century.

[Zarn Ishtare]

I'd like to speak up for all southerners here when I say the following:


Referring to red-necks (Generally meaning white people from the country) as ignorant is kinda rude, guys. Being from Stone County Missouri doesn't make me an dumb, and I think that referring to rednecks as ignorant in general is rude.


this is, of course, coming from the guy who laughingly refers to himself as a "Enochian", so take what I say with that wonderful grain of salt.

[Stephen]

Unfortunately,yes it is true Americans are just that stupid and it doesn't matter if it WERE a satire or not,if you read anything about what Americans
say about geography,politics,history,etc.a lot of us ARE that dumb.This is not just based on a stereotype this is based on an unfortunate fact.
Ask the typical American who won last year's American Idol and they can tell you,but ask them who Al Smith was and you get all kinds of answers.
For the record Al Smith was the first Catholic to run for President as a Democrat in the 20th century.

I fail to see how an obscure fact like that makes a person dumb or smart. Now if you said can the person list off most the presidents...than yes I would agree. Also. I will give you a dollar if you use your space bar near periods and commas.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I'd like to speak up for all southerners here when I say the following:


Referring to red-necks (Generally meaning white people from the country) as ignorant is kinda rude, guys. Being from Stone County Missouri doesn't make me an dumb, and I think that referring to rednecks as ignorant in general is rude.


this is, of course, coming from the guy who laughingly refers to himself as a "Enochian", so take what I say with that wonderful grain of salt.

Being from the south doesn't necessarily make you a redneck though. It's less a location and more a subculture. I've got a lot of family out of georgia, for example. My cousins were born and raised in Chattanoogie, and if anything I think they would fit the label of "hippy" better than redneck. Do you identify yourself as a redneck, or do you feel the label has been slapped on you because of where you live?

[Zarn Ishtare]

I identify with it to a point, yes, because I grew up around people who are usually type-cast as "rednecks", and so when I hear it used in the deragatory fashion, it is irritating.

[ShiroiHikari]

Huh. I should have my boyfriend write down his geography test and post it here to see how many of you could pass it. Of all the people he's given it to, I was the only one that passed. XD

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I identify with it to a point, yes, because I grew up around people who are usually type-cast as "rednecks", and so when I hear it used in the deragatory fashion, it is irritating.

I think its all kind of relative though. I mean aside from the ignorant thing, a lot of the accusations thrown against them are things that (at least the famous ones like Larry and Jeff Foxworthy) seem to almost revel in. If they're things you enjoy don't let anyone bother you about it. It's like the anime thing. I am in many respects the stereotypical geek. Those aspects where they're dead on, I'll let them know up front. "Uh, yeah. I watch that stuff. So?" If they're incorrect about me, then I'll gently correct them... OK, so not always so gently. I can get the righteous fury thing going on too. But that's beside the point.

[Bobtheduck]

I just watched Julian Morrow's interview of some American people. I don't know how famous the whole thing is, so I don't know if a thread about the subject already exists.

The interview starts from here (and continues in part 2, part 3 etc..): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtXCs0Wqs9Q

I really couldn't believe my eyes/ears when watching it. Are there many people who think eg that France is in Australia? Are you taught any geography outside the US at school, honestly? Or does the interview give a wrong kind of image of Americans?
Just tell me what do you think (even if you are not an American yourself).

*sigh*

I expect that from the european media slaves and self hating americans on other forums, but come on... When are people going to learn the power of editing and wonder how many people they had to go through to get to those ones that came up with those stupid answers...

On the flip side of that, yes, it's likely true that Americans on average have the worst geography skills of all developed nations... That's what you get from looking at a globe and assuming that the US fills up all of North America... Your view on things gets pretty skewed... Also, it's true most natural born Americans probably don't know enough about our own history to become citizens... I mean, come on, I don't know 1/10 of the presidents in their proper order... Or... Maybe I do know more than 1/10... 1 George Washington, 3. Thomas Jefferson, 16? Abraham Lincoln. 39 carter? 40 Regan 41 Bush 42 Clinton 43 Bush... Ok, still that's far from exhaustive... So, yeah, there is valid concern, but this is a slam job, not an exposé on the state of American Education... Honestly, how many sides does a triangle have... *sigh* This is ripped off of that show "street smarts." The whole point of that show is that there are ignorant people out there, but it's not a commentary on ALL americans...

On the flipside of Americans ignorant of their history, you have Texans... I'd say at least 3/4 of all texans are so knowledgeable about their state's history, they could put any foreign country to shame on their own history education. Yet, that is looked at as a negative thing. Being so knowledgeble about their history is some sort of arrogant, redneck thing... Bah... ****** if you do, ****** if you don't.