# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/161 "2008-09-19T23:23:23Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > If you think he’s kidding, get my cousin’s Scottish husband drunk and try to convince him that anything of value in this world wasn’t originally a Scotsman’s idea. [How the Scots invented the modern world](http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Scots-Invented-Modern-World/dp/0609606352) There’s a whole book about it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/162 "2008-09-19T23:36:12Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > But don’t give me attitude when I KNOW you’re not going to know of this obscure American state. 🙂 If general geography is what you want, say, “Where in America are you from?” Just remember: states aren’t geography, they’re (ultimately) politics. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/163 "2008-09-19T23:38:29Z")
> [@Struan](#): > > How the Scots invented the modern world > > There’s a whole book about it. By any chance, have you married a girl from Minnesota recently? ETA: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/164 "2008-09-20T00:49:36Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Straw man and straw man. I have repeatedly and consistently clarified my _very specific_ position in this thread and take no responsibility for any further misreading, deliberate or not, that may result from an inability or unwillingness to read my posts for comprehension. Aren’t we done with this subject? > [@](#): > > Male friends seem to require physical affirmation of some kind (some sort of hand slap or handshake or fist thing, depending) any time you see them or leave their company. I never got this vibe from anyone, as a male, but as always YMMV. > [@](#): > > I bet that’s a border thing. I’ve yet to meet a Canadian down here who first says “I’m from Ontario” or “I’m from Alberta” rather than “I’m from Canada” or “I’m Canadian”. IIRC the majority of Canadians do live within a relatively short distance of the U.S. border. which might be one reason for that. > [@](#): > > OTOH, ignorance of Mexican states runs high in this area too, and most Mexican people I know would describe themselves as Mexican before describing themselves as “from Sonora” or whatever. Granted, the vast majority of our Mexican population is from Tijuana since it’s practically a twin city, but that might be different as you go further north. I’m only 110 miles north of you, but we see “I heart (Mexican state name)” on people’s trucks and cars all the time. Do they not do that in San Diego, or does the loyalty to and/or identification with the state in question usually not go any farther than having a sticker? It’s been my experience too that I’ve never heard anyone say they were from Jalisco or Oaxaca. > [@](#): > > Exactly! That’s what I’m saying. When somebody asks me where I’m from or where I live in an international context, my default answer is always going to be San Diego or Southern California, because the idea of saying “America” isn’t really going to figure into my thought process. This I pretty much agree with . [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/165 "2008-09-20T01:29:41Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > IIRC the majority of Canadians do live within a relatively short distance of the U.S. border. which might be one reason for that. Yeah, around here Canadians are just assumed to be from Ontario. They usually identify their city, whilst outsiders would say their province. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/166 "2008-09-20T01:31:31Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Aren’t we done with this subject? Funny, I was wondering the same thing. > [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Do they not do that in San Diego, or does the loyalty to and/or identification with the state in question usually not go any farther than having a sticker? Not that I can ever recall seeing. I couldn’t tell you about loyalty or identification, but I’m also not positive that I’ve ever met anyone from a Mexican state other than BC. By the way, have you noticed that you’re ending all your posts with [/quote] lately? ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/167 "2008-09-20T01:46:36Z")
I noticed a reaction to the whole Daniel Radcliffe/Equus thing that seemed very culture. Equus ran for a while and we all knew Dan Radcliffe was naked and fully exposed on stage. Yet, we never saw pictures and, if there was discussion on his genitals, it was whispered among friends. On the other hand, Daniel has only been in the states for a bit but there are now a million articles about his penis and pictures of it all over the internet. Are Americans more curious about other people’s genitals? More open in their discussions of it? ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/168 "2008-09-20T03:06:59Z")
Absolutely not. ---
**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 20, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/169 "2008-09-20T03:24:40Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I think this may be why Canadians, though also from a country that is huge geographically, do not do this to the same extent. AFAIK the history is somewhat more homogeneous. Er, not at all. Different parts of Canada have wildly different histories, there have been and still are strong rivalries between different groups in the country (though we didn’t fight a civil war like yours) and today the culture varies a lot from place to place in Canada. Not homogeneous at all. > [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Why? Canada has a very different culture and society. Almost everything about their culture, AIUI, is more unified and central. For example, all but the most petty crimes over there are investigated by federal police and tried in federal court, a concept that is so absurd in America that it would be almost offensive to apply it here. Criminal law in Canada is a federal responsibility for historical reasons. (And actually crimes are tried before the provincial courts even though the law is federal. Most provinces have their own police force to investigate crimes, as do most large enough municipalities.) Civil law is a provincial responsibility, and varies from province to province. This doesn’t mean our culture is more “centralized” than the US’s, and in fact, it isn’t. If you ask me where I’m from, what I answer would probably depend on where you’re asking. I’ll probably say “Canada” somewhere in there because that’s what people abroad know about. But I still consider myself a Quebecer before I consider myself a Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/170 "2008-09-20T03:40:09Z")
The one time I was overseas I tended to answer where are you from with “Georgia, United States” or just “Georgia” if I wasn’t thinking. The reasons are two fold. First, I’m used to Georgia being a sufficient answer because for most of my life the people asking me that have been Americans and know where that is. Second, as others have said, my state is actually a very important part of my identity. A good illustration of the second fact occurred just tonight. A guy I was talking to said I was a transplant who wasn’t really Georgian because though I was born and raised there my parents weren’t. I had to end the conversation because I about hit him. It felt to me like it was a direct attack on my personal identity. Honestly I was shocked about how angry I got and it made me realize how much my state, and by extension Southern culture, is an vital part of how I think of myself. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/171 "2008-09-20T06:22:21Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Why are you making such broad, sweeping statements about something you don’t know about? If I have offended or angered you, I apologize. I would like to note that all I said was that I would expect it from Canadians, and I would. You offered another explanation, which Canadian **Hypnagogic Jerk** disagrees with. > [@](#): > > 'd love to hear your other examples of our “US is default” thinking, though. I see it on the internet all the time. On this board, posters assume you’re American to the point that they’ll base their arguments on it. Fine, maybe they consider this an “American” board. I had a website in the .nu top domain, my name (which does not sound American in the least) was on the website, and there was no indication anywhere that I was American. I had a long email conversation with an American who eventually asked “Just one thing… you’re not American, are you?”. This on a literally world wide network. It’s not just an internet thing. Things like tone are difficult to convey in writing, but when Americans do have to identify themselves as American it’s with an “Oh, you see, I’m normal, I thought you realized that” tone. Americans also tend to expect foreigners to be knowledgeable about the US - geography, political system, cultural differences and so forth. I remember having a long email conversation with an American tech support customer which degenerated into a discussion of the histories of Puerto Rico and Massachusetts, where my earnest attempts to be courteous and helpful were construed as sarcasm because I didn’t know Massachusetts was a commonwealth (whatever that is) and when she said it was I thought, from the context of the conversation, that it wasn’t a state. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/172 "2008-09-20T07:06:14Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Ah, the classic “it’s not what I said, it’s what I meant” argument. I would advise you to try that on the next East Asian person you call a “chink” and see how well it goes over. OK, you lost me here. Weren’t you the one bitching about straw men? Unless I missed something fairly significant here, I’m not sure how you got from “You can’t say ‘I’m Irish’ because I’m Jewish and queer” to … this accusation of someone hurling racial epithets. :dubious: Anyhow. Ask me where I’m from, I’ll say Chicago. Ask me what nationality I am, I’ll say American if I’m abroad, but if I’m here in the US, I will reply that I am Sicilian. As no one who wasn’t IN my family has any idea how much of the “Sicilian experience” I have experienced, it’s not up to any of them to argue how much right I have to that claim. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/173 "2008-09-20T18:01:37Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Indeed, you might get: “My friend Bob lives in California too! Do you know him?” My very first night in Spain, I met some nice kids my age who offered to show me around town. One of the Spanish girls said, “Oh, you’re from California! Do you know Maria?” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/174 "2008-09-20T18:31:28Z")
You should have said, “Oh, of course. Wait, which Maria? Do you mean the shorter dark-haired one with the tattoo, or the taller blonde one with the mole on the side of her nose.” ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/175 "2008-09-20T20:41:06Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > My very first night in Spain, I met some nice kids my age who offered to show me around town. One of the Spanish girls said, “Oh, you’re from California! Do you know Maria?” 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. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/176 "2008-09-21T02:21:51Z")
I think that happens to a lot of Canadians, too. We have met two other bunches of Canadians in our travels down south - the ones we met in Salt Lake City were from a town five minutes north of Calgary, and the other ones we met in Montana were from Calgary itself. I think if we’d talked for any length of time, we would have found relatives/acquaintances in common. It’s almost embarrassing, because we are trying to quash that stereotype, but it might be kinda true. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/177 "2008-09-21T02:32:12Z")
> [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](#): > > This is tangentially related to another peeve of mine - USians often seem to assume that the US is the only country that has any ethnic diversity/immigration. You see, people come _from_ the old country _to_ the new world, anything else causes a bit of a brain fart with some Americans. A friend visiting me from Texas was once astonished in the metro: “Those Asian women are speaking French!” I was moderately amused. > [@](#): > > If you want to know where a person is from, then ask that. To an American (and probably Canadians and Australians) “Where are you from?” and “What nationality are you?” are distinctly different questions because aboriginal people aside, we’re all descended from people from other countries. If someone asks me where I’m from, I say Montreal; if they ask me what my nationality is, I say I’m Canadian, but it’s not a question I’d expect. I would only recite my ethnic background if someone asked for that, just as I’d only start going into the places I’ve lived if they asked that, too. > [@](#): > > When meeting someone from Ireland or Holland, we would not likely call ourselves Irish or Dutch to them; there is indeed context for these discussions. Likewise – when speaking to a person from Scotland, I wouldn’t say, “I’m Scottish,” but rather, “My father’s family was originally from Scotland, though we’ve been in Canada for a few generations” or the like, if it came up (e.g. because of my last name). I might say “I’m Scottish” in a throwaway fashion in other contexts when clearly referring to my ethnic background, but not when speaking to an actual Scot, since it would be misleading. > [@](#): > > A friend who’s Italian (born and reared in Rome) says one of the biggest differences in America and Italy is that in America if a person is asked “what do you do?” they answer “I’m a lawyer/banker/plumber” etc.- occupational default. In Italy, per her, asked “what do you do?” a person will respond “I garden/ski/read/play football”- they default to their hobbies and interests. Anyone else find this true in Europeans? Apropos of nothing, I find myself asking new people, “So, what do you do? Interpret in whatever way you find most interesting.” > [@](#): > > They do when they’re in the US. It would seem very strange to run into a Canadian here and have them say “I’m from Canada” rather than the province name or city. Well, you live in Michigan. If I were in Vermont, I’d say I was from Montreal. If I were in, say, Oklahoma, I’d probably say I was from Canada. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/178 "2008-09-21T02:44:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Criminal law in Canada is a federal responsibility for historical reasons. (And actually crimes are tried before the provincial courts even though the law is federal. Most provinces have their own police force to investigate crimes, as do most large enough municipalities.) 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. As described, the provinces and territories are responsible for applying criminal law in most cases, but the Criminal Code itself is federal. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/179 "2008-09-21T03:22:19Z")
> [@](#): > > In Italy, per her, asked “what do you do?” a person will respond “I garden/ski/read/play football”- they default to their hobbies and interests. Anyone else find this true in Europeans? Oh, Matt, thanks for quoting this, I wanted to address this the other day and forgot. Is there any chance this could be a language issue? I don’t speak Italian, but in Bulgarian, anyway, if you ask someone “what do you do?” they will answer in the same way as Italians. To find out what someone does for a living, you have to ask “what do you work?”. It’s POSSIBLE that this example says more about the difference between English and Italian than the differences between Americans and Italians. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010/180 "2008-09-21T03:40:09Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You know, I wonder if it’s differentness of how we sound that makes it more noticeable and therefore seem louder. The loudest sober people I run into on a semi-regular basis are Québécois. Do you think they’re louder than other Canadians? Sorry, I missed this. In my experience the Quebecois DO seem kind of loud - certainlt louder than other Canadians anyways. I think you’re on to something with the different-accents-seem-louder theory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-u-s-dopers-what-are-typical-american-traits/464010.md?page=10)