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Do you have a dark image/perception of USA?

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Trump being elected president was a mindfuck, I'll say that. I still have moments where I pause and realize Donald Trump is president of the country. I'd imagine those will continue until he's out.

Overall though, no. I don't have a dark perception of my country. When you live here and experience the day to day, it's far different from "the way things are" as portrayed in the media.

But there's clearly a lot of things that need fixing, and I think visibility (though it can be painful and embarrassing) is necessary if we're ever going to fix them.
 
What is wrong with all of you? Haha so much utter nonsense being spewed in this thread. Based on all these responses you'd think the US is a giant shithole. Every country has its issues.

I imagine 3/4th of the people who responded in this thread don't live here or have never visited.
 
I feel like everything I want to say about the US can be summed up by saying: When you guys elected Trump all I could think was "Of course they would do that".

The most depressing thing is that a sane US could do so much good for the entire world.

Springhettios said:
What is wrong with all of you? Haha so much utter nonsense being spewed in this thread. Based on all these responses you'd think the US is a giant shithole. Every country has its issues.

I imagine 3/4th of the people who responded in this thread don't live here or have never visited.
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The issues the US has are unique among western countries and way more fucked up than the issues most European countries face. I don't live in the US so my perception comes from news and the internet so obviously it can be 100% wrong, I'd be a happier person if it turns out that I'm completely wrong. But from my point of view the US sometimes seems like a country that's waging a war against it's own citizens. That doesn't mean it can't also be an amazing place to live and work.
 
I think I'd probably have a better image of the USA and its citizens if I wasn't bombarded everyday with shit like "greatest country in the world !!", etc.
I mean compared to most of the world, sure the USA is a good place to live in, compared to other 1st world countries though ? Not so much. Not for me anyway, too many things that would drive me crazy if I actually lived there (religion, guns, abortion, work culture, healthcare system, education, etc. I could go on for days).
 
As someone who lives in the U.S., but in a town city. My perception of the U.S. is quite mixed. I was actually taught that it wasn't the "greatest country" ever in school, believe it or not, and I certainly don't love the country. But it's a beautiful enough place, and I've met plenty of people who are nice. It's just a shame that isolated areas in the country have led to a lot of brainwashing.

Z.. said:
No developed nation even comes close to the US in that regard, though. It's like a bad joke. Again, there are exceptions and some areas are generally great to live in.
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Some actually do though. It's not a U.S. specific thing ever. It's more of a human-being problem then anything.
 
Springhettios said:
What is wrong with all of you? Haha so much utter nonsense being spewed in this thread. Based on all these responses you'd think the US is a giant shithole. Every country has its issues.

I imagine 3/4th of the people who responded in this thread don't live here or have never visited.
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I mean, it undoubtably objectively is, in quite a few areas. No place is perfect, but the country's hateful dysfunctional underbelly is more visible than ever before right now. At least in my lifetime. And I say that as someone born, raised, and who lived his entire life in New York
 
I used to watch 24 and be like "ha ha thats funny, everyones an idiot and they all make poor judgment calls, and always go to the most extreme/politicised decision every time, whew thats funny!".

now I watch 24 and I think "this documentary is scary, I don't think I want to live there anymore".
 
Springhettios said:
What is wrong with all of you? Haha so much utter nonsense being spewed in this thread. Based on all these responses you'd think the US is a giant shithole. Every country has its issues.

I imagine 3/4th of the people who responded in this thread don't live here or have never visited.
Click to expand...

USA has giant issues. From the political system (lol, 2 parties?) to judicial (death penalty, for profit prisons, systemically racist police) to gun insanity to economics to health care costs to horrible public education to insane university costs. I could go on. For a country of 'freedom', there's insane incarceration and not much political freedom since the choice is mostly smoke and mirrors between two right wing parties. And as an atheist living in a very irreligious country, the bible nuttiness of USA is franklly scary.

For any normal, non billionaire people: if you think it's the 'greatest country to live in', come live in a place like Sweden, Finland, Germany, Norway etc, stay for 3 to 5 years, start a family, and compare the two.

I mean USA is a great country to visit as a tourist. I loved my honeymoon there, have had several visits due to work too. But I'd never want to stay, ever.
 
"There's a country that's obsessed with the bible, talks about God blessing their country"

"Wow, that must be a nice tolerant country that treats its citizens well"

"Not those parts of the Bible."
 
I remember in the 80ies I thought one day living in the US would be like the perfect endgoal of my life.

All cool people on television were there. "Fall Guy", "Knight Rider" and these guys from all these sitcoms. All great movies were from there. I dreamt of living in that New York seen in "Ghostbusters". I was in awe at that rocket rucksack guy at the summer olympics opening 1984. Plus all that music... Michael Jackson, Prince, etc.

Later on I visited the US a couple of times for work reasons, have been to LA, New York, Chicago, Osprey Beach, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Ohio and Raleigh.

I think it's partially nice, but a lot of these places are feeling not so good to me. Kind of artificial. Everything's so bland.

New York has its charme, though.

Wouldn't want to move to the US after visiting there.

And with what happened over the last few years plus Trump, I think the US is really going down the shitter.
 
AppleSeason said:
It's a country I always thought it was "cool" despite the flaws, but lately I'd be scared to even go there for a vacation.

Sometimes friends at that other side of the Atlantic will tell me that i should try to apply for a green a card and ask me send them my CV, but... "I will think about it when you have a democrat president again, cops stop killing people and you get something that is closer to public healthcare". Right now I am even more scared of xenophobia, racism, transphobia... Heck, despite looking like a freaking vampire (to the point of being told in Asia that they were a bit envious of my skin tone), I have to wonder if i am "white enough" to not get attacked in the hypothetical case of moving to the US.
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Are you kidding me? It's a huge country 300 million people live in.

Man people on GAF dont live in the real world lol if they think they can't vacation to the US without experiencing violence lol
 
Carcetti said:
For any normal, non billionaire people: if you think it's the 'greatest country to live in', come live in a place like Sweden, Finland, Germany, Norway etc, stay for 3 to 5 years, start a family, and compare the two.
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How diverse is Scandinavia? After living in one of the most homogeneous countries on Earth for 3 years (currently signing up for my 4th), the thing I miss the most is easily the diversity. Growing up I had people from Iran, Mexico, Africa, Canada, France, and various central/South American countries in my neighborhood alone. I had multiple teachers who had grown up in various countries in Europe. I had friends who's parents had immigrated to the US from all over the world.

I love where I'm at now, but I definitely don't think I'll be here forever and a large part of that reasoning is simply I miss the diversity I grew up in too much.

I know I would love Scandinavia's social systems and would love to live there (although I don't think I have any marketable skills that would allow me to move there), but I've learned that I value diversity too much.
 
my wife and I really wish we could visit the USA. But with the current president and the political climate, we will not.
 
Ryuelli said:
As an American living in Korea, I think politically speaking it has a lot of work to do. Culturally speaking, I really miss it. I grew up in Houston which is now the most diverse city in the US. I love Korea, but I miss living in a melting pot and being exposed to a variety of people and cultures every day. I don't think there's any other country in the world that comes close to matching the diversity of America (Canada, maybe?). Geographically speaking I also really miss it. America's a beautiful country, and while I really enjoy how easy (and fast) it is to travel around Korea, there's not much to offer geographically speaking other then mountains, a few decent beaches, and forests. I miss living in a country that has beaches, deserts, snow capped mountains, swamps, forests, peaks, valleys, corn fields as far as the eye can see, etc. One of the things I want to do when/if I ever decide to move back to America is the classic cross country road trip.
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In what world is Houston the most diverse part of the United States?
 
The Lamp said:
Man people on GAF dont live in the real world lol if they think they can't vacation to the US without experiencing violence lol
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A lot of fear is overblown that's true. When I visited the US last year I had a great time and met only super friendly and nice people (though again: I'm white as snow)
However, you always hear those stories. Those "This can't be true.....right?" stories.

For example:
When I was in the US I rented a car. Now, where I'm from, if the police pulls you over it's not uncommon to get out of the car to greet them. But 3 different people warned me to never ever do that because I'd probably get shot instantly if I do that in the US. So stuff like that can be....unsettling. Especially because I would have totally done that. So at some point your mind starts racing "Well, I know about this now but what other things DON'T I know about already?" and so on.
 
Fantastapotamus said:
A lot of fear is overblown that's true. When I visited the US last year I had a great time and met only super friendly and nice people (though again: I'm white as snow)
However, you always hear those stories. Those "This can't be true.....right?" stories.

For example:
When I was in the US I rented a car. Now, where I'm from, if the police pulls you over it's not uncommon to get out of the car to greet them. But 3 different people warned me to never ever do that because I'd probably get shot instantly if I do that in the US. So stuff like that can be....unsettling. Especially because I would have totally done that. So at some point your mind starts racing "Well, I know about this now but what other things DON'T I know about already?" and so on.
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Wow. I can imagine people would get scared if they heard stories like that all the time. However in the US. It is customary to just stay in the car, and have the officer come to you.
 
I used to think of America as the beacon of good and stability in the world. We were always the good guys, we stood up for what was right and the little guys. Now I view America as a beacon of sheer stupidity and ignorance. We're also anything but stable, if anything we're powder keg just waiting for a spark.
 
This election really shown "well to do" people's true colors regarding how they see other people. The "screw you got mine, get on my level" mentality is ever so prevalent now.

Our education system and our media kept a large generation or more dumb and naive to how the world really works. When I want to search something on Google, it feels like everyone wants to sell me something instead of a simple answer. Like, people are always hustling. America is hustle culture with too much push on marketing and not much on substance. We have foods that can kill you if not taken in moderation, and we keep pushing and pushing this eat out culture as some sort of badge of honor.

Our healthcare system is incredibly messed up, yet I'm aware people come here for major surgeries that other countries can't do (please tell me I'm wrong on this). On top of that pharmaceutical companies can pretty much control what can get treated with overpriced drugs... and then we have the drug culture that I'm ashamed of.

Religious freedom is also a joke, since to most Americans it means freedom to be Christian and not much else, I've seen the Christian "elite" look down on other faiths. Not intending to offend those who follow their faith without putting down others, but it's attracted the wrong kind of people who want to enforce their beliefs on other people... invasion of privacy if you will like controlling a woman's body or same sex couples wanting to marry.

There's so much more I could say, but I gotta go to work now.
 
Seems like a corporate hellhole where everything is rigged to fuck over the ordinary person and fill the pockets of a few.
 
The Giant said:
The worlds largest third world country.
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Exactly. #2 economy, #1 military but there's so many backwards beliefs and behaviors based on profound stupidity. We've done a fantastic job normalizing the hell out of violence, political corruption, anti-education, racism and sexism.

If you are rich in general or upper middle class white or higher then i can see why for some this must be the greatest place on Earth at the moment. If you're a minority and/or poor, my goodness can this place be disappointing. At the very least, thank God I was born after the Civil Rights Act. My mental health would have been down the tubes if i were born a century earlier.
 
My views started changing about America during the late 90s when I was vacationing in Florida and witnessed some hardcore racism from a bunch of white people toward a black family.
 
fireflame said:
Hello, when I was a child, i used to watch a few series that aired every week: Little House in the prairy, Airwolf, Mac Gyver, Highway to Heaven...All those shows looked rather naive and optimistic, thinking about it.

But with time, my view on America changed, mostly after the beginning of the 2000's. Maybe it is because Internet became every year more common, but i started hearing every day more about negative issues happening in America. Shootings, racism issues, healthcare problems, economical problems,etc.

Somehow, those issues started reflecting more in shows that aired on tv. I started seeing more shows which would talk about problems i thought to be unbelievable, like rapists students being protected just because they are sport superstars, people driven to despair because they cannot afford medical care, episodes talking about war veterans being neglected. Shows become darker and more depressing, like Law and Order or SVU.

As a kid i sometimes dreamt of living in USA, but now, from the outside, it looks like scary I once thought about USA as that place where people start with a penny in the pocket and end up millionaire, but now things look much darker.

What about you? Do you feel medias and fictions depict an excessively negative view of USA, or that they are realist?
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I mean...I'm black.

So...yes? If anything, entertainment media has gotten slightly more realistic when it comes to race relations in the country because they all depict the norm as having there being something wrong, whether it's just a buzzing in the background or a major focal point of the plot.

But yeah man, shit's fucked here. But it's BEEN fucked, the only difference is now people are being forced to talk about it.

The Lamp said:
In the real world.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1321089

I grew up in Houston. Can confirm.
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Lived there for just under a year. Can corroborate. And the white people living there FUCKING HATE IT.

I miss being able to get my dreads twisted up for 30 dollars though.
 
Springhettios said:
What is wrong with all of you? Haha so much utter nonsense being spewed in this thread. Based on all these responses you'd think the US is a giant shithole. Every country has its issues.

I imagine 3/4th of the people who responded in this thread don't live here or have never visited.
Click to expand...

Basically every metric imaginable on how well a country runs, corruption, how happy its people are, how healthy, how educated, life expectancy... Every single one paints the US as a mediocre country, and pretty low on the list of "stable, western, developed countries".
 
To me the US as a whole is divided into entirely separate regions that want nothing to do each other, case in point being the West Coast (California) where in conflict in ideology and progressive nature to the South. As a whole, yeah I believe the US is shit but I'm also thankful I live within one of the bastions of sanity left in the country.

Edit: On that note I should say even California has its own problems, but atleast they are tangible and can be tackled.
 
I live/work in a really nice bubble of America, the kind that they show on tv it's nice I have had my run ins with cops (driving while Hispanic) but those days seem far gone now.

God bless my USA.
 
I hate our lawmakers and police, but overall I can't feel too strongly about how bad it is because I do in fact like living where I am, and would rather live here than many other places of the world.
 
I absolutely love it. Every time I go there - a few times a year, usually - I like it even more. Generally speaking the interactions I see between people are great. Don't read too much GAF, it's bad for your health.
 
StifflersMum said:
I remember in the 80ies I thought one day living in the US would be like the perfect endgoal of my life.

All cool people on television were there. "Fall Guy", "Knight Rider" and these guys from all these sitcoms. All great movies were from there. I dreamt of living in that New York seen in "Ghostbusters". I was in awe at that rocket rucksack guy at the summer olympics opening 1984. Plus all that music... Michael Jackson, Prince, etc.

Later on I visited the US a couple of times for work reasons, have been to LA, New York, Chicago, Osprey Beach, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Ohio and Raleigh.

I think it's partially nice, but a lot of these places are feeling not so good to me. Kind of artificial. Everything's so bland.

New York has its charme, though.

Wouldn't want to move to the US after visiting there.

And with what happened over the last few years plus Trump, I think the US is really going down the shitter.
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New York is not the US. New York is essentially its own country.
 
aspiegamer said:
This country hasn't been up to modern standards for several decades now, and no one is in a hurry to fix any of it because there's a huge public perception here that we're still the best at freaking everything and that everyone copies us.

Objectively? We suck, for what we should be. Looking at matters of education, crime and incarceration, guns, infrastructure, separation of church and state, energy, health care, number of countries bombed, income inequality and a million other things, we're behind the curve from much of the developed world. Quality of living in many categories varies dramatically depending on if you live in a red or blue state. Our electoral system is horrible on the national level, and for many states depending on how well the ruling party can change the laws to protect themselves. Our federal government is broken top to bottom, and that's not even a thing you can exclusively pin on Trump--It's been building for a long time. Social Security and Medicare keep rolling, at least!

Subjectively? We have more going on for ourselves, of course, but that's an entirely different debate.

Every country has problems, but if you graphed out "Alleged Awesomeness vs Substandard Societal Constructs" we'd score the worst on the planet.
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Fantastapotamus said:
I feel like everything I want to say about the US can be summed up by saying: When you guys elected Trump all I could think was "Of course they would do that".
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This and this sum it up for me perfectly.

To me, the absolute darkest thing about the US is how you guys can look at how fundamentally fucked your country is on every possible level and go, "Sure we have problems, but no country's perfect! We're still not that bad!" From the outside looking in, it's a complete mess and downright unacceptable for a country that prides itself as the best in the world.

The election isn't something that suddenly happened out of nowhere and was completely unprecedented for a utopia like America. It's the culmination of numerous fundamental social issues that the US as a country has willingly allowed to bubble and do nothing about for decades.
 
I will say this, I do like how geographically/culturally diverse the U.S. is. Every region has their own swagger and subculture and I love the different man-made and natural sites around the country.

Its best to have some good people around you to remind you of the positives in life and to not let general stupidity get to you. Unfortunately I will never live to see the America I want and that's ok. Se la vie.
 
Yes. America has a massive population of people who downright hate my country for literally no reason. As opposed to what idiots believe, every year more Mexicans are leaving the country than the other way around. It's a massively hateful and xenophobic country that gets a free pass because it's wealthy.
 
LegendofJoe said:
If you're wealthy there's no better place to live. However, if you're lower or middle class good luck, you're going to need it.
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This pretty much sums it up. Part of the 1%, you do great. If you are anyone else the USA is one of the worst 1st world countries to live in. And its primed to collapse, the divide of rich and poor in this country is going to destroy the economy at somepoint. Likely as infrastructure in this country collapses and automation destroys employment.
 
Both Democrats and Republicans have a hand in this, but yeah... it's bad.

- We glorify money over life.

- Because of money, we have ingrained the "fuck you I got mine!" attitude of only looking out for yourself.

- Because of the "stop complaining and pull yourself by the bootstraps" attitude, we miss out on basic services provided to ALL citizens by the governments of countries that have it better than us in most areas of life (education, health care, child care, etc.)

- Because of the "fuck you I got mine!" attitude, we revere the cunning few that make it to the top of the wealth chain, even when they did it through lobbying and bribery of our local/national governments. We get told that they are simply better than the rest.

- Our mainstream media has been all kinds of fucked up since governments discovered propaganda tactics after the great world wars. Each side peddles their narrative, with the aim to continue the feeding frenzy of corporations.

- Because our "journalists", pundits, and media constantly uphold corporate interests FIRST (as in 90% of our media is owned by just 6 corporations), the alertness and knowledge required in the citizenry to keep a Democracy working, has gone to shit. The majority won't keep government accountable, when the government instigates petty in-fighting between groups through the media (on issues like abortion, race, etc.).

- Because of propaganda and extremely sophisticated marketing tactics, Americans have devolved into anxious overtly-medicated worker bees that only aim to consume what get most paraded on TV/social media.

We are a mess, and with the current crop of politicians running the show, I can only see it getting worse until it all comes to a head. We are not that far from that point.
 
Kthulhu said:
Well, that episode where a blue mascot bear gets elected actually happened to us, so it's a pretty on point perception.
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Waldo didn't get elected. He help a douchebag get elected by splitting the vote, thus maintaining the status quo. In last election's ananlogy Waldo would be Bernie or Jill Stein.

America is a great land of opportunity, it's just some people have been conditioned to worship money. Even those that have very little of it.
 
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