• Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    That’s probably because the loudest and most overly defensive ones are the Americans you’re most likely to encounter and remember in online arguments and on American news, so that colors the perception. Especially when you don’t live amongst the more reasonable majority of Americans 🤷

    • scv@discuss.online
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      1 year ago

      That is not my experience at all. Most Americans get extremely defensive when someone criticizes the US, even people who know better. Many are ok with specific criticism (like, healthcare sucking), but it doesn’t take much for them to revert to 'murican mode.

      I have been living in the US for over a decade and been to 2/3rds of the states.

      • pthaloblue@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Most Americans have their talking points ready to go around certain topics: healthcare, guns etc. But if you get anything that attacks the capitalism, building the country off of slave labor, or the country being the product of a genocide, that’s when the propaganda really kicks in.

        Oh and if you call it propaganda, then the denialism gets even stronger.

        • SuddenDownpour@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Spaniard here, you get very, very similar reactions here from a lot of people (possibly a lower percentage) if you dare to question the process of colonization or call out the barbaric behavior of some historical figures that have become a part of the national myth. Nationalism is a brain disease.

          • Tak@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            You get the same shit from most nationalities.

            Nobody is immune to propaganda.

      • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That’s really interesting. I’ve lived in 9 states and I can honestly say that outside of the southeast, it is legitimately difficult to consistently find people that dont think the us is a flaming sack of shit or at least headed that way. Seriously, I’ve heard waaaaaaaaaaaaay more negative talk on the us from Americans than anything positive. Especially in like the last decade. But this place is so damn big that anyone’s experience would vary a crazy amount so that makes sense.

        • scv@discuss.online
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          1 year ago

          Are you in tech or some other field that doesn’t involve interacting with different socioeconomic groups?

          Most of not all states guarantee some “interesting” encounters if you leave the cities. In California I have seen Confederate flags flying, met neonazis, and plenty of Trump supporters. Trump got over 34% of the vote in California, almost 39% in Washington and over 40% in Oregon. Those percentages are not a majority, but I think it sets a floor, since Trump supporters are not exactly trash talking the US.

          I have spent a lot of time doing canvassing and other activities that mean I encounter people with very different ideas, so that would definitely explain the different experience.

          • scv@discuss.online
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            1 year ago

            If you’re going to accuse me of lying, at least have the decency of doing it in a reply to my post. I lived on the East Coast and traveled up and down some, then I moved to the Midwest, I got into politics and canvassed in several states plus I went on a few road trips for fun. Then I moved to the West Coast, which somewhat limited my ability to go on road trips to other states, but still, I went as far as Colorado, I spent a month there doing backpacking and visiting a few places like Denver and Aspen.

            Why do you think it is so unlikely I could visit 3 states a year?

    • sock@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      well if an american does respond to this it proves them right if they dont respond it doesnt prove them wrong its a bad argument for an otherwise pretty dumb claim

      unless americans do care i hate america and am american so idrk

    • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      If I ever have to read the bogus claim that “USA #1!!!” I’ll flip my shit.

      #1 in teen pregnancies maybe

      #1 in prison population

      #1 in school shootings

      #1 in wage gap

      What the US is not #1 in: happiness, progressiveness, quality of life, freedom

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        True. While it’s NEAR the top in SOME good things, I’m pretty sure that the US is only #1 in the ones you mentioned and other bad things lol