Are These Common Misconceptions About the USA True?

[chound]

I can't provide "source" for any of these since these are facts/lies of USA I got in my 15 years of life on Earth (from TV, papers, etc). Please clarify whether the following are a correct opinion of USA .

You marry someone on Monday divroce the person on Friday.
Americans use lots of unnecessary words like "****" "kick your ass" (I want to know what the real meaning of ass is" It is donkey right?) etc
Americans have sex as early as 13 years and child marriage is allowed by law.
Parents go to work and generally tend to forget their children.
People are willing to blow lots of money on things like tatooes, dates etc.
Most Americans are crazy (I got this idea after seeing Ripley' Believe it or Not)
They would do anything for money( I got this idea after seeing in a program where u could take anything in the store for free if u came naked and Fear Factor)
Most Americans don't have a good idea about the outside world.
They are generally bad mannered.
You can sue anayone for anything.(Like this guy who sued the parents of a teenager he killed)
The americans don't know that they are under a Republic government (I don't mean the four parties) i.e. they elect the head of the state directly.
Women are mostly immodest.
The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.
Porn is legally allowed in the US
USA is probably going to lose its superpower status within a century.
USA is the best example of the maxim "There are no friends in politics only interests"
US AID is like **** (this is becoz the grains that US sent to India a long time ago were full of worms and what not and the entire thing was thrown into the sea)
US survives primarily on the money it borrowes from poor countries like Russia, China, India.
Though US supported Free Trade it does not do so now that the chineese textiles are flooeding its markets.
U.S. is full of rich people who have gone mad in the name of eccentricsm.
Most music videos can't be distinguished from pron videos.

And many many more which shall be added in a few days.

 

[Integral]

Not a single one of your conceptions applies to even a fraction of a percent of Americans in general. What you are seeing is the movies, movies are entertainment they are not reality. It is the fraction of a percent of the population which provides the entertainment value, the rest of us are dead boring.

BTW: In English slang ass refers to the part of your body you sit on. Obviously you spend to much time sitting on your ass watching movies.

One has to wonder about how good of a picture any culture has of another. Your image of America is very skewed, do you have any better of an image of France, or Germany or any other foreign culture? I would bet that that is not a characteristic of any single culture but of all cultures.. something we have uncommon?

 

[Zantra]

I can't provide "source" for any of these since these are facts/lies of USA I got in my 15 years of life on Earth (from TV, papers, etc). Please clarify whether the following are a correct opinion of USA .

You marry someone on Monday divroce the person on Friday.
nope- and I didn't even realize this was a myth

Americans use lots of unnecessary words like "****" "kick your ass" (I want to know what the real meaning of ass is" It is donkey right?) etc
Not every american swears left and right, and based on my knowledge of foreign swearwords, we all know that swearing isn't an american trademark. And yes, an ass is a mule, or slang for a butt.

Americans have sex as early as 13 years and child marriage is allowed by law.
Doubtlessly some 13 year olds are having sex at 13(but not with parental consent)just as I'm sure there are 13 year olds in India who've had sex. But it's discouraged. in no part of america is it legal to marry at 13. Most of the US has a legal marriage age of 18 without parental consent. Some are exceptions and have lower ages, but 18 is the rule of thumb

Parents go to work and generally tend to forget their children.
Parents are sometimes forced to work(or choose to work) in order to support their family. If the child is old enough to be home alone they may stay home alone, but the parents don't "forget their children"- this is a myth


People are willing to blow lots of money on things like tatooes, dates etc.
I heard people in India blow a lot of money on cows- your point? Personally I don't have any tatoos, but that's a personal choice. There's no rule, if that's what you mean..

Most Americans are crazy (I got this idea after seeing Ripley' Believe it or Not)
this one is most likely true.

They would do anything for money( I got this idea after seeing in a program where u could take anything in the store for free if u came naked and Fear Factor) Some people build skyscrapers, and they don't have a medical team standing by or a safety harness. I can think of a lot worse things I've seen people in other countries willing do to for much less money. It's a gimmick.


Most Americans don't have a good idea about the outside world.
This, unfortunately is true. Not across the board, but the majority

They are generally bad mannered.
untrue. Try going to paris sometime and get back to me about rudeness towards foreigners. Of course I can't speak for everyone.

You can sue anayone for anything.(Like this guy who sued the parents of a teenager he killed) sure you can sue anyone. But you won't win, and it can get expensive to do that.

Women are mostly immodest.
That's subjective. sexuality is much less blatant, IMHO then in europe. That's a matter of opinion.

The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.
that's funny, but no it's not true.

Porn is legally allowed in the US
True. Allowed-yes, flaunted openly-not necessarily.

USA is probably going to lose its superpower status within a century.
That's one opinion. But I'm not psychic- are you uri?

US AID is like **** (this is becoz the grains that US sent to India a long time ago were full of worms and what not and the entire thing was thrown into the sea) And they say no good deed goes unpunished...

U.S. is full of rich people who have gone mad in the name of eccentricsm.
This one makes no sense. the vast majority of americans are not "rich", taking into account economies of scale (if you make 50000 rupies/day but a gallon of milk costs 10000 rupies, then it doesn't make you rich).

Most music videos can't be distinguished from pron videos.
have you seen that paris hilton carls jr commerical? I think NOT

 

[learningphysics]

And for whatever reason, people keep wanting to come live here. What a horrible place this must be!

 

[mattmns]

Yes most of those are somewhat true.

The US is full of rich people? That is completely false.

Children have sex at 13: Yes this is sadly true. But you know and I know, people in the US have very little morals for things like this.

The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.: If you are getting at that most women in the US are sluts, then I would _generally_ have to agree.

US aid is like ****: Beats me, I have never received any of their aid.

You can marry someone on monday and divorce them on friday: Although I am unsure of whether or not you can actually, legally, do this, I see your point.

Like I said, most of these things are somewhat true, but they are not true of all the people in the US.

 

[cronxeh]

I can't speak for American culture that much, but if you want to know what I think I *know* of Russian culture I can tell you that the same exact thing can be said about them too. There are always exceptions, and out of 300+ million people you are bound to have groups of people who behave in a percentage of ways you've described. I'm not aware about the US AID to India and what exactly it encompasses.

You can say there are a lot of rednecks in Midwest who will behave that exact way, but to generalize all people living here would be incorrect. Besides if you can point out an ideal place in the world where none of this happens (and Canada doesn't count - they are 1/10th the population they should be happy the Mexicans can't walk that far) then we'll discuss the situation

 

[arildno]

My view of USA:
Put a Californian and Alabaman in the same room, and they'll be at each other's throats in a couple of seconds, unless a snobbish Bostonian enters, in which case they make common cause against him.

 

[Dr.Brain]

Seriously , US is like some master and slaves respect US just because of the fear within the people . Belonging to the biggest democracy on Earth , I can certainly assert that US will soon see the dusk.

The world knows UN is nothing but a slave of USA .

I have personally seen that US sent the 'WTC tower ruins' to India...Now they have been recycled but some of it is not disposable , so they have thrown some of it into the sea.

And the only Americans I support is "Green Day"

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

"The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.
Porn is legally allowed in the US"
Yeah. And most of the western world. So?

"US AID is like **** (this is becoz the grains that US sent to India a long time ago were full of worms and what not and the entire thing was thrown into the sea)"
That's gratitude for you. Those were AMERICAN worms, you fiend!

"Most music videos can't be distinguished from pron videos."
Ha ha! Good 'ol Snoop!

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

The thing I want to know is... is it true that bestiality is legal in some states (and I don't mean states like drunk or stoned)?

 

[Gokul43201]

Let's address some of the opinions with real facts :

The divorce fraction in the US is 49% (ranked 11th in the world; the top ten are almost entirely from northern and eastern Europe). By comparison, the divorce fractions in the UK, Canada and Italy are respectively 53, 45 and 12%.

The divorce rate (number of marriages that see a divorce each year, per 1000) in the US is the highest among all countries, at 4.95. The numbers for the UK, Canada and Italy are 3.1, 2.5 and 0.3

 

[Gale]

these sorts of misconceptions are always so awesome to deal with. its particularly fantastic that you're getting so many mixed responses.

look how half the stuff you listed obviously would imply others.
hmm, we're all rich? then it would appear we're money obsessed... this makes sense. now, if we're obsessed with money, then is it surprising that some parents neglect their kids in order to work? now, the family life is disrupted, so is it surprising that we have lots of divorces?
seriously, just about everything you listed is linked up with everything else. now, i can promised you, you've hardly touched upon the lifestyles of every american. you just looked at the class of people emphasized by hollywood and other industries.

now, the other thing is this. if you're getting these views from television, movies, and other sources of mass media, then you obviously should be wary. that stuff is produced for one thing only... profit. its meant to sell, and obviously their tactics work. you're now interested in their product... americans and their culture. now, perhaps you're displeased or disgusted... but you're interested enough to buy the fabrications that is being sold to you.

even at the young age of 15, i'd hope that you'd understand that generalizations of people tend to be largely innaccurate. especially as the group you generalize gets bigger.

now, chew on this, you've just shown the common thoughts about americans as though by many foriegners. now, how what would you expect us to think of you? words that would roll of my tounge would be ignorant, rude, ungrateful, jealous, close minded... also, if other countries are looking at us and thinking that we're all rich sex fiends, how do you think we'd act? all those americans who aren't rich feel this pressure to become rich, because "we're americans" as if that implies we must be.

at any rate, i think you should seriously reconsider your opinions.

 

[Gokul43201]

Porn is legally allowed in the US

As well as in the rest of the developed world and most of the developing world, including India.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

now, chew on this, you've just shown the common thoughts about americans as though by many foriegners. now, how what would you expect us to think of you? words that would roll of my tounge would be ignorant, rude, ungrateful, jealous, close minded... also, if other countries are looking at us and thinking that we're all rich sex fiends, how do you think we'd act? all those americans who aren't rich feel this pressure to become rich, because "we're americans" as if that implies we must be.

at any rate, i think you should seriously reconsider your opinions.

Easy tiger! I think the OP clearly states these are comments on how Americans are REPRESENTED in various media, most of which, no doubt, are American-produced (movies, TV, etc). He's just asking people to sort the s--t from the roses. So think carefully about who is creating these myths before bashing the ignorant, rude, ungrateful, jealous, close minded foreigners, eh?

 

[Gale]

Easy tiger! I think the OP clearly states these are comments on how Americans are REPRESENTED in various media, most of which, no doubt, are American-produced (movies, TV, etc). He's just asking people to sort the s--t from the roses. So think carefully about who is creating these myths before bashing the ignorant, rude, ungrateful, jealous, close minded foreigners, eh?

i wasn't calling the OP those things... I'm just saying, how would he expect us to think of him? or anyone who thinks of us that way? those are words that would come to mind. i understand that's how americans are simply portrayed, and i accept that. what bothers me of course is that the OP actually though he could use mass media as a reliable source...

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

Fine, though... "you've just shown the common thoughts about americans as though by many foriegners. now, how what would you expect us to think of you? words that would roll of my tounge would be ignorant, rude, ungrateful, jealous, close minded..." does suggest you think these are views formulated by foreigners. Some of which may be, of course. But as the OP just asked which are true and false, you can't tell him he needs to revise his opinion.

On the other hand, though, what is the point of this thread, chound? It just looks like a wind-up exercise to me.

 

[hypatia]

There are 1,678,765 Indian Americans in the USA

Please read the link, its a site called Out of India. It seems people from your country do very well here.
When I went to India, I saw some really bad things, hidden in with the beauty. Evey country has its ugly side, yours is no exception.


note;
Google Results for - porn from India
Result 1 - 10 of about 215000. Search took 0.224610 seconds.

Looks like India may have some porn too

 

[arildno]

The more I read about the US, the less am I able to find any reliable common denominators.
Obsession with money?
Acquaint yourself with the attitudes of American academics, and quite a different picture emerges.

Prudishness and sexual puritanism?
Have a stroll in Greenwich Village.

Licentiousness and loose morals?
Visit the Amish.

 

[FredGarvin]

You are only 15 so I will cut you some slack. I'll only put my two cents worth in on a few of these:

You marry someone on Monday divroce the person on Friday.

It's called an annulment. It does happen sometimes.

Americans have sex as early as 13 years and child marriage is allowed by law.

You've been watching Jerry Springer, haven't you?

Most Americans are crazy (I got this idea after seeing Ripley' Believe it or Not)

I guess that is based on a point of view. Personally, I think Indians faced with the highest level of poverty I have ever seen yet still insist on reproducing and creating more hungry people reliant on the state insane. But that's just me.

Most Americans don't have a good idea about the outside world.

And yet you prove your knowledge of us with these statements...Look up "hypocrisy" in an english dictionary.

They are generally bad mannered.

Compared to Canadians, yes.

Women are mostly immodest.

Come on. That's just rude.

The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.

Only the fun ones (just kidding).

Porn is legally allowed in the US

Yes. It's called freedom of speech.

USA is probably going to lose its superpower status within a century.

Very possible. Very possible indeed. So what? Personally, I'd like the opportunity to sit back and wait for someone else to throw money at us and wait for them to do something I don't like so I can bad mouth and second guess them. It will be refreshing.

USA is the best example of the maxim "There are no friends in politics only interests"

If you change that to read "business in the USA..." I'd agree with you on that.

US AID is like **** (this is becoz the grains that US sent to India a long time ago were full of worms and what not and the entire thing was thrown into the sea)

Bub. There is no other country that puts out as much in aid as we do.

Though US supported Free Trade it does not do so now that the chineese textiles are flooeding its markets.

The US is in free trade agreements under NAFTA. That's North America. China is not in North America last time I looked. Take a look at the US trade deficit with China and get back to us on that one.

And many many more which shall be added in a few days.

Let's hope you don't get any more of these gems by watching MTV and Montel Williams.

 

[Monique]

If I would believe Indian blockbuster movies, all Indians are dancing all day long singing songs to their lovers

.. clearly a bad source of information. It does tell something about the identity of the nation, apparently Americans are not too concerned with the image that is put out.. you will not see an Indian movie star kissing on screen and I think that a certain level of morals/standards need to be perpetuated.

 

[Gale]

i just find it hard to believe that anyone would actually believe the stuff portrayed by the media.

i agreed about the wind up excersize...

 

[Monique]

i just find it hard to believe that anyone would actually believe the stuff portrayed by the media.

i agreed about the wind up excersize...

What are you supposed to think with all the nudity and disgusting things they put on television these days, those are the things we are confronted with everyday.

 

[Gokul43201]

Americans have sex as early as 13 years and child marriage is allowed by law.

It is true that the average age at first intercourse in lowest in the US.

Among women aged 15-19 the average age for different countries is given below :

United States 15.8
Netherlands 17.7
Germany 16.2
France 16.8

Teen pregnancy rates in the US are also the highest among industrialized and about twice the number for Canada, the UK and New Zealand, at about 29 births (from girls aged 15-17) out of every thousand.

Child marriage : Marriage laws in the US are state laws. Most states permit marriage under the age of 18 with the requirement of parental consent and often, some kind of court authorised waiver. Only a few states (IL, DC) have absolute minimum ages.

In India, on the other hand, marriage is illegal under the age of 18/21 (F/M); but law enforcement in rural areas is so poor and corruption so widespread that child marriage (at ages like 5 and 6 even) is still not unheard of.

 

[FredGarvin]

In India, on the other hand, marriage is illegal under the age of 18/21 (F/M); but law enforcement in rural areas is so poor and corruption so widespread that child marriage (at ages like 5 and 6 even) is still not unheard of.

What would the marriage of a 5 or 6 year old do for the parents? They would have to be completely insane to do that.

 

[Gokul43201]

...you will not see an Indian movie star kissing on screen and I think that a certain level of morals/standards need to be perpetuated.

What is the connection between these two clauses ?

 

[arildno]

What would the marriage of a 5 or 6 year old do for the parents? They would have to be completely insane to do that.

No, they are poor, and need the cash they get from selling their child in order to get food for themselves.

There exist ample historical evidence that this has been a very common cash-earning strategy for that population segment which is faced with actual starvation on a daily basis.

 

[Dr.Brain]

Wow! Is it India Vs USA goin' on in here?

Wait for another 20-30 years ... Americans will post this post about India soon enough...

One thing that Indians are best at is "showing love" , 5 of the 8 religions on Earth were born in India... iN My city ... there are five different temples for different religions and ppl invite sooooooooooooo many people to marriage parties...














Its all changing though...I was a typican religious Indian concerned about morals...until I came to know I had to clear the IITJEE ...I got interested in physics...It changed my life...I am no more religious..

 

[Dr.Brain]

There are 1,678,765 Indian Americans in the USA

Please read the link, its a site called Out of India. It seems people from your country do very well here.
When I went to India, I saw some really bad things, hidden in with the beauty. Evey country has its ugly side, yours is no exception.


note;
Google Results for - porn from India
Result 1 - 10 of about 215000. Search took 0.224610 seconds.

Looks like India may have some porn too

INDIA Vs USA?

 

[Dr.Brain]

No, they are poor, and need the cash they get from selling their child in order to get food for themselves.

There exist ample historical evidence that this has been a very common cash-earning strategy for that population segment which is faced with actual starvation on a daily basis.

AGREEEDDDD...

 

[honestrosewater]

You marry someone on Monday divroce the person on Friday.

I don't know anyone that has divorced that quickly. My maternal grandparents were married for 56 years, until my grandfather died. My paternal grandparents were also married until my grandfather died. My parents were married for 10 years before they divorced because my father was abusive. You can probably look up some actual figures on the internet.

Americans use lots of unnecessary words like "****" "kick your ass" (I want to know what the real meaning of ass is" It is donkey right?) etc

Those aren't always unnecessary. But, no, some people I know don't curse at all. I curse but not violently.

Americans have sex as early as 13 years and child marriage is allowed by law.

Eh, that's rather of private. Some do, some don't. "Child" marriage (i.e. under 18) is allowed by some states, but it usually requires a parental consent, a judge's approval, or for the girl to be pregnant. You can find a summary of the laws for each state here.

Parents go to work and generally tend to forget their children.

This happens. There are laws against child abuse and neglect, but they're hard to enforce, and where I live, the agency is understaffed and underfunded. But I don't think this is the norm. In fact, http://www.answers.com/soccer+mom&r=67 are one counterexample.

People are willing to blow lots of money on things like tatooes, dates etc.

I don't have any tattoos or even go on dates. I spend most of my extra money on books. Anyway, tattoos and dating aren't illegal. If someone wants to spend their money on tattoos and dates, I think that's their business- they've earned it.

Most Americans are crazy (I got this idea after seeing Ripley' Believe it or Not)

Do you think most Americans have been on Ripley's Believe it or Not? Aren't people on the show for being unusual?

They would do anything for money( I got this idea after seeing in a program where u could take anything in the store for free if u came naked and Fear Factor)

Same as the last one.

Most Americans don't have a good idea about the outside world.

I think this may be true of the younger people. Most Americans know something about our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and probably a bit about the UK. I know a decent amount about the world.

They are generally bad mannered.

You've never heard of southern hospitality? Even in large cities, strangers have gone out of their way to help me. Not all of them, but many. I also try to be friendly and courteous. I was raised to not even put my elbows on the table while eating, but I don't usually eat at a table anymore.

You can sue anayone for anything.(Like this guy who sued the parents of a teenager he killed)

Sure, but as Zantra said, it costs money, and you won't necessarily win. I don't know anyone who has sued or been sued.

The americans don't know that they are under a Republic government (I don't mean the four parties) i.e. they elect the head of the state directly.

A Constitutional Federal Republic. American government is taught in school, and if they forget, the presidential elections are highly publicized. I can't imagine anyone capable of voting not knowing they can vote for their representatives.

Women are mostly immodest.

I don't know what that might mean, but not all women behave the same way. Maybe that's one thing you can learn about the US- it's diverse.

The women "gladly" set up kissing booths and act in porn movies.

Oh, please.

Porn is legally allowed in the US

Sure, and there are laws regulating the industry. If you mean prostitution, I think it's only legal somewhere in Nevada- the bunny ranch or something? (I saw it on the History Channel, the history of sex show. Seriously.)

USA is probably going to lose its superpower status within a century.
USA is the best example of the maxim "There are no friends in politics only interests"
US AID is like **** (this is becoz the grains that US sent to India a long time ago were full of worms and what not and the entire thing was thrown into the sea)
US survives primarily on the money it borrowes from poor countries like Russia, China, India.
Though US supported Free Trade it does not do so now that the chineese textiles are flooeding its markets.
U.S. is full of rich people who have gone mad in the name of eccentricsm.
Most music videos can't be distinguished from pron videos.

And many many more which shall be added in a few days.

Okay, my lunch is getting cold. Some politicians make me sick. But there are also politicians trying to do what their constituents want and actually make improvements. I am not rich or eccentric nor is anyone I know. Some music videos offend me, so I just turn the channel. The rest I don't know about or are wrong.