Thursday, September 11, 2008

Other countries opinions...

In one of the other conversations, someone brought up how the thought that other countries hate America is a myth. While i agree that most other countries don't "hate" us exactly, i know they have some ill conceived opinions about us. One of my best friends came over to America from Norway for a year. When she first arrived she thought that we all worshiped Bush, that we were all super excited about the war, and that we were all going to be fat and lazy. When we explained to her our real ideas, she was amazed. So where do you think they got these opinions? Why do you think they feel this way? and what do you really want other countries to be saying about us?
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11 comments:

  1. NatESeptember 11, 2008 at 2:38 PM

    i don't think that this is just with us i think that it is with all countries because obviously you can not know everything about every country. on how they perceive things and live their lives and just how they think in general. i think that since we are more of a super power in the worlds economy that we just get more things said about us and more rumors started and since most of the people cannot just come here and see for themselves they just believe what is told to them.

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  2. KellySeptember 11, 2008 at 4:44 PM

    I think that people get their opinions from general mass media and from ovbious steryotypes. I think that the person from Norway has a right to their opinion, be it a steryotype or not. We as Americans are obviously steryotypical when it comes to people from other countries. I'm not saying that steryotypes are a good thing, it's just a socially created norm.

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  3. KellySeptember 11, 2008 at 4:58 PM

    I think that people from different countries get their general ideas about Americans from the general mass media that they see on tv. I think they feel this way because of the steryotpes that they grew up to know. I'm not saying that steryotpyes are a fair judge of american character, but it is fair in a way that we, as americans are very steryotpyical when it comes to judging others from other countries.

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  4. JamieSeptember 11, 2008 at 10:20 PM

    I think that a great deal of how America is perceived by others has to do with their media. Just like the media here, the media in foreign countries impacts their perception on things, and the media does not always show all sides. Also on the point that we are all obese (or bulimic, because of actors and models), well when you go to Europe you can find a McDonalds or a Burger King or a Pizza Hut on almost every major street, and the whole media portrayal thing only adds to it. A lot of Hollywood movies are translated and shown in other countries, and have you ever seen someone average in a movie? I don’t think so... they are all either thin as thread or overweight.
    However, from personal experience, I can tell you that not all people (although some do EXTREMELY) think that way, and many do realize that just like them we get stereotyped too.

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  5. MichelleSeptember 12, 2008 at 12:02 PM

    I think that the way other countries perceive us also has a lot to do with the media. When my German teacher spent a year in various parts of Europe the news focused mainly on riots and the negative thing happening in the US. That could lead many people to believe that our country is in constant havoc and chaos. It is true that the way we a culture actually is, can easily be perceived through Hollywood or our leaders, even if they don’t reflect what is actually happening to the main stream culture.

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  6. kamilleSeptember 13, 2008 at 9:55 AM

    I think media and other peoples stories and opinions, reserch/studies and maybe even experinces is what really influences them.They may be jealous of us that we have some freedoms that they dont. They try to pick out everyones floaws and saw see it is bad or whatever but really it is just a small part that may be bad in their eyes.

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  7. zeinSeptember 17, 2008 at 2:21 PM

    i think people have such views about americans due to the way they present them selves.in alot of countries the see americans as cowboys from the wild west. when an avrage american travels to europe or asia they have no idea about the place they're goin to beside their hotel and city. nothing about culture, language, or whats allowed & whats not. there was this post about this immigrant who didnt know english & his kid died. when i read it i thought if anyone knew spanish the kid would be alive now. & agree with thoses who said that media playes a great role. but you have to understand that media reflects whats going on within the county. & its negetive stuff most of the time but its there & we have to deal with.

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  8. halima muminSeptember 17, 2008 at 2:33 PM

    I think American culture is different from all other countries because of their ethnocentrism that they are superior to other countries and they are the best of all. Most people believe that their way of live is the right way.For example, if you cover your body they think that you are hiding something even though they know that is your own value.

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  9. rogerSeptember 18, 2008 at 3:30 PM

    http://www.startribune.com/local/17406054.html

    Hey gang--please read this article and comment on it; consider the following questions:
    As we become more diverse and pluralistic in both ideology and religious practices, how do we continue to accommodate for all voices without compromising some or all of peoples' inalienable rights?
    Is there a limit to how diverse we can become?
    Should we reexamine the constitution because the society has fundamentally changed?
    Is the constitution a frozen document?
    As the population grows and our belief systems multiply, can we continue to cherish diversity?

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  10. BradSeptember 19, 2008 at 11:36 AM

    I believe that other countries do not in fact hate america but they do not exactly agree with some of the things that America does. I have experience being out of the country and my first experience over seas is when I went to Australia. I learned that people of other countries believe that we as a country become to involved in other countries business. Australians do think of americans as lazy and they can always tell where you are from within a matter of seconds. These opinions most likely come from their socialization and their countries media. People make generalizations based on what they see and hear.

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  11. lindsayNovember 23, 2008 at 4:16 PM

    other countries most likely dislike America because we are always getting involved in other "peoples" business. perhaps if we were more neutral like we claim to be we would be perceived differently. history speaks for us now and it's hard to make good the past

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