What is a common myth about your country that people still believe to be true?

[DonkeyDan]

My pick is that the English don't all drink tea, and they don't stick their little finger out when drinking either.

What's your pick?

[dustybiker]

I’ll take on a sprinkling of America since I have lived in it a fair amount of time.
Not all surfers on the west coast talk like they are stoned. Nor young woman talk like valley girls.
Not all from the NWest are stoned, or gay.
Not all people from the south are learning impaired.
Not all Texans are haters.
Not everyone in Florida is old.
Not everyone from the NEast is stuck up or cold (emotionally)
Not everyone in the military are republicans.
Not everyone from any political party is an a-🕳.
Not everyone in Montana is cowboy/girl.
Not everyone in America has an accent.
Not everyone in Kansas likes the Wizard of Oz.
Not everyone in Georgia is a peach.. but a lot are.
Not everyone in Nevada likes Las Vegas
Not everyone in CO, Idaho or Utah can ski/snowboard, though have been told they do haul a heck of a lot of tourists out of ditches, that is true.
I really could go on and on.. tis a big place.

[DonkeyDan]

Nice 😂

[dustybiker]

Thanks 😁

[Bel88]

But you do all have accents; American accents.

[dustybiker]

@Bel88 Some people have a “neutral” accent. Where you can’t place where they come from. They simply speak clearly. This can happen anywhere.

[dustybiker]

Thanks for the mhg. 🤓

[DonkeyDan]

You're welcome

[Bel88]

That Australians are anything at all like 'Crocodile Dundee' or Steve Irwin (we're not), and we all talk in those funny accents (we don't). That it's always hot in Australia (it snows during the winter in some parts), and that the wildlife is dangerous and will kill you (that's only in the far north, and only if you're really careless and do something stupid, like swim in shark-infested waters).
Some people (mainly Yanks I've noticed) also tend to think we're really "rugged", right-wing and uncivilised, but most of us live in large cities (like 90% of us) and the political views of most in our country are so far to the left they make Europe, Canada and California look like the deep south, KKK territory.

[NathanDavis]

there is one thing I still hear often enough about Mexico... and that is the two big networks in the USA that are aimed to the Latino community

Telemundo and Univision... many people think that these are either a reflection of Mexico or based in Mexico, or both... and it is just not the case, Univision is based in LA California I believe... while Telemundo is based on Miami

both networks have little to do with Mexico and somethings nothing to do with Mexico AS A country... yes, there are some aspects of it that do represent Mexico but they're always mixed with the rest of Latino America and the Hispanic community, and it is usually a representation of the Mexican culture in the USA, rather than the Mexican culture of Mexico... I know, it's a bit tricky... but it is a significant difference

[ChrisMaster69]

Hate to burst your bubble, I tend to stick mine out lol.

for me it’s that we all speak English, as in BBC / Queens English /
Received Pronunciation.

Where as reality is so far from that.

[DonkeyDan]

And I thought I was the posh twat 😂

[ChrisMaster69]

@DonkeyDan it’s a bizarre habit , RAF and all that I guess

[dustybiker]

So the finger is military issued?

[ChrisMaster69]

@dustybiker yeah it’s fully loaded

[purplepoppy]

We all shag sheep in Wales. Complete myth, only the men do.
Your legally allowed to shoot us with a bow and arrow if we cross the border at night. Spend any time in an English border town pub and someone will tell you this.
We call a microwave a popty ping, sorry that's just a joke.
The word for jellyfish is sadly not Psygod wibli wobli. It's actually cont y mor (cunt of the sea)

[progboy]

That's very disappointing about the jellyfish. That would be a great word for them. I've often heard the bow and arrow thing. I didn't really think it was true.

[purplepoppy]

The jellyfish one is so well known it's likely to become accepted. Much nicer than "cunt of the sea" especially for kids

[DaveJord]

Yeah I hate Sheep fuckers to... lol

[progboy]

I can't believe I hadn't heard it. Yes, I can't quite see "cunt of the sea" catching on in schools!

[jennifer_bloom]

I was born in China and people think China is oppressive when I find it better than Canada in terms of political surveillance and medical care and the right to a fair trial when accused. I live in Canada and people think Canadians are all country folk and white but we have a lot of suburbs and cities and different ethnic groups too.

[zagor]

Yeah the court system there is fucked up.

[jennifer_bloom]

@zagor I know two Canadian police officers who tried to frame innocent people for crimes they did not commit for PR purposes and in China this would never happen.

[DaveJord]

That the United States is a democracy and/or capitalist country.

If it was a democracy then 51% majority would over come any deadlock over any issue.

If it was a capitalist's country then there would be no minimum wage, welfare or import or export based trade policy.

[EnglishEuropean]

Every capitalist country has trade policy.

[DaveJord]

@EnglishEuropean right so it not a truly capitalist's, it impossible. Because you have to deal with market limitations being imposed upon you by other countries. So you can be capitalists in a isolated economy, but not if you are participating in a global economy. But many Americans want to belief the US is a capitalist or that capitalism is achievable.

[EnglishEuropean]

What you're talking about isn't capitalism, it's unfettered free trade.

[DaveJord]

@EnglishEuropean Capitalism is free market or laissez-faire. Private individuals are unrestrained. The laissez-faire marketplace operates without checks or controls. Most countries practice a mixed capitalist system that includes some degree of government regulation of business and ownership of select industries.

So you set a minnium wage... thats not capitalist. You enforce environmental regulation on industry... thats not capitalists. Government subsidizes rail, air or oil companies... thats not capitalist. Welfare, insurance regulators... NAFTA and the EU... not capitalist.

[DaveJord]

The Goverment bail out of the auto industries, and banks... To Big to Fail NOT capitalist.

[DaveJord]

One more good example... COVID response by government literally shut down whole industries and thousands lost thier jobs and businesses... all due to government regulation... NOT capitalist

[EnglishEuropean]

I agree the US has drifted far from capitalism, even capitalism within a rational framework.

[Redstang88]

That Canadians are all nice. Definitely not the case, people from the big cities are just as cold and miserable as anywhere else.
Especially the Québécois, all I can figure is they’re trying to outdo the real French for being the biggest pompous dickheads on the planet

[Anonymous]

People still think that there are kangaroos in our backyards in Australia. This is such a myth, you only really see them in the country side not so much in the suburbs or city. And no people do not ride kangaroos to school this one makes me laugh all the time

[zagor]

I actually saw lots of kangaroos in the 'burbs of Canberra and Melbourne.

[Chlo3_2001]

I'm Australian and live in the city and definitely have had many cases of seeing kangaroos out and about.

[douride2]

That Canadians are all polite.
That it is a frozen waste land up here.
That we live in igloos & ride a dogsled to school.
That we have a idiot as a leader.
Ooopppsss that last one is true.

[Dargil]

Some of Commonwealth are falling into dictatorship. Sad.

[Rangers]

The idea that we have the highest violent crime rate despite the fact that USA has the lowest violent crime rate in the world and it's not even remotely close, with the closest being Canada with almost 1,300 per 100,000 while it's 400 in the US

[DaveJord]

Hummmmm? 🤔

[Tweetybirdii]

We dont all smoke weed and walk around saying “yea mon” all day long 🙄🙄! And everybody is not poor!!!

[genericname85]

That Germans are Krauts. No we aren't. It's really only somewhat popular in one state. Not the entire country. Also "made in Germany" isn't a thing anymore. We make cheap shit like everyone else now.

[DaveJord]

But you still have good beer?

[genericname85]

@DaveJord honestly i can't really tell, cause i don't really drink much other beer than german beer xD so i really don't have a proper benchmark to say anything about that. i guess we do have Heineken and Budwiser. Heineken is ok. nothing special but not detestable and budwiser is not for me.

[DaveJord]

@genericname85 Well as an American that lived in Germany for 6 years and later in Italy for 12...
I am beer drinker and Germany has the best beers.

A German law from 1516 says beer should only include three ingredients: hops, barley and water. ... Yeast was added to the list, known as the beer purity law or Reinheitsgebot.

Heineken is brewed in Holland/Netherlands and original Budweiser is a Czech Beer not brewed in the United States... its still brewed in Czech as parent company to Budweiser but its not the same as watered down American version.

Germany purity

[msc545]

People think the US is a Democracy when actually the wealthy control the government.

[DonkeyDan]

I don't know why they would think it's a democracy as it's Republic, but yes you're right about the money controlling.

[msc545]

Republic or Democracy, doesn't matter. It's an Oligarchy.

[OfDeath]

Lol yes they do. Every single English person does that. Even the ones in jail. There's a tea break during their exercise yard time. Everyone knows this.

[Citizenkirk]

That the American working class is one big television set on Cheers.

[humanearth]

That genocide can't happen in the USA & North America

[Jay3344]

Lazy Mexican - it’s a nasty stereotype and far from the truth, I’ve seen old Mexican men work twice as hard as young men from my country.

[zagor]

Yeah seems Mexicans do 90% of the physical labor around here.

[EnglishEuropean]

UK here. We don't wear pinstripe suits with a bowler hat and we definitely don't carry an umbrella. And most of us don't talk with a cockney accent.

[In_Trance]

That we're overly polite... we're not.
We're dicks

[OddBeMe]

Yeah but you guys drink a lot of tea. Hot tea too. It’s like a fraction in the US.

[grega239]

Not sure what people think slovenes are like.

Alcohol consumption is overstated i guess

[EnglishEuropean]

I heard you live in caves.

[grega239]

@EnglishEuropean jealous?

[EnglishEuropean]

No, and I'm sure I was misinformed.

[DaveJord]

@EnglishEuropean no they have caves, the have castles built into a cave... been there done it.

[Dargil]

That we are a racist country. We aren't.

[Chlo3_2001]

That we ride kangaroos to school.

[Julie4]

That we hate the rest of the world

[SalvatoreCordileone]

People in the USA believe that they are free.

[DaveJord]

Lol... IKR. It hit home to me when I was in the military in Germany and this guy walks out of the bar and walks down street with a beer in his hand. I was like thats legal to carry a beer down a street in public... they said yeah. BOOM, it hit me... America is not free.

[Cubus]

That my people steal cars (which is not true)

[noohair]

That every American has money.

[Anonymous]

Land of opportunity