# Non-U.S. Dopers: What Are Typical "American" Traits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010 "2008-09-17T18:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/181 "2008-09-21T04:42:59Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > A small precision – the only provinces that have their own provincial police force are Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador; the other provinces employ the Mounties for provincial-level policing. Ah, there’s less of them than I thought. Of course, the provinces I have the most experience of are Quebec and Ontario, both of which have their own police force. I would have thought that other large provinces like British Columbia or Alberta would have had their own police force as well, but apparently not. > [@Meyer6](#): > > Sorry, I missed this. In my experience the Quebecois DO seem kind of loud - certainlt louder than other Canadians anyways. I don’t know if I speak loudly, but apparently I’m theatrical when I talk about things I care deeply about. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/182 "2008-09-21T07:19:43Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > So, I told him we were from the States and he got all pissy and said, “I right well gathered _that_. I mean where in the States???” > > :dubious: > > “I’m from Omaha, Nebraska.” > > Blank stare. > > “It’s smack-dab in the middle. You can’t miss it.” > > So, there’s at least ONE European that wants to know your state. But pick one he knows, like North Carolina or Florida. “I’m from a small city in Pennsylvania. That’s in the Northeast.” I find that works 99% of the time. If the person is curious, I can say “It’s about mid-way between New York City and Washington”, but there I’m lucky, because most Europeans have at least heard of those cities even if they don’t necessarily know where they are. Sometimes they say, “Oh, I know where Pennsylvania is!” and surprise me by saying they spent a few days in Philadelphia or have a cousin who studied at Carnegie-Mellon or something, and then I can work with that. But what I say usually makes the person I’m talking to _feel_ like I’m trying my best to provide information even if it doesn’t, practically speaking, tell them a damn thing. “Omaha, Nebraska, in the central US” might be all you need to say. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/183 "2008-09-21T12:35:43Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > So, there’s at least ONE European that wants to know your state. But pick one he knows, like North Carolina or Florida. Similar experience being from Maryland. Almost nobody in Ireland or Britain knows where it is (or knows how to pronounce it, but that’s another story). So when people ask what part of the States I’m from it’s usually an ordeal trying to tell them. Sometimes I say “Washington DC” since that’s the nearest proper city, but even though they’ve heard of that, they usually don’t know where it is either. I’ve been really tempted lately just to start saying “San Francisco”, which was the last place I lived in the US, but that just doesn’t seem right. On the ex-USSR stuff it’s interesting to note that even today there is a very firm distinction within the Russian Federation between “ethnically Russian” and “citizen of the RF”. They even have two different words for these categories in the Russian language (and, I assume, in Russia’s minority languages). Do not make the mistake of translating both these words to “Russian” when you’re speaking in English - you will be very quickly and vehemently corrected, particularly if the person you’re speaking to falls only into the latter category. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/184 "2008-09-21T14:31:51Z")
I think it’s funny that a bunch of folks say we’re not supposed to respond with what state we’re from because that’s rude but another bunch of folks says we’re supposed to with our state plus a short descriptor because that’s what our host is asking for. 🙂 I think everyone just needs to try harder to accept that we all have bevahior linked to our culture and no offense is intended while on the other hand offenders need to be better schooled in how to act when abroad so as to not cause offense. The end. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/185 "2008-09-21T16:03:55Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > When I lived abroad I always said I was from Texas if asked because it usually got a more positive and friendly reaction than saying I was from the United States, believe it or not. \* This was before the current presidential administration. > > - "I’m from Texas. " “Hey, Texas! Cowboy! Bang bang!” I friend of mine in Japan has gotten, in response to “I’m from Texas,” “Oh, Texas! Kennedy-- bang bang!” ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/186 "2008-09-21T16:56:43Z")
Regarding saying what state you are from instead of just saying you are an American, I had a friend in Berlin who was from New Mexico…born and raised in Albuquerque. He used to tell people he was from New Mexico. Bad idea…not only had no one in Europe ever heard of the state of New Mexico, they all assumed he meant he was Mexican and would then try speaking Spanish with him. In his ESL classes, he had to resort to pulling out a map of the US to show them where New Mexico was, and he still got people asking how Mexico kept that piece of land in the US. He finally gave up and started telling people he was from Arizona - Albuquerque, Arizona. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/187 "2008-09-21T17:44:25Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Why? Canada has a very different culture and society. Almost everything about their culture, AIUI, is more unified and central. Your understandings about Canada are incorrect, both culturally and as they relate to the administration of justice. Culturally, there vast regional differences. If you do not think so, I suggest you take a trip east, visit Quebec, where in my lifetime there have two referendums about separating from Canada the last narrowly defeated, and then head off to Newfoundland and Labrador, the most recent Canadian province but for forty years prior to that was the Dominion of Labrador. After that you might wonder by the Territory of Nunavut, where reflecting the predominantly Inuit population 70 per cent of residents report their mother tongue as Inuktitut. Stop by the only officially bilingual province, New Brunswick, or head to Nova Scotia, where the accents retain strong Celtic traces. In my province, Saskatchewan, European settlers were predominantly from mid to Eastern European areas, and if you go to a wedding in Saskatchewan, do not be surprised to see perogies and cabbage rolls included at the dinner, especially if you are in a rural area. Any Canadian, however, reading your post would likely laugh, and maybe even out loud. Something that has been a subject of debate, dialogue and discussion for at least my lifetime has been: what **is** Canadian culture anyway? This is not to say that the national culture does not exist, and in my opinion the symbolism associated with national identity is becoming stronger. As it relates to the administration of justice, again, you are misapprehending the way that it operates. I started a long explanation and then realized that the wikipedia would do just as [well](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_Canada). On to typical American traits: I would agree with others that many Americans tend to have exuberant personalities, comparatively speaking. That can translate to being outgoing and friendly with a willingness or even eagerness to engage with strangers, and it can also translate to seeming loud in smaller or confined spaces. One that I haven’t noticed yet being commented upon yet, is that many (certainly not all) Americans truly seem to believe that everyone else on the planet really wishes that they were American and is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to become so. For those who exhibit this trait, there seems to be paired with it a seeming foundational assumption that things American are the best in the world, for example, the best political system, or the best judicial system. I’m sure it comes as a surprise to the Americans on the board that many non-Americans. are pleased for you that you love your country, but they think theirs is pretty swell, too. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/188 "2008-09-21T17:47:56Z")
Ignorance of American geography here has become noticable since I’ve made several trips to Ohio and have got comments from my friends and family like these: “Ohio, that’s out west isn’t it?” “Ohio, that’s over beside California isn’t it?” “How was Iowa?” “Is that near Florida?” ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/189 "2008-09-21T17:52:08Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > One that I haven’t noticed yet being commented upon yet, is that many (certainly not all) Americans truly seem to believe that everyone else on the planet really wishes that they were American and is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to become so. I wanted to mention this one but didn’t know quite how to put it into words. Well put. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/190 "2008-09-21T17:56:01Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > I’m sure it comes as a surprise to the Americans on the board that many non-Americans. are pleased for you that you love your country, but they think theirs is pretty swell, too. Damn. Missed the editing window. What I meant to say was: I’m sure it comes as a surprise to the Americans \*\*like this not \*\*on the board that many non-Americans. are pleased for you that you love your country, but they think theirs is pretty swell, too. An important edit, because I really haven’t seen this trait on this Board. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/191 "2008-09-22T00:12:10Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Regarding saying what state you are from instead of just saying you are an American, I had a friend in Berlin who was from New Mexico…born and raised in Albuquerque. > > He used to tell people he was from New Mexico. > Bad idea…not only had no one in Europe ever heard of the state of New Mexico, they all assumed he meant he was Mexican and would then try speaking Spanish with him. In his ESL classes, he had to resort to pulling out a map of the US to show them where New Mexico was, and he still got people asking how Mexico kept that piece of land in the US. > > He finally gave up and started telling people he was from Arizona - Albuquerque, Arizona. To be fair, I understand that there are a lot of Americans who have never heard of the state of New Mexico, either. It can’t be a total coincidence that they’re the only state to have USA written after their state name on their license plate. ---
**Author:** ![constantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@constantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constantine)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/192 "2008-09-22T00:48:58Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > To be fair, I understand that there are a lot of Americans who have never heard of the state of New Mexico, either. It can’t be a total coincidence that they’re the only state to have USA written after their state name on their license plate. For example, [Homer Simpson](http://www.angelfire.com/home/pearly/homer/homer-quotes1.html), “Oh, there’s a NEW Mexico?” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/193 "2008-09-22T00:52:02Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > To be fair, I understand that there are a lot of Americans who have never heard of the state of New Mexico, either. It can’t be a total coincidence that they’re the only state to have USA written after their state name on their license plate. I’ve met Americans that cannot identify many of the states on a blank map, but I have never met one that did not know New Mexico existed and was one of those two states between Texas and California. Were you serious or joking? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/194 "2008-09-22T01:12:59Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > **elfkin477** has hit the nail on the head, I think. > > “American” does not denote a **cohesive** and **distinct** cultural identity that everyone agrees on, or even should. This is in contrast to “German”, for example which definitely does denote a cohesive linguistic and cultural whole that far predates the existence of any actual political state called Germany. We have never had such a national identity and never will. It would be dismissive of all the many national and ethnic groups that are here. . . . It really isn’t so cut and dried as some people believe. I disagree completely. I am an American, and I believe that is as cohesive and distinct a cutural identity as “German” – especially having recently engaged in an illuminating discussion as to what Northern Germans can think of Southern Germans, and vice versa. I identify first as an American, second as a Montanan, and third by extraction (Norwegian and English, and really I couldn’t give a shit about that, making me a minority in this thread). I resent the implication that by recognizing and taking some degree of pride in my nation and culture, I am somehow “dismissing” other people’s cultures or experiences. Very broadly speaking, Americans believe in cultural assimilation – the “melting pot.” We believe in the fundamental equality of people without regard to race, religion, creed, or caste. We believe in the myth of Horatio Alger – that any poor newsboy (or girl) can grow up to be President. We believe in capitalism. We believe in “freedom” and “democracy,” however differrently we might choose to define it. We like Disney, and humongous servings of food. We are warlike but friendly. We have horrible gun crimes and enormous supermarkets. We are fat, wealthy, and loud. All of this is true. And all of it is false. But it is as accurate a description on “American” as a similar description would be of “Englishman,” when everyone knows that today’s Englishman might have parents from Pakistan or Barbados and fit not one of your “Englishman” descriptors. It’s _not_ cut and dried. But it’s also not so damn complicated as to render every generalization meaningless, so as to deprive me of my culture. I am an American. I have never once in my entire life run into a single person of _any_ nationality who had any difficulty deciding what that means. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/195 "2008-09-22T01:21:27Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’ve met Americans that cannot identify many of the states on a blank map, but I have never met one that did not know New Mexico existed and was one of those two states between Texas and California. > > Were you serious or joking? I’ve never run into anyone that’s not known about the state but it’s a pretty common and probably apocryphal anecdote that someone from Hawaii, New Mexico, or one of the square states tries to buy alcohol and the clerk refuses to sell it to them because they don’t have American issued IDs. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/196 "2008-09-22T01:22:06Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Things can be weird. I met an American couple in Laos who had been living in Saudi Arabia for 20+ years. They were the next-door neighbors of the only guy I knew in Saudi Arabia. I’ve had this experience. I was in a hole-in-the-wall bar in a teensy tinsy rural southern Spanish town that you would think no foreigner would ever visit and I met an American guy from my father’s home town. Weird! ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/197 "2008-09-22T01:28:19Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > One that I haven’t noticed yet being commented upon yet, is that many (certainly not all) Americans truly seem to believe that everyone else on the planet really wishes that they were American and is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to become so. For those who exhibit this trait, there seems to be paired with it a seeming foundational assumption that things American are the best in the world, for example, the best political system, or the best judicial system. I’m sure it comes as a surprise to the Americans on the board that many non-Americans. are pleased for you that you love your country, but they think theirs is pretty swell, too. I think there’s a simple reason for this. Most of the foreigners we meet in America _do_ come here because they believe it is the best place in the world to be. You meet enough people who have immigrated seeking the American Dream, and you naturally come to believe that your place is the best place and everybody else must think so too. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/198 "2008-09-22T01:40:29Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > I think there’s a simple reason for this. Most of the foreigners we meet in America _do_ come here because they believe it is the best place in the world to be. You meet enough people who have immigrated seeking the American Dream, and you naturally come to believe that your place is the best place and everybody else must think so too. And yet you don’t get the same reaction in other countries built via immigration. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/199 "2008-09-22T02:02:47Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > Similar experience being from Maryland. Almost nobody in Ireland or Britain knows where it is (or knows how to pronounce it, but that’s another story). I’ll pick up that story. Please, please, British persons, it’s not pronounced “Mary-land”, as if it were Disneyland but built for someone named Mary. It’s “MAIR-eh-lund” — a “schwa” for the second syllable, and the third rhyming with “fund”. Like “Maralund”. Thank you. Oh, and don’t forget to try the crabcakes. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/200 "2008-09-22T04:07:33Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I’ve never run into anyone that’s not known about the state but it’s a pretty common and probably apocryphal anecdote that someone from Hawaii, New Mexico, or one of the square states tries to buy alcohol and the clerk refuses to sell it to them because they don’t have American issued IDs. Yeah, that. I specifically remember a story about a guy in New Mexico who wanted to buy tickets to some events at the Atlanta Olympics and could NOT get them to believe that New Mexico is part of the US. They kept telling him that he needed to buy his tickets through his home country’s IOC or whatever. There’s a Facebook group called [Yes, New Mexico is a state, thank you very much!](http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?sid=f93a6b6143b14505f0531b009030a853&refurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.new.facebook.com%2Fs.php%3Fsid%3Df93a6b6143b14505f0531b009030a853%26ref%3Dsearch%26init%3Dq%26q%3Dnew%2Bmexico%2B%26n%3D-1%26o%3D4%26sf%3Dt%26k%3D200000010&gid=2204449607) [Here’s an NPR story about people not knowing that New Mexico is a state.](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12512979) The story refers to New Mexico Magazine’s monthly bit on New Mexicans having trouble convincing other people that they are, in fact, Americans, [One of Our Fifty Is Missing](http://www.nmmagazine.com/50missing.php). Pretty embarrassing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010.md?page=11)