In the midst of international protests, getting kicked off UN commissions, etc., global anti-American sentiments seem to be at their highest since Vietnam. I can certainly understand why so many hate the US, but that’s another thread.
So i’m wondering, in what countries do they actually like the USA? I don’t mean which countries have governments that are buddy buddy because of military or economic alliances and whatnot. I mean where do the majority of the people generally feel that the USA is good?
As far as i can tell, it seems to be limited mostly to countries that we’ve helped out in a big way. This is what i’ve got so far:
Kuwaiit
Israel
The Netherlands (at least based on what i’ve seen from Coldfire)
The Philippines
South Korea
Actually, the typical American encountering a typical Iranian on the streets of Tehran will very likely find a warm reception.
There are people out there who actively dislike Americans, (generally if they encounter a lot of us as tourists).
However, in general, any given citizen of any given country is no more likely to hate Americans–as a group or as individuals–than we are to hate them.
It is not hard to find individuals whose antipathy to U.S. policies spills over onto their dealings with individuals, but it is usually very easy to find people who are willing to be friends, just as people.
I believe that you’d find that Canada is a pretty close friend, both at the national level and on the personal level. Sure, our governments disagree on some matters from time to time, but it’s been nearly 200 years since we went to war with each other. What other two countries sharing a border can make that sort of brag?
I believe President Kennedy summarised the relationship:
“Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends.”
when I was in Australia this summer for three months everyone I met loved us. They know more about our country than we do. Most of their TV is American. They think we are great. I went to the movies with an Australian friend (the one about the older astronauts) and during the movie he looked over at me and said “God bless America.”
The pervasiness of American pop culture has certainly endeared the US to the world. From Baywatch to the season’s Hollywood blockbusters, everyone follows US trends–even the French, who are so obsessed with their culture that it is sometimes difficult for them to take a good look around. McDonalds enjoyed incredible success in Eastern European countries. Coke and Pepsi are practically Official Earth Beverages now. American icons are probably the most numerous on the planet.
On a political level I think the story is different, but we are talking about completely separate things.
At any rate, how people in certain countries view Americans tends to be based on much stereotyping. In general, people all over the world tend to be interested in visitors and quite friendly to them, especially if they come from the land of pop culture icons, but when you bring up the subjects of stereotypes the picture is not quite the same.
AFAIK, most Aussies don’t have a problem with Americans. Many of our newspapers took the US side in the recent spy plane fiasco, even though we have more trade links with China.
There is a sort of “those crazy Americans” attitude, but I think it’s more affectionate. You know, like a “New Zealanders sleep with sheep. Heh. Heh” type of thing. Although we’ll never understand the attachment that you guys have for your guns.
Well yeah … but if I recall correctly, most of our top-ranking shows are Australian.
I don’t think that the average Australian has a problem with the average American. We aren’t going to fall over ourselves to kiss American tourists’ feet, but neither are we going to cross the street to avoid them.
Sure, we think you’re alright. But we think that we’re heaps better.
Well, looks like i should have worded my OP more carefully. I don’t mean where do they like Americans on a personal level, or American culture and such, i meant the US as a political entity.
The posts thus far have been interesting, however.
You can rely on Britain to support the US in 99% of policy decisions, although that’s now coming increasingly under pressure. The Conservatives usually support the US regardless, and Labour had done while Clinton (part of the “third way” triumvirate of Clinton, Blair and Schroeder) was president. Public opinion is not so clear though, particularly after Kyoto and the NMD, which directly affects Britain.
Politically and individually are two different things.
E.g. individually, despite the recent problem in China, most Chinese on the street would love to come here. In fact, thousands of them risks their lives to come here every year.
I’ve met people from countries whose governments are actively unfriendly towards us, such as Iraq, but who are the friendliest people in the world. (Actually Iraq may be a bad example because any Iraqi who is here is probably a refugee or enemy of the Iraqi government.) But most people like America because it’s commonly known to be a country of opportunity and freedom.
Politically, it’s an entirely different matter. Any country who is friendly towards only because of financial or military aid is just a fair weather friend. It’s like a pal who hangs around you just because of season tickets, etc. is a pal not worth having, and it goes both ways.
Our best pals are probably the ones who speak the same language as us and have the same culture, i.e. Brits, Aussies, Canadians etc. Because we have the same culture, beliefs, etc. we hold the same ideals dear, we value the same things. Countries who hang out together usually will stick up for each other. Take a look a your local metropolitan high school lunchroom, it’s a microcosm of the world.
I think in a majority of cases, it’s a few very vocal people trying to whip up anti-whatever sentiment for their own personal benefit rather than the true feelings of entire nation.
Take Japan, for example. Even during the height of the furor over the Greenville incident, everyone in my neighborhood (in Tokyo) was just as friendly as they had been before the accident happened (which is extremely friendly, btw). The closest I came to being accosted by an angry mob was a cab driver who asked me how the accident was being reported in America. Meanwhile, Tokyo governor Ishihara was ranting about how Japan has to stand up to the arrogant westerners and how he wants the army to be ready to start rounding up foreigners in the event of a natural disaster.
I think the main reason for the impression that everyone hates America is that “death to the great Satan!” sells more newspapers than “howdy, neighbor!” I believe it was last year or 1999 that Time ran a cover photo of a crowd of Japanese in what looked like a frenzy of angry shouting, accompanied by an ominous-sounding headline about growing militant anti-Americanism. The photo was actually of a crowd of soccer fans after their team had just scored.
During the recent squabbles, China made it very plain they consider Australia to be an “uncritical ally of the US”. Certainly strategically and on most macro socio-political issues, that would be correct. Most of the friction (IMHO) comes on on the trade front.
I’m all for a robust US alliance and dialogue, (especially if you would keep that damn EEP under wraps) it’s just the “uncritical” bit that hurts.
Ergo the current US administration’s handling of global affairs (e.g. NMD) represents a real problem for Australia, in being caught between our most important ally and our most important trading partner.
Once an Australian was hiking in New Zealand, when he sees a New Zealander being [ahem] “extremely intimate” with a sheep. The Australian laughs and calls out, “Where I come from we shear those!”
The Kiwi replies indignantly, “This one’s mine, and I’m not shearing her with you!”
the US is still a highly popular country in lots of places…
One of the reasons other Western countries can be quick and relatively harsh with criticism is - of course - that we hold the US to a much higher standard than we would Ukraine or China. If China acts unreasonable or Ukraine starts weaseling on a deal, we shrug it off.
Another reason is that the US is still de facto the leader of the Western world and that any US screw-up reflects badly on all of us.
Last, but not least: We know that we’re small potatoes when compared with the US, but we do not enjoy having our noses rubbed in it. When the current administration says “NMD will be discussed with our allies” with one side of their mouth and “We’ve decided that NMD will be implemented” with the other, it’s bound to create a bad mood here and there.
Actually I’vee been meaning to start a thread on my following question but this seems an appropriate place for it (so I don’t think this constitutes a hijack but let me know if it is and I should start a new thread).
What about France? We saved their bacon in WWI and WWII so I’m not sure the helping out part suffices (maybe they consider their aid in the American Revolution to cancel the two World Wars out). For some reason the government there seems pathologocally focused on doing the opposite of what the US wants. Granted there is no reason they should roll over and play the lackey but c’mon. We’re supposed to be buds and generally help each other out yet they drag their feet over Desert Storm, Bosnia, trade realtions with any number of not so great countries (China and the like). They set off nukes in the face of strong condemnation and erect trade barriers higher than most other western european countries to American goods.
Does France really have such a different national outlook than the US and the rest of western europe or are they merely acting out a knee-jerk reaction to prove to everyone else that they are a sovereign nation and can do whatever they want?
Remember that they had a revolution shortly after we did. And the United States did not reciprocate with aid.
Nearly everyone has read the May 5th, 1945 thread. and we feel pretty good about ourselves. But the US also has promised aid and support and then ignored pleas for help from the people we promised it to: Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Kurds… I’m sure there are legitimate political reasons (like “We don’t want to start a nuclear war.”) for not helping out; but it makes us look bad if we promise support and then don’t deliver on the promise.
I’m sure you realize that was a political necessity. The French monarchy helped us win independence. So were we supposed to send aid to the side of democracy and gain a reputation as a country that bites the hand that feeds it, or send aid to ol’ Louis contrary to our own principles? It’s hard to believe the French are pissed off about that…
True, though I doubt it’s a unique phenomena. This may be a little out of place in GQ, but I have a personal anecdote:
A (American) friend of mine who lives in Ireland once told me quite seriously with no qualifications that Americans are “very ignorant”. To me, that remark (along with a few other gems) only proved her own ignorance (and arrogance). Apparently she is the exception to the rule by mere virtue of being a world traveller. My last e-mail to her included the lines, “If you can’t see how nonsensical this was on your part, I don’t understand why you’d want to talk to me at all. I mean, according to this, I must be just another dumb-ass American living in my own little self-centered dream world.” We have not talked since.
I know you guys are just having fun, but clearly there are those who really mean such things (and worse). And so I must point out that I fail to understand how anyone can logically think that one’s nationality has any importance whatsoever on their value as a human being.
