American confidence

khaldrogo

Why do Americans, over most/all other nations have so much individual confidence in themselves/their opinions?

Obviously this is in the general sense but of the Americans I've met and the ones I've seen in the media they seem to have an unwavering self belief, even in the face of failure. What is it? Does it all stem from them being told their whole lives they can do/be whatever they want? Participation medals, graduating kindergarten etc.....

I'm not a fan of Americans in general and this attitude they exude (of the ones I've met) annoys me.

Any opinions?

Birneybau

Unearned, Brent-ish

Feisar

You can't do that to me, I'm an American.

buried

artanevilla

You'd be confident too if you had over a thousand nukes.

AllForIt

No religious baggage is the answer.

Conservatory

They learn to not be a loser by overbearing and yet absent parents.

Anybody not fully mentally robust ends up in need of a non existent mental health service and guns get blamed for their actions. The few that get through it travel to Ireland to meet you op.

Feisar

I get ya OP, I was in Prague with the other half and overheard a group of Americans who were shocked/took umbrage to a street vendor who wouldn't accept US dollars.

One eyed Jack

khaldrogo wrote: »

Why do Americans, over most/all other nations have so much individual confidence in themselves/their opinions?

Obviously this is in the general sense but of the Americans I've met and the ones I've seen in the media they seem to have an unwavering self belief, even in the face of failure. What is it? Does it all stem from them being told their whole lives they can do/be whatever they want? Participation medals, graduating kindergarten etc.....

I'm not a fan of Americans in general and this attitude they exude (of the ones I've met) annoys me.

Any opinions?

You're taking the proverbial surely?

Claiming a whole continent of people which are a mixture of all different colours, cultures, religions, sexual orientations and socieconomic circumstances share one trait in common that they have so much confidence in themselves and their opinions as individuals is just bizarre!

As a nation they're one of the most over-medicated, insecure, unstable, pampered nations on the planet.

Atoms for Peace

Im like david bowie, scared of americans.

Ipso

Feisar wrote: »

I get ya OP, I was in Prague with the other half and overheard a group of Americans who were shocked/took umbrage to a street vendor who wouldn't accept US dollars.

I was asked by a Dub if we used Sterling in Donegal.
What does that say about Dubs, Leinsterese, Irish?

khaldrogo

One eyed Jack wrote:

Claiming a whole continent of people which are a mixture of all different colours, cultures, religions, sexual orientations and socieconomic circumstances share one trait in common that they have so much confidence in themselves and their opinions as individuals is just bizarre!

Woah there tonto, down off that horse.....virtue signaling if ever I saw it

metaoblivia

Being American, I know many Americans who are not confident. But yes, generally speaking, we do have a culture of confidence/optimism. I think this goes hand-in-hand with the ever-elusive American Dream. If you want a shot at that, a lot of people would say the first step is believing that you can (and deserve) to achieve it in the first place. And that is a pervasive attitude all over the country - if you work hard and believe in yourself, you will succeed. So be confident, be positive, and if you don't actually feel that way, fake it until you do.

Of course, that's bull**** for a lot people. Here's an article you might enjoy about the dark side of American optimism (it's not quite confidence, I know, but I think the two go hand-in-hand): https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/the-dark-side-of-american-optimism/513680/

Or, you can read The Great Gatsby and watch F. Scott Fitzgerald question the entire concept of the American Dream.

My 3 year old exudes confidence and is always telling me what I should do. And 3 is about the age of US society relative to more established, mature "old world" societies.

One eyed Jack

khaldrogo wrote: »

Woah there tonto, down off that horse.....virtue signaling if ever I saw it

You ignored the second part of my post, paleface

AllForIt

Deleted User wrote: »

My 3 year old exudes confidence and is always telling me what I should do. And 3 is about the age of US society relative to more established, mature "old world" societies.

Ahh, I love it when parents gush about their offspring.

dodderangler

Not one trump protest in the comments yet? Wow.

Padkir

One eyed Jack wrote: »

You're taking the proverbial surely?

Claiming a whole continent of people which are a mixture of all different colours, cultures, religions, sexual orientations and socieconomic circumstances share one trait in common that they have so much confidence in themselves and their opinions as individuals is just bizarre!

As a nation they're one of the most over-medicated, insecure, unstable, pampered nations on the planet.

Is that not exactly what you are doing?

LETHAL LADY

Worked in a Irish manufacturing factory in the late 90s that was run by imo a real American family. The owner and his father had built it up through blood, sweat and tears. The owner decided to hang up his boots so in comes the son, with his blinding pearly whites and buff like he was the insanity workout and closed the place down within a month. Left a lot of men on the scratcher but did he give a ****? He did in his hoop 😉

Outlaw Pete

Awesome thread, dude!!

Arytonblue

Atoms for Peace wrote: »

Im like david bowie, scared of americans.

I don't even know why, but I love this comment!

PowerToWait

khaldrogo wrote: »

I'm not a fan of Americans in general and this attitude they exude (of the ones I've met) annoys me.

Any opinions?

I've met loads travelling in the US. I really enjoyed a lot of them. They're a pretty disparate people in all fairness.

I'm guessing you don't do nuance?

Conservatory

PowerToWait wrote: »

I've met loads travelling in the US. I really enjoyed a lot of them. They're a pretty disparate people in all fairness.

I'm guessing you don't do nuance?

Sorry I misplaced my thesaurus. Disparate karate and nuance blue ants


Ye lost me

Pugzilla

They don't have an inferiority complex like Irish people do.

8mv

Arytonblue wrote: »

I don't even know why, but I love this comment!

Well, to be a pedant, it should be 'afraid' of Americans. sorry

khaldrogo

Pugzilla wrote:

They don't have an inferiority complex like Irish people do.

Yes but we expect to lose and are happy when we win but they expect to win and are unhappy when they lose

Zirconia

<>

Zirconia

8mv wrote: »

Well, to be a pedant, it should be 'afraid' of Americans. sorry

https://youtu.be/u7APmRkatEU

Arytonblue

8mv wrote: »

Well, to be a pedant, it should be 'afraid' of Americans. sorry

No harm, one should get his Bowie lyrics correct, I just love that the OP brought that up in this thread outta nowhere, that deserves a gold star IMO. sorry. (Fascination is still the best song of that album dammit).

riffmongous

I do like how it makes them less cynical and whingey a lot of the time, it makes say the likes of reddit front page a refreshing read after coming from here

Billy86

AllForIt wrote: »

No religious baggage is the answer.

Not sure if serious.

As I've said elsewhere, unless you've lived there, the Americans we encounter are a specific subset of the populace, especially if they study here.. Rich and they have a passport.

We don't know typical Americans the same way we don't know typical Iranians, Vietnamese or Chileans.


Though I hear there is a definite optimism there and have noticed it in many Americans I know. Bankruptcy and business failure is a good example.. I'm ashamed of my recent business attempt around Irish and British people because they genuinely think it's a negative mark on my character, but Americans see it as a stepping stone and see my attempts as a massive positive and something to be proud of. Anecdotal of course but I'm friends with lots of Americans where I live and it's the same with all of them. They bring it up and fire ideas of me for the future, whereas the Irish and British avoid it like a bad smell.

Grab All Association

Ipso wrote: »

I was asked by a Dub if we used Sterling in Donegal.
What does that say about Dubs, Leinsterese, Irish?

I was in Portmarnock last year and a girl didn’t know where the hell or what the hell was County Tipperary. She then asked me where I bought my converse and I told her Nenagh for €60. “They have the euro there?”

My fiancée is a yank btw. She thought Titanic was just a film and American.

mikemac2

A nation hooked on prescription drugs says different OP

Fiery mutant

One eyed Jack wrote: »

Claiming a whole continent of people which are a mixture of all different colours, cultures, religions, sexual orientations and socieconomic circumstances share one trait in common that they have so much confidence in themselves and their opinions as individuals is just bizarre!

As a nation they're one of the most over-medicated, insecure, unstable, pampered nations on the planet.

Complains of tarring everyone with the same brush, yet does the same with his very next sentence.

dudara

Having worked a lot with Americans, the bombastic, positive attitude can really grate sometimes, but it also highlights how much of a “negative nelly” the average Irish person can be. There’s no harm in being a little American

I used to love travelling to the US over the years for work & hols, but I was increasingly noticing poverty, crime and their particularly covert insidious form of racism. Now it’s no longer covert, it’s overt and I think the country is going to hell in a hand basket. It’s bitterly partisan and they’ve literally elected the most odious and repugnant human as their president.

seachto7

Job interview with international company. Interviewer asks Irish interviewee:

So, how do you think you are as an accountant?

Irish person: “Not too bad. I’m not too bad at it at all at all”

American person gets asked same question:

“I’m great. I’m a really good accountant”

Who gets the job?

Pugzilla

Being the world's only superpower that dominates military, political, scientific and cultural spheres doesn't hurt. A modern equivalent of the Roman or British Empires in terms of influence.

Not the worst thing as when one nation is the dominant power it generally brings in global stability with no major wars. We had Pax Romana, Pax Britiannica and now Pax Americana.

Pugzilla

Begrudgery is much less common in the US compared to Ireland. An individual's achievements are celebrated rather than put down.

khaldrogo

khaldrogo wrote: »

Yes but we expect to lose and are happy when we win but they expect to win and are unhappy when they lose

That's a very reasonable approach to life: aim and hope for the best, expect the worst. All the misery caused from people failing to have unduly positive expectations met.

AllForIt

AllForIt wrote: »

No religious baggage is the answer.

Have you ever heard of the "Bible Belt", the US is far more religious than you could ever imagine.

Ash.J.Williams

On my first day on a project I was on a tele con with my team and my opposite number in the states when the call was over we all looked at each other in disbelief and laughed. The fecker tried to take my job
"I've no doubt in ashes ability but I've just completed the American side and...."

Recently we were stuck in a fairly complex problem and one of our American colleague kept shouting loudest and tried to lead the solution... He hadn't a clue and kept leading us down rabbit holes.

I find this a lot with some Americans in IT they've obviously studied hard and learned all the lingo but seem to have difficulty connecting the dots

Agricola

Ronaldinho

Nothing wrong with a little swagger.

Jimbob1977

It stems from the ideal that 'nothing is impossible' and that hard work is rewarded. Americans are extremely positive.

They had a blank canvas to work with. Vast territories and extensive resources (unfortunately the poor Natives weren't part of the big picture). The new country needed pioneers that had been written off or persecuted in their own countries.

A hundred years ago, a poor German farmer or a destitute Jewish labourer could walk off a ship with only the clothes on their back. In a generation, they could own a major business and push the boundaries of innovation and technology. In Europe, they would know their place.

Sometimes non-Americans see a problem and say 'It can't be done. It's impossible'. And we throw our arms into the air in despair.

Americans will say 'Why not? Here's what we need to do'. You have to admire it.

In 200 years of independence, they built the most powerful economy and army that the world has ever seen. They sent a man to the moon. Google, Microsoft, Facebook etc....all American-based. The best of medical facilities and universities... generally American.

Another major advantage is their location. After World War II, America's major economic rivals lay in ruins. Meanwhile, their factories were at full production and switched from military weapons to consumer goods. Only Pearl Harbour was damaged. The rest of the infrastructure was completely untouched.

People criticise them and slag them off..... but many people in hostile nations, say Iran and Afghanistan, would love a chance at the American Dream.

And yet.... when Average European meets Average American.... it seems that the European is significantly more intelligent and educated. How do they manage it? I think it's drive and ambition. The top dog will make the breakthrough and then bring everyone on the journey. The can-do attitude.

Are there dangers? Yes. Sometimes the confidence is false and a mere facade. A major dent to personal or national confidence can bring down the whole house of cards. The obsession with wealth accumulation has its pros and cons. It's great that people can make a new life for themselves, but societies become shallow when reduced to making a buck at any cost.

No empire lasts forever. Rome thought it would last forever. The Mongols ran have the known world. The sun never set on the British Empire. I reckon the United States has plenty of life remaining.

s7ryf3925pivug

Different cultural norms about how to behave moreso than internal factors.

Often the normal polite way of interacting with people by US standards is more positive and more friendly. Irish people apply their own social standards to it and see the positivity as ditzy or arrogant and the friendliness as insincere.

The friendliness is not supposed to be taken as anything deep though, it's just what is considered polite. The positivity is not just about themselves and is often preferable especially in a work environment.

lemd

dudara wrote:

There’s no harm in being a little American

It is working out pretty well for Peter Dinklage

lsjmhar

It derives from the us bill of rights (I can say what I like (amendment 1)). In the us, individuals have rights. Fundamentally, the individual is king, which derived from the separation of the state from the British monarchy. If the government (or anybody) tries to stop me and my opinion I have the right to bear arms to defend myself (amendment 2)). They have practiced this for nearly 300 years now. Of course, this is just my opinion.

Graces7

They said about the Americans when they came to the UK during the War,"Overpaid, oversexed and over here.."

Taytoland

Yankees are just loud. Not exactly confidence.

Graces7

mmmmmmmm