It's no surprise that Americans would have strong opinions about, well, America. Redditor u/atomicturdburglar recently asked the people of Reddit, "Americans, what thing about American culture irks you the most?" Prepare for some heated discussion ahead:
1. "Anti-intellectualism has been ingrained in our culture for decades now, at least."
2. "Rampant materialism. Fancy stuff is not the goal of life."
—u/Catpixfever
3. "The fact that the stupidest among us are often the most vocal."
4. "Politics are more like sports teams with brand colors (red or blue) and mascots (donkey or elephant)."
—u/wonderandawe
5. "It's controlled by people who obviously despise us and just want our money."
6. "Tipping culture. It wasn’t always annoying, but now it is becoming borderline oppressive. Every time I ask for something at a counter and they spin the tablet around and present me with the tip screen, it just angers me."
—u/dma1965
7. "The obsession with work. These morons think working 60-hour weeks is something to be proud of, with being perpetually busy without sleeping as a flex, and talking about 'the grind.' LMAO. We all die eventually. No one is going to remember you 'worked really hard for your boss.'"
8. "Car culture. Building our society and cities in a way that forces people to drive is silly."
9. "The fact that lobbying is considered normal and legal."
—u/ap883
10. "Lack of empathy toward people, especially homeless people."
11. "One thing that bothers me the most is that when it comes to food in America, quantity is more important than quality. We are so dependent on fast/processed food, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find restaurants that actually put effort into their food. When I first visited Europe, the contrast in food quality was striking. I know there are great places to eat here, but in Europe, it seemed like there were great places to eat everywhere."
12. "Many people (including almost everyone in my extended family) seem to think that 'freedom' and 'This is a Christian nation' mean the same thing."
13. "Pickup truck/cosplay country culture. Drive a $60,000 truck and live in the suburbs, but you think you're a salt of the earth redneck outdoorsman. Piss the fuck off."
—u/Harry-Taint
14. "The constant desire to have a bigger house, nicer car, better paying job, etc. It's a race to the bottom, and I'm part of the first generation to realize this."
15. "The expectation to be extroverted and open and ‘smiley’ all the time."
16. "How several generations of kids were raised to believe that they HAVE to go to college to be successful. Colleges take advantage of this by charging a ridiculous amount of money to attend them, offering degrees for bullshit majors knowing students who get them will be in debt for most of their life."
—u/lilyboocakes
17. "Dating in general. It's become so toxic and crazy that most people gave up. It's incredibly depressing even opening a stupid dating app at this point."
—u/KoNTroL92A
18. "Being old-fashioned about nudity. In Europe, they have nudity on regular TV."
19. "There is literally no amount of gun violence that will make us change or enforce our gun laws effectively, but politicians will often blame music or video games for violence and try to get those banned."
And finally...
20. "As a Canadian, being referred to as an American irks me. :)"
—u/Molwar
Agree? Disagree? Got your own gripes? See you in the comments!
These entries have been edited for length and clarity.