Why are so many US americans extremely ignorant about other societies?

[Brandon]

20 minutes ago, Sheep said:

Greenland, eh? I flew over it once. It looked about like this...

Someone once said to me “just remember: Greenland is mostly ice, and Iceland is mostly green”

[Nirex]

No joke. I used to think Denmark was in Germany and Singapore was in some city in China. So every time anyone brought up Denmark I thought they were german, and a girl online I knew from Singapore when she was discussing art programs, I said "That's a surprisingly good software from China."
 

...I now know Denmark is dutch.. or was it danish? Gah, maybe I'm still bad with Denmark.

[pnutts]

7 hours ago, Maria Keerie said:

Moose was real

If you hit one with your car. It may survive - you and definitely your car may be in question.

 

I call them "ugly Cows on Stilts" and I have been within 10 feet of hitting one several years ago when driving in central Ontario

( the province not the city in California where I have flown into -boy it hurt too )

Edited January 7, 2021 by pnutts
2 missing words

[EccentricM]

2 hours ago, Nirex said:

.I now know Denmark is dutch.. or was it danish? Gah, maybe I'm still bad with Denmark.

Denmark is Denmark, it neighbours Sweden, they are the Danes, where the Vikings lived. Dutch refers to the people of Holland.

[Hope]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

Considering Ontario is bigger in land and population than many countries, this was also my reasoning in saying “from Ontario” rather than “from Canada,” which to me is very vague and just doesn’t feel right. I have probably visited 10% of this massive country—the second largest country in terms of area.

 

but I was proved wrong by the other person’s lack of geographical knowledge. Accidentally confusing someone by saying the name of the very large broad place you live (I’m talking about Ontario) and assuming they’d know what it is is probably the same reason why brother Kayode @GodlyDevotion said “Africa” — maybe he previously said the name and people had no idea what it was / where it was. So eventually, you stop trying... 😓

Never give up. I have to explain my name nearly every week of my life and it is tedious. But allowing people to mispronounce or misspell it is not an option... so, I'm precise about it.

 

Personally, I know where Ontario is but not as familiar with Saskatchewan and Manitoba. But I know they're in Canada. And that *is* one country.  To say "I'm from Africa" really doesn't tell me much- is that Egypt? Libya? Eswatini? Cameroon? Botswana? 

 

I tell people I'm from Portland, Oregon in the US. It's not too many words 😉 West Coast, to be general

[Thesauron]

Since greenland is our neighbouring country, obviously I know a great deal about it. However...
 
"what about greenland?" would be an incredibly stupid defence from someone who just assumed the biggest part of canada was "in asia" -- don't you think??

Sometimes people know a lot less than they think even about their neighbouring countries.

People here think they know a lot about Norway. After all, we share a long border, and we were once in a union. But when you start to dig a big deeper, you find out that this is not always the case. But of course, we tend to know more about other nations that affect our daily lives. So people will know even less about, say, well, Botswana, and many will not be able to locate it on a map even. But they still think it is hilarious when people from Botswana don’t know the difference between Sweden and Switzerland.

[New World Explorer]

28 minutes ago, Thesauron said:

Sometimes people know a lot less than they think even about their neighbouring countries.

I know more about USA, then my neighbour New Zealand ....sorry Kiwi neighbours! LOL 

[New World Explorer]

I am scared to get to know New Zealand ... LOL That's why I know more about Greenland then...NZ 

[tekmantwo]

4 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

I am scared to get to know New Zealand

I know, right?

 

I have seen a few of the funeral Hakas, and then there's my personal experiences here, on this Forum...

 

Terrifying!!

 

[GodlyDevotion]

11 hours ago, Hope said:

To be fair... why would you say Africa rather than the country you are from?  Europeans, Asians, South Americans usually identify by country, don't they?  I hear many people- African and not, very often make blanket statements, i.e. "as an African, that's an African thing, Africans do this or that"- like it's all one country. 🤷🏽‍♀️

 

Africa has 54 countries that are quite different to each other... seems like it would help if everyone was more specific than mentioning an entire, massive continent as an identifier. 🤔

True, Africa is a big continent but there are subtle nuances in many of its cultures and way of life. Unlike other continents, most of Africa shares the same weather condition. 

 

It is also true that Africa is a big continent, but most its inhabitants are also black. So, it's gotten fairly common for someone who lives in Uganda and South Africa to call themselves Africans. 

 

Take a look at Asia. It may look odd if someone from the middle east calls himself Asian. Asians are generally characterized as Chinese. The whole continent has a variety of lifestyles and different cultures. There is little similarity. This doesn't justify why Africans do that, but rather a lazy excuse why we do that. 

 

I think it's common with many Europeans too. 

[GodlyDevotion]

7 hours ago, Hope said:

I tell people I'm from Portland, Oregon in the US. It's not too many words 😉 West Coast, to be general

I must commend you for that. But like Brandon also said, many people don't get it. I know many people who tell me they are Americans... I quickly understand it to be USA. On a first time meeting with someone, I would tell them I am African. But as the conversation go on, I would reveal my nationality. This tends to clear the air. Why is this so? Many countries in Africa aren't really known worldwide.

 

How many times have you heard Burkina Faso? 

Edited January 7, 2021 by GodlyDevotion

[hatcheckgirl]

There’s a Denmark on the Southern coast of Western Australia. Very pretty town, beautiful, clear beaches. But even I think it sounds weird when people say they’re going down south to Denmark for holidays. 🤔

[Brandon]

2 hours ago, GodlyDevotion said:

How many times have you heard Burkina Faso? 

Quite a few, but then I watch a lot of non-western news too. 

 

2 hours ago, GodlyDevotion said:

most of Africa shares the same weather condition. 

Hmm... how sure are you of that? 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Africa

Edited January 7, 2021 by Brandon

[GodlyDevotion]

19 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Hmm... how sure are you of that? 

When I mean most of Africa shares the same weather conditions, I mean its temperatures. It's mostly hot.

 

According to the page you posted, "Temperate climates are rare across the continent except at very high elevations and along the fringes. In fact, the climate of Africa is more variable by rainfall amount than by temperatures, which are consistently high."

[Brandon]

10 minutes ago, GodlyDevotion said:

I mean its temperatures

Ok. I was thinking that maybe. But surely there’s a lot more involved in weather than just the temperatures?

[Lasheagilbert]

Never give up. I have to explain my name nearly every week of my life and it is tedious. But allowing people to mispronounce or misspell it is not an option... so, I'm precise about it.
 
Personally, I know where Ontario is but not as familiar with Saskatchewan and Manitoba. But I know they're in Canada. And that *is* one country.  To say "I'm from Africa" really doesn't tell me much- is that Egypt? Libya? Eswatini? Cameroon? Botswana? 
 
I tell people I'm from Portland, Oregon in the US. It's not too many words West Coast, to be general

I always hated the first day of school growing up because no one ever knew how to pronounce my name. As an adult, nothing much has changed. I still have to correct but sometimes I just give up and answer to whatever crazy way they decide to say it
And I’m from Alabama, so I usually only get that far before someone stops me to tell me how “country” my accent is or to ask if I’m faking my accent *eye roll*
For anyone trying to pronounce my name right now while reading this, it’s Lu-shay LOL ))


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nirex]

18 minutes ago, Lasheagilbert said:

For anyone trying to pronounce my name right now while reading this, it’s Lu-shay LOL ))


 

I would have totally pronounced it as law-shay-uh if you hadn't said anything. I'm sorry.

[Sister Twister]

46 minutes ago, Lasheagilbert said:

I always hated the first day of school growing up because no one ever knew how to pronounce my name. As an adult, nothing much has changed. I still have to correct but sometimes I just give up and answer to whatever crazy way they decide to say it
And I’m from Alabama, so I usually only get that far before someone stops me to tell me how “country” my accent is or to ask if I’m faking my accent *eye roll*
For anyone trying to pronounce my name right now while reading this, it’s Lu-shay LOL ))


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What a pretty name , iv never heard it before .

[Hope]

5 hours ago, GodlyDevotion said:

I must commend you for that. But like Brandon also said, many people don't get it. I know many people who tell me they are Americans... I quickly understand it to be USA. On a first time meeting with someone, I would tell them I am African. But as the conversation go on, I would reveal my nationality. This tends to clear the air. Why is this so? Many countries in Africa aren't really known worldwide.

 

How many times have you heard Burkina Faso? 

I have heard of Burkina Faso many times. Perhaps more countries in Africa would be better known if they weren't all considered simply "African"?  When people say that to me, my next question is always, "from what country?"  Why not simply say from what country you're from right away? Europeans do so. They're also mostly white but don't feel obligated to obscure their country or origin.. 🤷🏽‍♀️

 

I don't know- I don't live there. It's just always frustrating to me to so rarely hear specific countries referenced... it feels a bit dismissive, if I'm honest. There are so many languages, cultures, geographic features that are different all over Africa- why not be specific so people will know?

[Sister Twister]

5 minutes ago, Hope said:

I have heard of Burkina Faso many times. Perhaps more countries in Africa would be better known if they weren't all considered simply "African"?  When people say that to me, my next question is always, "from what country?"  Why not simply say from what country you're from right away? Europeans do so. They're also mostly white but don't feel obligated to obscure their country or origin.. 🤷🏽‍♀️

 

I don't know- I don't live there. It's just always frustrating to me to so rarely hear specific countries referenced... it feels a bit dismissive, if I'm honest. There are so many languages, cultures, geographic features that are different all over Africa- why not be specific so people will know?

A case in point , I asked someone today where they came from and they said somewhere in Africa! I mean I didn't intend to turn up on the doorstep anytime soon !

 

But it was said as if I wouldn't have any idea where any place was.

[Brandon]

4 minutes ago, Maria Keerie said:

they said somewhere in Africa

You mean they literally said “I’m from somewhere in Africa.” ?

 

🤣

[Sister Twister]

21 minutes ago, Brandon said:

You mean they literally said “I’m from somewhere in Africa.” ?

 

🤣

Literally said that , I felt I shouldn't pry any further as I obviously looked like a possible stalker.

[Brandon]

4 minutes ago, Maria Keerie said:

Literally said that , I felt I shouldn't pry any further as I obviously looked like a possible stalker.

Do you think maybe he was born in the UK but was just alluding to where his parents and/or grandparents were born? Sometimes I say I’m of European descent even though all my grandparents were born in north america, because I know one generation prior had multiple parts of Europe. I could instead list “Scotland, Poland, Germany” and say my roots are originally from those countries but I’d more likely say “some parts of Europe”

[GodlyDevotion]

58 minutes ago, Hope said:

Perhaps more countries in Africa would be better known if they weren't all considered simply "African"?

Okay, this is incorrect. A lot of people don't know about Africa because most of the media is dominated by western media and Africa is portrayed more like an isolated place. The Arab world consists of 22 countries... I hear many people call themselves Arabs. Why isn't it really a problem. 

 

I love specificity too. If someone is knowledgeable to ask where in Africa, then it's great to say your nationality. Schooling someone about Africa everytime isn't something most people would do. That to me is dismissive, and a reason many people are clueless isn't because Africans are dismissive of their countries. C'mon, that sounds like an insensitive thing to say. 

Edited January 7, 2021 by GodlyDevotion

[dove]

46 minutes ago, Brandon said:

You mean they literally said “I’m from somewhere in Africa.” ?

 

🤣

That sounds like a movie I saw...😁