1. Feeling sorry for yourself.
The attitude of being poor arises in a person when he begins to feel sorry for himself and believes that poverty is the fate of fate. Some people think that if she had been born a man, she would have been luckier, since men have more opportunities. Some people worry that if they weren’t so fat, they would get a better position, because it is believed that thin people are more attractive. Someone is dissatisfied with their skin color, nationality, height, or the religion of their forefathers. Others feel sorry for themselves for not getting married or not getting married, others, on the contrary, cry that they got married or divorced early. Young people cry that they have little experience, and old people see age as the source of all their troubles. It is not difficult to guess what will happen to a person who is focused on his imaginary shortcomings. Even the people around you will treat you according to what you think about yourself. If you feel sorry for yourself, then it is better to hang a stone around your neck so that you can drown in a quiet pool of hopeless poverty. Self-pity prevents you from looking for a better paying job and is the root of a miserable existence.
2. Stinginess.
If you cannot buy a single product without a promotional price tag on it, and you also think that all stores that say “Stunning discounts today” are suitable for you, then you are not able to give your children a decent education, because you in your life you achieved everything on your own, but at work you take three skins off your employees and pay them like the last slackers, then it is undeniable that you have a second factor of poverty. Constant savings in everything is not a wise decision, but, on the contrary, shows the imbalance in your plans that you are trying to solve wrong method. A person who is oriented towards being rich is willing to pay generous prices for things and pay his employees decently for the work of his employees, and also expects the same disposition towards himself from others.
3. Choosing a job that depresses you.
Kolya hates cleaning shoes, but no one cares. For Tolya, walking her dog is the same as going for a walk in the rain and not taking an umbrella with her. But at the same time, he does not want to pick up a tool to build a playpen for the dog. Anton Pavlovich gets very annoyed when he has to draw up a monthly report, but his deputies don’t care about this. Anna is burdened by her audit work, but she needs to pay off debts on the loan she took out last winter to buy a garage for her car. All these heroes are ready to suffer and beg for one reason only; they are forced to do so by obligations, because of which they have to do a job they don’t like. To rid yourself of the third factor of poverty, you need to set priorities in life so that you mostly do what brings joy. And only by experiencing positive emotions can you reach sky-high heights.
4. Assessing happiness in monetary terms.
A poor person thinks that happiness is not just in money, but in its quantity. He thinks that having a large sum in the bank, he will feel well-being, purchasing stylish clothes, comfortable housing, traveling wherever he pleases, because there is no need to depend on his parents and go to work. An accomplished person measures his success not in monetary units, but in those values that everyone chooses for themselves and which are higher than material wealth.
5. Buying things that cost more than you can afford.
The debt hole lies behind the smiles of bankers and credit cards. A person with the mentality of a beggar cannot realize that it is one thing to take out a loan to develop his business, and another to take out a luxury car and a luxurious mansion.
6. Much is better at once.
Poor people want to get a lot at once, this is the eternal problem of impatience of the poor. They cannot realize that getting a job with an average income in large company, in five to seven years they will be able to get more than betting on what they could have in a couple of months. Students with a loser mentality constantly complain that during the time they spend wiping their pants at the institute, they could successfully spend “stray profits” on earning money.
7. Dissatisfaction with life.
Problems in life? Didn't everything work out the way you wanted? There is deception, injustice, crime, bribery all around, and this is what is preventing you from taking off? Only a complete loser will say “yes” to this. To rid yourself of this factor, you need to lead a creative life, so as not to depend on circumstances, but to create them yourself. Set yourself a goal - to win where most people predict failure in advance. Such a school of life will strengthen your character, transforming it into the character of a winner.
8. I am no better or worse than others.
Kostya is sure that everyone should praise him just because he is the only excellent student in the eighth grade. Petya is convinced that he is the ultimate loser, because he is the only one among all his friends who does not work in the summer. Vasya despises Tolik because he does not have the latest model of BMW, which Vasya bought for himself yesterday. And Sonya wants to “kill” her friend just because she has more admirers. All of these characters have developed a loser complex in themselves by comparing themselves to others. Don't let it external world controlled your identity, enslaving you and making you one of the crowd.
9. Linking wealth with money.
Successful people who have rid themselves of the fourth factor of poverty have long ago removed the equal sign between success and the number of monetary units. True wealth is the ability to attract money, get it out of nothing, plan new types of income, and then you are not afraid of tax authorities, judges, or raider attacks with loss of finances. A holistic and satisfied person does not bind himself to the number of gold bags.
10. Ignoring your family due to being busy.
If you distance yourself from your loved ones and family, then this is a sure path to failure and sorrow. Don’t try to justify your isolation by saying that your loved ones don’t understand you and don’t support you, or that you have no one to rely on in financial matters. Understand that your family is the first and last resort you will turn to when everyone else either rejects you or flatters you. You can only get real recovery through the love and compassion of your family, who can not only support you, but also lift you from your knees.
Although some perceive this as discrimination, there is some kind of established opinion about almost all nations. Often, it is erroneous, with only a small amount of truth. But this opinion has spread so much throughout the world that it has become an inveterate stereotype by which I perceive the entire country and its culture.
There are an incredible variety of such stereotypes about different nationalities. Where they come from remains a mystery. But over time, these stereotypes turn not only into jokes and anecdotes, but become the calling card of the entire nation. We invite you to familiarize yourself with some of the most common stereotypes about various nations.
1. Mandatory tea break
The tradition of drinking tea at five o'clock, despite all the worries and work, is perhaps the main stereotype that exists about the British. But this lovely tradition, today, is dead for 99% of the British.
Due to daily problems, work and other important matters, they simply do not have time for such luxury. The tea tradition has always been more popular among the aristocratic segments of the population. Perhaps they still have the ancient tradition of the “tea schedule” preserved in its original form. In general, the British drink no more tea than any other nation in the world.
But when it comes to milk, this is a very real stereotype. In all cafes, restaurants, houses, if you ask for tea, they will definitely serve it with milk. So, if you prefer a regular drink, you need to warn in advance.
2. All English people are very polite
Politeness is main feature the entire English nation. And this is not a stereotype, but reality. But their politeness comes not from goodwill, but from incredible restraint. The British cannot openly express their feelings, because of this they have more complexes than all other nationalities. They are, first of all, obliged to be polite by public opinion. In their hearts they may hate you, despise you, love you, but they will never show it.
3. England – the land of eternal fog
Although the weather in England is not always ideal, this stereotype is completely untrue. Probably, it was imposed on us by films about Sherlock Holmes.
But what the British like to say about the weather is true. They use the topic of weather as a sign that they are interested in you and want to continue the conversation. It is also one of the few topics where controversy can be avoided. But the British hate conflicts and try in every possible way to avoid them.
4. Hindus are poor, stupid and unclean
This stereotype arose due to India's difficult history, which included many years of slavery and disregard for human rights. And although today most Indians live very poorly, the level of development of the country is increasing every year.
India's economy is developing so rapidly that the country is already a leader in the production of medicines and software, as well as in the film industry. So you shouldn’t believe that Indians are stupid and have no education.
Apart from homeless people and very poor people, Indians are very clean when it comes to themselves or their homes. But they don’t worry about the cleanliness of the street, so they have garbage everywhere and it stinks terribly.
5. Americans are the dumbest nation
All other nations like to feed this stereotype, justifying it with the low level of education in America.
They can’t download a thesis from the Internet and have to write it for years, they can’t write off a test, and they can easily be kicked out for failing exams. educational institution. American education is devoid of most unnecessary subjects. Because of this simplification, many people believe that Americans are stupid.
But in reality, they only receive information that can actually be applied in real life. As a result, children who know what cotangent is and write calligraphy cannot always realize themselves in life. But “stupid” Americans take first place in the world in the number of scientific discoveries. Moreover, throughout the history of existence Nobel Prize 326 Americans received it.
6. Americans are obsessed with eating fast food, which is why they are overweight.
It's sad, but Americans actually rank first in the world in obesity. But most of these people are not native residents, but immigrants or their children (Latinos and African Americans).
Most Native Americans are obsessed with healthy eating and sports. The addiction to fast food is experienced by visitors who go to America to work and do not have time to cook. Moreover, fast food is not cheap, and Americans prefer not to spend their money on it.
7. Italians only eat pasta
Pasta, or pasta as they are called, is considered a national dish in Italy. The skill of its preparation is so high that ordinary strips of dough are transformed with Italian sauce into a culinary masterpiece.
But Italians don't eat pasta every day. They replace it with rice with vegetables, soups and many other foods. Since Italians tend to be overweight, they simply cannot afford to eat a lot of flour every day.
8. Italian families are the largest
Once upon a time, a truly ordinary Italian family consisted of at least 7 children. Now it is subject to the Italians European tradition- have children after thirty years. Because of this, in Italy the problem of birth rate and population decline comes first.
9. German girls are very ugly
This is a very common stereotype. In contrast to our always elegant girl, German women are dressed simply, modestly, but comfortably. They don't try to stand out from others and look like a prince will appear in front of her at any minute.
Young people, as in other countries of the world, follow fashion trends and choose stylish clothes for themselves. But older girls who are busy with work prefer to spend money on recreation and useful things rather than on cosmetics and clothes.
10. Russians drink vodka for breakfast and dinner.
The main stereotype about Russians, after bears on the street, is vodka. Everyone drinks it, both children and adults. with or without reason, in the morning, at lunch and for dinner.
This is all funny, but Russia actually ranks first in alcoholism in the world. In most cases, only the poor or people in villages drink. Although young people are increasingly adopting this tradition from adults.
11. Ukrainians eat nothing but lard
Until recently, the main stereotype about Ukraine was that no one knew where it was. But since this nuance was corrected, we were glorified by the tradition of eating lard three times a day. Perhaps this was the case in the past, because peasants in villages always kept pigs. But now, the majority of young people are in favor of healthy image life and even vegetarianism. So lard is a rare luxury at the dinner table.
12. Every Spaniard knows how to dance flamenco
This stereotype is imposed on us by films. Not every Spaniard knows how to dance it. Moreover, flamenco is not the only popular dance in Spain. Each region of the country is famous for its special dance: chotis, muneira, sardana and others.
13. The main spectacle of Spain is bullfighting
This is another stereotype inspired by romantic films about Spain. Now bullfighting is prohibited in most regions of the country. It is opposed by both animal welfare organizations and human rights activists.
14. Japanese daily food is sushi.
This is another false stereotype. Perhaps sushi is the only popular Japanese dish in our country. But the Japanese in Everyday life eat more rice, vegetables, soups, fish and meat.
15. French women are always feminine and stylish
Since Paris is considered the center of world fashion, many people think that Parisian women even go to the store in tight dresses, heels, and red lipstick.
In fact, the French, like all Europeans, dress modestly, and most importantly, comfortably. Most girls wear jeans and sweaters. But what they are very attentive to is makeup. It should always be light, without provocative excesses, and emphasize beauty.
Pink is for boys, a man crying in public is admired, tights are exclusively for men (they make their legs look amazingly attractive), and women want sex much more than men. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But there was once a time when precisely such stereotypes dominated society. It makes you wonder how the stereotypes of today may change, and what they will be like in the future.
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Now:
Pink for girls, blue for boys
Then:
Pink for boys, blue for girls
Today, we associate the color pink with tenderness, romance and femininity. However, a magazine article from 1918 indicates that pink is suitable for boys and blue for girls. The main reason for this division is that pink, which is a derivative of red, was considered a stronger and more militant color, that is, it is more suitable for boys. Blue color, as more sophisticated and elegant, is more suitable for girls.
But by the end of World War II, the color pink had become associated exclusively with girls. The stereotype finally took hold in the 1980s, partly because mothers who themselves had grown up wearing neutral-colored clothes wanted to dress their daughters in lace and clothes Pink colour. The separation of colors also took root because pink and blue began to indicate the gender of unborn children.
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Now:
Only girls wear dresses
Then:
Dresses were worn by both girls and boys
If you look at photographs of children from the 19th century, it is simply impossible to guess whether the person in front of you is a boy or a girl. This is because from the middle of the 16th century until the beginning of the 20th century, little boys wore dresses.
Before 1550, people of all ages wore tunics or some type of dress. Young children, regardless of gender, were also attached to their mothers, who found it convenient for all children to wear skirts. Other factors—lack of toilet training, the ease of embroidering and enlarging a skirt compared to trousers (clothing was quite expensive back then), and the desire to keep a child innocent and sexless for as long as possible—will also help explain why dresses for boys were common occurrence. However, adults easily distinguished boys from girls because boys' dresses were more elaborate and they were usually made of durable, simple fabrics.
When boys reached a certain age, usually eight, they put on their first pants. This was often a formal farewell ceremony for the boy, and wealthier parents often gave their sons a sword or other toy weapon.
Eventually, when new fabrics and detergents, trousers have become much easier to wash and iron. After the 1920s, it became more common for boys to wear trousers instead of dresses.
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Now:
Cheerleading is an exclusively female activity.
Then:
Cheerleading is for men only
When cheerleading arose in the USA in the middle of the 19th century, it was perceived as purely male appearance a sport that included gymnastics, various stunts and warming up the audience. Being a cheerleader was almost the same as being a quarterback or quarterback, and it was considered one of the most important things young people learned in college. Eisenhower, Roosevelt and Reagan were cheerleaders, as was Jimmy Stewart. Women being cheerleaders was something unheard of.
However, when men were mobilized during the First World War, women eagerly filled the empty spots on men's teams. After the war ended, men tried to return to cheerleading, believing that it was too masculine for women. Some schools even went so far as to ban female cheerleaders altogether.
Then came the Second World War, the men were once again drafted into the army. Women took this opportunity to continue to dominate the sport, leading to its trivialization. Eventually, the profile of the ideal fan changed from a strong athlete with leadership skills to a girl with a cheerful personality and good manners.
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Now:
Knitting is for grandmothers (at least for women)
Then:
Knitting guilds exclusively for men
During the Middle Ages, knitting was extremely popular, and knitting guilds were created to protect trade secrets, improve the quality of the profession, and stimulate business development. The most interesting thing is that these workshops consisted exclusively of men. Young people who wanted to become master knitters had to devote six years of their lives to learning this skill. Such high standards meant that knitting was considered an art form, and members of knitting guilds could expect to be revered and valued.
However, this did not last long. In 1589, the first knitting machine was invented by the Englishman William Lee. Soon after, the Industrial Revolution began and more complex knitting machines were invented. All this led to the decline of hand knitting, and what was once a serious craft became a salon hobby for women.
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Now:
Hot chocolate drink for children and women
Then:
Hot chocolate - the drink of warriors
Among the ancient Aztecs, only warriors, merchants and nobles who were ready for battle could consume chocolate. Both blood and chocolate were considered sacred liquids, and thus hot chocolate was served at the initiation ceremonies of new eagle warriors and jaguar warriors who had to undergo a penance process before being admitted into the elite Aztec army.
In Spain, hot chocolate was drunk by bullfighters, and in England, chocolate houses were often associated with one of the parliamentary parties and, as a result, often turned into gentlemen's clubs. The Cocoa Tree Chocolate House, for example, was often visited by members of the Tory Party.
Hot chocolate was also preferred by travelers and adventurers for its ability to warm, satiate and energize the body. Explorer Robert Falcon Scott forced his men to drink hot cocoa five days a week - morning and evening, during their unsuccessful attempt to be the first to reach South Pole. During the American Revolutionary War and World War I and World War II, hot chocolate was drunk by soldiers to restore strength and boost morale.
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Now:
Then:
Crying men were not frowned upon or considered effeminate
In Homer's Iliad, the Greek army wept repeatedly and Zeus, the god of sky and thunder, cried tears of blood. King Arthur cried often, for example when he had to fight his good friend Sir Lancelot. In medieval romances, knights cried because they missed their ladies and because they did not receive the right to participate in the tournament.
There were tears in abundance in real life too. One ambassador was so moved by the decision of Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy) that he burst into tears, and those present at the peace congress sobbed while listening to the speeches of the speakers. In the Middle Ages, tears were proof of your guilt and a sign that you deserved forgiveness, so people actually forced themselves to cry in public to impress.
No one knows how or when public male crying disappeared. Some say it was a result of urbanization, that is, everything larger number people began to live among completely strangers, on whom tears did not make the desired impression.
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Now:
Programmers and computer scientists - men
Then:
The first programmers were women
In the early 1940s, the world's first computer programmers were hired. The University of Pennsylvania employed six women to operate its ENIAC machine, one of the world's first electronic computing machines. At that time, programming was seen as a low-skilled clerical job. On the other hand, hardware development has been dominated by men.
When personal computers appeared, they were more often purchased for boys, even if girls were as interested in computers as boys. In addition, male programmers began to create their own professional associations, and women in this profession became a rarity.
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Now:
Stockings for women
Then:
Stockings for men
Long before women began wearing tights, men wore half-stockings (a type of stocking or pantyhose), which were an important part of a man's wardrobe. In the Middle Ages, European men wore men's tights while riding horses. In the 16th century, shorter tunics appeared that revealed more legs. Men believed that their legs should look beautiful, and the fashion of the time satisfied these desires. Half-stockings turned into a kind of toilet item that reached all the way to the crotch.
These leggings were often worn with high heels to further enhance appearance. King Louis XIV France especially loved this outfit. This was long before women started wearing tights. The first pair of women's tights was invented only in 1959.
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Now:
Brewing is associated with men's work
Then:
Brewing was mainly done by women
Originally, when men hunted, women gathered the ingredients needed to prepare food and drink, including beer. As time passed, the women not only continued to brew beer for their families, but also sold the surplus to travelers. In the 13th century in England, the archives of one of the cities confirm that only about 8% of brewers were men. In the 18th century in England, some laws stated that the tools used for brewing were the exclusive property of women.
Women's role in brewing began to change in the Middle Ages, when monasteries began brewing beer in greater quantities to satisfy travelers. Many women who brewed beer were accused of witchcraft, and some historians highlight the clear similarities between female brewers and anti-witch propaganda illustrations - foaming cauldrons (full of ale), brooms (hung outside the door to indicate the presence of ale), cats (to drive away mice ) and pointy hats (to stand above the crowd in a busy market).
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Now:
Men are more interested in sex
Then:
Women are more interested in sex
In one ancient Greek myth, Zeus and Hera argue about who gets more pleasure from sexual intercourse - a man or a woman. They ask the prophet Tiresias, who spent seven years of his life as a woman. Tiresias replies that if sexual pleasure is divided into 10 parts, only one part goes to the man, the remaining nine go to the woman. Throughout Europe, women were believed to have a greater sex drive and were thus considered seductresses.
How and when this stereotype was reversed is not entirely clear, but some historians believe it was the result of Protestant ministers portraying their parishioners (mostly middle-class white women) as moral beings rather than charming ones. Women liked this vision.
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Conclusion
We are so different and so similar. What now seems absolutely absurd previously did not cause any surprise. This was an article 10 gender stereotypes from the past that have changed dramatically. Thank you for your attention!
I found the article on some random blog, but the author of this blog also took it from another source.
“America is a country that provides such grounds for the creation of a stereotypical perception of it, which is unlikely to be provided by all the countries of the world combined. Having selected a dozen of them, I decided to try to deconstruct them. Stereotype 1.
"In America there is no tasty food– all food is synthetic. All Americans eat fast food and constantly visit McDonald's restaurants."
Absolutely untrue. America is a country with a thriving restaurant business, and in almost every American city you will find the entire geographical range of restaurants - from Ukrainian cuisine to Thai. Just like you will find restaurants of different pricing policy. But, if in most countries the difference in the prices of restaurant menus can reach a coefficient of 3.0, or even 7.0 (in a cheap restaurant, a steak costs 5 conventional units, and in a neighboring, expensive one, 5x3 = 15 conventional units), then in America this coefficient in the vast majority of restaurants it is unlikely to exceed 1.5.
Of course, you can also find restaurants here where prices are not indicated on the menu at all. There you can drink champagne for a thousand dollars a bottle and eat plenty of black caviar. But there are few such restaurants and they are designed for specific clients, whose number is unlikely to exceed 3% of the population. The main array of public catering infrastructure is designed for middle class, i.e. to the majority of the population. Americans don't cook much themselves, partly to save time and partly because of a lack of tradition. It is common practice for many families to order food from nearby restaurants. It costs little more than cooking it yourself.
The range of fast food establishments in the states is very wide, but not all locations fast food look like a McDonald's restaurant. For example, if you take the Taco Bell’s or Denny’s chains, they look like cheap restaurants. And some Chinese buffets, built on the buffet principle, will surprise the European tourist with the fact that for 10 dollars here you can eat tiger shrimps in sweet and sour sauce with young bamboo shoots for five years in advance. It was in America that I managed to lose more than 5 kilograms in two weeks without much effort.
In general, in America, restaurants with tasteless food or small portions are unlikely to stay afloat for at least one season.
Stereotype 2.
“Everyone in America is ugly fat”, or another option – “America is a country of long-legged blondes with lush busts».
Both are nonsense. Yes, there are plenty of overweight (and ugly overweight) people in the states. But it is unlikely that most countries in the world differ from America in better side in this matter. Once upon a time I was struck by the large number of plump young girls in Britain, the same goes for men in the German provinces, or Czechs in Prague beer halls. For Americans, this fact is more striking due to the fact that most active (read “slender”) citizens drive in cars where you can hardly see their figure. Poor people who prefer a cheeseburger for breakfast, lunch and dinner walk around the city and increase the coefficient of noticeable overweight people.
Another American pattern is the absolute dependence of the quantity fat people on the number of people in the city. The larger the city, the more active life is, and the lower the average weight of a city dweller. It is also natural that the average weight of a person increases as they approach a poor area. Another factor in the increase in the number of overweight people is belonging to a particular state: if in Chicago the majority of the population looks like trotting greyhounds, then in the Californian province they are more reminiscent of leisurely English bulldogs. The reason for the difference is simple - in California it is not customary to travel on foot - here you can go for several kilometers without meeting a single person walking.
Regarding “curvy blondes” – here the situation is more comical. Once, in response to my humorous question posed to an American colleague about why I don’t see a crowd of busty beauties on the streets of Orlando, he replied: “They are not here - they are all collected in one of the pavilions of the Columbia Pictures studio.” This joke, like many others, “has some truth.” Beautiful girls in America arrange their lives much faster than ugly ones. However, I believe this principle applies to other countries as well. And, having “settled their life”, they begin to work on television, advertising, cinema, show business, etc. You have to work a lot in these areas, and therefore there is little time to walk the streets.
It must be said that attractive men in America also do not wander idly on the streets - in addition to the listed professions for attractive women, they are expected to: serve in the army and police, as well as play in leading clubs in the hockey, basketball, baseball and football leagues.
Stereotype 3.
“The American smile is false, and their feelings are ostentatious and insincere.”
This is wrong. Americans, for the most part, are friendly, balanced and very trusting people. Their smile is a centuries-old respect for one’s neighbor and the absence of any aggression. This thesis should be considered in isolation from the events associated with the expulsion of Indians from their territories or civil war.
Americans have a purely island perception of life around them. They can rejoice like children when they see the world's largest hot dog, fall into hysterics when they win $20 in the lottery, and cry their hearts out when they see the death of the main character in a movie. As soon as you meet the eyes of an American, he begins to smile, demonstrating his good attitude towards you. And if you respond in kind, then you can easily earn the compliment that Americans say all the time. A compliment can concern anything - from the color of sneakers to hairstyle. In no case will he be a hypocrite by calling bad sneakers good, but will simply choose something that he really liked about your appearance.
The basic principle of Americans, brought up from childhood, is “give your neighbor good mood, and someone will give it to you."
Stereotype 4.
“Americans are greedy - they pay for themselves in restaurants.
Yes, Americans pay for themselves in restaurants, but this has nothing to do with greed. Rather, it is a precaution against misunderstandings that sometimes arise. There may be several reasons for misunderstandings: the girl does not want the young man to think that she cannot pay for herself; two friends will argue furiously about who will pay; one person does not want to become even slightly dependent on another... But you never know the reasons.
But Americans, contrary to the stereotype, often pay for each other. And here there are many models for determining the rules of the game: from “I invite you” (meaning “I’m paying”) to “drink from me.” But the phrase “maybe we can have lunch on Thursday?” means one thing - everyone will pay for themselves. Many Europeans happily adopted this diplomatic game, tired of endless thoughts - “I wonder who will pay for dinner today?”
A special topic is the hospitality of the Americans. It differs from Slavic in form, but is very similar in content. Americans know how not only to give gifts, but also to arrange the gift in such a way that it will be remembered for a lifetime. It was they who invented that very surprise, when a person enters a house in pitch darkness, the lights come on, and two dozen guests who you did not invite to your birthday are screaming heart-rendingly in the room.
Before Christmas, American families head to supermarkets to buy gifts. Each head of the family has a list in his hands, which sometimes does not fit on one page - this is a list of relatives and friends who need to buy gifts. And, as a rule, the gifts here are significant and pleasant, unlike many families Western Europe, where you can easily get an egg slicer from your mother-in-law for Christmas from the “All for One Euro” store.
Stereotype 5.
"The Americans want to take over the world."
This stereotype is based on the desire of most countries to have a permanent enemy, to whom it is easy to attribute their own mistakes in politics and economics. By demonizing a nation of 300 million and calling one segment of the political elite "Americans," the means mass media and individual political figures in a number of countries build up a defense in this way from their own population, which, otherwise, might ask: “Why, exactly, do we live so badly?” And so no one asks questions, “knowing” that America is to blame for the troubles of all countries - “the world of the yellow devil”, “a country that dreams of enslaving the world”, “a land where the rules of life are dictated by the military”...
But even if we take the Iraqi campaign, frankly weakly (if not to say “ineptly”) carried out by the Bush administration, we will see that the most powerful anti-war protest was in America: hundreds of thousands of demonstrations, the participation of world film and music stars, countless protests... And were these also “Americans dreaming of world domination”? No, these were Americans themselves - residents of the United States of America, who, just like citizens of other countries, do not like the fact that their compatriots are dying somewhere for dubious interests.
Diplomats are often the weak link in American politics. I don’t want to “scratch them all with the same brush,” because I had, and still have, the opportunity to communicate with professional American diplomats. But, nevertheless, American diplomacy is often replenished with specialists quite low level preparation. And the reason for this is demand the best personnel within the country - another feature of a typically “island” state.
Political generalizations are generally a dangerous thing. It is they who have led to the fact that the mistakes of the ruling elite are extrapolated to the nation, despite the fact that the nation itself does not at all share the views of this very elite. The American people do not deserve such treatment, because they were the ones who corrected the mistakes of their leadership at all historical periods, be it Watergate, the Vietnam War or racial segregation.
Stereotype 6.
"America is a hotbed of depravity."
We have lived with this thought almost our entire lives, watching in Hollywood films how main character drinks neat whiskey in a strip bar. We imagined that upon arrival in America, prostitutes would meet us right on the runway at New York's La Guardia Airport. But, having traveled all over the United States, you may not only not see a live prostitute, but also not come across a “Strip Bar” sign.
America is a puritanical country. Here you can be slapped with a fine of several hundred dollars for stripping your one-and-a-half-year-old son naked on the beach, citing the fact that you “provoked pedophilic tendencies among vacationers.” A store here could be deprived of its license because one of the issues of Playboy magazine was on its counter not sealed in a cellophane envelope. They may close here night club after they found it in the hall young man who is under 21 years of age.
Sometimes puritanism here goes off scale, and then America presents the world with incidental trials and ridiculous scandals. Perhaps, only here a person who has gone through a divorce cannot become president, and only here can the president’s betrayal of his wife cause hearings in Congress. This radically distinguishes the States from France or Germany, where recent heads of state have experienced 3-4 divorces in their lives.
Stereotype 7.
“The Americans are a narrow-minded, poorly erudite nation.”
American erudition is fundamentally different from European, or, for example, Slavic erudition. Here, teachers at school or university do not try to cram 40 volumes of the memorized “Great History” into the head of a schoolchild or student. Soviet encyclopedia" Here they are trying to teach something else - information collection methods and work algorithms. Yes, an American student may not know which composer wrote the opera “Khovanshchina,” but he can easily formulate an algorithm for finding this information if he needs it.
Americans easily understand useful information, and absolutely do not perceive it as useless. If you tell the average American that you can dilute gasoline in order to make money on it, he will answer in bewilderment: “then the car will drive poorly,” after which he will completely lose interest in the topic, because he considers it illogical and useless. Such selectivity has a bad effect on general erudition, but has a great effect on the training of specialists. Eg, medical education it lasts 11 years, not counting permanent advanced training courses.
By the way, the internal discipline of Americans sometimes takes rather unusual forms for us. One of our American friends refused to watch a DVD brought from Belarus because it was not licensed. And this was not a pose, but a consequence of a habit instilled in him by society throughout his life.
Communicating with Americans, you learn a lot of new things. But, as a rule, unlike the Slavic worldview, this information lies outside the sphere of politics. Americans receive information using the most advanced information transfer mechanisms. The equipment of museums, libraries and technical centers here is the most modern in the world, and caravans of yellow school buses endlessly transport children to lectures and excursions.
Stereotype 8.
"America is run by the military-industrial complex."
This is a stereotype instilled in us since childhood. “American military” is the mildest of the epithets offered to us by Soviet television in defining the military-industrial complex. For decades, they “explained” to us that it is the American military-industrial complex that almost appoints the presidents of this country.
In reality, everything is much more prosaic - America is ruled by Americans. They are the ones who choose the president, knowing his biography thoroughly. And it is precisely familiarization with the biography of the presidential candidate that allows you to accurately determine with whom the candidate is connected - with the “military community,” the fuel and energy lobby, financiers or cinema. In order for the population to do right choice, journalists are working, taking out skeletons hidden there from the closets of presidential candidates. Of course, mistakes happen. Like the recent one, when the candidate belonged to the fuel and energy lobby. The population believed that this affiliation would lower fuel prices within the country, but in fact it increased them, since the president turned out to be not a buyer, but a seller.
The "American military" is in line for funding just like any other dateable field in America. Another thing is that their lobby is stronger and more effective than, for example, the sphere of culture or pension funds. And the number of people employed in the military-industrial complex and indirectly related to it is much larger than, say, in agriculture. Consider the numbers: 80% of all agricultural products consumed in the United States are produced in California, yet California's agricultural sector employs only 5% of the state's population. What kind of lobby is this?
But no matter how the lobby works, Americans choose the president absolutely transparently and independently. And sometimes this happens not in favor of the military, but out of a feeling of protest towards the military campaigns waged by the authorities.
Stereotype 9.
“Americans believe that all discoveries were made in the USA.”
In fact, it is not the Americans who think so, but we believe that they think so. In fact, if you turn to an American with a question about who made this or that discovery, in most cases you will receive the answer: “I don’t know, you need to look in the reference book.” And if you continue the discussion by saying: “he did this...”, you may receive a request in response to tell him more about it.
Americans are better than other nations at singing the praises of their heroes, being proud of the country's achievements, and admiring talent. But they completely lack the purely Slavic trait of tearing heroes apart into countries and states. Any American knows which country his family came from, and when they meet, they will gladly talk about it, emphasizing, “my grandparents came from Belarus - there is a city called Slutsk.” And to the question “you don’t know where Wayne Gretzky is from?”, most likely the answer will be “unfortunately, I don’t know where his family came from.”
A country consisting of 95% emigrants, by definition, does not insist on the fact that all discoveries belong to it. In these matters, Americans are absolutely tolerant and not ambitious. But if you tell a Bostonian that the New England Patriots are weaker than the New York Giants, you may hear a dissection of the New York team that will make you want to move on to a "so who invented the radio" discussion.
Stereotype 10.
"I don't like America."
I have heard this phrase dozens, if not hundreds, of times. And I always asked the same question in response: “Were you there?” In 99% of cases the answer was: “No, and I don’t want to.” It’s hard to argue with people who know about the subject firsthand; it is even harder for those who know about this subject from the words of biased journalists or politicians.
It is hardly possible not to love America. Firstly, because it is different, like a patchwork quilt; secondly, to know it, you need decades of direct contact, and not a set of yellowed Soviet newspaper clippings; and thirdly, it’s just a country – with its own advantages and disadvantages.”
Perhaps there are a couple of stereotypes about literally every country, most of which rarely have anything in common with the truth.
We decided to check if there were any truthful ones among them, and we found them! Share, what would you add to this list?
1. Italy: Italians are very emotional and use gestures when speaking.
If you come to Italy, you will definitely notice that local residents They often talk loudly, emotionally and actively gesticulate. Once upon a time, the Apennine Peninsula was divided into many kingdoms and people spoke different dialects of Italian. To understand each other, they were simply forced to use gestures. And yes, they are indeed very emotional and temperamental, but not to the extreme.
This stereotype has already become almost a legend and causes many jokes, especially from Americans. Indeed, residents of Canada use the particle “eh” every now and then at the end of a sentence to make it interrogative and rhetorical, and simply out of habit.
3. Great Britain: The British are usually calm and polite. And in general it’s difficult to piss them off
Unlike other Europeans, the British really try to maintain a calm demeanor in almost any situation: they are very polite and even a little phlegmatic. IN everyday communication It is difficult to guess the real emotions of the inhabitants of Foggy Albion - they are simply not visible, because you need to keep yourself within the bounds of decency.
4. Japan: They Never Say No Here
Japanese people hate saying “no”: every time they need to refuse someone, they begin to shy away and choose a more polite expression. The origins of this behavior lie in "timmoku" - Japanese art silence: it is better to remain silent than to offend a person with a refusal.
5. USA: Americans often smile
The smile of Americans is a decades-old respect for one's neighbor, part of an established culture of behavior. From childhood, children are taught that if you give others a good mood, it will definitely return to you. In addition, Americans love to give compliments, including to strangers - how can they do without at least a slight smile?
6. Brazil: people here are in no hurry and are constantly late
As in some other southern countries, in Brazil it is customary not to rush anywhere and, as a result, to be late. Punctuality can easily be considered bad manners, and if, for example, you were invited to visit at 19:00, you should not arrive before 20:00. Of course, due to such regularity, the service suffers, but, on the other hand, people here know how to enjoy life and are far from the eternal rush and bustle.
7. Argentina: almost every resident of the country loves football
Football for Argentines is a real passion, not just a game. The days when championships are held are even declared holidays in the country! Any student junior classes understands this game no worse than a professional sports referee and, of course, is definitely a fan of one of the local clubs. And what a unique atmosphere reigns in the stadium - perhaps it’s worth coming here at least for that and seeing everything with your own eyes.
8. France: The French constantly organize strikes and demonstrations
Although modern French people do not go on strike as often as previous generations, according to the French themselves, strikes occur regularly. This is due to the active work of trade unions, the crisis and high taxes. It is not always possible to achieve results, but every now and then those around us suffer: transport stops running, institutions are closed, events are cancelled.
9. Australia: Christmas is usually celebrated here in the summer
This is not even a stereotype, but a fact that is hard to believe: when the whole world celebrates Christmas and New Year, it's...summer in Australia! A typical Christmas party here is held on the beach with a barbecue and temperatures of 30°C. We wouldn’t mind celebrating a holiday there at least once - we’ll remember it for the rest of our lives.
10. Russia: the most people live here beautiful girls in the world
Of course, beautiful girls live everywhere, but it is in Russia that you can meet great amount people with blood flowing in their veins different nations. As a result, girls are born with a unique, original beauty that is rarely found anywhere. Well, let's be honest: the author of this article is from Russia and simply cannot remain silent about how amazing the women are here!
