Part of the problem is a double standard with regards to America. The other part of the problem, is that America bashers know a lot more about America, than the average person is likely to know about their country, so the basher feels free to attack and never fears their country will be put under a spotlight for its terrible qualities. It's a game of bash and hope for ignorance.
For example, if America doesn't have paid maternity leave, that's considered very backwards, and America frequently gets bashed for such things. If Spain has 34% real unemployment, somehow that isn't considered wildly backwards by comparison, because hey they have paid maternity leave and six weeks of vacation.
Or if Albania (or Nigeria or Congo or Vietnam) has a drastically better gini number than the US, somehow that's considered amazing. Except it's ignorant analysis.
I see this all the time in regards to Europeans bashing the US. They're counting on Americans not knowing enough about most of Europe to lodge a counter response.
> Part of the problem is a double standard with regards to America.
I don't know what that means.
> The other part of the problem, is that America bashers know a lot more about America, than the average person is likely to know about their country, so the basher feels free to attack and never fears their country will be put under a spotlight for its terrible qualities. It's a game of bash and hope for ignorance.
I don't know if that is intentional, but it might be what happens.
But this could easily swing the other way - a lot of non-Americans know about America, so they can discuss it and amplify anything that they think is positive about it.
> For example, if America doesn't have paid maternity leave, that's considered very backwards, and America frequently gets bashed for such things. If Spain has 34% real unemployment, somehow that isn't considered wildly backwards by comparison, because hey they have paid maternity leave and six weeks of vacation.
What? The ridiculous unemployment of young people in Spain is seen as a big problem. Certainly a bigger problem than a small amount of maternity leave.
If it is viewed as barbaric by comparison, then it might be because maternity leave is a matter of social policy, while unemployment is obviously not. It might be a symptom of mismanagement by the government, but no a matter of social policy.
I think Spaniards are more busy with protesting the government than with feeling smug about being better than Americans. On the other hand, a lot of them have a lot of 'free time', so who knows. :)
> Or if Albania (or Nigeria or Congo or Vietnam) has a drastically better gini number than the US, somehow that's considered amazing. Except it's ignorant analysis.
Oh come on. I have never seen America been compared to countries like Congo over stuff like this, except perhaps hyperbolically.
> I see this all the time in regards to Europeans bashing the US. They're counting on Americans not knowing enough about most of Europe to lodge a counter response.
Thankfully for America, there are plenty of prideful Americans willing to take a stand, it seems.
Keep in mind, though, that not all America bashing is from Europeans. Americans can do it, too. And even if a European (or whatever) country is being hailed as better than the US, it might not be people from that country who are saying it.
For example, if America doesn't have paid maternity leave, that's considered very backwards, and America frequently gets bashed for such things. If Spain has 34% real unemployment, somehow that isn't considered wildly backwards by comparison, because hey they have paid maternity leave and six weeks of vacation.
Or if Albania (or Nigeria or Congo or Vietnam) has a drastically better gini number than the US, somehow that's considered amazing. Except it's ignorant analysis.
I see this all the time in regards to Europeans bashing the US. They're counting on Americans not knowing enough about most of Europe to lodge a counter response.