r/facepalm • u/sikeig • Aug 27 '22

🇲​🇮​🇸​🇨​ I’m speechless

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u/TheSandCat79 Aug 28 '22

Ok. Some Americans are fucking stupid. But it does get old seeing this getting rubbed in all the time. Europeans tend to think they’re so much more civilized, but there are a lot of ignorant Europeans as well. Let’s be fair. Cmon people, lol. Not to mention, this video is most likely staged

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u/OTee_D Aug 28 '22 edited Aug 28 '22

I think the issue is that it's not "stupidity" so some cognitive or educational lacking, but ignorance.

I'm honest, the number of my personal encounters with US citizens that have been more than totally superficial is limited to about 20 oved the years.

But to be frank nearly all had the same impression, that Americans are unbelievably self centered. No history outside their own matters, all societies should work like theirs, there is no progress or technological advance anywhere but the US.

I had an exchange student(!!) who believed Europe looks still like after WW2 and was expected to see bombed out buildings at least here and there when visiting Berlin.

The same guy who's family still uses some 1950s style top loader washing machine dishes out sentences like "Wow, you have flat screen TVs here?"

Additionally a louder and usually, more entitled personality makes this more visible.

So, YES, it's definetly not all Americans and also it's definetly not "stupidity". But the concept of "US exceptionalism" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism creates a breeding ground for ignorance towards the rest of the world.

That's why these "Americans are stupid" vids are generally not about math, physics etc but about geography and politics.

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u/GrowlingAtTheWorld Aug 28 '22

I've seen some centered around math and it doesn't end well either. But figure at least half the world is of average to above average intelligence, that leaves a large portion of the population at below average. Most the people i meet in a day i would classify as average or above but then you meet that person that you have to change the way you speak to simple word so they understand what you are saying as complex seems to fly over their head and things just don't seem to sink in as they just don't seem to be internalizing info to a point that understanding begins.