this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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That is not my experience at all. Most Americans get extremely defensive when someone criticizes the US, even people who know better. Many are ok with specific criticism (like, healthcare sucking), but it doesn't take much for them to revert to 'murican mode.
I have been living in the US for over a decade and been to 2/3rds of the states.
Most Americans have their talking points ready to go around certain topics: healthcare, guns etc. But if you get anything that attacks the capitalism, building the country off of slave labor, or the country being the product of a genocide, that's when the propaganda really kicks in.
Oh and if you call it propaganda, then the denialism gets even stronger.
Spaniard here, you get very, very similar reactions here from a lot of people (possibly a lower percentage) if you dare to question the process of colonization or call out the barbaric behavior of some historical figures that have become a part of the national myth. Nationalism is a brain disease.
You get the same shit from most nationalities.
Nobody is immune to propaganda.
That's really interesting. I've lived in 9 states and I can honestly say that outside of the southeast, it is legitimately difficult to consistently find people that dont think the us is a flaming sack of shit or at least headed that way. Seriously, I've heard waaaaaaaaaaaaay more negative talk on the us from Americans than anything positive. Especially in like the last decade. But this place is so damn big that anyone's experience would vary a crazy amount so that makes sense.
Are you in tech or some other field that doesn't involve interacting with different socioeconomic groups?
Most of not all states guarantee some "interesting" encounters if you leave the cities. In California I have seen Confederate flags flying, met neonazis, and plenty of Trump supporters. Trump got over 34% of the vote in California, almost 39% in Washington and over 40% in Oregon. Those percentages are not a majority, but I think it sets a floor, since Trump supporters are not exactly trash talking the US.
I have spent a lot of time doing canvassing and other activities that mean I encounter people with very different ideas, so that would definitely explain the different experience.
I think they're full of shit, for what it's worth. 33 states in 10 years? Wtf...
If you're going to accuse me of lying, at least have the decency of doing it in a reply to my post. I lived on the East Coast and traveled up and down some, then I moved to the Midwest, I got into politics and canvassed in several states plus I went on a few road trips for fun. Then I moved to the West Coast, which somewhat limited my ability to go on road trips to other states, but still, I went as far as Colorado, I spent a month there doing backpacking and visiting a few places like Denver and Aspen.
Why do you think it is so unlikely I could visit 3 states a year?
You can drive through like ten states in a weekend on the east coast
You've been to 33 states in 10 years? Why? That's absolutely unheard of here...
Maybe you guys should do that more then, it isn't unheard of in Europe.