topum

Quite strange that so few people come up also with some positive stuff, there is plenty of it too.

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Well, the question was about the stereotypes. I hope, the real knowledge these people have about US is much wider.

Edited Date: 2016-08-08 02:20 pm (UTC)

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Stereotypes could also include more "positive" ones. There is certainly scope for those.

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They could, but it's not they exist for. Generally, stereotypes work as national autotherapy: how good we are, and how funny or stupid or dangerous other nations are. Flattering self-portrait + big bad world in the background.

It requires a really good personal education or personal ethics - to be free of stereotypes or at least not to use them as national autotherapy.

Edited Date: 2016-08-08 02:37 pm (UTC)

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beautesauvage13.livejournal.com

Yes there is plenty of positive. They are a kind folk for the most part. Especially in the southern states like Louisiana. They are very welcoming in Louisianna. Very laid back. The porch dwelling type..

Not everyone is a gun toting big Mac eating idiot.

Alot of good people there who don't own guns and eat big macs.

Athena

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Oh poor Americans, I know they were being asked but the Danes should have lied.

A couple of weeks ago the US Ambassador was despairing because he'd been around the schools in London asking the teenagers this question and the response was basically 1. guns, 2. gun violence and 3. police gun violence,........although they also all said NASA was awesome so it wasnt a total loss.

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I was actually surprised that very few people mentioned at least some positive stuff.

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well I suppose a decent number of the Americans might consider "they all have guns" to be a positive stereotype possibly.

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I have to admit to being a gun-loving Dane (not pro-gun but I love guns). I also am very much not a fan of Janteloven. )

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Janteloven - how typical it is in Denmark? (sorry for intruding your conversation...)

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Well, it is very typical and it still there. Many people hate it but just because you say that you hate it it doesn't mean you are not part of it. The internet is full of rants by foreigners who tried living in Denmark and were driven mad by it (among other things). )

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Is it a sort of envy? (I mean like in that joke about the hell: you try to get out from the boiling pot, but other people drag you down back: "too smart, eh?")

Or such strong community tradition? Or a tribe socialism?

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No it is not just envy and is more complex and slightly different from it. It is related to collectivism, yes. It is much less pronounced these days and young people hate it or don't care about it.

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I understand now, thank you. Interesting.

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If only I was as rich as a Republican and could travel to Europe myself to see what they are talking about.

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you could always come to London, we're sort of half Europe/half America, and since Brexit screwed up the pound the exchange rate means we're uber affordable for Americans such as yourself. We welcome you and your tourist dollars. :-)

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London would be a first step to my cultural education. Thank you.

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If you will be flying from the US you might get a good deal on a stopover in Reykjavik. Iceland is literally between Europe and America. Geologically the island includes parts of both continental plates (you can visit the ridge if you go to Þingvellir). And it is Europe's second largest island after Great Britain.

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Watching the Olympics last night there was an Icelandic swimmer with a name of the longest string of consonants I had ever seen and thought that I hope to never have children born in Iceland for fear of having to give then such a native name.

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I have a friend in London. His daughter, who has a last Russian name too long and unpronounceable for Brits, was in a group of students with some Iceland girl, who has a long and unpronounceable Iceland name. Funnily, these two names were the first ones that the group memorized and learned to pronounce perfectly. The effect of a challenge...

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Yes, it often works like this. Why bother memorising John Smiths of the world? Now Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir is a cool one to remember ).

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Exactly!

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Lúthersdóttir seems to mean "Luther's daughter", it's a patronymic name. Quite easy to memorize.

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If you know it, then yes but not if it is the first time you see such a name.

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Hrafn = raven, Hildur = Hilde. Raven's Hilde. Nice name for a girl, isn't it?

And yes, icelanders are interesting. There is the list of ALL icelanders in wiki. And they know their genealogy 1000 years back, to the times of ancient sagas and can tell whose grandgrand...pa is that guy in a saga of IX century.

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Most Icelanders do not have family names, patronymics are used instead. Some do however.

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Ha ha, Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir?

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I believe that was her.

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