Why does the US get ripped on so much?

[Xeogred]

I was going to say something but this seriously just sums it up.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Imperialism, war crimes, providing financial/military support for authoritarian and fascist regimes, drones, etc...

Most people who "hate America" are disgusted by the actions of its leaders. It has nothing to do with the citizenry.

I wish. No, I've been hated on more for being from America. Not any comment of the leaders or the like, just being from there.

And many other countries love Obama, which I personally can't agree with.

I'm not gonna lie, entertaining. I've used that phrase before...

All I know from America, I learned from Japanese cartoons:

[Hobie-wan]

All I know from America, I learned from Japanese cartoons:

I'm here to kick ass and drink tea. And I'm all out of tea.

[Flake]

Okay, here we go:

The US was not much in the way of a world power before the first world war. Economically, militarily, politically - we mostly minded our own. We dallied with minor attempts at colonialism (Hi Spain!) but mostly just looked to our own interests as a country with strong industrial and agricultural imports.

At the time, Britain and France ran the show. To a lesser extent, Russia and Germany made waves as well, but mostly it was Britain and France. They had the most toys / boats / colonies.

Then World War I happened. The US got involved but we were kind of a joke, both on the battlefield and at the bargaining table. Woodrow Wilson talked a good game but people only listened to the parts of his plans that benefited their own countries. There's a reason why the League of Nations amounted to nothing.

Then World War II happened and it left the major players in the world bankrupt. France and Britain began to lose what was left of their empires, Russia retreated into itself and began annexing as many buffer states as possible. Germany was too busy being all defeated. Japan was cooling off. Literally.

But the US...wow, we left that war with our industry perfectly intact. We had the most money and we did what we could to get the world in line with our plans for the future. At the Breton Woods conference we established the dollar as the basic unit of currency for the world. Under the Marshall Plan we picked which countries got the help they needed to get their shit back together (Hi UK and France!) and which countries got to suck it (Looking at you, Soviet Union!).

So already the world was a little miffed at our fortune / hubris. But when the Soviet Union successfully tested their first nuclear device in 1949, the stage was set for an 'us or them' situation. For four decades, we forced states to get in line with our policies if they wanted our protection. We marginalized anyone who would not choose sides (fun fact: We backed Pakistan over India) and we began to act like the world police. We waged proxy wars all over the world.

Now, it's important to note that none of this is new. The UK did this for hundreds of years. They also were hated for it. Russia was doing it, too. But in the end, the US won and the realization of US ascendancy in 1991 rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. It's lonely at the top, you know?

Since then we have squandered a lot of good will that we had and as more and more nations begin to close the economic and technological gap we have enjoyed for nearly 50 years, the resentment that used to be concealed is now coming to the surface.

In the end, the US is on the path to being loved around the world again. The EU is going to lose much of its relevance outside of Europe for quite some time - severe austerity makes it impossible to be a going concern abroad. A new 'cold war' is beginning between the US and China and I dare say that the US will be viewed as the 'good guy' in that mix by most of the world.

tl;dr version: We have been all kinds of awesome since World War II. Peeps saw us go on a mad shopping spree and they got all angry. Scrubs. Then we told them want to do and they got more angry. Now we are trying to catch our breath and everyone is acting like it's some big thing.

[ZeroAX]

This:

[Menegrothx]

If there was another country as influental (economically, military power and presence and first and foremost "cultural exportation" [TV, movies etc]) as the US, I'm sure it would get ripped just as much. Basically there are two reasons why the US gets so much hate
1) People are so familiar with American culture. It's not so easy to make generalisations of Chinese or Russian culture because people simply aren't as familiar with it as they are with American culture & way of life (what ever that means). American shows like Jersey Shore, Jackass, Jerry Springer and the Maury Show are shown all over the world. We foreigners get to see the ugly side of America and it's culture, while you often only see the good things of other countries and cultures, like how the Soviet Union and North Korea only show(ed) the outside world military parades and things like that.
2) Economic and military influence: it's a fact that USA has a very large influence on many countries across the globe, and it's not always very positive, especially if you happen to live in a third world country. After personally experiencing things like Hiroshima/Nagasaki, contras or the Vietnam war, it's no wonder that some people hate America passionately. It's not really limited to America, people who live in countries that were harrased by the Soviet Union or China hate Russia/China with a passion and so on.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Flake, great post. You have it down pat, and it makes sense. However, I disagree with us getting loved again. I believe its downhill from here, with some kind of nuclear war with some country, and then the world becomes Fallout. Woo.

Zero- I get that. But does that really make us one of the most hated groups in the world? I know football is a big deal, but so is handegg!

[Erik_Twice]

Zero- I get that. But does that really make us one of the most hated groups in the world?

Holy crap dude, aren't you exagerating like quite a bit?

[Forlorn Drifter]

Zero- I get that. But does that really make us one of the most hated groups in the world?

Holy crap dude, aren't you exagerating like quite a bit?

I know thats not why we're disliked, but I do thing we're one of the most hated groups. I use 9GAG a lot, and based on that, along with my tromps on Xbox Live, PS3 online, and various other forms of contact, I get the idea that most wouldn't mind us being blown off the face of the Earth.

[deathsled]

what do you have against trucks and PBR? Seems like you're ripping on the US yourself...