# What do you dislike the most about your own culture or country?



## KateNicole

I'm just curious as to what faults we see in ourselves compared to outsiders criticisms.  
Something that I don't like about the US is that we are often very impersonal and as a whole, I don't think we show a lot of interest in learning a foreign language or understanding a foreign culture.  (This obvious doesn't apply to those of us who are members of WR)


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## foxfirebrand

KateNicole said:
			
		

> (This obvious doesn't apply to those of us who are members of WR)


 Then who do you expect to contribute to this thread?

I try to dislike as little as possible about my fellow fallible travelers through life. Complacency and militant ignorance consist of most that I dislike-- and as for the premise of this thread, I can't see that these traits pertain to one nation more than another.

Furthermore, people who are willing to give a laundry list of "mea culpas" about their own people are generalizing in the worst way, implicitly exempting their own sorry selves-- and they are the very people whose willingness to generalize in that way betokens a tendency toward bigotry that might very well shine its unenlightening beam outward as inward. Such people will as easily find much to dislike about _other people's_ countries.  Especially as they age, and war clouds gather.
.


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## Grekh

I don't like that most of the people don't do anything to progress. In México it's very common to hear people complaining about their economical situation and politics, but most of us (mexicans) prefer not to do anything, we love to blame others for what happens to us. We complain of corruption...sadly many of us are corrupt, we complain of pollution and we're the first persons in not doing what environmental organizations recommend us to do.

Another thing I dislike is the image of the mexican around the world, I mean, many foreign people believes that in México we're all dressed like mariachis and that we're always drinking tequila, and I hate that because I'm not that way and the vast majority isn't either. So, please, people from abroad, don't picture a mexican as a guy wearing a huge hat, drinking tequila...We're a modern country! We dress the same way most of you do! There's a wide variety of people in México.


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## zena168

I hate that a large amount of women are still suppressed by the old chauvinist rules.  Every nonsense is legitimized just because so and so said it.  I tell people that’s BS and try to reason with them on logics.  Of course then they tell me I’m disrespectful of the culture’s heritage and history.  And why are those rules all written by males again?


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## MonsieurAquilone

Not to sound cynical, but, *a lot*.  I want to see the world and live my dream of beautiful Europe.  Not everywhere in Europe is beautiful but I still have the dream!


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## maxiogee

What I dislike about Ireland is that it is a bit smaller than I would like, and it is a bit more northerly than I would like.


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## Chazzwozzer

KateNicole said:
			
		

> I'm just curious as to what faults we see in ourselves compared to outsiders criticisms.



So you want me to criticize my culture and country. Do I dare?  Please see Orhan Pamuk and Elif Şafak


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## jazyk

I hate Brazilian lack of punctuality.  I am _extremely_ punctual, so what happens most of the times is I have an appointment at 7, I get there ten fifteen minutes earlier, then I have to wait until 7:15, 7:20, even 7:30 sometimes. It just gets on my nerves!


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## maxiogee

7:30 would be "on time" in Ireland!


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## Tsoman

I try to stay positive about the qualities of other countries and my own. But if I had to find something that I don't like about my country, it would be the ugliness of many buildings in suburban and rural areas, such as strip malls or housing developments. I think it would be nicer if they put more thought into aesthetics.

That said, there are many things I like about my country.


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## Pivra

Thai people, we like to say "never mind" for everything.


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## la reine victoria

"Dyed-in-the-wool" football fans who go *everywhere *dressed in the strip of their favourite footballer. Even baby boys are kitted out "just like Dad". They frequent Indian restaurants on a Friday or Saturday evening (still wearing the football outfit), demand chips instead of rice with their curry and smother their food with tomato ketchup or brown sauce. They also shout loudly to the waiter for "more lager" and end up thoroughly drunk.

This is not commonly seen on the Isle of Wight, where I live. The IOW is a very special place, completely different to the UK mainland. I really can't think of anything I dislike about it.  




LRV


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## KateNicole

Foxfire,
When I said  "I don't think we show a lot of interest in learning a foreign language or understanding a foreign culture. (This obvious doesn't apply to those of us who are members of WR)" I meant that the American participants of WR obviously are not those who are uninterested in foreign language and foreign culture, thus my criticism does not apply to them.  I wasn't saying that I didn't want WR members to respond to the question!


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## Tsoman

I always thought that americans _were_ interested in learning about other cultures. At least as much as everyone else in the world is...

"disinterested in foreign cultures" could apply to many individuals of many countries I think


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## Vanda

The_ laissez-faire_ and _God will fix it_ attitude. The politicians are among the most corrupt in the world, violence increases, so poverty, so unemployment, so the gap between those who have everything and those who have nothing, and above all impunity! People reaction: I can't do anything. If God wants it one day things will change. And so on. 
Time passes and things only get worse. I'd like my people to have the capacity of indignation (not only in words) and the attitude to fight the _status quo._


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## Kräuter_Fee

What I don't like in Spain (I am ready to hear Spaniards' critics), of course, these are generalizations, they don't apply to everyone:

1. Unpunctuality
2. In relation with work, Spaniards are lazy and not too responsible
3. Loud: Spanish people are loud, generally, when they argue they tend to yell and curse, as if being right had something to do with decibels.
4. I have the feeling Spaniards discriminate other cultures a lot, this is changing for better though.
5. Spanish people don't respect the environment as much as other countries do.

Now, throw rotten tomatoes on me


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## KateNicole

Kräuter_Fee said:
			
		

> 5. Spanish people don't respect the environment as much as other countries do.


At least you don't seem to litter much.  Other than the city of Madrid, I marveled at how spotless the streets of Spain were.


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## tvdxer

Tsoman said:
			
		

> I try to stay positive about the qualities of other countries and my own. But if I had to find something that I don't like about my country, it would be the ugliness of many buildings in suburban and rural areas, such as strip malls or housing developments. I think it would be nicer if they put more thought into aesthetics.
> 
> That said, there are many things I like about my country.



I agree.

I also don't like the "I want it NOWWW" attitude.


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## jimreilly

Why do I think this is such an odd question? Although I have visited other countries, my longest stay abroad has only been three months, many years ago; can I really judge what's unique about the problems of my country and culture? Probably not.

That said, what I dislike most is our current political situation, which may get even worse before it gets better, whatever hope there may or may not be in the next elections. That the current political situation seems to go hand-in-hand with general anti-intellectualism, religious unpleasantness, and rampant selfishness....

But while the forms these things take may be to some extent unique in the US, selfishness, religious fundamentalism, and anti-intellectualism are hardly unknown elsewhere....I think Foxfirebrand's attitude is to some extent healthy, as long as it doesn't mean keeping one's eyes shut to foolishness and harmful behavior.


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## maxiogee

jimreilly said:
			
		

> That the current political situation seems to go hand-in-hand with general anti-intellectualism, religious unpleasantness, and rampant selfishness....



I'm with you there. We have that rampant selfishness here too, and the others — but I wonder is it a consequence of, or a cause of, the other problems.

I see it as the L'Oreal attitude - *because I'm worth it*! The concept that there might be something more important than "me" seems to be alien to many people across the world nowadays. Society merits little respect, the nuclear family and the extended family are things of the past in many places and the idea that one might have a duty to the less fortunate in society seems to be risible. I like think that this must be a passing thing - one of those lurches society takes every now and again - and that society will recover, but the incessant march of consumerism seems to gainsay me.


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## curly

The thing i dislike about my and other cultures is that we complain so much about our politicians, it's so easy to put a number beside a name on a piece of paper and then berate that person for years saying everything is terrible(something i'm indignant that i can't do). When there are problem it's up to everyone to fix it. The simplest way to describe my point of view would be

HEY EVERYONE! GET OFF YOUR SOAPBOXES AND START CLEANING!


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## justjukka

Ironically, I greatly dislike it when the faults of my country are flippantly listed, especially in a joking manner.  That isn't to say that I have a narrow sense of humor, since many enjoy jokes aimed at their own country, but it aggrovates me when serious problems are blown off as 'typical American traits'.  Needless to say, I'm a bit of a patriot.


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## Suane

I don't like the unemployment rate in Slovakia and that everybody is complaining about it, so he(she) just leaves the country and does nothing about it. Then all the smartest people will leave and Slovakia will be the country with a lot of foreign hard-industry companies. That is connected with a lot of people always saying that everything Slovakian is worse than the things outside. 
Also I don't like the way teachers take their jobs. It is of course related with their low salaries, but still, they are often disrespectful to the  privacy of the student's grades and to the student, there is a lot of shouting and memorizing (a lot of unimportant things, but the whole system is to blame) involved.
I also dislike that the "gypsy question" somewhat seems to be unresolveable.
I don't like that the local producers of everything are crashed by the cheaper producers from abroad, so their whole work is just wasting the time. Also that we are changing a lot of good things just to fit the EU. Also that we have no animal shelter in lot of towns and there is almost no organ to control animal owners and to prevent abusing. Also corruption.

Sorry, I just realise that we are suppossed to write just the most annoying thing...


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## modus.irrealis

What I dislike most about Canadians is our constantly defining ourselves with respect to the US.

There's a general emphasis on making us feel better by pointing out where we're "superior" to Americans. We're supposedly nicer. We know what the capital of New York is, but they don't what the capital of Canada is. We say zed and not zee. Stuff like that.

Then there's the inferiority side. Canadian bands haven't "made it" until they're popular in the States. Canadian television, fiction, etc. is horrible compared to American. The constant desire for Americans to recognize hockey as a major sport. And so on.

There's other problems but this has to be what I dislike the most, this need to define ourselves in terms of what we are not.


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## KateNicole

modus.irrealis said:
			
		

> What I dislike most about Canadians is our constantly defining ourselves with respect to the US.
> 
> There's a general emphasis on making us feel better by pointing out where we're "superior" to Americans. We're supposedly nicer. We know what the capital of New York is, but they don't what the capital of Canada is. We say zed and not zee. Stuff like that.
> 
> Then there's the inferiority side. Canadian bands haven't "made it" until they're popular in the States. Canadian television, fiction, etc. is horrible compared to American. The constant desire for Americans to recognize hockey as a major sport. And so on.
> 
> There's other problems but this has to be what I dislike the most, this need to define ourselves in terms of what we are not.


That's so interesting! I've noticed a lot of people have a similar complex when it comes to America. I feel like we're the country people just love to hate sometimes.


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## Earth Dragon

People talk like idiots. They use the word “ain’t” 12 times a minute in their daily speech. They use 3 or 4 negatives in a normal sentence. Then the same people laugh at foreigners for having a “funny accent”.


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## .   1

The blessing and the curse of Australia is summed up in one of the most common phrases we use.

She'll be right mate.

.,,


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## modus.irrealis

KateNicole said:
			
		

> That's so interesting! I've noticed a lot of people have a similar complex when it comes to America. I feel like we're the country people just love to hate sometimes.


When I read that, I heard you say "interesting" like a psychatrist, and then you say "complex," I feel like I've just confessed to some kind of mass insanity. 

But on a serious note, if it sounded like I was describing hatred, that wasn't what I intended. It's not hatred at all, just the fact that the States is the reference point for most discussions.

I should also add that what I wrote is from an Ontario perspective (and you Americans better know where that is  ) about Ontario and the national media, so it might not apply to the other provinces and territories.


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## danielfranco

Let me take off my humongous mariachi hat and take a last pull of tequila...
Okay, I'm ready now:
The thing I hate the most about my culture is all those cheeky bastards that, even though they could have contributed to find solutions and to work hard to make Mexico a better place, instead decide to go away and escape to the USA because they like better paying jobs and easy credit and...

Oh, crap, that's me...


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## .   1

KateNicole said:
			
		

> That's so interesting! I've noticed a lot of people have a similar complex when it comes to America. I feel like we're the country people just love to hate sometimes.


It is nothing personal.
Your country is the tallest poppy that has ever existed.
You have a language that is sweeping the globe.
You have so many percieved advantages that some people do harbour hate for your country and the apparent ease of your life.
This is simply mathematics.
There is probably a psychobabble name for the process.
Many people live under great hardship and with utterly no security.  Television disgorges endless examples of how perfect U.S. America is and how wonderful are the citizens of that great land and how any problem in the world can be solved in 47 minutes at the barrel of a gun...if the gun is held by a U.S. American.
Yours is a wonderful land peopled by the same people who people the globe and in a world of uncertainty so many people do not hate your country.  They hate the fact that they can not be as successful as you are.

To be fair you must consider that the number of haters in this world is vanishingly small but haters give good copy and make wonderful images to sell things.
There is no profit in displaying the uncounted random acts of kindness perpetrated every moment of every day.  Happy people do not need to buy useless things to ease their guilt.
This WR thing is a perfect example as I believe that it has become a true reflection of who we are collectively.
It would be wonderful to take twenty random people from here and create a photo essay of their opinion on any given subject.
About 97% of the comment here is healing and positive and there is not much to dislike about the world of WR.

.,,
Sorry for veering a little off thread.


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## Honour

Here, i don't like the tendency of people towards arguing and discussion. Another point which i hate is that people aren't even a little bit enviroment conscious. People care about their home,cars etc. but they just throw away something out from their windows to keep their cars, homes clean! 
Yet another thing which has just come to my mind is that people fire their guns to air to express their joy, happiness during a marriage ceremony or after an important soccer match etc.
I have to indicate that this is not the case for all people, of course.


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## Seana

jazyk said:
			
		

> I hate Brazilian lack of punctuality. I am _extremely_ punctual, so what happens most of the times is I have an appointment at 7, I get there ten fifteen minutes earlier, then I have to wait until 7:15, 7:20, even 7:30 sometimes. It just gets on my nerves!





			
				maxiogee said:
			
		

> 7:30 would be "on time" in Ireland!


 

So I love Brasil and Ireland.  

Poles are too much proud, impractical, irrationally romantic, they are biting off more than they can chew, but above at all - unpunctual. 
Unfortunately I adore every our national fault.


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## maxiogee

Suane said:
			
		

> I don't like the unemployment rate in Slovakia and that everybody is complaining about it, so he(she) just leaves the country and does nothing about it. Then all the smartest people will leave and Slovakia will be the country with a lot of foreign hard-industry companies. That is connected with a lot of people always saying that everything Slovakian is worse than the things outside.



Suane, I would not worry about that.
We in Ireland had over a century of grinding poverty and dreadful emigration rates - whole villages in rural areas where the breadwinner was in a foreign country sending money home to support their family. At times we too worried that the brightest and best were leaving, but when our economic conditions were right we were ready and able to fully exploit the opportunities presented. We also had a dreadful self-image.
I am sure that Slovakia will replicate this too.
Slowly but surely Ireland is becoming a totally different country than the one into which I was born in 1950. (Whether this is a good thing or not is a wholly different question )


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## Sallyb36

I hate British smallmindedness, the way some of us tend to think that we are the centre of the universe, that we are the most important country in the world and that everyone else is weird because they are different to us!


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## maxiogee

Sallyb36 said:
			
		

> I hate British smallmindedness, the way some of us tend to think that we are the centre of the universe, that we are the most important country in the world and that everyone else is weird because they are different to us!



I imagine that this is a direct consequence of Empire.
The derogatory words 'pagan' and 'heathen' both derive from an attitude to 'the uncivilised' from an "us & them" mentality.
The powerful are the centre of the universe in many ways. They regularly don't concern themselves with the cares of the impotent, and see them as strange. Being powerful means that you don't see a need to come to an understanding of the weak.


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## Outsider

Hmm, interesting question, but I don't even know where to start...


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## stephyjh

maxiogee said:
			
		

> 7:30 would be "on time" in Ireland!


 
When God made time, he made plenty of it, right?  At least, that's what my Irish cousins used to say.

I don't like that so many Americans only have the slightest spark of loyalty to their country when it's in regards to the immigration issue. They don't respect our country, but they're not willing to share it, either.


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## Fernando

Well:

- Unpunctuality.

- Unpoliteness

- Disorder. "Chapuza" mentality. (Do the work, it does not matter how, it does not matter how many problems would arise in the future).

- Noise.

For the record, I am an Spaniard and I contribute to those flaws.


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## Krümelmonster

I hate about Germany that we see everything so extremely pessimistic, although our living conditions are quite nice...
The discussion about our past is nothing I want to start again with here 

But I really appreciate this thread, for it reminded me of how great it is to be surrounded by punctual and responsible environmentalists 
(All right, Spaniards, call us cabezas cuadradas again!)


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## Sallyb36

maxiogee said:
			
		

> I imagine that this is a direct consequence of Empire.
> The derogatory words 'pagan' and 'heathen' both derive from an attitude to 'the uncivilised' from an "us & them" mentality.
> The powerful are the centre of the universe in many ways. They regularly don't concern themselves with the cares of the impotent, and see them as strange. Being powerful means that you don't see a need to come to an understanding of the weak.



I agree Maxiogee, but we are no longer what we were, and should not still be living in the past, and crowing about past "glories"!  As a nation I think we need to learn to be a bit humble.


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## maxiogee

Sallyb36 said:
			
		

> I agree Maxiogee, but we are no longer what we were, and should not still be living in the past, and crowing about past "glories"!  As a nation I think we need to learn to be a bit humble.



But my point was that it takes time.
It is immensely difficult to shed old habits - especially national ones which get built-in into "the system" - the educational system in particular.
Be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath-water — Britain is still a great nation with much to teach a listening world. But, getting the message right is important.
(Good grief, who'd have thought an Irishman would have to tell a Briton that Britain is a place to be 'unhumble' about?)


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## maxiogee

Fernando said:
			
		

> - Noise.



Oh yes.
Who can one complain to about noise? No-one listens and no-one seems (at least in Ireland) to accept responsibility.
I'm not talking about noisy neighbours or loud car-horns - that stuff is part of life. What really irritates me is the incessant "background noise" of a modern city - the shrill and piercing sirens of ambulances and fire-engines seem to get louder and more shrill as I get older. They are something of a necessary evil, but I see police cars escorting visiting foreign dignitaries and they race through the traffic with flashing lights and sirens blaring, accompanied by motor-cycle outriders with matching sirens and lights. I asked a local police inspector why this was necessary, and whether there was a need for the sirens and got a 'thank you for your enquiry' response.
Then there are car- and house-alarms! What is the purpose of a burglar alarm on a car or house if, when they sound and one rings the police, they can do nothing about it.
Music from stores being played onto the street is another part of this Babel of noise of a modern city - I'd love to know what the impact of all this noise is on people - and how much the noise level has risen in my lifetime.

I realise that this makes me sound like a grouch - but who cares? Even grouches are right sometimes!


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## hohodicestu

Hi,

There are two major things that I hate from my country. The first one is "machismo" which is a strong or exaggerated sense of masculinity stressing attributes such as physical courage, virility, domination of women, and aggressiveness.  The second thing is the government's corruption; which cause poverty to the whole country.

Saludos


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## KateNicole

modus.irrealis said:
			
		

> When I read that, I heard you say "interesting" like a psychatrist, and then you say "complex," I feel like I've just confessed to some kind of mass insanity.
> 
> But on a serious note, if it sounded like I was describing hatred, that wasn't what I intended. It's not hatred at all, just the fact that the States is the reference point for most discussions.
> 
> I should also add that what I wrote is from an Ontario perspective (and you Americans better know where that is  ) about Ontario and the national media, so it might not apply to the other provinces and territories.


I didn't think you meant true hatred.  Sorry, I used the word too gratuitously.  I should have said that we're the country everyone loves to pick on.


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## Poetic Device

I think what gets to me the most about the United States is that I feel the country (or at least those who are in power) care more about other countries and not thier own.  The ones in power seem to be more obsessed with sending all of our troops and what not to other countries to help them out rather making sure that there is aide here.  I am not saying to totally ignore the rest of the world, but there are a lot of problems on our land as well.  If we cannot help ourselves how can we wxpect to be able to help someone else?

(Please correct me if I am thinking the wrong way.  This is something that I would love to be wrong with.)


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## KateNicole

As far as sending troops goes . . . the Iraq situation breaks my heart. So much bloodshed and so many unanswered questions. If I thought that we sent troops there to "help," it wouldn't bother me so much. I think it's hardly an uninterested "favor." If we're concerned about their wellbeing, why don't we bring the troops and their guns and grenades home, and drop care packages, soup mix, water, medicine and soap on them instead of bombs? Maybe we're helping them reorganize politically, but I think it's because someone at the top believes it's in _our_ best interest to do so. It's hard for me to view us going to war as an attempt to help _another_ country as opposed to ourselves..


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## Freyja

modus.irrealis said:
			
		

> What I dislike most about Canadians is our constantly defining ourselves with respect to the US.
> 
> There's a general emphasis on making us feel better by pointing out where we're "superior" to Americans. We're supposedly nicer. We know what the capital of New York is, but they don't what the capital of Canada is. We say zed and not zee. Stuff like that.
> 
> Then there's the inferiority side. Canadian bands haven't "made it" until they're popular in the States. Canadian television, fiction, etc. is horrible compared to American. The constant desire for Americans to recognize hockey as a major sport. And so on.
> 
> There's other problems but this has to be what I dislike the most, this need to define ourselves in terms of what we are not.


 
I don't find this happening as much where I live (the prairies), but I certainly know what you mean. I find that people here are quick to point out the ways we're different from the US in a proud way, but I haven't found as much superiority. I think it's much the same as Australia and New Zealand; like them, we're two different countries, but because we're geographically close, have similar accents, and similar cultures, we're worried about others lumping us together. That's understandable. I find that many people I know would rather people associate us with England than the US.

As far as what I dislike most about Canada... I don't know. We have many problems, but so does any country. The things that bother me most are human traits which are not specific to any country.


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## Poetic Device

> Originally Posted by *modus.irrealis*
> What I dislike most about Canadians is our constantly defining ourselves with respect to the US.
> 
> There's a general emphasis on making us feel better by pointing out where we're "superior" to Americans. We're supposedly nicer.


 
I don't know too much about the other things, but if you say that you are better than one place and thing and you constantly say that you are nicer and the whole nine, then isn't that a little contradicting?


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## KateNicole

Canadians being supposedly nicer is an example of the way in which certain people point out their superiority to Americans. It is an example of what the poster is saying he doesn't like. There's no contradiction.  
He's saying that Canadians should be able to just say "We're really, really nice people," instead of "We're nicer than Americans."


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## maxiogee

KateNicole said:
			
		

> He's saying that Canadians should be able to just say "We're really, really nice people," instead of "We're nicer than Americans."



Nah, he's saying that Canadians should be able to stop saying "We're really, really nice people, eh?"


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## Freyja

maxiogee said:
			
		

> Nah, he's saying that Canadians should be able to stop saying "We're really, really nice people, eh?"


 
Don't make me send you some poutine... I'l do it.   We'll see who's "nice" then.  That stuff will make your heart stop in 4 bites, eh.

I'm not sure where that whole "nice Canadian" thing came from, but I used to work for a large music festival and a large portion of our audience came from Minnesota.  In my dealings with them, I found them to be very nice and a lot of fun.


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## maxiogee

Freyja said:
			
		

> Don't make me send you some poutine... I'l do it.


Reference to Poutine nearly caused a forum I used to frequent to be closed! It almost came to blows. Nice to come across it again. 
I have met the beast and tasted of it. Stout hearts are needed!


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## KateNicole

Freyja said:
			
		

> Don't make me send you some poutine... I'l do it.  We'll see who's "nice" then. That stuff will make your heart stop in 4 bites, eh.
> 
> I'm not sure where that whole "nice Canadian" thing came from, but I used to work for a large music festival and a large portion of our audience came from Minnesota. In my dealings with them, I found them to be very nice and a lot of fun.


I'll second that.  I live in Wisconsin and always thought were so much nicer than us (sincerely).  Uh-oh--I'm doing it again!


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## Freyja

maxiogee said:
			
		

> Reference to Poutine nearly caused a forum I used to frequent to be closed! It almost came to blows. Nice to come across it again.
> I have met the beast and tasted of it. Stout hearts are needed!


 
Yeah, I remember.



KateNicole, 

I found Wisconsinites (?) to be very friendly. I have close friends from there.


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## modus.irrealis

KateNicole said:
			
		

> I didn't think you meant true hatred. Sorry, I used the word too gratuitously. I should have said that we're the country everyone loves to pick on.


No need to apologize. I just wanted to be as clear as possible. Canadians probably are "anti-American" but in a unique way, like younger brothers are anti-older brothers.



			
				Poetic Device said:
			
		

> I don't know too much about the other things, but if you say that you are better than one place and thing and you constantly say that you are nicer and the whole nine, then isn't that a little contradicting?


KateNicole already explained what I meant, but if you mean in general, Canadians don't go around saying "Yeah, but we're nicer than Americans" or anything. Although if we did, I guess eventually that wouldn't really be all that nice in the end (I think that's what you meant). It's just part of our cultural background, much like the American idea that "America is the country with the most freedom in the world." I'm not sure either statement really means anything, so it's pointless to ask whether either is true, but they're both just said.



			
				Freyja said:
			
		

> but because we're geographically close, have similar accents, and similar cultures, we're worried about others lumping us together. That's understandable. I find that many people I know would rather people associate us with England than the US.


Yeah, you're right about others confusing us and us wanting to distinguish ourselves. Maybe we're worried _we_ won't be able to figure out whether we're Canadian or American if we stop saying chesterfied . And that's interesting about England, since I don't think I've come across that sentiment a lot around here. Many people here, however, don't have roots in Britian so that's understandable I guess.

And actually about niceness, I can't say I've observed a difference either. When it comes to niceness, people are people, wherever they're from. I've had Americans tell me they find it weird that when two Canadians (even if they're Torontonians) bump into each other they'll both apologize no matter who's at fault, but that's probably just an automatic reflex and not a sign of some superior level of niceness.


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## Bonjules

I don't know. I've lived in a few very different places an I find that in the end people are not that different. Things that may shock you at first often really don't go tha deep... E.g. when I first came to the U.S., someone asked me at the ''Lucky's" checkout counter(Calif.) how I was feeling that particular day. I didn't know what to say, started to explain....I have since learned to take these things with a grain of salt.
 Local peculiarities are usually explained by locality/climate and and history. In terms of a 'Cultural discussion', it might be more interesting to learn how exactly local factors/history have lead to habits/customs that one might consider unusual.

 And to Maxiogee, who complained about being 'too northern'...
Not to worry! I understand that some enterprising Tree nurseries in Dublin
are negotiating the import of the 1st batch of Palm trees!
Now imagine that. Experiencing the charm of the Mediterranean right in the Irish Sea.
Saludos


----------



## Freyja

modus.irrealis said:
			
		

> Yeah, you're right about others confusing us and us wanting to distinguish ourselves. Maybe we're worried _we_ won't be able to figure out whether we're Canadian or American if we stop saying chesterfied .


 
I think the "My Name Is Joe" Molson's Canadian commercial sums up quite well how many Canadians feel about being seen as an extension of America.    I love that commercial.


----------



## Kräuter_Fee

Krümelmonster said:
			
		

> I hate about Germany that we see everything so extremely pessimistic, although our living conditions are quite nice...



I agree! When I was living in Germany I heard people complaining all the time, they were complaining about their _problems_ which in Spain were much worse.


----------



## djchak

I actually think out of all the places in Canada, I like Alberta the best. Sometimes that shocks other Canadains, but they seem to be much more laid back, and don't seems to have this "little baby sister" resentment. I's could be becuase it's one of the prettiest places in the world...just my opinion.


----------



## maxiogee

Freyja said:
			
		

> I think the "My Name Is Joe" Molson's Canadian commercial sums up quite well how many Canadians feel about being seen as an extension of America.    I love that commercial.


Any chance of aiming us towards a link. You can't post a link as a newbie but I'm sure you'll wwwork out a wwway around that


----------



## Freyja

I can't post a link?  So what happens if I just past the url?

wwwcoolcanuckaward.ca/joe_canadian.htm


----------



## maxiogee

Beautiful - but, did they show it 'down south'?


----------



## modus.irrealis

Freyja said:
			
		

> I think the "My Name Is Joe" Molson's Canadian commercial sums up quite well how many Canadians feel about being seen as an extension of America.    I love that commercial.



  

I have a love-hate relationship with that commercial. It's a great commercial, and it came out at just the right time it seems the way it swept the nation, but it's basically the perfect example of what I dislike.


----------



## Freyja

I don't think they showed it in the US.

I think the "best part of North America" part is a bit much and the only part of the commercial I don't like.  The rest of it is so true.  I had a friend whose daughter lived in Florida and was actually asked about living in an igloo and eating whale blubber.  I know it's a very small number of people who are that clued out about their neighbours (although Leno never seems to have trouble finding them for his "Jay Walking" segment), but it happens.


----------



## zena168

Poetic Device said:
			
		

> I think what gets to me the most about the United States is that I feel the country (or at least those who are in power) care more about other countries and not thier own. The ones in power seem to be more obsessed with sending all of our troops and what not to other countries to help them out rather making sure that there is aide here. I am not saying to totally ignore the rest of the world, but there are a lot of problems on our land as well. If we cannot help ourselves how can we wxpect to be able to help someone else?
> 
> (Please correct me if I am thinking the wrong way. This is something that I would love to be wrong with.)


 
Ummmm…… If you think U.S. is meddling with other countries for the interest of pure good then you’re obviously too naïve. It’s a global economy and the U.S. is definitely reaping benefits by having political control over other countries. It gives the U.S. domination over the whole global trade business. The amount of political control is closely tied to the ability to manipulating the trades. U.S. will never care about a place that has absolutely no value to them. I am a bicultural person and I hear news from both sides. I realized that you actually understand the whole fuss from a third person’s (country’s) point of view. I don’t know what the politicians are putting in their sleeves and nor do I know enough to explain the whole Iraq thing to you. But it is far from the truth that American news is willing to tell you. Like someone said before, if we really wanted to help them, we’d drop food packages not bombs.


----------



## tafanari

Freyja said:
			
		

> I think the "best part of North America" part is a bit much and the only part of the commercial I don't like.  The rest of it is so true.  I had a friend whose daughter lived in Florida and was actually asked about living in an igloo and eating whale blubber.  I know it's a very small number of people who are that clued out about their neighbours (although Leno never seems to have trouble finding them for his "Jay Walking" segment), but it happens.



Are you saying Canada is *not *part of the United States? Just kidding! I think that's one thing about my country that's relatively easy to fix. Some of my very smart friends in High School didn't even know that Albany was the capital of New York State! Nevermind the capital of Thailand!


----------



## Elibennet

I am from Argentina and I love living here. Anyway, what I hate is FOOTBALL. People talk football, they breathe football, they live, love, sweat football. And big business has made this a mental sickness. If you say you don´t like football they look at you as if you were saying that you like eating babies!
I could go on, but one is enough


----------



## Victoria32

Closed minds!!!!
Absolutely. (By which I mean NZers have their minds made up, (usually by the media) and then won't be swayed.)

All the whole little brother thing - they feel inferior (little spot at the bottom of the globe) and so a tendency to slavishly follow (linguistically and otherwise) the most powerful country, curently the USA. It makes me think of a junior employee fawning to the boss... Then there's the consequent "me too-ism"... the anthrax events in late 2001 are a very good example - I seriously heard that OBL had attacked the Eltham Taranaki Post office with anthrax - it turned out to be the dessicant that lines postie's bags! (Of course we know the anthrax was a domestic attack anyway, but that's irrelevant.)

Sport. So many New Zealanders, (especially the media) seem to think it's the only thing New Zealanders can do. Sometime in the last 5 years, a New Zealand scientist won a Nobel prize in Chemistry, and it was hardly reported at all, I think the media were just too gob-smacked that it wasn't rugby!


----------



## Heba

What I hate about us Egyptians is that:
1-we are unpunctual
2-we have a very quick temper. We can be easily provoked, especially when driving. We are always angry!
3-everybody believes that he or she is Mr. or Miss know-it-all, while others are ignorant.
4-we care about the cleanness of our houses and cars, but we do not care about the environment.


----------



## Outsider

One thing I don't like about us is that many people here do not value formal education. For politicians, it's either a "hot potato" issue, or an easy way to win votes by issuing demagogical legislation. For parents, school is just a place to drop off their children and keep them entertained while mom and dad are out working. For students, it's a bore and a joke. 
I've come to realise that there is a general trend in the Western world for education to be progressively dumbed down, but I think this is especially bad in Portugal, a small country with few resources which ought to know better.


----------



## Chazzwozzer

Freyja said:
			
		

> I can't post a link?  So what happens if I just past the url?
> 
> wwwcoolcanuckaward.ca/joe_canadian.htm



Perfect!
By the way, isn't it ironic that Molson Canadian merged with an American brewer last year?


----------



## ireney

Let's see:
Fixation about how noble and clever and whatnot our ancient ancestors where _especially_ since many people don't know why (that's one of the ones I don't share)

Leaving things for the last minute and then rushing up to finish things (this I share). Goverments are worse because at least in private level we end up doing as good a job as we would if we didn't laze around for ages and then busted our behinds at the end. 

Thinking that road signs are there for decoration and any rules about driving do not apply to us (hmmm I'm better than many but not perfect)

Caring about education less than we should


----------



## KateNicole

ireney said:
			
		

> Let's see:
> Fixation about how noble and clever and whatnot our ancient ancestors where _especially_ since many people don't know why (that's one of the ones I don't share)


I never noticed that in Greeks, but they made fun of that (very light-heartedly) in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."


----------



## ireney

KateNickole I didn't say that this is something everyone does! I also make fun of the "ancient Greeks did it all" and I definitely don't mean that there are many who believe what my uncle i.e. believes (Plato was an Alien, we had found out about DNA, invented helicopters etc).

True, I did see just an hour ago a magazine in a ciosk declaring that all Latin words are Greek but it's (thankfully) a very small minority that behaves like mr Portokalos in the movie (Kimono being Greek, heh!).

However, there are quite a few Greeks, enough to call it a trend, who are overtly proud of what our ancestors did and feel that we can now sit in their well earned laurels and feel somehow superior.

Anyway something that I do like about my country and our culture is that we do love making fun of ourselves


----------



## Fernando

ireney said:
			
		

> (Plato was an Alien, we had found out about DNA, invented helicopters etc).



As a matter of fact, Plato and Co. did the hard work. The rest was just trivial. They were nice and allowed the Anglosaxons to develop it.


----------



## dinio

Teenagers and even 20- and 30- somethings using the word LIKE between every other word.

It like drives me so crazy, oh my god! If my kid ends up talking like that, I'll like totally kill him!


----------



## gato2

Una cosa que no me gusta nada de España es la aficion de algunos hombres por el "piropo". Muchas veces es ofensivo y no es agradable que alguien que no conoces opine sobre lo que llevas o si le gusta o no tu cara o tu trasero .


----------



## unefemme1

Grekh said:
			
		

> many foreign people believes that in México we're all dressed like mariachis and that we're always drinking tequila, and I hate that because I'm not that way and the vast majority isn't either.We're a modern country! We dress the same way most of you do! There's a wide variety of people in México.


 
Yes, i must agree with you, some people know so little about foreign countries, and they only get their information from the media too. I don't know what people think of New Zealand in general, but I really think we're getting boring, meaning we have such large focus on sports and the maori culture, and not much else. My economics teacher once said that if we 'got lost' or fell off earth, no one would really notice. Maybe it's because we have such a small economy and small population in comparison to our land size.(4 million people!)
Furthermore, the other day I was talking to someone from Canada, and she was telling me about this festival she recently attended. I wished we had those things. We have Easter, and other usual holidays, but that's it really. Nothing to really celebrate our multicultural society or anything. It's sad because New Zealand is really a nice country to live in. I guess the best thing to say is all countries have their own faults, and sometimes we can't really do much about it


----------



## Victoria32

unefemme1 said:
			
		

> Yes, i must agree with you, some people know so little about foreign countries, and they only get their information from the media too. I don't know what people think of New Zealand in general, but I really think we're getting boring, meaning we have such large focus on sports and the maori culture, and not much else. My economics teacher once said that if we 'got lost' or fell off earth, no one would really notice. Maybe it's because we have such a small economy and small population in comparison to our land size.(4 million people!)
> Furthermore, the other day I was talking to someone from Canada, and she was telling me about this festival she recently attended. I wished we had those things. We have Easter, and other usual holidays, but that's it really. Nothing to really celebrate our multicultural society or anything. It's sad because New Zealand is really a nice country to live in. I guess the best thing to say is all countries have their own faults, and sometimes we can't really do much about it



I largely agree with you Unefemme1, about sport, but what city do you live in? In Auckland we have the Pasifika festival (just up the road from our home!) and our local libraries have displays for Diwali etc... NZ is not as monocultural as it was...


----------



## unefemme1

dinio said:
			
		

> Teenagers and even 20- and 30- somethings using the word LIKE between every other word.
> 
> It like drives me so crazy, oh my god! If my kid ends up talking like that, I'll like totally kill him!


 
Also, when I was still learning English (a while ago now) I remember being annoyed with people who used "like" repetitively. For some reason, I often linked that habit with American teens, I dont know why  (in particular, girls) I'm not saying Americans speak like that though. Maybe because there were some teen movies (eg the infamous American Pie series, Clueless) who often used that, so now all English speakers are starting to pick that habit up too...?? 

Nevertheless, learn to speak properly!!


----------



## KateNicole

I don't think Americans picked up the habit from movies like American Pie; rather I think they parody and mock us.  The overuse of "like" has existed for quite some time.


----------



## unefemme1

Victoria32 said:
			
		

> I largely agree with you Unefemme1, about sport, but what city do you live in? In Auckland we have the Pasifika festival (just up the road from our home!) and our local libraries have displays for Diwali etc... NZ is not as monocultural as it was...


 
I live in Auckland. Well, that's true. We do have the Pasifika festivals, and whatnot for other cultures. But compared to, say, Australia even. We don't have enough festivals and things like that here in Auckland. 
*sigh* maybe we're just not that into other cultures...


----------



## any_whither

Hello!

I mostly dislike the frustration feeling which generally dominates the Romanian culture/mentality. We strongly and proudly believe in our potential as a nation and a culture but 'we are unfortunately unable to surpass the terrible fate to which we have been unfairly convicted'. The consequences: the lack of initiative, ignorance and a constant annoying lamentation. Also, the need of always blaming something/somebody else for all our failings, which of course releases us from the responsability of our own decisions and acts. 

(we are nevertheless a very charming nation)


----------



## borhane

I am Algerien and I love my country more than any other thing in this world... but there are some black points in the behaviour of people & the administration that  seem shameful like bureaucracy adulteration & fraud (administration) ...laziness "tbergig" to fix others with your eye and tribalism"which is the opposite of professionalism"


----------



## coconutpalm

What I dislike most about my culture or country is its poverty. You may think I'm not being morally high to say this, but that's the word from my heart.
Poverty causes so many problems. Chinese people are no lazier, no dumber, no unfriendly than any other people, but some people in the northwestern region are still sharing a pair of trousers per family, many peasants can't afford the sky-high medical expenditure, many talented young people can't go to university or they feel inferior in the university simply because they are poor, while most of the students don't despise him/her at all, so many children are left with their grandparents in the country, while their parents have to go to the city to earn some sweat-soaked money. 
The situation is improving, but in the process, so many people are still suffering, or have to suffer due to the reform.


----------



## robbie_SWE

any_whither said:
			
		

> Hello!
> 
> I mostly dislike the frustration feeling which generally dominates the Romanian culture/mentality. We strongly and proudly believe in our potential as a nation and a culture but 'we are unfortunately unable to surpass the terrible fate to which we have been unfairly convicted'. The consequences: the lack of initiative, ignorance and a constant annoying lamentation. Also, the need of always blaming something/somebody else for all our failings, which of course releases us from the responsability of our own decisions and acts.
> 
> (we are nevertheless a very charming nation)


 

I completely agree Any_whither! I would also like to add that the trait that irritates me most about the Romanian culture, is the firm belief that everything is already decided for you before you're born. "Fate" and "destiny" are essential words in the Romanian culture. It annoys me very much! Romanians believe that God punishes them when bad things happen and that they can't control their own lives. During the floods of 2005 and 2006, most Romanians thought that they were cursed and that God was punishing them for being bad people. 

The only thing I have to say about that is: GROW UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN LIVES AND FATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

(I would like to quote something Any_whither said in her last post; "we are nevertheless a very charming nation"    )

 robbie


----------



## Victoria32

unefemme1 said:
			
		

> I live in Auckland. Well, that's true. We do have the Pasifika festivals, and whatnot for other cultures. But compared to, say, Australia even. We don't have enough festivals and things like that here in Auckland.
> *sigh* maybe we're just not that into other cultures...


You are right, sadly... My  boss in Australia has me researching fairs and festivities held there (on the internet, I get to surf for work, how lucky is that?) Also, the Australian office has people from a heap of cultures working there. 

I live within ear(pain) shot of Western Springs Speedway, I'd rather Pasifika was on as often!


----------



## sound shift

Some things I dislike about the UK:-

Erosion of democracy;
Lack of professionalism;
Complacency;
High prices;
Replacement of stoicism and the "stiff upper lip" with an attitude of "If I don't get my way right now I'm going to throw a tantrum";
Greyness and poor design of the built environment;
People saying they haven't got time when they have but can't be bothered.


----------



## Poetic Device

Is that a country or a child?  :-D


----------



## Blackleaf

maxiogee said:


> What I dislike about Ireland is that it is a bit smaller than I would like,


 
Well you can rejoin the United Kingdom if you like. Up until the 1920s, Britain was slightly larger than Italy when the whole of Ireland, rather than just Northern Ireland, was part of the UK.

Just persuade your fellow Irishmen to rejoin the Union and I'm sure we'll allow you.


----------



## Blackleaf

What I like about Britain is that we are a country that is a mini-European Union consisting of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) but, unlike the real EU, we are democratic and we are a Union that works properly. We are often an island of democracy surrounded by undemocratic regimes - when France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria etc go through revolution, major upheavals, wars and dictatorships, Britain just plods happily along with our Parliamentary Democracy (the oldest in the world) and free of upheaval and revolution. The other thing I like about Britain is that we often get to beat the French, Germans and Spanish in battles whenever they try to invade us.

The thing I hate about Britain is that the whole of our South Coast has a maritime border with France.


----------



## Blackleaf

> Spanish people don't respect the environment as much as other countries do.


 
You should walk down a British street at anytime and see how dirty they are.  We probably have the dirtiest streets in Europe - but it still doesn't seem to bother anyone.  A recent report has shown that British rats are growing bigger, becoming "Super Rats".  And there are now 60 million rats in Britain - one rat per person.

Also, try walking down a British street on a Friday or Saturday night and just witness the many drunks fighting with each other and vomiting in the roads.  Britain's streets are probably more dirty, dangerous and depraved than they were even in the 18th Century at the height of the Gin Craze.


----------



## Blackleaf

Sallyb36 said:


> I hate British smallmindedness, the way some of us tend to think that we are the centre of the universe,


 
We're not the centre of the Universe.  That's just stupid.

Although we are the centre of the world.

I don't trust foreigners.  In fact, I don't even see why there has to be other countries and an abroad.  

The only useful purpose that "abroad" serves me is when I want to go there on holiday and even then I've only ever been on a proper foreign holiday only once.


----------



## Poetic Device

Blackleaf said:


> We're not the centre of the Universe. That's just stupid.
> 
> Although we are the centre of the world.
> 
> I don't trust foreigners. In fact, I don't even see why there has to be other countries and an abroad.
> 
> The only useful purpose that "abroad" serves me is when I want to go there on holiday and even then I've only ever been on a proper foreign holiday only once.


 
Well, isn't that a perfect example of close-mindedness.

How on earth do you figure that you are the centre of the world?  Please explain that to me.  There is NO centre of the world.

I do, however, understand why you are saying that you don't trust foreigners.  To an extent, I agree with you, however that does not mean that just because Alice is a native to your country that means that you can trust her.


----------



## don maico

Blackleaf said:


> We're not the centre of the Universe.  That's just stupid.
> 
> Although we are the centre of the world.
> 
> I don't trust foreigners.  In fact, I don't even see why there has to be other countries and an abroad.
> 
> The only useful purpose that "abroad" serves me is when I want to go there on holiday and even then I've only ever been on a proper foreign holiday only once.


I hope that is meant as a joke for its one of the very things I dislike about certainly southern England where i live - the aloofness, snobbery,arrogance pomposity and the lack of charm, warmth and evident disteste for all things foreign. Being half foreign myself i feel well inclined to comment on it.Soootherners are proper unfriendly at times.
 I dont much care for the overated stiff upper lip. A bit of emotional honesty wouldnt go amiss


----------



## don maico

Poetic Device said:


> Well, isn't that a perfect example of close-mindedness.
> 
> How on earth do you figure that you are the centre of the world?  Please explain that to me.  There is NO centre of the world.
> 
> I do, however, understand why you are saying that you don't trust foreigners.  To an extent, I agree with you, however that does not mean that just because Alice is a native to your country that means that you can trust her.



i think there is touch of irony there, Poetic dance, at least i hope so but I am afraid he does articulate the sentiments of some  fellow Brits. Here is a famous song which best expresses these sentiments although in this case, again, its irony
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiTHENGLSH.html

yes i have just read some of his other posts and he is definitely trying to wind people up. Dont fall in the trap of being offended as that is not his real intention


----------



## Poetic Device

> The English are moral the English are good
> And clever and modest and misunderstood


 
With a verse like that it's hard to understand why they are "misunderstood".  lol


----------



## Hakro

Finland is a fine country except for three things that I dislike: the climate, the people and the geographical situation.


----------



## don maico

Poetic Device said:


> With a verse like that it's hard to understand why they are "misunderstood".  lol



precisely!


----------



## don maico

Hakro said:


> Finland is a fine country except for three things that I dislike: the climate, the people and the geographical situation.



why? only thing wrong as far as I can see is they butchered tango


----------



## Hakro

don maico said:


> why? only thing wrong as far as I can see is they butchered tango


I couldn't care less about butchering tango, but it's only one thing the Finns have done wrong.
The weather: Helsinki in November is the asshole of the world, as an Englisman said.
The geographical situation: Think about living for centuries in the neighbourhood of Russia, with a thousand kilometres of common border.


----------



## badgrammar

What I don't like about the U.S. : 

1. The "Island Mentality" - Because the U.S is so big, you never have to leave it.  You don't have to deal with other countries or speak any other language than English to get by.  A great deal of Americans have never left the U.S., as it is so vast (and beautiful), you can easily spend a lifetime of vacations discovering it.  So when you never leave your island, then whatever happens in the rest of the world...  well it's almost like it's another universe.  world events are like theoretical events affecting  theoretical populations. And everyone is fed by one or two main media sources, so the information Americans recieve is quite select - and is often full of manipulated mis-information. We suffer from a mass-detachment from the rest of the world. 

2.  The eating habits are atrocious, as a whole.  People constantly eat at chain restaurants instead of cooking.  There are no hours for meals.  You can eat a burger at 7 am or 4:30 in the afternon as a snack and nobody thinks it odd.    

3.  The quantity of fire-arms and especially, of people handling them.

4.  The dependance on oil.  In 3 weeks in Texas, I used more gas getting around than I use in a year in France.  The cars are oversized and gas-guzzling, and those kind people who drive a small car risk their lives doing so, because one of those hummers or huge pickups could squash them flat in the time it takes to turn the dvd player in the back of the SUV on to keep the kids happy.

Of course, there are many people to whom these gross generalizations do not apply, and some of the people to whom they do apply are my own friends and relatives, whom I love dearly.  But they are beyond stereotypes, I would venture to claim that there's a lot of reality in them.


----------



## Cnaeius

Blackleaf said:


> What I like about Britain is that we are a country that is a mini-European Union consisting of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) but, unlike the real EU, we are democratic and we are a Union that works properly. We are often an island of democracy surrounded by undemocratic regimes - when France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria etc go through revolution, major upheavals, wars and dictatorships, Britain just plods happily along with our Parliamentary Democracy (the oldest in the world) and free of upheaval and revolution. The other thing I like about Britain is that we often get to beat the French, Germans and Spanish in battles whenever they try to invade us. (*and* *Romans also..*)
> 
> The thing I hate about Britain is that the whole of our South Coast has a maritime border with France.


 
The question was what you *dis*like, not what you like..  
Ciao


----------



## Alxmrphi

I dislike Britain's mentality for accepting Invasion of privacy and infringement of moral and logical human rights, I dislike the way people don't question it, they let it happen, they don't *care* about it. (The general public, of course, there are some great figures that battle it)


----------



## Sallyb36

Originally Posted by Blackleaf  
We're not the centre of the Universe. That's just stupid.

Although we are the centre of the world.

I don't trust foreigners. In fact, I don't even see why there has to be other countries and an abroad. 

The only useful purpose that "abroad" serves me is when I want to go there on holiday and even then I've only ever been on a proper foreign holiday only once.

This is a prime example of what I hate about this country!!  I think it might not be meant seriously!! At least I hope not. Anyway, thanks for showing such a good example of what I hate Blackleaf.


----------



## diseña

I think Blackleaf's comments were at least slightly tongue-in-cheek (at least I hope so, lol).


----------



## don maico

Hakro said:


> I couldn't care less about butchering tango, but it's only one thing the Finns have done wrong.
> The weather: Helsinki in November is the asshole of the world, as an Englisman said.
> The geographical situation: Think about living for centuries in the neighbourhood of Russia, with a thousand kilometres of common border.


you can hardly blame Finns for the weather or having Russia for a neighbour


----------



## don maico

diseña said:


> I think Blackleaf's comments were at least slightly tongue-in-cheek (at least I hope so, lol).


i know we breed some bigots like that but they wouldnt survive five minutes in a forum like this. Its toungue in cheek alright


----------



## Hakro

don maico said:


> you can hardly blame Finns for the weather or Russia for a neighbour


Of course I can. Why the hell did our ancestors choose a place like this!


----------



## distille

Some french behaviours I dislike:
- the belief we're the only one able to make good wine; however this is changing since the market is more open and we can find good and affordable foreign bottles. French people tend to be over-proud of their culinary reputation.
- many french people have a dog at home, which is all right with me...but it seems that many dog owners think the streets is the appropriate place for a dog to piss and s***t...This is getting on my nerve basically everyday, the streets are awfully dirty and in summer the odour is disgusting
- the incapacity of our political and trade union leaders to seat at a table and try to choose the best option together, they show a dramatic lack of consensus building capacity

but on the whole, living in france is quite nice, as long as you don't mind engaging in endless political or food talks!


----------



## don maico

Hakro said:


> Of course I can. Why the hell did our ancestors choose a place like this!



they probably had very good reasons. The world was very different hundreds of years ago. Anyway I've told that Finns are very nice people so there


----------



## don maico

distille said:


> Some french behaviours I dislike:
> - the belief we're the only one able to make good wine; however this is changing since the market is more open and we can find good and affordable foreign bottles. French people tend to be over-proud of their culinary reputation.
> - many french people have a dog at home, which is all right with me...but it seems that many dog owners think the streets is the appropriate place for a dog to piss and s***t...This is getting on my nerve basically everyday, the streets are awfully dirty and in summer the odour is disgusting
> - the incapacity of our political and trade union leaders to seat at a table and try to choose the best option together, they show a dramatic lack of consensus building capacity
> 
> but on the whole, living in france is quite nice, as long as you don't mind engaging in endless political or food talks!



i wouldnt mind living there., part of the time anyway.Cant think of anything be tter than food talk


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## Poetic Device

At least from what I understand most of the talk amongst the French is sophisticated. Most Americans have the I.Q. of a rock (wait, I apologize to the rocks.  )


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## PedroAznar

Ireland:

- The weather is dire

- A surprisingly large number of idiots are bigoted against immigrants, which is kind of ironic considering our history

- Public transport is generally crap

- Dublin dosen't have one decent skyscraper, not one!

- Many people here persist in believing Irish is still our national language when, in reality, it is almost dead.

- The amount of poor and homeless people on the streets is criminal in this day in age.

Other than that it's alright really


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## don maico

Ever increasing selfishness.The "I am alright Jack sod the rest of them" or "Its a dog eat dog world"attitude that seems to prevail. Nothing symbolises this attitude more to me than the SUV vehicle - the single most repellant car on the road. Dangerous to pedestrians (children especially) gas guzzling to the extreme its owners drive them purely to show off without a care about anyone else or the environment. Strangely it seems to be women who mostly drive these testosterone filled vehicles which leads one to wonder whether its penis envy that compels them to do so. When I think of Margeret Thatchers infamous comment about there being no such things as society I think of the SUV and the crass selfishness which is so evident today ;a time when no one wants to do more than they absolutely have to even to help someone else,when the elderly are considered a nuisance and sent packing to spend their last days in a home ignored and unloved. A time when acquisitiveness youth , beauty and the cult of the personality are everything and age is to feared even depised .
We need to adopt new values which embrace the concept of community , fairness and compassion, of interdependance, of being part of the greater whole and to a realisation that whatever action we take and whatever thoughts we have impact on others and ,in turn, affect us.As for cars - small IS beautiful fuel economy is a must and wherever possible use a bike walk or take public transport


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## Sallyb36

don maico said:


> Ever increasing selfishness.The "I am alright Jack sod the rest of them" or "Its a dog eat dog world"attitude that seems to prevail. Nothing symbolises this attitude more to me than the SUV vehicle - the single most repellant car on the road. Dangerous to pedestrians (children especially) gas guzzling to the extreme its owners drive them purely to show off without a care about anyone else or the environment. Strangely it seems to be women who mostly drive these testosterone filled vehicles which leads one to wonder whether its penis envy that compels them to do so. When I think of Margeret Thatchers infamous comment about there being no such things as society I think of the SUV and the crass selfishness which is so evident today ;a time when no one wants to do more than they absolutely have to even to help someone else,when the elderly are considered a nuisance and sent packing to spend their last days in a home ignored and unloved. A time when acquisitiveness youth , beauty and the cult of the personality are everything and age is to feared even depised .
> *We need to adopt new values which embrace the concept of community , fairness and compassion, of interdependance, of being part of the greater whole and to a realisation that whatever action we take and whatever thoughts we have impact on others and ,in turn, affect us.As for cars - small IS beautiful fuel economy is a must and wherever possible use a bike walk or take public transport*




Beautiful!!  We certainly do!


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## Ro-Ro

Argentinians, we have lots of faults... And we can go on and on about them. But when someone points them out to us, it's like we forget all about them: we get mad at that person, and defend our contry to the last consequence!
We are a big irony....


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## don maico

Ro-Ro said:


> Argentinians, we have lots of faults... And we can go on and on about them. But when someone points them out to us, it's like we forget all about them: we get mad at that person, and defend our contry to the last consequence!
> We are a big irony....


no one likes to be criticised and in this case its a question of national pride




Tbh I'd rather look at the positives and may be draw a wish list.Personally i am 60- 70% happy with the coutry I live in and I certyainly wouldnt want to live anywhere else becasue the positives far outweigh the negatives.Generally Brits are fairly polite, tolerant with a good sense of humour and reasonably honest tour politicians, despite the flac they receive, are amongst the least corrupot in the world with a genuine desire to serve their country. They get alot of criticism but much of it is unwarrented .
We have lot to be grateful for but seldom do so prefering to focus on negatives. Mosty of my negative comments are not based on personal experiences ( some are mind) but on what I read , see and listen. Most people I come across on a daily basis are ok and some are veru kind and considerate. Maybe we should as a people acknowledge our strengths and learn to praise those who do right . Maybe we should set about improving those areas that need it rather than sitting like dogs on a thorny bush moaning.
My wish list:
A) people to smile more instead of aloofly walking by ,to be more kindly disposed to others instead of seeing that as a weakness
b) when I was in New york I spoke to many strangers; people I would never see again. Somehow that doesnt seem possible in London and I ask why?
c)I want us to be less xenophobic and be prepared to learn from others in all walks so life that is . To some extent that already happens as more and more of us travel abroad.For eg  we have adopted a new culinary traditon called fusion cooking which is basically a mix of traditions from different parts of the globe.
c) i want us to respect foreign lands and their people more- it is to our eternal shame that we breed a type of animal( the football hooligan) who sees fit to throw plastic chairs cans and beer bottles at any one who is not English. A favourite target is the German. Others are  holiday makers who view the Meditarranean as a playground to get drunk ,vomit, fornicate in public places and generally behave in manner which brings our nation to shame.
d) "when in Rome do as Romans do" ie when we move abroad the least we should do is learn the language, then adopt some of their ways maybe eat some of their food and integrate more.
e) above all I want us to have an open mind


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## Imbranato

don maico said:


> Ever increasing selfishness.The "I am alright Jack sod the rest of them" or "Its a dog eat dog world"attitude that seems to prevail. Nothing symbolises this attitude more to me than the SUV vehicle - the single most repellant car on the road. Dangerous to pedestrians (children especially) gas guzzling to the extreme its owners drive them purely to show off without a care about anyone else or the environment. Strangely it seems to be women who mostly drive these testosterone filled vehicles which leads one to wonder whether its penis envy that compels them to do so. When I think of Margeret Thatchers infamous comment about there being no such things as society I think of the SUV and the crass selfishness which is so evident today ;a time when no one wants to do more than they absolutely have to even to help someone else,when the elderly are considered a nuisance and sent packing to spend their last days in a home ignored and unloved. A time when acquisitiveness youth , beauty and the cult of the personality are everything and age is to feared even depised .
> We need to adopt new values which embrace the concept of community , fairness and compassion, of interdependance, of being part of the greater whole and to a realisation that whatever action we take and whatever thoughts we have impact on others and ,in turn, affect us.As for cars - small IS beautiful fuel economy is a must and wherever possible use a bike walk or take public transport


 
Hey don, have you ever been to the united states? Be good in this life or you'll end up reincarnated and born in los angeles. I'm not attempting a joke here either... 
Approximately 19 out of 20 times you see an SUV on the road(morning, noon or night) it's empty save for the driver(and if there is any spot on this planet with more SUV's crammed into one city, I'd like to know about it, just out of curiousity and so I can avoid it). I live near the 405/101 freeway interchange, frequently the winner of the most heavily traffic congested part of the entire nation. I'll let someone else that's lived through that commute to describe it... 
Also, if something is more than 4-5 city blocks walking distance... forget about it, you "ain't" walking. Go back in the car. Except for places on the east coast, America is definitely not a "foot-culture". I dislike it that we're _obsessed_ with "driving". We'll drive for no reason, for a long time, anywhere.
Hey, we are the slimmest most physically and mentally fit people on the planet, aren't we?... 

Elderly here considered a nuisance? Nope. Not at all. They're just not considered. Or respected. *Mind you this IS a generalization but an honest one. The number of elderly here that I see everywhere I go are for the most part always alone, it doesn't look good(where are their grandchildren?), and for the rare occurrence that I see one smiling and with family/friends, it makes me feel good. Los Angeles in particular and for that matter the general culture here in America is... *ahem* ...not ideally where one would want to spend their "golden years". You can live here in the same residence for over a decade and never go further than saying hi, hello or good morning with your own neighbors. On the east coast it's much different but anyone who's lived here or anywhere on the west coast (esp. california) can attest to this.

It's interesting to me that for the past few years, more and more immigrants here tell me that we don't know how to do anything but "work", that we don't know how to live. That the vast majority of our consciousness, mentality, sensibilities and time is all about "work". Making money. Career. It's true. I admit it. Guilty. The great "American Dream"   However, at least I can comfort myself by knowing it was mostly out of ignorance of this world and not greed that I walked into this rat-trap. Yeah, we watch the news about your countries your cultures and we have _knowledge _of you and it. But we are _ignorant. _Our _knowledge_ does not equal reality or understanding. We sit at a stupid Starbucks so many nights after work and talk about you guys while sipping on ridiculously over-priced awful coffee served in a cardboard cup. Yeah, we talk about *you.* All of you outside our country. Our opinions of you, what we think you're like, why this and why that, where we'd like to visit, where we wouldn't like to visit... and we are something worse than arrogant. We are not arrogant, we don't care enough to be. It's worse. We have _knowledge of you,_ we get plenty of it off the t.v., magazines and newspapers, etc... We talk to ourselves like we know but we are so stupid and blind to the people and cultures living on different continents, you will not believe it until you hear it for yourself. Get one thing straight... If you're american, odds are you are _ignorant._

Oh yeah.. we watch too much t.v. Way too much, it's scary. I'd provide you with a statistic or two about that but I won't. Why? Because it embarrasses me. It's God awful shameful, what we watch and how much of it. 

Another thing I dislike? Our youth here are growing up like indoor pets. This scares me too. Sitting down with a blank expression, eyes and brain fixated on a small space with thumbs twiddling for hours and eventually _years_... what is this doing for the _character and personality_ of our next generation? They're not going to have _any. _They now live in a video game culture. I remember when I was a kid. I socialized and played outside with friends. That's how we all were no matter what city I lived in. It was great. The graphics were sooo realistic. 

You know what? The city I live in is ugly. For God sakes, I'm not expecting Rome here but come on... I realize that we can't just snap our fingers and change the general look, flavor and architecture of homes and city blocks but at least create one decent city square or some kind of grand fountain that we can be proud of and enjoy. We have no "great" history here, ok, so what? At least make all new housing developments "look" like neighborhoods, not warehouse-after-warehouse. How is it that a major american city like this can look so uninspired, so unattractive for so long? Because in this culture, on the whole, we just don't care and appreciate for grander things of beauty like, say, our european counterparts. You guys have Paris, Rome, Venice, London, Naples, Ireland, Scotland, the Nordic countries, Germany, culture... etc... let me know if I forgot you...

Oh yeah, we do have a city square. It's "la piazza san Universal Studios". 

Yes, I am kind of focusing on Los Angeles but if we're discussing what we dislike in our own culture, then in the U.S. you have to be specific. I lived in many cities here, each one for at least 1 1/2 to 2 years. Each one had a completely different ethnic and cultural make-up. Completely and it made it's "culture", it's "atmosphere" different. To compare New York to Houston to Miami to Sacramento to Washington D.C. to San Francisco to Los Angeles is to compare apples to oranges to bananas to kiwi to pineapples to cantaloupe. The only thing they have in common is that they're rotten. Except Sacramento, that was actually a decent place to live, even great when compared to other major cities. 

What do I like about this place? Ironically, it's the opportunity to "work" here. You don't even need to speak but a handful of english to find a job here, even a good paying one. Please, nobody argue that point with me, I've witnessed it countless times, everywhere, it just takes a little gumption and perseverance. You can come from another country, into the U.S. and just start "working" and put a roof over your head. I highly respect and appreciate this country for just that reason alone. I admire it. And if you're considered a minority, you can and will recieve free money for higher education. There is legislation in the works that, if passed, will even allow _illegal immigrants_ to receive grants and scholarships for universities. Lol.

Is success(American) a good life? Several months ago I read an online article about the positive/negative concerning the "American Dream" and how that the majority of us who aspire to it never "get it". At one point it compared Americans to Italians and their way of life. A survey was conducted asking the question (forgive me, I don't remember the exact wording of the question) "What do you want most out of life?" A common response of americans was, "success". The italians simply answered, "a good life". *This just kind of sums up what I dislike about our culture.* I've been thinking about this, in secret, for months, everyday. I want to quit my job and go work at McDonald's. I'm serious enough to be almost scared about it, lmao. I'm becoming Kevin Spacey's character from "American Beauty". Remember the scene when he was asked what position he wanted at a fastfood joint and was told that management was already filled? ---"_I want the job with the least amount of responsibility." _

Nobody knows that I feel like this. I've never complained to anyone about this. Thanks for asking this question, I need to know what airing this out feels like.

But I think I'll just leave this country when I'm ready.

p.s. be good don maico, otherwise you'll wind up here in the afterlife.


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## Elibennet

Hakro said:


> Finland is a fine country except for three things that I dislike: the climate, the people and the geographical situation.


 
And so, what is it that you like?


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## Elibennet

Ro-Ro said:


> Argentinians, we have lots of faults... And we can go on and on about them. But when someone points them out to us, it's like we forget all about them: we get mad at that person, and defend our contry to the last consequence!
> We are a big irony....


You´re right, I had never thought about it. What I feel is that we have the greatest inferiority complex in the world.


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## Pivra

KateNicole said:


> Canadians being supposedly nicer is an example of the way in which certain people point out their superiority to Americans. It is an example of what the poster is saying he doesn't like. There's no contradiction.
> He's saying that Canadians should be able to just say "We're really, really nice people," instead of "We're nicer than Americans."


 
 I live in St. Albert, a predominantly rich, white town just north of Edmonton and I find that lots of students in my school are assholes, and when I was in Berkley(yes, Berkley CA) people are nicer and not as ignorant. But in Edmonton, people are REALLY nice, they are more understanding and more "amiable". So, it is biased to say that Canadians are nicer than Americans in general. And hey, KateNicole, you know what? The teacher tought us that Canadians are nicer than Americans in our Social Study class too lol. During my first year in Canada (like, last year) in our Social Study class I had to write out the differences between the two countries and I couldn't. What I wrote is: 

Americans have Carlos Mencia TV show...(Dios Mio, I love his show lol)
Canadians, in general don't know who he is. lol  

America has Jessica Alba
Canada has Pam Anderson
lol


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## don maico

Imbranato

Thanks for the post. Must admit I find it difficult to comment about your country having never lived there but I have visited it twice ,  New York and Pennsylvania ,and my wife six timers and I can honestly say we've enjoyed every experience we had there( except the line at the Empire state buliding or being refused a table at a restaurant in Grand CENTRAL stn - we were told that at 21.30 we were too late ) .Maybe its a case 
of the grass being greener or going out there with a positive attitude but on the whole it was good - Central park, Soho, Greenwhich village and the tall tall buildings near the harbour. Its funny but so many here when they think of the US the first place that comes to mind seems to be NY. Maybe it because the sense of humour is similar to ours - ironic, dry & cynical. Another thing, there wasnt day when someone didnt talk to us -waiters, cab drivers or a stranger at an airport. When we looked lost there was always someone to lend a hand. Maybe the tragedy that was 9/11 changed peoples attitudes- dont know!
Penn was altogether different ie far more conservative. One guy approached me ,in a brewery called Yuengling which is the USA's oldest, and thanked me for the UKs support.I flet touched but  didnt know what to say except that what happend " was bloody awful" whereupon he lurched back suddenly like I'd given him a righthander . Bloody coming from, "by our lady",is a swear word but its very commonly used here and no one takes offence.This guy did ,apparently!Cultural difference I guess. 
Anyway going back to your post I was struck by the similarities btween the US and the UK. The car culture for starters. You seee I have a wee problem here. I know you guys love very large cars and I, for one, believe that one day they will have to become a lot smaller and faaar more fuel efficient. Nevertheless you live in a country which is massive compared to ours.I am thinking that in order to get around some of your  states you need something robust and reliable.My only question would be do you guys really need Winnibagos or Hummers ?
Our poxy little country would fit in most of your states with loads of room to spare the exceptions being possibly Vermont and Delaware  And yet we have 60.000.000 people living here. Most live down here in the S.E near London. Scotland has 5.000.000, Wales 3000000. You can see that we are pretty overcrowded and yet they build more houses and more roads so we end up with a concrete Nirvana -not! 
Like LA many of our towns were filled with ugly concrete buildings during the sixties which were cheap to make and fulfilled a requirement. They should be razed to the ground to make way for the more modern ones which on the whole are much better. London now boasts some fairly impressive pieces of architecture( although too many of the ugly ones still remain).
The elderly here are also similarly neglected( not so in Meditarranean countries where they seem to be venerated). They get to an age and they get shunted BY THEIR FAMILES to live in  old peoples homes many of which are a disrgrace. They are also ignored because they are old and of no possible interest. Personally I find mysef drawn to them becaue I think they may have some wisdom or at the very least they can tell me tales from their past.Sadly  we live in a "youth , beauty glamour and fame is everything" country .The saps dont seem to realise they will also be old one day - if they survive!One way round it is by ensuring all our young kids spend time with the old timers. 
Yeah I go with the "our youth here are growing up like indoor pets." watching too much tv hanging out in street corners , gangs of "yoofs" causing a bit of "bovver" We have a name for them - Chavs. Check this website nad you'll get the drift  http://www.chavscum.co.uk/ . Check the celebrity link and oyu'll see Britney Speares and Christain Aguilera as honorary Chavettes.
Now for some differences. For an increasing number success seems to mean a lot, well at least celebrity success which might explain the popularity of Big Brother and Pop Idol/ X factor.  For most of us, though, work is a means to an end and we do what we have to to pay the bills, but a few luxuries but thats it. Leisure time is very important.
Gun culture. sorry but we cannot understand the desire to own a gun and shoot things.There have been too m any massacres.
Penal system. There is a correction centre in Indiana think, where there is an inmate serving 40 years in solitary confinement( no daylight except for one hour a day) for armed robbery- the guy was 14 when he was part of a gang. Man thats too harsh!Others suffer mental illness and should be in an asylum not a prison. For many doing 30 to 40 years there is no chance of redemption. Why, I ask , do so many people thirst for revenge in the harshest terms?And what good does it bring?
Sorry but we have so much US culture and news here that we feel inclined to comment at times which means I have completely contradicted my first line   . Anyway enough of that
Your comments about major Euro cities. Yup they are astonishingly beautiful but they were built over many years at a time when the continent was very rich and labour ( or slaves) very cheap. The countryside, btw, i s also astonishingly beautiful.
bTW I wont consider it a punishment should I be reborn in US. I would make it a personal crusade to teach as many Americans as possible that there is a world outside their borders that is well worth visiting But pleeeease go with an open mind.
Cheers!


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## Mei

Hi all there,

The fanaticism. It is not something that hate but it scares me in any country, it can be so dangerous.

I can't think about anything else right now.

Cheers

Mei


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## Poetic Device

Another thing that I abhore about my country:  everyone is generic.  no one wants to stand out anymore....    :-(


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## ireney

Have I said that I hate the Greek bureaucracy? I don't think so but even if I did it deserves to be said again: I hate the Greek bureaucracy! (things are marginally better than some 10 years ago but this monster is still alive and kicking).

I also hate that, for bureaucratic reasons, I have to go through a psychiatric evaluation by a shrink employed by the state (i.e. in a public hospital) only I can't get an appointment till next month and by then I will probably have developed a compulsion to murder any state employed shrink.
I also hate that, for bureaucratic reasons, I had to do a neurological exam. After having an appointment with the state employed neurologist at 10 and having to wait till 11 I went in. The following is the examination:

N: Have you ever fractured any bones?
Me: No
N: Have you ever had a surgery?
Me: No
N: Have you ever fainted?
Me: No.
N: Right! You have no neurological problem! I'll sign you a paper saying so.


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