Expressing your political, religious and social beliefs throughout stickers scattered all over your car
"Cars" (massive pickups) the size of an European mini-bus for moving a single person around
Substantial lack of sidewalks and cycling infrastructure, fundamental necessity to have a car to literally go anywhere,
Would rather jump in in a stranger's car (Uber) than advocate for and utilize public transportation
Lack of a serious/fast rail network
Healthcare being a privilege and not a right,
Mass shooting being normalized under the guise of bullsh*t like "ThIs Is ThE PrIcE To PaY nOt To LiVe In TyRaNnY", just to eventually elect a guy who literally campaigned with "dictator on day one"
The word "socialism" is automatically associated with "totalitarianism" in the US. I suspect that even for Europeans who do not vote for candidates from a socialist party, this would be surprising.
@cherokeepatti I was not referring to Eastern Bloc /Soviet "socialism", which really wasn't socialism at all.(And I think the cold war experience is what accounts for Americans' association with the word. But this is ironic, seeing as Europe was a lot closer to the iron curtain geographically than we were.) I am referring to socialist parties that hold seats in the parliaments of contemporary western democracies.
@DrWatson Those aren't true Socialism, their costs of living is insanely high, true Socialism tries to keep costs down while keeping everyone working, everyone pulls their own weight, free loading isn't permitted, meaning chronic welfare parents do not exist.
The sheer size of our country. You can drive from coast to coast in England in maybe 4 hours, It can take 12 hours to drive through some of our bigger states , Like Texas
@JonUK41 That is becoming increasingly common in the UK too, especially for online retail. I've no problem with providing factual information, so long as it does not trick the consumer into believing that a product costs less than it actually does.
@SunshineGirl That's just been made illegal. Not sure when it kicks in, but in future the price advertised must include all compulsory charges. I'm sure the snakes will find a way to wriggle around the law, though.
That includes Americans seeming not to comprehend that "Europe" is not a nation but a polyglot assortment of nearly thirty, very different nations with their own languages, cultures, geographical characteristics, etc.
I wonder if some of that confusion comes from news reports etc concentrating more on the European Union (a political and economic bloc) than on single countries.
@bijouxbroussard Oh, I can believe that. Stereotypical ideas about other countries are by no means confined to the USA and European countries, and there are plenty between just the latter!
There are pros/cons to other countries vs ours .. but frankly .. we don't give as much a fuck what the rest of the world thinks as it likes to believe we should. There have always been more from elsewhere trying to come here than the reverse. I wonder why that is ??
@BrandNewMan That's true of many countries, not just the USA, and "always" has been: people fleeing poverty, oppression, wars....
I take you point though I don't swear about it that many Americans do not care about anyone on the opposite sides of those two big oceans; but even without unwanted immigration they should remember no country can or does exist in isolation even if those individuals do so personally.
@Lilymoon Since you're Canadian, your answer reminds me of a Red Green episode. During the Word Game, one of the clues Red uses is "Americans laugh at Canadians when we say this." He was referring to pronunciation, of course. I don't remember what the real answer was, but the contestant guessed, " Can you please check your handguns at the border?"
@DrWatson Always got a kick out of that segment. I also got myself an early birthday present past week, a Bersa Thunder .22LR semiautomatic pistol, essentially a Walther PPK clone that costs less than half, and vastly improved, I turned 55 two days ago...
Fanatical division in politics. Yet fanaticism of any type isn't recognized even in the USA.
All sides will say they are not fanatics.
The EU has a better understanding of compromise that the USA no longer has. It's mostly extreme fanatics in the USA. Compromise just isn't possible under such extremes.
@DeWayfarer Trump: I am cutting wasteful spending by our Government. Democrats: IMPEACH HIM! We told you that Trump would be a dictator on day 1!!
Elon: We are $36T in debt, let’s find ways to cut Government spending. Democrats: NO ONE VOTED FOR ELON MUSK!
RFK Jr.: I want to make America Healthy Again! Democrats: WHAT!?! Noooo!!! You can’t do that!!
Trump: I will be putting a 25% Tariff on Mexico and Canada for refusing to work with America to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs coming into our Country. Democrats: WTF!! Americans will now have to pay higher prices for Avocados and Coronas.
Tulsi: We should discuss the U.S. DoD funded bio labs in Ukraine. Democrats: OH!! HELL NO! Tulsi is Putin’s puppet!!
Trump: I am deporting criminals who are in our Country illegally. Democrats: Ummm?!?! Who will to pick our crops????
RFK Jr.: I want to put an end to the rise of Chronic Diseases in children. Democrats: Hey, dummy…that is literally Big Pharmas job!!
Trump: We should look into ending all Federal Income taxes. Democrats: WTF!! What about egg prices?!?
Elon: We should investigate how members of Congress making low end 6-figure salaries become multi-millionaires. Democrats: PANIC!! Billionaire Musk will have access to your home address and social security number!
Trump: I want to move forward with eliminating Federal Income Taxes on Overtime & Social Security. Democrats: AHHH!!! YOU ARE LITERAL HITLER!
Hegseth: We shouldn’t spend billions protecting foreign borders, while completely ignoring our own. Democrats: WHAT ABOUT EGG PRICES?!?
RFK Jr.: We need to ban toxic dyes and bring awareness to the negative impacts on Fluoride in our water. Democrats: SOMEONE, STOP HIM!! He is a crazy conspiracy theorist!!!
Trump: I am protecting women sports by signing an Executive Order to ban biological males from biological females sports. Democrats: HORRIBLE!!! Only evil people would do such awful things to transgender women!!!
Elon: Should we audit the IRS next? Democrats: The Rocket Scientist is, like, the dumbest billionaire, like, ever!!
Police brutality, i'm not talking about beating someone with a baton. I'm talking about erasing people over seatbelt violations as if they never existed.
@meJess Yes, in mostly places the sales tax/VAT/whatever is on the price tag, isn't it? Plus it's pretty universal nationwide, unlike the US where the local taxes vary from state to state or even city to city.
@LunadelobosIAMTHEDRAGON Heard a doctor say that cleaning with bleach water without wearing gloves was one of the most common carcinogenic things that people do. And then they soak chicken in bleach water.
@NativePortlander1970 I answered the question by observing what so many non-Americans say about this country when they visit it -- if you don't like the answer talk to THEM, not me. And jingoism is not a virtue.
@NativePortlander1970 theres plenty of knives in USA too... Not sure why you are taking my comment so personally and I don't come from the North of Ireland and im not associated with the IRA, wtf
