Americans are all Spoiled and Rich, You Say?

This is news to me. I used to think that this was a joke until I had heard it so many times. I have come to find these people are actually serious.

Wow!

What I find most interesting is the fact that those living in Europe, Canada, and other Western countries clearly live better than Americans. This is a fact.

But we’re “spoiled”? And “rich”? How?

Surely if you compare our materialism with those living in developing countries, I can understand. But when you compare “our stuff” with what people have in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, and in Europe? Are you kidding me?

For those that are just as clueless as I, this is an actual stereotype pinned to the Americans. I have found no evidence to support how Americans are “spoiled and rich”. But I HAVE found evidence to support that our government is RICH but also trillions of dollars (if not more) IN DEBT. Yep. You guys are supposed to know this stuff. I think you Americanophobes conveniently like to “confuse” the average man on the street with the $$$$ BIG $$$$ FAT $$$$ CAT $$$$ CORPORATIONS $$$$ that run the country.

Anyway, I have only found evidence to support the opposite of the claim that all Americans have 589001456 SUVs, have 4 story homes with 9 garages on 6000 acres of land. Ironically enough, the same Americanophobic propagandists who who call us “spoiled and rich”  are also the same people who say American lives suck.

Americanophobes are a walking contradiction, to say the least.

Let us explore how the rest of the West live in comparison to those evil yanks.

The French Health Care System

More on the French Health Care System (Rated the best in the world)

French Family Values VS American Family Values

In the U.S. politicians are defined as pro-family values if they:

• Oppose abortion.
• Oppose stem cell research.
• Oppose gay marriage.
• Give lip service to the sanctity of traditional marriage and the importance of the traditional family
• Attend church regularly.

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As far as the French are concerned, these issues have little if anything to do with family values.

For them “pro-family” means supporting policies that play a major role in helping families — parents and children — in their daily lives. Politicians are considered pro-family values if they vote for continued government support for:

• Universal, accessible medical care.
• Family allowances paid to parents of young children to help them with the costs of raising children.
• Minimum of four day stays in hospital for mothers giving birth.
• Social workers available cost-free to help parents of newborns with child-rearing, finances, and other issues.
• State-run day care for children from the age of 4 months, with payment based on parents’ income, and free preschool programs for all children starting at age 3, all with teachers who have completed a two year program in pedagogy.
• Free education, elementary school through university, including graduate school, medical, law, and other professional schools.
• A work year of approximately 1440 hours and one month paid vacation which makes for more “quality time” for parents and children. (Americans work approximately 1800 hours per year according to World Policy Institute researchers. The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays, according to economist John Schmitt of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.)

How Canada Stole the American Dream

Believe it or not, we now have more wealth than Americans, even though we work shorter hours. We drink more often, but we live longer and have fewer diseases. We have more sex, more sex partners and we’re more adventurous in bed, but we have fewer teen pregnancies and fewer sexually transmitted diseases. We spend more time with family and friends, and more time exploring the world.

[Snip!]

The data shows that it’s the Canadians who are living it up, while Americans toil away, working longer hours to pay their mounting bills.

The Obesity Epidemic in the US (although Australia has beat us at our own game)

How is it that this is an area of envy? I will wait a lifetime for this answer.

As the Canadians said, Americans work longer hours and have less vacation time to spend with loved ones and family.

Am I supposed to feel spoiled? NO! I’M ENVIOUS!!!!

How about the Nanny States that most of you live in? My friend who lives in Finland told me that her husband GOT PAID for going to college! You have Nanny who takes care of any problems you may have. You people as self-sufficient as Americans are, generally speaking. Americans must fend for themselves. Granted, Americans DO have access to social programs and the like such as welfare, social security, Medicaid, SSI, SSD, scholarships for college, financial aid for college, public school, and free emergency care if you don’t have insurance. But compared to Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia, you are afforded more luxury living conditions that don’t pressure you to work hard. And you receive more handouts from Nanny that the Americans envy.

My fiance, from England, can’t believe we (in America) only get two weeks holiday a year to start. They get five. To him it’s INSANE that companies don’t take better care of their workers. When he was here in December, I couldn’t take off from work, because I hadn’t accrued any vacation time at that point. Also insane. And now I have to ration my time off for when he moves here and we get married.

He also says that in England, they cannot schedule your shift less than 12 hours apart (8 for sleep, 2 hours for commuting both ways, 2 hours for breakfast and dinner). During the Christmas season in the US, it was common for me to close the store at 11pm, and be back in to open at 6am. That made him angry to hear.

And, in England, if your employer wants you to work the overnight shift (for example, filling in for a co-worker for a day or two), they have to give you the day prior off and the day after off, and pay you for both, to let your body adjust to the schedule change. In other words, two free paid days off, in addition to your regular days off! If only they’d schedule him for one overnight per week!

But sometimes Nanny can get evil and start preaching to you how you must live your lives, but you guys don’t seem to mind that. (Well, at least the braggart Americanophobes don’t)

Here’s one American’s take on “how spoiled we are”.

We’re NOT SPOILED

I’m sick of being told we need to cut back and that America is spoiled. I guess it’s better if we’re more like the “world?” It’s my fault that I need to get to work, need gas in the car, food on the table, and want to see a movie once in a while? Oh yeah, baby I’m living way past my means.

Someone’s starving, somewhere so I need to give up my car to drive to the store and ride a bike. Of course! What was I thinking!

What in the “world” are they talking about? Because some other country doesn’t live like we do doesn’t make us automatically spoiled.

Why does America have food, fuel, housing, roads? We “have” because people here worked for “it.” We became what we are because we PRODUCED! Production doesn’t make you spoiled; it shows you’re smart.

Collectively, we have more because we produce more.

Stop telling me I’m spoiled and I should just cut back so the TRULY spoiled – BIG OIL COMPANIES – can keep THEIR riches, enjoy their yachts, big tax breaks, government subsidies, AND spoiled style of living.

Feel free to read the rest of her justified rant here.

Should we appreciate what we have? Yes. But I’d never go as far as saying that we’re spoiled or that we have more than other 1st world countries or that we want material goods that others don’t crave. That’s a crock of poop.

What about rich American Celebrities?

American movies make more money (because they are shown all over the world), so the celebrities get paid more here compared to the celebrities abroad. However, celebrities on the whole, are RICH all over the world. Every country’s celebrity makes more than their doctors and lawyers. And naturally, these people along with the government, shoudn’t be “confused” with the average Joe American.

Salaries

Before we talk about salaries that the average men on the street make, and before we discuss who makes more money, let’s look at the LIVING EXPENSES in each country. I’ll leave you to do that research yourself. In any event, it is insignificant because the average Joe American is *NOT* rich. Not even close.

In the US, only a small few are considered “rich”. The rest of the population are part of the upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class, working class, and then the indigent.

Even if Americans were mostly or all rich upper middle people?

…So?

What does rich mean – other than rich? How does money equate to being “spoiled”? Or content? Especially when we can see that there are other countries out there that are happier than America. Some significant differences follow.

What about “Quality of Life”?

Norway, anybody? What about this?

Feeling sad? Researchers at Britain’s University of Leicester reckon you might just be in the wrong country. According to Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist at Leicester who developed the first “World Map of Happiness,” Denmark is the happiest nation in the world.

White’s research used a battery of statistical data, plus the subjective responses of 80,000 people worldwide, to map out well-being across 178 countries. Denmark and five other European countries, including Switzerland, Austria, and Iceland, came out in the top 10…

Hat Tip: In Case You Missed It

And that’s not even the half of it. If it is true that everything about America sucks, then how do you think the people must feel?

Actually, if anybody is spoiled, that would be any country that is not forced to take care of themselves knowing that the government will always be there for you.

Before you call Americans “spoiled”, please check our quality of life compared to other developed countries, and then get back to me with your revised verdict.

Some Brits find the US to Be More Peaceful and Less Violent than Britain

I have been calling out the US on her violence for ages, but having read this article published by the BBC, it gave even someone like me some perspective.

A British man I met in Colorado recently told me he used to live in Kent but he moved to the American state of New Jersey and will not go home because it is, as he put it, “a gentler environment for bringing the kids up.”

Brits arriving in New York, hoping to avoid being slaughtered on day one of their shopping mission to Manhattan are, by day two, beginning to wonder what all the fuss was about. By day three they have had had the scales lifted from their eyes.

I have met incredulous British tourists who have been shocked to the core by the peacefulness of the place, the lack of the violent undercurrent so ubiquitous in British cities, even British market towns.

“It seems so nice here,” they quaver.

[Snip!]

They will occasionally kill each other in anger or by mistake, but you never feel as unsafe as you can feel in south London.

It is a paradox. Along with the guns there is a tranquillity and civility about American life of which most British people can only dream.

Feel free to read the rest of that article here.

The British authors of “America in the World” published something noteworthy on this topic:

Gun crime, inequalities in general and access to healthcare, in particular, are also used by America’s critics as ammunition.  Michael Moore’s films – Bowling for Columbine and Sicko – portray a particularly negative view of America.  American citizens have their own personal experiences which they can set against the films of Moore – and of the wider Hollywood – but for overseas observers they are often unchallenged propaganda. There are occasional attempts by opinion-formers to put contentious subjects into context – as the BBC’s Justin Webb recently did in his defence of America’s record on gun crime[13] – but these are exceptional.

This fact is very important. Only in America are Micheal Moore, Al Gore, Noam Chomsky et al challenged on some of their exaggerations, inaccurate fast facts, and generalized distortion of the truth. However, abroad, these people’s statements are digested without a burp!

Critics of America are very useful and have fundamentally good intentions, however, some of these multi-millionaires who critique this country get carried away beyond the facts to pure theatrical hyperbole.

If you are interested in this subject, you also may be interested in my posting about the flaws in Michaell Moore’s argument in his movie, “Bowling for Columbine”.

What is the American Dream? (Addressing the foreign myth)

I may be wrong, but I think only Americans understand what the “American Dream” really is.

Those from other countries have deluded perceptions in thinking that

• all Americans have it or are striving for it, and that
• it is served on a silver platter without having to lift a finger.

No!

The American Dream is something that one must work for and work hard for. It also involves Personal Responsibility which is the antithesis of the Nanny/Welfare states in other parts of the developed world. America is VERY unforgiving in this manner.

The American Dream is being who you want to be with America being the place to have the opportunity to do so. It’s *NOT* about having more shiny expensive gadgets than your neighbor. The American Dream is *NOT* about spending plastic money and then going into debt to buy that 1558800069877 inch plasma TV. It’s *NOT* about having a family of 6 with a dog and a big back yard with a barbecue made for cooking 4 inch hamburgers in liquid smoke and with green grass and daddy on the drivable lawn mover.

Immigrants from impoverished nations move here (both legally and illegally) not in every case for the “American Dream” but to make fast cash to send back home to their respective countries in a lot of cases. Other nations have this illusion that if a person from a 3rd world country comes to America, that all they have to do is sit back with their hands out and that the Americans will give them everything they wish for requiring no effort from the newcomer. And when the Americanophobe finds out that the immigrant has to work toward their goal, the “American Dream” then becomes a “myth” and we have to hear how “racist” and “cruel” we are to foreigners… for offering them work or requiring it to live. Suffice it to say that the ILLEGAL immigrants do much better than the poor folk that were actually BORN, bred, and pay taxes in America.

This article, “Special Canada Day Report: How Canada stole the American Dream“ while accurate on many accounts regarding the Canada vs America debate, is a perfect example of how other nations don’t get where the term “The American Dream” came from or why it is even used.

The article above is biased in that the author is comparing ALL Canadians with only the Evangelical Neo-Conservative population in the US rather than looking at ALL Canadians vs ALL Americans in its entirety. But Americanophobic Canadians  are insecure and their mentors feel a compelling need to teach even more patriotism with hopes that Canada will feel less self-loathing. You know, like the kind of “America – love it or leave it” type of patriotism that we’re taught here at home.

I will say that America is still known as “The Land of Opportunities” which is why many from other nations come here to make something of themselves or to expand even greater on their goals. The American Dream is to take advantage of that opportunity whether it be for work or a higher education at one of our renowned ivy league universities.

This is not to say that you cannot afford opportunities in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or in other places around the world. What makes us different (in context to this topic) is minor. But when people from other places around the globe make it big in the US, you cannot help but to wonder that there just may be a difference between the US and other developed countries, in this regard.

America – From the Eyes of a Foreigner: Edition III (Troy)

Hi,

I for one am sick and tired of off the wall Anti-Americanism. I’m also a Canadian who happened to live in America for a year. Contrary to the stereotype of brashness and rudeness I found Americans, in general, remember their manners and are, in general, good Samaritans.

I flew down to Logan Airport from the Maritimes to make a connection flight to Albany and a family from New York state not only offered me directions but offered to buy me dinner as well. Man, woman and two kids. I took up their offer and they were really sweet people. It’s one of the few acts of random kindness I ever received, not from my fellow Canuckleheads but from those “evil” Americans.

In Albany one of those “evil” co-worker Americans took an evening from his schedule and helped me move from a smaller apartment to a bigger one and expected nothing in return.

When I was back home going to university an American from the South stayed in the room across from me. Nice guy with no pretensions. And, ummm, good manners.

I find some of my fellow Canadians give me a bad name, sure there are ignorant, rude Americans, but I’ll bet on a per capita basis there are way more rude, ignorant Canadians.

I have also travelled extensively through the USA and never once felt personally insulted. Canada, uh, a lot.

You see, when Canadians aren’t bashing each others’ regions they are busy bashing their guarantor of protection…the USA.

I think a lot of Canadians would rather speak Russian or German than English because of it wasn’t for being in the backyard of the US of A, Canadians would most likely be speaking one of those languages. There would be no Canada.

I just want to say that America has done some stupid things…we ALL do stupid things. It just so happens when you are a country that is as powerful as the US, stupid things get noticed.

But what about when Americans offer Atlanta-based CDC services. When Canadians got sick from SARS, who did they call first? Ottawa?

When someone needs to be rescued from thugs, who can get aid there the fastest? Canada?!!!!! Only if they hitch a ride with…American equipment.

This is one Canadian who will always consider America a friend. I am grateful to live beside a country who values the individual and who produces a good and kind people for the most part. If the US is as evil as some Canadians say, well we’d be singing the Star-spangled banner right now.

- Written by Troy (Reproduced with his permission)

Fortunately for Anti-Americans, Love is not “Breaking News”

I am French and moved from Paris to Pittsburgh (you can find my blog here), Pennsylvania, two years ago. The relationship between our governments being quite tense at that time, I did not know whether I should expect a cold welcome or a strong rejection, but I certainly did not expect being invited – two years later – to write a guest post on a blog about anti-Americanism! Thank you Virgomonkey for giving me this opportunity!

It is a strong belief in America that France is a bastion of anti-Americanism. Especially since France did not support the invasion of Iraq, the country became chroniclers’ favourite archetype of the “anti-American attitude” worldwide, according to the wrong but easy-to-understand statement that “who’s not with us is against us”. As a natural reaction, French-bashing gained ground in the US, and here we are, trying to stop that vicious cycle!

I’m convinced that both French-bashing and Anti-Americanism have no other ground than misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Living in the US, I’m amazed by all the clichés Americans have about the French, and vice versa, I must admit that I believed in a lot of stereotypes about Americans that (almost!) all have revealed to be untrue. But more surprising to me is why so many Americans are regarding France as anti-American. I’m not saying that France would be America’s greatest supporter, but it is certainly not the anti-American caricature that some media like to show here.

Images of violence, fear and hatred are much more “breaking news” than images of love and smiles. This very blog features a YouTube video showing French activists smashing down a Mc Donald restaurant as an evidence of anti-Americanism in France (watch at 3′51). I was in France when it happened. What the video does not show, is that the activists were actually protesting against the legal distribution of transgenic food, that has been pushed by the American food industry and that they think may be damageable for both the environment and human health, but they did NOT protest against America as a country! The same video features an interview of a French journalist saying that no French politician would ever win a presidential race by presenting pro-american views to the people (watch at 7′44). Well, I’m sorry for anti-americans to tell that the French just overwhelmingly elected Nicolas Sarkozy as president, who is and has always been a publicly known supporter of America and the American values. On the other hand, what you won’t find on YouTube or anywhere else are the pictures of French veterans and families respectfully flouring American graves in Normandy. This is not “breaking news”… and is usually not even taped.

My point is not to claim that everything your hear about French anti-Americanism is wrong. But to prevent you from buying into every single sign of supposedly anti-Americanism. France is a “maternal country” and a common French reflex is to stand with the weak and the poor against the powerful and the wealthy (remember we beheaded our king!) Because they are powerful, French love to make fun of Americans and opposing the American “hyper-power” has become mainstream. But, as Virgomonkey wrote on my blog, criticizing the Bush Administration is not hating America. Back in September 2001, the French most respected newspaper “Le Monde” reported the French feeling after 9/11 by titling: “We Are All Americans”. America had been deadly hurt, and it was a French role – as a “mother” – to stand with the injured. Once Bush pulled out the guns, it turned into another story…

I’m not legitimate to represent the French as a whole and, since I have not been forced to move here, you can easily guess that I’m not representing anti-Americans either! But I sincerely think that bashing the French for being anti-Americans just does not make sense. One last clue: unlike the supposedly more “American friendly” United Kingdom and Germany, France NEVER went to war with the United States and inspired its constitution. “We are family, and like in many families, we sometimes have a fight!” President Sarkozy said in a recent speech to the American congress. Love and fight: that’s what families are about!

Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to blog here. I hope that my English was not too painful to read!

America – From the Eyes of a Foreigner: Edition II (Zontar)

Call me Zontar. You can find my blog here. Zontar welcomes all to click on his link, and I promise you will be sore amazed at the intelligence and wonder therein.

I was born many years ago on Xenon, a lovely planet in the Houyhnmian Galaxy, approximately 3000 trillion light years from planet Earth. I excelled in Dominoes as a youngster and was named top champion for all galaxies as a tot. I grew up into a beautiful young alien and married 34,223 beautiful wives, all of whom are extremely fertile and blessed me with 158,233 children.

I wrote this at the request of my wife. I would like to share my experiences in your country, that you call “America”. If you dislike my comments, please respond to this post and Zontar will make every effort to take vengeance on the foolish mortal who dares to imply that Zontar is anything less than a God!!!

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Please allow Zontar to introduce his magnificent self before I expound on my experiences in your country. Zontar is a highly complex, highly intelligent being, and does not expect ignorant mortals to comprehend his multifaceted and superior intellect. Therefore, I have pend the following missive in order to explain the way of God to man. I don’t expect you to understand all of it. All I expect is that you accept it fully and believe that Zontar is the supreme being of the whole universe. Hail Zontar!

Dear Earth Humans,

I thought you might like to know a few things about Zontar.

1. Zontar loves to eat glabrob in all forms, whether animal, vegetable, mineral or fecal.

2. Zontar does not understand your aversion to cockroaches. He loves cockroaches, especially the flying type. They are excellent company when you are down and need a shoulder to cry on. I feel that if you understood their language, you would also love them. How would you feel if every time you saw someone, they recoiled in disgust and horror?

3. Zontar likes long walks on the beach.

4. Zontar likes candlelight dinners.

5. Zontar likes eating pussy cats.

6. Zontar became lord of all universes at tender age of 17 when the former lord of universe was sent to prison for exposing himself to a convent full of nuns.

7. Zontar is top chef on Xenon.

8. Zontar loves all races and species. Earthlings are nice, but Xenonians are the best. Floating penises and vaginas floating in the air all the time. It doesn’t get better than that.

9. Zontar knows all, sees all, understands all. Ask him. He will answer all, for a nominal sum.

10. Zontar has very bad breath and very malodorous gaseous emissions from rectum.

11. Zontar is very beautiful and wastes too much time admiring himself in mirror.

12. Zontar is immensely attractive to opposite sex. Sometimes this gets tiresome, especially when he has to work.

13. Zontar is currently employed as hit man for Xenonian mafia. A very good one too.

14. Zontar believes children should be raised in strict, military environment. Zontar was raised in a military style boot camp and learned to appreciate cold, hard discipline. It has helped him a great deal in his current life, because of this, Zontar didn’t meet parents until he was 19.

15. Zontar works part time as bartender in Seacausus, New Jersey.

16. Zontar was great opera singer on Xenon…

17. Zontar appreciates humility and detests all those who are bragging about their accomplishments…

18. Zontar is greatest being in all universe.

19. Zontar thinks all world needs now is love. Sweet love.

20. Zontar thinks we’ve only just begun.

21. Zontar wants to buy some red roses for blue lady…

Good luck to all on Earth and in all universes.

Zontar’s Interests

General Binging, purging, playing with matches. Music Xenonian heavy metal Movies I Married an Alien, Mars Needs Women. War of the Worlds Television Alien Or No Alien, Everyone Loves Zontar, Alien in the Family,America’s Next Top Alien, One Alien vs. One Hundred Books A Tale of Two Aliens, Encyclopedia Xenonia,

Zontar’s Details

Status: Swinger Here for: Networking, Dating, Serious Relationships, Friends Orientation: Straight Hometown: Xenonia Body type: 0′ 1″ / Some extra baggage Ethnicity: Other Religion: Scientologist Zodiac Sign: Gemini Smoke / Drink: Yes / Yes Children: Proud parent Education: High school Occupation: Intergalactic Philosopher,Poet and Playboy Income: $250,000 and Higher

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Was it like you expected when you came to America?

Zontar was sore amazed when he first trod the shores of your so called “United States of America”. It was not what Zontar expected at all. Zontar was expecting to see a Utopian paradise of democracy and freedom. Instead he saw poverty, crime, ignorance and racial tension. Then I turned on your television and I saw a moronic simpleton who could barely said anything intelligible at all. When I learned he was your leader, the so called “W”, Zontar was in a state of linguar receptivity. Zontar kicked himself in the posterior region for coming here. On Xenon, we all live peacefully, eat well and have a wise and munificent leader. Zontar was very sad. Zontar was so depressed that he went to the Great White Northern neighbors of Canada and saw the same situations as was occurring in the United States, only its citizens were as obnoxious and ignorant. Zontar decided to go back to the United States as he had run out of options.

What made you come here?

Zontar was forced by the exigencies of circumstance to flee his beloved home planet Xenon, United Confederation of Xenon (located in the 499,735 of the olfactory galaxy, approximately 2,333,444,222,555 trillion light years away from earth). Zontar had great status in his previous life on Xenon. Zontar was most trusted advisor to our beloved ruler, Pubicus. Zontar made a grave error in eating the wrong set of victuals for his midday repast. He feasted on filet of glabrob (the national dish of Xenon), washed it down with fermented glabrob urine (very similar to your beer) and hard boiled glabrob eggs. The resulting effect from this delicious meal was an unfortunate need to expunge gas from my anal orifice (known as farting in your country). To my great distress, while in conference with Pubicus I emitted an extremely foul odor which had the effect of debilitating our beloved leader, Pubicus. He thought I had done it deliberately and I was condemned for the perceived attempted murder of Pubicus. Zontar was sore afraid and transported himself to his spaceship before the sentence could be carried out. Zontar set his target to the United States as he had witnessed several episodes of Earth television program “The Brady Bunch”. Zontar wanted to dwell in the same country as these delightful, humorous and kind people as depicted on this delightful show. Zontar’s heart was torn asunder by the knowledge that he had to leave his favorite wife, Chlymidia, but Zontar had no choice. Zontar set his spaceship towards Earth and left his beloved home, never to return again.

How are you treated by other Americans?

Zontar was treated with some puzzlement by his new found countrymen as he soon discovered there were some differences between him and humans. First, Xenonians have multiple sets of eyes while humans have only two. Also Xenonians possess no genitalia as all necessary sexual organs needed for reproduction float in the air. Zontar was mocked and ridiculed for these differences. Zontar has great temper and roasted the miscreants who dared show disrespect for Zontar into so much dust. Zontar was arrested and put into an American prison for the crime of murder. There Zontar met many delightful friends who indulged in many amusing games, my favorite being inter-anal seminal exchange. When Zontar was claimed as the bitch of his erstwhile friend Bubba, Zontar was forced to transport himself out of this prison.

How do you compare the US to your own country?

Xenon and the United States are vastly different. Your politicians are small minded, greedy and corrupt, while Xenonian leaders are wise and kind. The food here is terrible. On Xenon one could feast on many delicacies, whereas in the United States Zontar was forced to eat from the dollar menu at Mcdonalds, causing him severe gastric distress.

Your legal status?

Zontar is an illegal alien.

Why do you want to live here permanently?

Zontar has no choice but to stay. As mentioned above it is impossible to return to his homeland. Zontar did visit Canada with the intention of living there permanently, but found the same problems there as in the United States, only some Canadians thought they were better than the Americans. Their arrogant attitude angered Zontar greatly and he murdered one unfortunate hooser by stuffing 20 pounds of beef jerky down his throat.

Your likes and dislikes?

Zontar like pussy cats. Zontar like Glabrob. Zontar like cigarettes. Zontar likes Jamaican meat pies.

Zontar does not dislike anything. Zontar is kind, wise and hyper-intelligent. Able to see good in all things.

Your occupation or area of study?

Zontar is currently assistant night manager at Dairy Queen and…. more here.

Your age?

Zontar is 120,334,553,222 years young.

How long have you lived here?

Zontar moved to Earth in year 2001.

What is your advice to those wanting to live here or immigrate her permanently?

Visit Zontar and pay him homage and obedience! Zontar will repay you with many kindnesses. HaIl Xenon! Hail Zontar!

Planning to Become a Student or Live in America?

The other day, I ran into this post, “Culture Shock (a cultural guide for international students)” posted by a French blogger (oka Super Frenchie) who is an excellent writer and is presently living in America and has been since the 1980’s. My husband and I both watched the whole documentary and we both learned from it (even though we’re both Americans!) I highly recommend it if you’re planning to come to the US to study. The series of videos are also very humorous as well.

The only type of people that will definitely have a problem in the US will be those who are carting baggage from their own countries thinking that the US will “fix” their problems. We have a kind of saying in America that if you leave your country, you take ALL of your problems with you. Your problems will STILL be there no matter what country you decide to live in. If you are overly-cynical, have a closed mind, are a misanthrope, have severe mental problems, pessimistic, and the type that whines and moans about everything, you will be miserable here and probably not too well liked.

If you already have a pre-existing negative attitude about America and its people, don’t waste your time. America will be a living hell for you.

If you are coming to the states to just use this country for a single advantage that you cannot get in your own country, then you will be unhappy here.

And if you’re going out of your way to look for bad things, you will find them.

The “American Dream”? People more than often misunderstand the meaning of this term. The “American Dream” does not mean that you can just simply arrive here and become rich and live a life of happiness without lifting a finger. America IS a land of opportunities, but YOU have to make that happen. You have to be realistic. You cannot expect the American people and its government to make all your dreams come true. We will NOT spoon-feed you here – nor will we take you by the hand and make things “work” for you. Simply put, America has the dream and the opportunities, you must do the rest.

We are a country that believes in “personal responsibility”. If things aren’t happening as you want or expect them to, you must evaluate YOUR situation and make those changes on your own. This is not to say that unfortunate things won’t happen that are beyond your control. This is not to say that nice American people won’t sympathize with you or give you some help, either. Bad things WILL happen. Expect them to happen. But what’s important is that you must be able to distinguish between an occurrence that is within your control and one that is not. Your attitude can make all the difference in the world.

Know that you are not a hostage in the United States, and that you’re welcome to return to your home country at any time. We only tie-up, bind, and use whips and chains on our lovers, not our immigrants.

Learn a bit about the US before you arrive here. America has both good and bad. Get to know both to decrease the amount of “culture shock” before you arrive.

I lived in Japan for 6.5 years, and I made the decision to go there roughly three years before I graduated from college. Most of my friends were Japanese at the time. While they were happy that I chose Japan to be the place to live, some informed me of the ills to expect when I live there. And they did not sugar-coat it for me. I was armed with knowledge that even a text book or amazon.com couldn’t have offered me. My Japanese friends were realists. A couple of them were thinking that my plans of going to Japan were naive. By the time I had arrived in Japan, not only was I feeling “ready” but I was on my way to conversational fluency in the Japanese language.

When I got there, I stayed at my friend’s home for two months while I was shopping for a job and an apartment. At my friend’s home, only my friend could speak a tiny bit of English, but the rest of the family could not. They all spoke to me in Japanese ONLY for my benefit. I got a boatload of “tough-love”. I got a boot-camp degree in Japanese Culture. I’m not gonna lie. It was rough at times. When I moved off into my own apartment, I was able to be self-sufficient and didn’t really experience any dramatic cultural shocks. However, I did experience culture wonders! My initial plan was to stay there for two years. I loved it so much that I stayed over 6 years. Excuse my French, but Japan kicks ass! There will always be a part of me that regrets coming back to the US because of how well I was doing over there both in terms of having met the nicest people, fantastic friends, the best yoga teacher, an awesome job, good entertainment, and I had also been making a lot of money over there too (yeah… that’s an amerikkan thing… we likie money…). Interestingly enough, the Japanese people and American people have more in common than I could have ever imagined. The Japanese aren’t Americanophobic either.

Back to the topic: Do extensive research before you pack you bags to live in America. You may be judged because of the ethnic group that you come from, but then again, so will I when I go or move to another country. Being American in and of itself sets me up for attack across the board. This concept is not rocket science, people. As my British friend, Jeff, puts it —> “There are wankers everywhere”. Expect them.

You get back what you give. In SuperFrenchie’s blog, there was a posting about dispelling French myths. (There are just as many myths about French people as there are about Americans!) With that said, I was directed to this site (The Top Myths about Paris) which says something that should ring true for all countries including the United States.

MYTH #5: Parisians are unfriendly and rude.

Explanation: This myth couldn’t be farther from the truth, since the majority of Parisians are kind, helpful and friendly. Upon first meeting, Parisians can appear to be less casual and more reserved by North American standards, however, this does not translate to unfriendliness. Be aware that often what you put out is what you get back, so if Parisians are approached in the right way from the beginning, chances of a more pleasant interaction increase. An attempt to speak the language goes a long way with Parisians. Always begin a conversation with ‘bonjour’, especially when entering a store. Asking immediately, ‘do you speak English?’ riles many Parisians and will start you off on the wrong foot. Think about it, if foreigners are constantly asking if you speak their language in a country where English is the official language, then how would that make you feel? Use your best school French and have fun with it; Parisians love to correct and help people with their admittedly difficult language!

Hat tip: SuperFrenchi

The same rings true for America. If you act like an asshole, you’ll be treated like one!

America: The Land of the Free? That is a naive concept. To think that we are 100% free? We have more freedom of speech than most countries, though. Michael Moore, NAMBLA, and The Westboro Baptist Church (they don’t just hate gays, FYI… They also hate America, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Ireland etc), are one of the most famous poster children for American Freedom of Speech. However, freedom of speech has its limitations and justifiably so. If you want to walk topless through the streets, you can go to Canada for that. Old freedoms that we were once used to, have unfortunately been stripped away from both the radical right and the radical left.

Yes, people will judge you on your beliefs. Yes, people will challenge your opinions. Yes, people may disagree with you harshly. A lot of people misconstrue the challenging of held beliefs to be a infringement on their “freedom of speech”. No! Freedom of speech goes BOTH ways. If you speak up, your audience has a right to speak back. Expect this.

You will see all walks of life here in the US and diversity in terms of ethnicity, thought, religion, upbringing, and values depending on where you live. I have explained this in more detail in the beginning of this post. Some states and cities are more diverse than others. There are plenty of Americans that are racist, but one thing that I find (based on my limited research, admittedly) unique about the US is that we’re a bit less openly vocal about our prejudices. While there are stigmas and stereotypes attached to ALL groups of people, you will find that it’s a bit easier to be fat, dumb, ugly, ignorant, have poor taste in clothes, unhygienic, to be driving around in a clunker, and in short, be as individual as you’d like to be. You will be less judged here as opposed to being an American carrying those “socially unacceptable” quirks into another country. Try being a conservative fat American wearing a cowboy hat with a Texas accent in another country (outside Eastern Asia)! You won’t make it. I’d place money on that. At least in America, you can join all the fat, greedy, neo-con-bible-thumping, capitalist, dumb, ignorant, lazy, loud, and obnoxious people here. You’re more than welcome.

Our first amendment also allows you to burn our flags and wave your own here. No problem!

You can be whomever you want to be in America. Expect that not everyone’s going to LIKE you. This is NOT a violation of “civil liberties”. This is opinion. And Americans, like any other country, have them. Stewart Lee in the UK said it well in this video toward the end:

“…some of the things that are great about America, namely “freedom of speech” and a certain kinda social equality in that everyone there is allowed to say whatever they want no matter how stupid and ill-informed it is, and I think there’s something noble about that, genuinely”. — Stewart Lee (director of Jerry Springer, The Opera)

With that said, we also accept (with welcome arms) the slender, the intelligent, the intellectuals, the nerdy scholars, the hard workers, the polite, the humorous, the athletes, the hotties, the homosexuals, the tolerant, the socialists, as well as the demure, quiet, and shy.

America is a perfect blending of ALL these groups. This is what makes America great. I’m not saying that it’s the best country in the world, but in terms of THIS type of freedom, I’d say this is a great thing.

Many Americans are prejudiced against Muslims. And by Muslims, I’m talking about even those moderate Muslims that are peaceful. BUT, you can still go to a 7-11 or many convenience stores and find a man wearing a turban. Most of us don’t really care!!

Here’s what is NOT free in America: You are NOT welcome to “freedom of speech” in private places or within privately owned organizations and the like. Just think about it this way: When you enter someone’s home, you go by THEIR “house rules”, right? Why? Because a home is someone’s PRIVATE property. You can be asked to leave if you act in a way that is unacceptable. (Obviously, this is not unique to America.) The same scenario applies to message boards, websites, blog commenting areas, companies, institutions, or private—anything. So, this also explains why your, “I hate fucking Americans – Death to America” group on Facebook got deleted.

Just remember, if you ever get confused about our 1st Amendment, the 1st Amendment addresses what the government cannot do:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

America tops the charts among all the developed countries in the world as being the most violent and criminal. No other first world country has the same amount of crime, child abuse and sexual abuse rates. Teens have been having babies for the longest time. How can one expect them to grow up “normal”? I have no problem admitting that we are, in fact, a violent society. And because of this, in my opinion, we also can be superficial and shallow. A big portion of us are neurotic and some of us have odd ways of coping with our past and present dirty laundry bags. Americans, like any other people, are what they are because of “where they’ve been”. And because it is more likely that Americans will grow up in a violent or troubled family, it is also more likely that we may appear less desirable to not only other Americans but to those non-American as well. Am I making an excuse for these people? Yes and no. Yes, in the way that we have limited control all depending on the LEVEL (I can’t stress this enough) of trauma/stress (both past and present). And no, I’m not making an excuse for them in such a way that I HATE being on the other end of someone else’s idiocy. All I’m trying to say is that because of all the social problems we have in the US, you have to expect the people to be a bit weird on some level.

In your country, you may have been taught that all Americans are rich. Be prepared for a HUGE surprise when you get here.

In your country, you may have been taught that the “all-American-diet” is Coca Cola and McDonald’s. (Psst… It’s really hot dogs and apple-pie. ) Be prepared for another shocker. There are so many kinds of American foods. There are also international restaurants all over the place (even in my little “backwood hick town” in Texas). And there’s this little invention called the “grocery store” where you get to pick and choose what you want to eat and make it yourself at home. If you get FAT, that’s not our problem! You decide what goes in your mouth. I will say, however, that generally speaking, America isn’t made for walking.

In your country, you may have been taught that all Americans are lazy. I promise you. Once you get good and settled here and decide to work or wonder why your friends are too busy to talk to you as much, you’ll be complaining about how America works you and everyone else too hard!

Are we going to MELT YOU? I’m getting increasingly exhausted hearing from Americanophobic Canadians (who have never ventured south of the border to hang out for longer than a few minutes to fill up their gas tanks) that the US is a melting-pot and forces its belief systems on innocent, peaceful and vulnerable immigrants. That is a myth, and one that confuses me terribly. We are, in fact, NOT a melting-pot. We are a salad bowl.

Minority groups continue to create and nurture their own culture and maintain its uniqueness while being surrounded by a majority of people. They are able to do that nowadays. The American society therefore is best described as a big bowl full of different ingredients. They all make up the salad by being there, and the more the ingredients, the more the salad becomes rich and tasty.

We are not about full-throttle multiculturalism either. We are a blend of the two. Here in America you are more than welcome to retain your cultural heritage, celebrate it, read newspapers in your own language, eat your own foods and live how you’d like to live. Many immigrants moving to the US aren’t yet fluent in English, so they tend to make friends and live in close proximity with those from the same country. We don’t even have an official language here! There are people from other countries that have been here for 10-20 years that still don’t have a hold on the English language and some cannot speak it at all. We may appreciate your customs, but we may not want to live by your customs or learn your language. With that said, you are also granted with the freedom to speak only your language while refusing to speak English. I had to assimilate into the Japanese culture and the Japanese work-ethic in Japan. People from other countries are expected to assimilate to some degree here in the US.

And for the love of all that “holy”, YES (!)… you can get dual-citizenship here!!!

Celebrate the differences, people. Because at the end of the day, we are, in fact, all people. Come to America if you wish, but be realistic, do you homework beforehand, and have an open mind. I could go on, but there are plenty of resources on the web to further your knowledge points about America. Here on my blog, I have debunked a lot of myths that your media systems and your family have told you otherwise. I don’t pretend that America is perfect, but at the same time, it’s nowhere near as bad the way the media and rumors make it out to be.

America – From the Eyes of a Foreigner: Edition I (Lawrence)

This is the beginning of a small set.

I have asked some of my foreign-born friends living in the US to write about their feelings as a resident here. I am awaiting some responses, and as they come in, I’m adding them to my blog with their permission. Those who are more computer savvy will type directly into this blog as a “guest blogger” (contributor).

Why am I doing this? For many reasons.

It’s hard for Americans to realize what life is like in the shoes of a foreigner. Additionally, it’s hard for those living outside the United States whom have never been here to imagine what life can be like. We cannot go on one person’s experience alone, of course. In my opinion, nobody is qualified to sit in judgment of the states from afar unless they have substantial experience living here – although there are some that never leave the city or state that they’re in and can only judge based on their near surroundings.

The US is hard to digest as we are a landmass of 3,537,436 sq miles (9,161,923 sq km) if you can imagine that. There are 50 states with 30,000 incorporated cites therein. And even each city has it’s own towns, styles, and personalities. If you live in West Virginia, chances are that you’ll have a different experience from one who lives in Denver Colorado. It’s probably easier to look at the USA similar to the way Europe is set up. America acts like a continent because of it’s size and it’s uniqueness from city to city. (Actually, the same can be said about every country, right?) There are even cultural differences depending on the city you’re living in. I will give one example (even though a general one). When you get married in some cities/towns in the south, the “proper” gift to give the newlyweds is a an actual tangible gift. Money would be considered an improper gift. It may even be considered as “lazy” if one were to hand over a check as opposed to actually going out and buying something. However, in NY, giving money gifts is more of the norm and said to be a convenience among those “just married”.

Basically, all I’m trying to say is that behaviorism and customs vary from city to city – state to state.

Next, we have three different types of government here: There is federal government, state government, and finally, local government. In Massachusetts, gay marriages are legal. In Nevada, prostitution is legal. In Alabama, it’s forbidden to purchase a DILDO! Marijuana for medical purposes is legal in California – yet illegal federally (strange, huh?). The list is endless.

The scenery, cost of living, mannerisms, laws, crime rate, accents, dialect, ethnic diversity, food, income, industries, tourism, weather, job opportunities, public transportation, and etc differ depending on WHERE you live. There are some places in the US where people don’t lock their doors.

Read my definition of America in my glossary section for more information.

As you can see, this is why Americans can get so frustrated with over-simplified views of the US coming from other countries.

Anyway…….. Let’s begin!

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From Halifax in the UK, my friend Lawrence has answered some of the questions I asked him. He is still living in America – more specifically in Los Angeles, California (where we became friends).

Was it like you expected?

Yes, it was like I expected at first. Coming from England, I expected LA to be bright and exciting, and it was. However, I encountered things I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect to ever become bored with the beach, having never lived by the sea before. I expected to be excited by the celibrities, but after a few years you come to think of them as any other average person thinks of the rich people in their town – not always positively.

What made you come here?

I came here to train to be a psychotherapist in what was being advertised as a new science. A few years later I came to think of the psychotherapy as a pseudoscience. I came to think that the kind of selling and biased advertising that drew me to it, is kind of accepted in America, and buyer beware. In England such outrageous claims would not be allowed, thus creating the illusion that all the best alternative science and alternative cures are in California. While there is some world class good science going on in places like Berkeley, Stanford and UCLA; there is also a thriving pseudoscience industry in California – so it’s good and bad.

How are you treated by other Americans?

Very well, I like the way I am treated here, my accent goes over very well here, whereas at home, it was a give away to my working class roots.

How do you compare the US to your own country?

The US seems to allow dishonesty much more, probably connected to the freedom of speech ethic. There is more freedom to do what you want without judgement in the US, however that is good and bad. In England if you start a destructive cult, people interfere to protect themselves and their children; whereas in America they leave them alone to believe in whatever.

Your legal status?

Dual citizenship, US and UK.

What makes you stick around?

I can earn more money here, and I like the educational system here. I love the weather too.

Likes and dislikes?

I like the California weather, the UK-welcoming attitude, the freedom to live as you want, the non-jealous attitude to those doing okay for money (in England it can cause resentments if you save some money and then don’t share it, there is a strong socialist streak in some sections of society which is good and bad in a way) that sometimes can come to disadvantage the savers or investors, – you also can get heavily taxed). I also like the entertaining way they teach college here, and the exciting intellectual fervent in California.

I dislike the war in Iraq, the sickening demand-for-blood-patriotism and media war-drum-beat that came after 9-11, the disregard for the environment, and the lack of universal health care. I also dislike the longer work hours that people tend to get into here in the US.

Your occupation or area of study?

Student of psychology and science.

Your age? (you can just give an estimate or be as vague as you like)

30’s

How long have you lived here?

8 years

What is your advice to those wanting to live here or immigrate her permanently?

Get the education, qualifications and job skills necessary to get a professional job which will include a health care package.