Oh no… here come more broad sweeping generalisation from people who I thought were my friends…

Hi,
I am also an American expat and I live in Ireland. That was rude of your “friend” to make a remark like that. But I do know that often times, we get criticized for being who we are, and it leaves me scratching my head! Sometimes I think it’s jealousy, other times I think it’s just plain ole’ ignorance. Thankfully not all Brits hate us….I think the only reason I haven’t come across such rude comments is that the Irish and the Americans traditionally have a “friendlier” relationship with each other…we love them and they like us.

Sorry you had to have that unpleasant experience.

Thanks for commiserating, Susan I’ve calmed down after the exchange. I blogged this RIGHT after it happened and I was all wound up about it. I’ve blocked his arse now. Ahhhhh, the joys of Facebook…

Thank you, yankeebean! I am an American that just got back from an 8 day horticultural study tour in Ireland. I had such a lovely time, but I cannot tell you how tired I got of hearing the phrases “You Americans…” and “All Americans are (fill in the blank)”. This being my first time to visit Europe, I was shocked! How rude? I would *never* say that to another person, especially a foreigner visiting my country. Let me stress that not all of the Europeans I met in Ireland treated me this way, but the majority definitely had a prejudice of me, which was really kind of hurtful. Try and get to know me first, then form your opinion, right??

Anyways, I did meet some really great people (after I basically had to charm them with in an inch of my life! Haha!), and had a spectacular time! Next time I go to Europe, I’ll be a little more prepared to be chastised that much.

Hello BecahFromBama,Sorry to hear about your experiences in Ireland. Yes I find it annoying that Americans are somehow seen as fair game for casual xenophobia.However, a useful tip. If you want to endear yourself to Brits, the Irish etc, then please don’t talk of “Europeans”, as if Europe is one cultural lump. Europe is a continent with at least as many cultures as countries. It’s like lumping Americans to together with the rest of North America, when the USA, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica etc all have different identities and cultures.I hope if you visit Eire again, you encounter the man lovely Irish people there.

Gotta be honest, Steve-O… I think lumping all Americans together is reasonably similar to lumping all Europeans together.  I have first-hand experience with how different the cultures can be in the States having lived in the mid west, the south and on east coast…

I know we speak the same language, but sometimes only barely…

Lumping people together unfairly is the same regardless of the presence of a constitution.

It’s politics. There’s nothing wrong with stating your opinion on your political point of view.  You know what bothers me? The political correctness of this world. It is becoming increasingly difficult to exercise your right to speak your mind, despite the subject matter, all because it will offend *SOMEONE* And this annoys me to no end.

Besides, depending on how you look at it, that comment made on your facebook account wasn’t exactly wrong if you look at the States from an outsider’s perspective. Here’s a question for you: why do you let someone’s opinion of America’s leadership influence your mood and/or friendships? Let them have their say just as they let you have yours. Friendship is about acceptance isn’t it? Not conformity. But I do understand your impatience with stereotyping. Every country says something about another, especially the world’s leading military, economic, and political powers.  But I personally couldn’t care less what others think/say. Most people, it seems, aren’t even educated enough about a topic to make an informed remark so it’s all hearsay.

@Steve Shawcross: Actually, what exactly makes up North America is debatable and I could argue that  it wouldn’t include Jamaica or Mexico (or the U.S.A. since North America is considered by some to be a subcontinent of the U.S.). But the point is, culture is made up of more than just political beliefs or geographical landmarks. It’s made up of economic structures, religions, history, trends, social expectations, taboos, fashion, dialect, etc. So lumping people together by geographical location is always a mistake. Anyway, you’re arguing semantics here, mate. And if you want to unify Europe under something, try historical wars (history in general), or religions and Europe’s reverence of the Pope. (You’ll find that all European countries (at one point or another), have or had all of these things in common.)

You’re sadly right about PC; many have forgotten that offence is taken, not given.

You’re quite right about varying definitions of North America, very good point. You could definitely argue semantics with that. Do we take NA in the NAFTA sense of the defintion, or the geological plate definition? And so on.

I’m not sure about arguing semantics with Europe on the issue of culture, but hey-ho. Well certainly Catholicism did hold great sway over Europe historically, but Europe does have a very diverse religious make-up now. Some countries in Europe remain devoutly Catholic (Ireland and Italy), others much less so (UK for instance, more inclined to Anglicanism!)

Europe does have a reputation for penchant for war; ironically this been nearly been due to autocrats trying to unify it under a superstate/empire, so I have no wish to unify the continent I think Europe’s greatest quality, is its great diversity