The World according to Americans

[Texasgal]

[JonQ]

1. Bit of a stereotype don't you think? n/t

[Texasgal]

2. Ummm... It's a joke.

:eyes:

[JonQ]

7. So it's ok to portrary 300 million people in a negative light

because it's a joke?

So you have no problem with jokes about how the french are all cowards who don't bathe? Or the Japanese have thick glasses and buckteeth. Or all british people have bad teeth and are terrible in bed?

I thought we had moved beyond inaccurate national stereotypes.

Also I think you'll find most people worldwide are fairly ignorant of other cultures and tend to think primarily of what's going on in their own backyard (and tend to stereotype large groups of people for simplicity).

[Texasgal]

10. Oh fer' cryin' outloud!

GET A GRIP!

Have you ever heard of a JOKE? Can we laugh at ourselves for a moment?

Or do we need to be brooding and serious all of the time?

[JonQ]

18. Feel free to laugh at yourself

just don't include me in it.

[Texasgal]

20. Okay.

Your not included!

DUH.

[ejbr]

26. Oy...

Sorry you had to endure that. K & R

[inna]

54. ditto!

except that i wasn't able to rec because this thread is older than 24 hours...

[cherokeeprogressive]

52. So here's the Texas High School Reading Test...

MR DUCKS
MR KNOT
SAR
CM WANGS
LIB
MR DUCKS

Get back to me with your score...

[dorkulon]

35. I'm laughing at you right now.

By your standard, is there any group of people it's okay to make fun of? Or are jokes off limits altogether? Can I make fun of Republicans? After all, I'm sure some of them are smart, decent people; I guess I should just lay off.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. It's always been acceptable to make fun of one's own group

If the shoe fits, wear it.

As a former college instructor whose students literally couldn't find Japan on a map and thought it was just like American suburbia, only with different faces, language, and food, I find this cartoon quite apt.

That doesn't even begin to describe the ignorance I've encountered about Asia, Europe, and even American cities among the yahoos who proudly forgot everything they supposedly learned in school and settled in to let commercial TV and radio mush up their minds with stereotypes.

[whathehell]

34. Maybe their public education sucked. Or maybe your college did.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

37. The college did its best with kids from suburbs

where the worst of American culture--sports and being cool are important while reading books makes you a nerd--reigned supreme.

[whathehell]

51. Whatever...

[whathehell]

36. True...We'd be jumping all over ourselves if we dared to do this to another country

If the rest of you want to buy into the self-hate, fine.

[ejbr]

46. yes, it is fine

"lighten up Francis" Stripes w/ Bill Murray

[whathehell]

50. You lighten up...If you want to believe you're stupid...Be my guest!

[ejbr]

53. My goodness!

:wow:

[EFerrari]

47. LOL. Being able to laugh at yourself is not self hatred.

[merh]

6. it's a joke

and it does seem to explain why far too many Americans think we are infallible, unstoppable and righteous.

[EFerrari]

28. Looks like Great Britain sank or something.

How's that for gratitude?

lol

[merh]

32. Great who?

:rofl:

[jmondine]

33. It is not a stereotype! Apologize or I'll shoot you with my rifle I got from a decaying inner city!

[struggle4progress]

39. Survey: Americans lost on the map (2008)

... Respondents were shown a blank political map of the Middle East and asked to identify four countries: Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran. These were the results ...
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2008/01/graph_americans_lost_on_map/

[imdjh]

3. LOL! I like the "uninhabited". nt

[sinkingfeeling]

4. About right, but I doubt most Americans even know South America exists.

[Arugula Latte]

8. Yes we do, too! South America has Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.

:P

[sinkingfeeling]

11. What about Louisiana?

[TahitiNut]

16. Isn't that French?

:dunce:

[EFerrari]

30. Sounds like Mexican. We didn't get that wall up fast enough.

:dunce:

[corpseratemedia]

17. d'oh!

good one!!:rofl: :rofl:

[thecrow]

12. Yeah they do

It's south of the Mason Dixon line

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. As Ronald Reagan notoriously remarked after a tour of Latin America,

"It's all different countries down there."

Yes, Ronnie, believe it or not, it's not just one big Tijuana all the way down to the Antarctic.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." - Ernest Bevin

[L. Coyote]

9. And I thought it was to extract resources!

[The2ndWheel]

15. Is no Africa part of the joke?

And why is America's wang so small?

[tan guera]

40. small wang

That's why over-compensation is called for. Small wangs, big guns.

[AwakeAtLast]

44. Don't forget big cars.

:D

[david13]

19. The truth hurts the most. But the truth doesn't bother me.

But the truth is way more ugly severe than this little joke.
PS #1 at what? Doing stupid things?
dc

[Iggo]

21. .

:rofl:

[TheWatcher]

22. Many A Truth Told In Jest.

[patriotproud]

23. This isn't a joke

Since the 1950s there has been a deliberate policy of making American's dumb as bricks.

The voted in Reagan twice, for christ's sake.

I'd be willing to bet $500 that a simple survey of Americans in any mall would reveal that over 80% of them don't know the New Mexico isn't another country, can't find Israel on a map, and some of the stupid motherf****ckers can't even tell you what continent China is on.

In fact, there have been a number of survey's that have more or less proven that.

[woo me with science]

25. "survey's"

and "American's"

ha ha ha ha ha

[Dramarama]

24. Thanks haha

[EndersDame]

27. America!! Fuck Yeah!! But seriously we invented Rock

Jazz and Blues so we are pretty much number one in my book

[Canuckistanian]

29. No Africa- yup, that's America's world

And Canada as "uninhabited". I suppose all that Canadian bacon just marches across the border by itself?

Actually, I've always been fascinated by this "Canadian bacon" phenomenon. We don't have it here in Canada. It's not even particularly good. It's just shaped ham of some sort.

Well, at least we're not evildoers.

[robdogbucky]

31. Prolly based on this or something similar

Factually based to some degree, but America is not alone in its lack of geographic awareness:


From this survey by National Geo in 2002:

"...Britain came a disappointing fourth from the bottom and Mexico trailed into last place with an average score of just 21 out of 56.

But America did have some cause to celebrate, as it moved up from the last place it held in the previous survey in 1988.

The survey took place in June and July 2002 as a follow-up to a similar test carried out in 1988 by the National Geographic Society.

Results..."

"...11% of Americans could not find America.

71% of Americans could point out where the Pacific Ocean - the world's largest body of water - was located. Worldwide, three in 10 of those surveyed could not locate the Pacific Ocean.

Apart from the Swedes, only 40% or fewer young adults could name China and India as the two countries with a population over one billion.

Less than 25% of French, Canadian, Italian, British and Americans could name four countries that officially acknowledged owning nuclear weapons.

58% of Americans know the Taleban and al-Qaeda were based in Afghanistan, compared with 84% of Britons, but only 17% of Americans can locate the country.

34% of Americans know the tiny Marquesas Islands, where the last season of reality TV show "Survivor" was filmed, is located in the South Pacific. But only 30% could point to the location of New Jersey.

56% of Americans were unable to locate India, home to 17% of the world's population..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2496427.stm


Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[Art_from_Ark]

43. Well, this 1 billion figure for India is news to me

The last time I heard, its population was somewhere in the 700 millions :shrug:

[Posteritatis]

49. India topped a billion awhile ago (nt)

[babylonsister]

38. Old. nt

[devilgrrl]

41. That cartoon is several years old and was originally titled "The World According to Bush"

talk about rewriting history :mad:

[AwakeAtLast]

45. Ahhhh, that makes more sense

AND it's funnier!

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

42. Uninhabited reminds me of the South Park where Canada went on strike.

[Union Yes]

48. Funny as heck! Thanks for posting.

Too bad some have suppressed their sense of humor and can't see a joke for what it is.

I got a good laugh from it.

Just to add to the portrayal of good ole 'Murikan ignorance, may I suggest changing Antarctica from cold! to not melting.

:fistbump: