Everyone knows America from the movies, but these often don’t give a complete picture. One internet user recently questioned, “What’s the hardest thing for you to comprehend about American culture?” We collected the 22 best responses below.
Debt Fraud
“How easy it is to secretly take loans/credit cards out in someone else’s name.”
“That’s why I recommend ‘Bad Credit,’ the new awesome product that makes your information useless to everyone, including you!”
“My mom put me 30,000 in debt without my knowledge. I couldn’t even get a $500 loan. She somehow managed to get my phone in debt over 2k. I didn’t expect my mom to be able to use my name as if she owned it.”
Only Two Weeks Of Vacation
“In Denmark, you have to take two weeks of mandatory leave in a row. Including public holidays I get seven weeks of vacation a year.”
“In the US, there is a huge gap between those with little PTO and those that get enough. This is from the company’s goodwill and not any federally mandated leave.”
“I have 15 days (plus holidays). Here in the US, that’s considered pretty good. Makes me so angry hearing how much more time off most European countries get.”
Televangelists
“I don’t understand super rich televangelists (like Kenneth Copeland) I saw on Reddit.”
“I’m American, and trust me, most of us are aware that these dudes are bad.”
“My parents send him money. They teach that if you give your money to the church, God will bless you with prosperity. 43 years later, my dad is still poor. Still gives 10% of his money. My mom was listening to their healing recordings as she died from cancer.”
Billboards
“Entering America from Canada is strange. Immediately, I see billboards about abortion and religion. Plus, the sheer amount is staggering.”
“That’s what I always marvel at when I see pictures of the English countryside. NO BILLBOARDS! It’s really wonderful. I’ve been following an Icelandic site, and they don’t seem to allow billboards there, either. The curse of America! Advertising!”
College Fraternities
“It’s a way to keep the power and money in the ‘right’ hands. If your father was in a fraternity, chances are you will be in the same fraternity. The reputation for hedonism and bad behavior is just what happens when you put a bunch of privileged, spoiled kids in a house with no supervision.”
“I was in a sorority my first year of college. Horrible decision. Date rape was a big problem because of Greek life, and it was disgusting that people defended it.”
School / Team Mascots
“Where I live, we just have teams and just play matches against people. In America, there’s someone in a cheap eagle suit spinning a basketball.”
“Sometimes mascots aren’t even animals. My school’s mascot was a comet. Comet Man was terrifying.”
“Our school mascot was weird. It was this big guy dressed as a Spartan.”
Entrées
“In 19th-century French, it meant the meal between fish and roast. This was a lighter meat like lobster or chicken. In the 20th century, Americans made lighter meats the focus of their meals, but the word entrée persisted.”
“In Europe, entrée kept its origin of being the beginning of the real meal.”
“In Spain, I ended up eating only a small plate of tomatoes and raw ham for dinner.”
No Poutine
“Americans love Canadian foods like french fries, cheese, and gravy, but poutine never took off south of the border. I always found that odd.”
“It’s only popular in the northernmost states, like Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota. But they’re pretty much Canada, anyway!”
Zero Tolerance Rule
“Who came up with that? The victim is the one who suffers. Either he gets bullied, or he gets a penalty for defending themself. It is stupidly unfair.”
“That’s why if someone attacks you at school, you fight back as hard as possible. If you are getting punished anyway, you might as well earn it.”
“You’ll get punished either way. Might as well ensure you won’t get picked on again.”
Worshipping Politicians
“A lot of people follow and worship politicians like they’re gods – flags and hats etc. In the UK, it’s universally acknowledged that we hate all politicians pretty much equally.”
“I think this started to change when reality TV became a thing. Now our entire political process is reality TV. I say this as someone old enough to remember when pretty much every person in Washington was a serious person.”
Labeling Everything As Cultural Appropriation
“I don’t get why people think that using something from my culture or showing interest in Latin culture is appropriating it. I’ve spoken to a lot of people, and we all think it’s fine.”
“I think people get cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation confused too often.”
“Some ladies from Oregon went to Mexico and learned how to make Tacos from this Mexican lady. They opened a restaurant back home, and people were up in arms.”
Tipping Culture
“Having to tip almost everywhere is odd. It definitely makes sense at some places, but I feel like we have to tip at the most random of places these days.”
“It’s so weird. I was in a souvenir shop where no real “service” was given. It wasn’t a restaurant. I was literally buying a scented candle. There was an automatic 25% tip added. I had to deselect it to complete the transaction.”
Private Healthcare System
“It is so complicated and expensive. And people go bankrupt because they get sick!”
“I have so many medical bills right now. I was diagnosed recently with Early Onset Dementia and can’t afford to see the doctor. In the meantime, I can’t work or drive.”
“I’m also a few thousand in the hole for medical bills at the moment.”
Bald Eagle Obsession
“I hear a bald eagle screech every time I unwrap a slice of American cheese.”
“Fun fact! That stereotypical screech associated with the bald eagle is actually a red-tailed hawk; bald eagles don’t screech. They make a weird chirping sound.”
“The eagle’s born out of thunder. He flies through the night. Don’t you mess with his eggs now, or you’ll see us fight!”
Added Purchase Tax
“Why don’t they include tax in the total price of something? Just include it and make life easier. I don’t want to have to do maths every time I buy something.”
“As a general rule in America, if the choice is between making life easier and whatever businesses want, our government chooses the latter.”
Drinking Age Of 21
“You are allowed to drive a car at 16, own guns, and sign up for the military at 18. But alcohol – behold the devil liquid – is only for over 21s!”
“There’s a political history behind the drinking age. It used to be 18. Then the federal Government made federal highway funding contingent on raising the drinking age to 21. So since the early 1980s, every state caved to that financial pressure.”
Lobbying
“It’s legal bribery!! Also, why do you have to do your taxes? If the Government, in the end, knows if what you paid was what you actually owed, why not just tell you?”
“Funnily enough, your points are related. There are many things that could be done to make filing taxes much easier, but big companies (who make their money from doing people’s taxes) have lobbied the Government for decades to keep it so complex.”
Obligatory Private Health Insurance
“I hate it. I already pay $100 a month for Medicare (I CANT USE IT). People call it heresy to have some kind of government healthcare system for everyone.”
“I guarantee that an option for government healthcare taken out in taxes each paycheck will be substantially less than private insurance. If you want to opt-out and keep it private? Cool. Instead, private is competing with government healthcare. It makes me so angry.”
Poor Employee Appreciation
“Hey, thanks for working for us for ten years. Here are 10 cents of extra pay.”
“In lieu of raises…have a pizza party! And by party, we mean you get one slice of pizza and have to eat it while you work.”
“I recently found out a subordinate was making more than me. So, I led a strike, and it worked. Hopefully, they will learn from their mistakes.”
Date Configuration
“YYYY-MM-DD is nice because it naturally sorts itself in a list. But for most purposes, the year is the least important aspect, so we don’t want to see it first.”
“The year could be at the beginning or the end, but the fact we put the month at the opposite end of the year is strange to other people.”
“Agreed. I always mess up forms since I moved to Canada from the UK.”
No Help For The Poor
“If you’re rich, you get all the help you could ever need. If you’re struggling or poor, then you don’t deserve a single thing; just work harder. It’s as backward as can be.”
“It’s not as extreme in European countries. You will not be forgotten and ignored as soon as you don’t have any money.”
“It’s a country built on conservative values. What else would you expect?”
Short Maternity Leave
“Having to go back to work six weeks after having a baby. It’s almost criminal to expect that, but so many women have to. Thankful to live in Canada for that reason.”
“A lot of women go to work sooner than that! Most maternity leave is unpaid, and they can’t afford to miss any paychecks.”
Non-Medical Circumcision
“We’ve had several periods of religious revival, and following the third one is when circumcision started to gain popularity. I suspect that society informed medical professionals of the day because there was a notion going around amongst them that it prevented a number of diseases and medical conditions.”
“I had a son three months ago, and I agree. Why cut off a healthy body part?”
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