Typical American

reply to post by astrogolf

When I hear things like "typical american" I try to consider the source. Normally, this term is used by a non-american. It's a slight. A way of saying we're all a bunch of cookie cutter simpletons.
Most frequently it comes from the europeans. Makes me wonder why the entire world, including the left wing here in the United States loves to bash the "typical american" so much.
Here's why. We invented cars, airplanes, the telephone, the computer, nuclear power, the automobile, the assembly line, modern medicine, space travel, television, radio, the elevator, steel frame buildings (the skyscraper), petroleum extraction and use, the internal combustion engine, automatic weaponry, the calculator, the telegraph, the internet, and captialism just to rattle off a few.

The Car (Gasoline powered) - Invented in 1885 by Karl Benz (as in Mercedes-Benz) he was a German.
The telephone - 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot
The computer - Could be Charles Babbage, an English man, or for what we would today call a modern computer, it would be Alan Turing during WWII, also English.
Modern Medicine - Really? Modern medicine wasn't invented, it evolved throughout the world over centuries and is still being improved in research labs in many different countries. A lot of the real cutting edge stuff these days is coming from Japan.
Space Travel - Those damned Ruskies got there first. On the back of German Nazi research into the V2 rocket may I add.
Television - John Logie Baird, another Scot in 1925.
The Radio - Nikola Tesla, a Serbian

I can't be bothered to carry on, I think I've made my point. Without looking them up, I would say very few of the others could be classed as American inventions either.

And this thread asks why outsiders see Americans as ignorant, egocentric, uneducated and unaware of other countries

Originally posted by nik1halo
The Car (Gasoline powered) - Invented in 1885 by Karl Benz (as in Mercedes-Benz) he was a German.
The telephone - 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot
The computer - Could be Charles Babbage, an English man, or for what we would today call a modern computer, it would be Alan Turing during WWII, also English.
Modern Medicine - Really? Modern medicine wasn't invented, it evolved throughout the world over centuries and is still being improved in research labs in many different countries. A lot of the real cutting edge stuff these days is coming from Japan.
Space Travel - Those damned Ruskies got there first. On the back of German Nazi research into the V2 rocket may I add.
Television - John Logie Baird, another Scot in 1925.
The Radio - Nikola Tesla, a Serbian

I can't be bothered to carry on, I think I've made my point. Without looking them up, I would say very few of the others could be classed as American inventions either.

And this thread asks why outsiders see Americans as ignorant, egocentric, uneducated and unaware of other countries

While I appreciate you setting him straight, I think you're being unfair in a couple cases: Bell invented the telephone in Boston, and Tesla moved to the USA in his twenties before inventing the radio.

If it's not fair to say everything was invented in the USA, neither is it fair to say nothing was.

From my own experience in America (west coast), I'd say on average, typical american is:

-polite
-smiling
-friendly
-cautious
-respectful
-interested
-patriotic
-somehow childish
-free-spirit dresser
-great cook
-do-not-put-pressure-on-me driver

in short: very nice people on a very nice country
magnificent roads, landscapes and food

Originally posted by nik1halo
reply to post by astrogolf

 

When I hear things like "typical american" I try to consider the source. Normally, this term is used by a non-american. It's a slight. A way of saying we're all a bunch of cookie cutter simpletons.
Most frequently it comes from the europeans. Makes me wonder why the entire world, including the left wing here in the United States loves to bash the "typical american" so much.
Here's why. We invented cars, airplanes, the telephone, the computer, nuclear power, the automobile, the assembly line, modern medicine, space travel, television, radio, the elevator, steel frame buildings (the skyscraper), petroleum extraction and use, the internal combustion engine, automatic weaponry, the calculator, the telegraph, the internet, and captialism just to rattle off a few.

The Car (Gasoline powered) - Invented in 1885 by Karl Benz (as in Mercedes-Benz) he was a German.
The telephone - 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot
The computer - Could be Charles Babbage, an English man, or for what we would today call a modern computer, it would be Alan Turing during WWII, also English.
Modern Medicine - Really? Modern medicine wasn't invented, it evolved throughout the world over centuries and is still being improved in research labs in many different countries. A lot of the real cutting edge stuff these days is coming from Japan.
Space Travel - Those damned Ruskies got there first. On the back of German Nazi research into the V2 rocket may I add.
Television - John Logie Baird, another Scot in 1925.
The Radio - Nikola Tesla, a Serbian

I can't be bothered to carry on, I think I've made my point. Without looking them up, I would say very few of the others could be classed as American inventions either.

And this thread asks why outsiders see Americans as ignorant, egocentric, uneducated and unaware of other countries

edit on 18-11-2010 by nik1halo because: (no reason given)

And the internet your surfing right now.. Larry G. Roberts created the first functioning long-distance computer networks in 1965 and designed the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the seed from which the modern Internet grew, in 1966.

A AMERICAN!

So in essence thanks to america you have a Internet where you can bash it on

reply to post by NewlyAwakened


Well if you're going to say they are american because the inventors were living in America at the time, you could also summise that the TV is an English invention, as Baird was living in the South of England at the time.

It was the suggestion of the invention of the car that got me started, as many Americans believe that it was invented in the US, confusing it with the fact that Henry Ford was the first to mass produce on a production line. The rest of the world is quite content knowing it was invented in Germany and many countries were making cars prior to Ford's Model T.

I just kinda went on a rant after that... sorry.

Originally posted by ker2010

So in essence thanks to america you have a Internet where you can bash it on

You know who invented the fridge? An Australian.

Never mind the bloody Internet, without fridges the world would not be where it is today in terms of technology and advancement. Don't believe me? Go turn off your fridge for a week and see how long you last (no going and buying ice and an esky either - don't forget without fridges there can be no ice)

Well, I could tell you who I am...but when I was travelling the world, I was told over and over that I was "not the typical american".

The funny thing is, I am not sure what they were talking about...I am not wildly different than any other person around here...I think they were thinking that somehow the simpsons and cops was a fair estimation of what a american must be. lol.

our media is powerful...and of course our media shows the most extreme examples of acts and actions of our population...no doubt if you get all your information from just the entertainment, your bound to see any country on earth as extreme nutcases living outside of reality.

Our greatest success in america is curiously also one of our biggest image problems...aka, hollywood.

reply to post by ker2010

So in essence thanks to america you have a Internet where you can bash it on

I'm not bashing America or Americans. I like Americans and enjoyed my time there.

I was simply correcting a few facts.

reply to post by nik1halo


You will find that most great inventions in the last hundred or so years are both an english and american invention..the coop work between the two countries are almost blurred because they slap things back and forth soo much. the history is almost muddled.

besides, America is little more than a British invention..a multiculturalism experiment started several hundred years ago.

Originally posted by Kryties

Originally posted by ker2010

So in essence thanks to america you have a Internet where you can bash it on

You know who invented the fridge? An Australian.

Never mind the bloody Internet, without fridges the world would not be where it is today in terms of technology and advancement. Don't believe me? Go turn off your fridge for a week and see how long you last (no going and buying ice and an esky either - don't forget without fridges there can be no ice)

Of course a fridge wouldn't work without controlling electricity...just saying

anyhow, all these inventions are great...I would love for the entire world to break out into a scientific breakthrough war..to have the worth of any and all nations to be determined on what the produce technologically that helps further and help all of mankind through either happiness, lifestyle ease, hunger, etc...

Then we can have super uber patriotism arguments I would gladly participate in...sadly, we as nations still push forward how well we can blow up others as some sort of merit badge.

time to move warfare into intellectual achievements. discussions like this actually are a positive aspect...knock down other countries about the facts of inventions...force the average person to demand our leaders invest in progress over bombs...pride should come from our brains, not our bombs.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Haha, America is a British invention - I like it

I'm letting them have the internet and Nuclear power, even though they were both multi-national teams, they were, to be fair US Military projects.

To be honest, not many things these days are invented by any one person. Most are either military or corporate R&D teams.

This is a sad thread.
I had just this type of thinking, through ignorance, until I managed to get posted over in San Diego for a while.
I was not looking forward to it, due to this pre concieved notion of a "typical American" and all that goes with it.
How ridiculous did I feel? I made more friends in the first week than i did in the first couple of mnths in my home country (UK).I love the place, and I love the people. I would live there if I could.
Never again will I ever pre-judge a solitary person, let alone a whole country.

Originally posted by grifta
This is a sad thread.
I had just this type of thinking, through ignorance, until I managed to get posted over in San Diego for a while.
I was not looking forward to it, due to this pre concieved notion of a "typical American" and all that goes with it.
How ridiculous did I feel? I made more friends in the first week than i did in the first couple of mnths in my home country (UK).I love the place, and I love the people. I would live there if I could.
Never again will I ever pre-judge a solitary person, let alone a whole country.

Yes, typically a person is only a "racist" until they actually travel...then suddenly they realize the people whom are generalizing a entire nation are often the backwoods idiots that never travel anyhow.

alot of that in every nation though...any american saying they are the best, the greatest, etc...typically never left their own state, much less the country...and those elsewhere whom say this country or that country sucks...ya...same issue.

California is actually a world in itself...the people there are actually very friendly and open..go to NYC and you may have walked away thinking America was filled with obnoxious and rude people...or go to kentucky and you would think the people of america are inbred morons..etc. heh...

the dumbest voices are typically the loudest though...and guess which ones make news all the time to perpetuate a false image.

Originally posted by nik1halo
Well if you're going to say they are american because the inventors were living in America at the time, you could also summise that the TV is an English invention, as Baird was living in the South of England at the time.

It was the suggestion of the invention of the car that got me started, as many Americans believe that it was invented in the US, confusing it with the fact that Henry Ford was the first to mass produce on a production line. The rest of the world is quite content knowing it was invented in Germany and many countries were making cars prior to Ford's Model T.

All of this is true. However, there also must be a reason these people decided to live where they did when they did their work. Bell and Tesla (and Baird for that matter) clearly found their new homes to be a constructive enough environment for them to realize their genius.

I just think the issue is more complex than an inventor's nationality, and harping on this stuff is kind of beside the point (of course I was not the one listing inventions and their supposed country of origin (USA), so I will let that poster defend himself as he sees fit).

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Yes, typically a person is only a "racist" until they actually travel...then suddenly they realize the people whom are generalizing a entire nation are often the backwoods idiots that never travel anyhow.

This squares with my experience with travel as well, and reminds me of a quote from Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts."

reply to post by NewlyAwakened


I agree that this is getting a bit silly now.

Just FYI though, Baird moved to England because of heath issues (something like TB). It much warmer on the south coast than up in Scotland. He later moved to the states though I believe.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think Tesla moved to America because Edison offered him a job there, after working for his company in France.

I have no idea why Bell moved there.

It's funny to hear people say, "typical American." They say it all the time during political debates on message boards. I just imagine an Arab guy sitting behind the computer terminal, scapegoating the little fat kid eating at McDonalds. Truthfully, it offends me when people say it. Given the extreme diversity of America, "typical" seems like an overused and misplaced term. I myself am an American, yet I don't feel like I would fit into the "typical" category. For one, I'm not Christian, nor religious. Most Americans are white Protestants, but I think it's only half the population or so. I'm sorry that Arabs and others around the world conflate various stereotypes of Americans, accusing anyone of being a "typical American" when they disagree with their political leanings. I think Arabs have a tendency to hate Americans because they see us as foolishly supporting Israel, and I'd like them to know that a huge amount of Americans don't like Israel, and see the country as being the reason for much of the world's problems. I for one am not in favor of paying Israel from my taxes, as they are an illegal apartheid state. But I also don't think the holocaust was a hoax, so hate me for that if you want Arabs. Just remember that most of the actual population of Americans know that American politics are corrupt, and wish that something could be done about it. But it's hard to make any changes when you live in a police state and are faced daily, by a monolithic conspiracy that seeks to subjugate you.

Hopefully that rant was helpful to someone.

Take care

Originally posted by WashingtonGrewHemp

I just imagine an Arab guy sitting behind the computer terminal, scapegoating the little fat kid eating at McDonalds.

I'm sorry that Arabs and others around the world conflate various stereotypes of Americans, accusing anyone of being a "typical American" when they disagree with their political leanings.

I think Arabs have a tendency to hate Americans because they see us as foolishly supporting Israel, and I'd like them to know that a huge amount of Americans don't like Israel, and see the country as being the reason for much of the world's problems.

But I also don't think the holocaust was a hoax, so hate me for that if you want Arabs.

You seem to be under the mistaken impression that it is only people of Arabic descent that are involved with thinking or making disparaging remarks about 'typical Americans'.

Try replacing "Arab" with "People from all over the world"

I, for one, am a white Australian. Most definitely not Arab. Hang on while I go check in the mirror................................................................................................................................................ ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................Nope. Not Arab.

I think Arabs have a tendency to hate Americans because they see us as foolishly supporting Israel, and I'd like them to know that a huge amount of Americans don't like Israel, and see the country as being the reason for much of the world's problems.

Funnily enough that's what happens when you forcibly take the role of Worlds police against the majority of peoples wishes. "Arabs" (as you call them) also don't like being invaded and told what they should be doing either - remember you guys have been in the Middle East far far longer than just since 9/11.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Typical Americans are workaholic. They work two to three jobs day and night as if they are going to be a millionaire someday by working like that. And others who are on some kind of Government social security programs and spending money that others made.

Thanks for pointing that out. You're right. I didn't mean to say that it is only Arabs that have a notion of "typical American," I know that it is many people of all different races and nationalities. I also realize we've been in the Middle East for quite a while trying to influence policy- we supported the Mujaheddin, etc. Also keep in mind, though, that the US largely just took over what Britain had already started there. Remember that Israel was a British-run territory before it became Israel. When Britain became unable to police the world as they had done for a couple centuries, America took over to continue what they started. (Lawrence of Arabia is an excellent movie.) Anyway, I am in favor of allowing countries to operate autonomously, and I admit that America has made many mistakes trying to influence foreign developing nations. However, a lot of people overlook how the Cold War affected US foreign policy for a good 50 years. Many of our Middle East policies were developed to influence the Cold War, and now that it's over, corrections must be made. I am in no way excusing the American government- I distrust them too. My uncle died from agent orange exposure in Vietnam, and I know about MK-ULTRA and the government experimenting on its own citizens, etc. Believe me, Americans distrust their government just as much if not more than the people of other countries.

Take care