Needless to say, the US is a country that is full of misconceptions to people who don't really know much about it or haven't visited. There are some stereotypes about Americans/the States that are fair or deservedly brought on. However, there are others that when you hear them as an American, you just think, Huh?
The thread went viral, getting over 5.7K replies. Below are the top, best, and most often repeated things that people are tired of hearing about the US:
1. "One of the stranger myths I see repeated about America by foreigners is about food. Usually, it's something like, 'American [beer/cheese/chocolate/bread/etc.] is all crappy and terrible.' No, you just picked the cheapest version from a chain grocery store and then acted like it's the only one we have. It's like if I went to the UK and shit-talked British food because all I ate was sausage rolls from Greggs."
2. "There are a lot more important ones, but I constantly hear that we all wear shoes in the house. No one I know hangs around the house in shoes."
3. "That we're all intellectually invalid, morbidly obese lard asses who binge reality TV all day while munching on butter sticks and guzzling Alfredo sauce."
4. "This one seems silly. But, for some reason, people think we are the only country with those cheaply made public bathroom stall doors — the metal ones with the cracks that you can kind of see into, etc. I’ve used bathrooms that have these in three different countries just this year."
5. "That we are ALL the screaming, loudmouth, 'Karen' tourists that visit other countries and yell, 'Why don't you speak English?' Believe me, we hate those people, too."
6. "How racist it is. I'm Egyptian, and you can tell I'm Arab just by my appearance. There's way more racism in my homeland AND in surrounding regions than the West in general, tbh. Apart from a comment here or there, mostly from some inebriated youths, I haven't had a racial experience. (I live in the South.) All are friendly and sweet and also soooo polite. They seem to take a genuine interest in where I am from, etc. The US actually has discriminatory and anti-racism laws."
7. "A lot of people in Eastern Europe think that Americans are all rich. Meanwhile, the Americans are trying to budget for toast and trim their own toenail infection to avoid going to the hospital."
8. "That we have no concept of the Metric System. Look, we know it exists. We learn about it in school. And it’s used exclusively in medical and scientific applications. But it’s just not what we use in our day-to-day lives."
9. "Americans being ignorant about foreign languages and monolingual. It’s a true stereotype, but not about Americans. It’s true to native English speakers — as UK and Australia have similar rates of monolingualism."
10. "Not from the US but have lived there. Mine would be that people are only surface nice but nothing beyond that and then become rude. Very untrue — my family was met with a lot of genuine kindness from the beginning, and a lot of people went above and beyond providing help and expected nothing in return. Just sweet, helpful, and nice people in their local community."
11. "Not so much a lie as a misconception. I've seen a few English bloggers remark about how hard it is to get vegetables in US grocery stores, and remarking that the only things available are pre-made salads and the like."
12. "'America has no history.' Blatantly untrue and offensive, to say the least."
13. "That we have bad healthcare. We have bad health insurance options and access for some people."
14. "I got so tired of hearing from foreign exchange students that America has no culture. Like bitch, you’ve visited one f'ing state, you can’t just decide the whole country is absent of culture."
15. And lastly, "That we're all dumb. I had several men in England come up to me and tell me that, and surprisingly, later expect me to go home with them."
You can read the original thread over on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.