yall need to get off the high horse and take a joke sometimes. you terrorized the entire world via colonization for hundreds of years through modern day, if people harmlessly stereotype the german or french, make fun of british people, or tease the dutch language, yall can handle it
for context, im american. we get bullied all the time, and while not all americans are fat and stupid, the combination of that many are and that we’ve terrorized the world plenty make me think a lil teasing is fair
Yes it’s perfectly fair and most of us don’t mind.
I think the issue, especially on Reddit, was the over-representation of US Americans compared to the other countries.
It gets old quite fast to get called a “surrender monkey” or a Nazi on a regular basis in a space where most of the audience is on the other side and I’m not even French or German.
On Lemmy it’s probably a bit more balanced.
I guess let’s see what happens with the Germany elections in February because that nazi line may start to ring true.
Just opened a thread on !europe@feddit.org about that, the polls look okay. The non far-right parties should be able to create a coalition.
Does the Trump election gives everyone the right to call all US citizens convicted felons?
Certainly gives everyone the right to call us a country of idiots.
Sounds derogatory and xenophobic
It is not derogatory if it is true.
You guys elected a felon.
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That Europe is not ready for many future challenges.
Not sure if we’re not ready to hear this. The whole world is not ready for many future challenges.
For example?
Refugee crisises far larger than the ones that have been tearing you apart for the last 15 years
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Ok, I’ll stock up on it.
Not the cheese!
The inability to function under duress would be one
Extraterrestrial warfare!
According to movies the aliens always attack the US anyway so I don’t see a problem.
And the quantum flux plague of 2036
Sometimes, while seeing discourse about the US, I think our region should try to better align itself with Europe, that stronger connections and cooperation could benefit us both.
Then I see how Europeans get when our name comes up and it’s no wonder we’re calling China instead. Sure, they don’t care about us either, but at least they put on an act and we might get something out of it rather than just racism and neocolonialism.
Really, I’m steadily approaching the point where I wouldn’t mind much if you all nuked each other out of existence, much like you wouldn’t care if we disappeared either. In the absence of names, no such thing as friends beyond borders.
The hills are alive with the sound of music
How would people who live outside of Europe know what Europeans are not ready to hear? As someone who lives in the U.S. I know only a couple of people IRL who live in Europe.
The thing my European friend was not ready to hear was that all his complaining about the social programs in his home country and the high taxes and so on comes across as entitled and spoiled. Because he’s never lived without the benefits of a state that will provide healthcare and so on, he is free to complain about his privileges and glorify the U.S. as a place where individual citizens fill in the responsibilities that the government should fulfill. He sees this as an unmitigated good, because he thinks it means more civic engagement.
What he doesn’t understand is that this results in most people falling through the cracks, and until he falls through one of those cracks himself it won’t be real to him how bad it is to not be able to afford losing wages because you are sick or injured, or what it’s like when you can’t afford to see a doctor when you break a bone or get so sick you can’t leave your house.
That said, I’m not sure every European needs to hear this, or that they’re not ready to hear it - just this one person seemed to be a little delusional and to have idealized the U.S. as some kind of right-wing libertarian utopia.
Opinions differ from person to person, some people here really are a bit disconnected from reality
of course, I assume most Europeans are not like my friend :-)
How would people who live outside of Europe know what Europeans are not ready to hear?
-Goes on to do exactly that
Bröther
Just ignore he was talking about one specific european he knows, that was making out the states to be superior
You take your lööps for granted, Eurøpeans. Your Sïster grows weary.
A Møøse once bit my sister…
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does she prowl the forests fighting bandits with her newfound møøse powers?
It’s aluminum. Y’all just changed it to aluminium so it sounded like other elements. Which is even funnier because not all elements end with ium despite that being the main reason for the change.
Idolizing the past (and long gone) ‘grandeur’ of some European countries is not the best way to prepare for the future.
edit: as a disclaimer, I’m European from one of those once important countries.
Romanticizing “past greatness” seems to always involve some very shit politics. It’s more obvious in these old empires, but it exists in more subtle forms elsewhere, too.
I was specifically talking about euros, but I guess a certain US president gets a honourable mention for his campaign slogan
Knackered, as t’were?
Such an underrated comment
The question should read
“Americans; give us your baseless opinions of a continent you don’t understand, and then get a rage-on in the comments when you are laughed at”
It’s called: “soccer” !!
OK, so this may shock some, but my posh English school called football ‘soccer’. Football was what most people would call rugby. Cricket was… Cricket.
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Probably. I hated all of it and still do, so I’ve no idea what they said in the pub.
soccer is an abbreviation of associated football. which apparently had rather upper class implications in the UK and as such the word never caught on with the hoi poloi
hand egg! :p
Most nations of the world refer to the beautiful game as football, or a derivative thereof. Then there’s that one nation…
Ah yes, Australia
Ah yes, Japan.
😄 Thank you. Obviously not what I was referring to, but still a point.
In Japan the most common term is sakkā, that came into use from US influence after the war. Both futtobōru and football is in use, though.
Although the official English name of the Japan Football Association uses the term “football”, the term sakkā (サッカー), derived from “soccer”, is much more commonly used than futtobōru (フットボール). The JFA’s Japanese name is Nippon Sakkā Kyōkai.
Before World War II the term in general use was shūkyū (蹴球, kick-ball), a Sino-Japanese term. With previously exclusive Japanese terms replaced by American influence after the war, sakkā became more commonplace. In recent years, many professional teams have named themselves F.C.s (football clubs), with examples being FC Tokyo and Kyoto Sanga FC.
Then there’s that one nation…
Sure, but we forgive Italy just because they love the game so much, they can have their own strange name for it if they want.
Italy has to be Italy :) And Juventus Football Club plays calcio, so while they do have their own awesome word they seem to be on team football ;)
that message may come from us or canada, the rest of the world would side with europe
Hey, don’t leave Australia and New Zealand out of club soccer, too. Soccer happens to be the preferred term in most anglophone countries.
Europeans: call a game where you kick ball with foot “football”
Americans: call a game where you throw ball with hands “football”
One of these makes more sense to me… :p
Europeans came up with the word “soccer” as a shortened form of “Association football” to distinguish it from the numerous other forms of football being played (rugby etc).
So, it’s your fault anyway.
NGL I kinda forgot about rugby, fair point
It was the Brits. Europe refers to a collection of countries.
Brits are Europeans, so the statement wasnt incorrect
“Europeans” is too vague. Why would you refer to Europe like it’s one country?
to get engagement
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the uk is also a “collection of countries”.
Yes, and as far as I’m aware it’s the collection of countries that created the term Association Football. Could be wrong though.
And we’ve since corrected our mistake.
It was not Europeans. It was the British. And it was the upper class British. Specifically at the Oxford University. The people in both continental Europe and Britain always called it football.
“Soccer” is technically a slur for lower class football.
Even the British call it football now, but the soccer slur still lives on in America and other colonies.
“Soccer” is technically a slur for lower class football.
America: I’m not seeing the issue here.
:P
It was not Europeans. It was the British.
My brother you need to look at a map once in a while or resit your geography exams 🤣😂.
“It wasn’t Europeans, it was this group of people from Europe.”
A small group of people from of a single country does not represent the entire population of the continent.
The sentence "Americans say ‘aloha’ instead of ‘hello’* is just as right or wrong.
Good example
I hear the FDA actually controls American food in a much healthier way than European even though the opposite is commonly thought.
Europeans can definitely be much louder and annoying than Americans.
Europeans can be more racist, mention muslims or Romani people.
European democracy is just as bad.
Muslims hated us first though and some of them (that currently live here) want to destroy our civilisation in favour of their barbaric medieval religion, and their continuing growth causes me some concern about when there are enough of them around, and someone has started a sharia party, and all the imams go “you must all now vote for sharia” how many of them will follow that decree (and how many non-muslim useful idiots will too).
Not enough concern for me to start hating or discriminating against them on an individual basis, but everyone’s different and some are further down that road than I am.
FDA
What are you smoking? We don’t even have corn syrup in our soda or chlorine in our chickens, no putrasene for chocolate, in Europe we don’t even know what tums are which seems to be a common thing to take in the US. We have chemical food dyes but just because they’re chemicals - as is everything - doesn’t mean they’re bad.
I do agree the politics are shit though.
Tums is just calcium carbonate (chalk, basically) and is essentially the same as any other rapid relief antacid tablet. Google tells me that a brand called Rennie is the same thing and is apparently available in much of Europe.
Might be more commonly taken in the US because Americans tend to eat greasy, heartburn-inducing food more often.
Might be more commonly taken in the US because Americans tend to eat greasy, heartburn-inducing food more often.
Yeah that was the implication. Our food quality just doesn’t necessitate this sort of stuff.
to be fair, if youre arguing about the effectiveness of agencies like the FDA, im not sure that this is really relevant. You can make greasy, sugary, carb laden food out of the safest, purest, most well researched ingredients without any additives and it will still be an unhealthy diet. The FDA cant reasonably mandate that people have to eat their vegetables after all, at least not and actually expect people will listen to them. Im not saying that the FDA actually does do its job better or worse, I dont know that, but I feel like food quality in the sense that an agency like that can control is more a “does this stuff contain toxic ingredients” rather than “does the culture of this area like a well rounded diet”.
Might depend on the region/cuisine though and different things that set people off.
I can’t eat most Italian food without taking a Tums or some omeprazole because the tomato, olive oil, and cheeses common in those sorts of dishes just wrecks me. But spicy food I don’t struggle with much at all, so Szechuan food and Mexican food doesn’t really bother me.
The one time I tried an English style breakfast with greasy sausage and beans also had me feeling sick most of the day, and I also skipped the tomato with that one. I shudder to think of what a German currywurst might do to me.
The first and the last one are simply not true, the second and third, sure, sometimes
More chemical food dyes are allowed by the EU.
Which fascist did whatever EU country vote for this term?
More chemical food dyes are allowed by the EU.
But their regulations are more strict overall. There are a lot of US foods can’t be imported without reformulating the product.
Which fascist did whatever EU country vote for this term?
Bruh, we literally just elected a fascist felon who tried to overthrow the government when he lost the last time who openly surrounded himself with fascists pushing project 2025. It’s not even a close challenge…
Cognitive dissonance at its finest
I’m not saying the US didn’t vote for one of two fascists, but the EU is as well.
People voting for fascists ≠ bad democracy.
The democracy in the USA is bad because you have a two-party system, meaning that there’s barely any choice. In the Netherlands, we have a whole bunch of political parties that share space in Parliament, so that representation is proportional to the votes.
As a result, we have both the PVV and GL-PvdA in Parliament; one is very right on most subjects, the other is pretty leftist.
European democracy is just as bad.
Have you got a particular country in mind or are you referring to EU elections?
The politics of Italy, the UK, France, Germany, Hungary, and others all seem close to or worse than the current state of American politics. The only difference is that the US wields a lot more global influence and has no neighbors powerful enough to keep it in check (sorry Canada and Mexico, I still love you). Europe is not doing enough to prevent the spread of its own far-right/neofascist groups and the inevitable erosion of human rights.
I’m referring to the general trend in voting for far right candidates
As an European, I think the obscene amount of lobbying we allow to happen around EU institutions is something that makes “European democracy is just as bad” sound reasonable.
You are badly misinformed on this point.
Which one he made 4 points
Yes
Yes.
Evidently that one
Not this one?
Definitely not that one. Are you insane!
Yes
I hear the FDA actually controls American food in a much healthier way than European even though the opposite is commonly thought.
What do you mean by this? Because when I look at lists of banned substances and why, or pesticide limits, the EC seems much stricter than the FDA.
I was thinking of food additives and giving animals antibiotics
Lol, Europe spanks us on both those fronts.
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I don’t know enough to speak effectively to the overall point, but the banned food additive list and is only a microscopic portion of what food regulators do
Europeans can definitely be much louder and annoying than Americans.
I’m general or just in certain topics?
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I’m particular thinking of my time in southern Spain lol
If war breaks out between NATO and Russia, Europe hasn’t kept up enough military power to hold the Russians back while waiting for America to come bail them out. Their countries are gonna get hardcore trashed in the process.
Europe is not as different from the US as it likes to pretend, especially politically.
Racism is not a unique or exceptionally American phenomenon, and the things I’ve heard from otherwise progressive Europeans can fucking curdle milk equal or in excess to what people in my ultra-rural ultra-conservative home region of the US can say.
Just ask a Mexican person what it’s like to travel to Spain
Ask a Spanish or Portuguese person what it’s like to travel to France or Belgium. Italians used to face racism in other European countries a few generations ago: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Dogs_or_Italians_Allowed
I have been surprised by how racist many Brits are
sexist too.
And even then the European countries that feel they’re ahead of the rest tackling racism it’s usually only the urban university educated talking with their fingers in their ears ignoring the majority of the rest of their country.
The things I’ve heard far too many Europeans of various nationalities say about MENA, Desi, Turkish, and Romani folk just… makes my skin crawl.
America has a deep racism problem, and it is both right and necessary to acknowledge it. But those who pretend that Europe doesn’t have a deep racism problem are either not paying attention or in denial - especially considering recent political developments.
The things I’ve heard far too many Europeans of various nationalities say about MENA, Desi, Turkish, and Romani folk just… makes my skin crawl.
Very true
Definitely agree on the “Europe is just racist in a different way.” Outside of the obvious ones (like Middle East & Africa), I’d also add racism/xenophobia against “Eastern” Europe (like Poland), which might surprise Americans because they’re still white.
I’ve had good friends who were Europeans studying here, and they can definitely be very insensitive and racist. What makes the two flavors of racism different to me is American racism is typically very confrontational, tribalistic. White man calling a black man a slur, and there’s something cavalier about it, maybe even humorous on the part of the racist.
Europeans have a much more “it is the way it is” attitude. I’ve heard friends talk very disparagingly about interracial couples, or blacks in general, and the attitude is less “hate for hate’s sake” but instead “it is the wrong way to be and my way is correct”. Fascinatingly, when you point out the bigotry, my friends have typically refused to accept their bias (at best), and will deny they’re racist.
Making sure I’m reading this right…I know a guy who claims he isn’t sexist but that it is OK to pay women less because they aren’t as good at some things as men. So in his mind, it isn’t sexist to pay women less or even claim they should be paid less - even though it is.
Is that similar to what you’re saying?
Did you type ‘females’ instead of ‘women’ for the sake of the argument or did you get caught up in it as well?
Guess I got caught in it. Just looked it up and didn’t realize until now that female wasn’t an acceptable word to use. TIL. Thanks!
The easy way to understand and remember is that “female” is an adjective the vast majority of the time, and it’s usually misogynists and incels using it as a noun.
I think mysoginists just have a lot of spotlight on them, or are vocal. I hadn’t been aware of “female” being used as a slur before it was pointed out here on Lemmy. I think “female” as a noun is still used neutrally far more often than as a slur.
As an adult female human, I have never been called a “female” in a positive or neutral tone. The key point is that you basically never hear people calling men “males” anywhere outside of scientific discussion.
Not a bad way of comparing it tbh
Wow, you’ve really succinctly put it best! Being a European myself, this is how I constantly feel when I hear racist shit in my daily life (mainly from family).
It’s like, people here just can’t even fathom that what they’re saying is racist, that they’re racist, because to them what they’re saying is just a simple fact of life that everybody accepts. They don’t show open animosity towards minorities or throw racial slurs like you’d see more in America (though there is definitely some of that here too don’t get me wrong), but it’s a very casual, low-key form of racism where folks comment on X group of people all being one way and no one batting an eye for example.
And if you so much as suggest they’re racist, or the country they’re in has or had issues with racism and other issues of oppression, a lot will legit fight you tooth and nail over it because they can’t handle the notion of it.
It’s really freaking weird and took me a lot of time to be conscious of it myself, since I grew up surrounded by this sort of attitude.
And it’s not just right-leaning people doing this. Some minorities like the Romani are openly discriminated by just about everyone across the political spectrum, the degree just varies. And then based on the country you’ll typically see a lot of Xenophobia towards the bigger migrant groups.
I’ve heard Europeans call Turks ‘filthy’ and ‘roaches’ and Africans ‘monkeys’. And don’t get me started on the things said about the Romani.
I don’t think there’s a difference in how tribalistic or vicious it is.
Weird. I haven’t.
blacks
While we’re on the topic, I think “black people” is the preferred term (in general it’s adjectives over nouns, like “gay people” vs “gays”)
I’ve heard people of all types use the word ‘blacks’ I think it’s a regional thing.
It’s more likely a field thing. People who work in fields highly dedicated to equity (esp. those working in healthcare) are especially concerned with their language and so create style guides that people outside those fields have gleaned from.
Example:
Hey fair enough. I use whites so I tend to use the same kind of term in the other direction, too. I don’t mean anything insulting by it
Well for one thing, there is that one obvious thing which Americans and everyone else are also unready to hear: You need to give up fossil fuels. No more coal, no more gas, no more petrol, no more diesel. Some parts of Europe like to think they’re well on the way to that goal but even there for the most part you’ve barely begun and are moving too slowly or in the wrong direction (e.g. biofuels). The hard part cannot be put off for much longer.
people being angry at nuclear and wanting to go back to coal are the worst
I’m sad for what’s happening over in Germany
Why’s that?
Because otherwise, a horde of raiders in spiky leather armour will cross the radioactive wasteland, roll up to your place and rip your arms off.
EU collaboration and integration is a joke. Politically, the EU is divided and bizarrely complex. There are movements to improve this but they are not as popular as the sloganistic alt right that essentially just want to give up and go back to separate countries
I spent three weeks in Belgium twenty years ago studying the EU’s structure, with a lot of time spent on the “Constitution” treaty that failed in 2005. The professors were all generally in favor of it, so maybe they overstated its benefits and definitely overstated its chances, but it sure seems like it would have helped.
Also, the pea soup at the university canteen was surprisingly good.
Yeah, we Europeans have to figure out how to work together better, because that’s the only chance we have of being independent from countries like Russia, China (or the US).
Europe is a continent, not a state. While the European Union exists, its members are very different.
