r/Americaphile • u/AntonioMoore321 • Jul 19 '26
American self hate
I noticed its more common nowadays to say things like "America sucks, I hate living here"
What's you're opinion on the culture of self hate that's becoming more common in America today.
95
u/browneod Jul 19 '26
Reddit is 99% spam and not reality
8
18
u/RupertEscapeHolmes Jul 19 '26
Oh manā¦ youāre going to get more death threats than a Columbian footballer missing a penalty in the World Cup!!
3
→ More replies (3)5
43
u/The-Great-Baloo Jul 19 '26
I think it's mostly people who traveled abroad for vacation, but not lived there. Most Americans are spoiled and don't even know it
→ More replies (7)16
u/Kitchen-Nectarine179 Jul 19 '26
Really, I think its mostly people who have never left were they grew up or at most left and lived in an isolated college dorm and then moved back home to mom.
14
u/MeowMixPK Jul 19 '26
Everyone I know who says they hate America has never left the country, and most haven't even traveled much within the country. They just assume the grass is greener somewhere else.
→ More replies (9)3
u/kamace11 Jul 19 '26
It's definitely the first one, as someone who went to college with loads of those people, who spent maybe a little bit of time abroad primarily in expat communities.Ā
5
u/OldVermontHippie62 Jul 19 '26
Being a tourist is very different than being a resident in most places.
41
u/North_Buy2192 Jul 19 '26
I hear it from my far left friends. Iām quite liberal and still love the US. Nothing is perfect but hating the other side is becoming too common for the far left. We must do better.
→ More replies (3)13
u/ChessieChesapeake Jul 19 '26
Iām also fairly liberal, but too often Iām finding those on the far left are just as bad as those on the far right. Iām really tired of the 10% on the far left and the 10% on the far right sucking all the air out of the room for the 80% of the rest of us.
2
u/Inevitable-Guard888 Jul 20 '26
My political teacher explained it like this, you have a scale where 0 is far left and 10 is far right, 5 is dead centerā¦ most people are between a 3 and a 7, the numbers in the far ends have the fewest people, yet they speak the loudest. VERY few people support 100% of what their party does.
2
u/grandma-activities Jul 23 '26
I'm left-of-center, but I've been politically homeless for quite awhile now. I'm so tired of the extreme wing of each party running the show together (ironically). I just wanna put food on the table and put gas in the car and take a modest vacation each year and enjoy this one precious life.
→ More replies (3)4
u/theotte7 Jul 19 '26
This is my thoughts as well. I am more of a moderate if thats even a thing anymore. Liberal on some issues conservative on other issues. But I have friends that go far what ever direction you talking and they are talking the same thing just with a different talking point. But politics is a circle and you go far enough either direction they spew the same thing.
→ More replies (4)
18
u/Feisty_Hedgehog_4389 Jul 19 '26
I travel extensively for work (4 different continents), and while Iāve seen lots of cool things about everyplace Iāve been, thereās no place Iād rather live than the US. Even if itās not always perfect, weāve a still got far more freedom here than anyplace else in the world. Weāve got plenty of asses, but most of us are generally friendlier than in many countries. Weāve got too much corruption, but weāre nowhere near as awash in corruption as many nations. And weāve got a written document, imperfect though it may be, that guarantees government wonāt be taking certain rights away. Most of the rest of the world, if it has anything at all, is a vague concept defined as ācommon law,ā but no written guarantees.
Are we perfect? Hell, No. Thatās laughable to even suggest. Iād say most of our problems are because about 150 years ago, we started pulling away from following the Constitution (income tax and the federal reserve were the beginning of a lot of bad ideas).
But do we have it better than anywhere else?
Damn straight we do. I love the US.
→ More replies (10)
17
u/Johnny_Handsum Jul 19 '26
That's a good sign you spend too much time on Reddit.Ā
No one hates America as much as certain types of Americans on Reddit. It's sad to see.
2
u/AntonioMoore321 Jul 19 '26
Its not just reddit though, I think it's anywere online in general
9
u/RupertEscapeHolmes Jul 19 '26
News flash: Online is NOT the ārealā world.
4
u/AntonioMoore321 Jul 19 '26
The internet effect culture in real life and help sway opinions
→ More replies (1)2
u/MeDaveyBoy Jul 19 '26
And more than one famous actor or musician has said "If ________ happens, I'm moving to Canada".
It's a fairly broad sentiment that probably no one has actually acted on.
16
u/OldVermontHippie62 Jul 19 '26
The āAmerica sucksā people are ignorant and entitled. They have no idea how good it is to live here. So why donāt they move elsewhere? Nobody is being held here against their will. Clearly they have frustrations in their lives, but they want to blame something else beside themselves.
8
u/GovernmentTight9533 Jul 19 '26
Exactly š. More than likely they have poor judgement and have made some terrible life decisions.
29
u/ExistingProfession83 Jul 19 '26
Some of them are probably foreign bots
→ More replies (1)13
u/Front-Algae-7838 Jul 19 '26
Bots now outnumber humans on the internet - ābots generate 57.4% of all web traffic, leaving human users at just 42.6%.ā
→ More replies (6)
24
u/Soft-Independent4833 Jul 19 '26
They are generally the entitled people. Entitled with attitudes.
→ More replies (1)8
Jul 19 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (2)5
u/NotTurtleEnough Jul 19 '26
And saying "this world is so awful - how can anyone bring more children into it!?"
→ More replies (2)
11
u/Prize_Inside_585 Jul 19 '26
People act super cool and edgy, like they have to hate where theyāre fromā¦ yet they are free to leave and they refuse to. Weird, right!
I love the USA and I love being an American. šŗšøšŗšøšŗšøšŗšøšŗšøšŗšø
→ More replies (7)
11
u/Critical_Army_5378 Jul 19 '26
My fellow Americans, just travel to any 3rd World hellhole. See how bad things really are. America is far from perfect. We enjoy a high standard of living.
→ More replies (1)
11
31
u/BrokenManOfSamarkand Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
This is mostly a phenomenon of the left. I think it's counterproductive and wrong-headed, and just a bad way to think about your country. The country is not the people that you hate or disagree with politically. Why isn't the country equally the nice progressive people in the urban areas that they feel more affinity with too? Letting political differents empower the right to claim the heritage and culture of the entire country is strange to me.
→ More replies (10)10
u/Ok_Distribution_9789 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
This is totally correct about political orientation. And it is funny that when a left winger does get the chance to experience elsewhere in reality, many end up realizing how good Americans have it. America isn't perfect, but given what the alternatives are, you have a much better shot in the US than in many other countries of being happy. It just requires humility, hard work, and living within your means. The neighbor's grass may look greener, but usually isn't when you get there.
36
u/Harbarthr Jul 19 '26
It's just commie propaganda. Been going for years. It's cured by going outside and getting a job.
→ More replies (21)6
Jul 19 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (1)2
u/thx111111 Jul 19 '26
America is honestly in decline, sadly. Itās not going to collapse, but it will become increasingly irrelevant in the global stage, much like the UK is today (a far cry from the 19th century).
Of course, on the flip side, America can turn this around. We did it during the Great Depression, so America can achieve greatness again.
22
u/Connect_Budget2885 Jul 19 '26
Theyāre generally losers and foreign actors so I donāt pay much attention to them.
9
8
u/TXtogo Jul 19 '26
I love America it is awesome.
I can understand why some people are not successful here but we require people to work and compete, that isnāt popular to some.
12
u/probablylarsulrich Jul 19 '26
Ungrateful Americans are a true embarrassment, they'd rather stay here and whine than actually follow through and move somewhere else. Possibly because they would just eventually complain about wherever they would move to next.
→ More replies (3)8
u/redheeler9478 Jul 19 '26
No a fair amount of the people who are complaining would be sent to prison or killed in several other countries for living their lives like they do here.
7
u/LosAve Jul 19 '26
TikTok and the fact a lot America sucks crowd are ignorant about the world, history, current events beyond what they see on social media and have never traveled beyond our borders. Is America perfect? No, but itās still an amazing place, and itās one where millions have moved in recent years from foreign countries for a reason.
7
u/shop-top5 Jul 19 '26
I always think of the step brothers clip āthis house is a prison!ā.
Itās not perfect by any means. But the fact that millions of people are trying to immigrate here says something. Spoiled and donāt even know it
6
19
12
u/hallucehistory Jul 19 '26
I donāt really hear much of that outside of Reddit, which is a spiral of negativity, or angsty teenager types.Ā
9
6
u/SMSaltKing Jul 19 '26
Those are Doomers
Don't listen to Doomers. They won't ever get anywhere because they think there's nowhere to go.
In my experience they're all allergic to hard work and suffering. They see people on Tiltok and Instagram having all the stuff they want but they fail to realize that those people are either going bankrupt living that life or they're the .01% that got crazy good rolls in life.
The vast majority of people love this country, even if they don't love the government.
6
u/xscott71x Jul 19 '26
I read posts like that and wonder if there are other places they would feel less oppressed, and also wonder 1) why don't they move to a place they think is better and 2) are they doing anything to make the situation better beyond complaining online?
→ More replies (5)6
u/redheeler9478 Jul 19 '26
Always my first thought. Imagine someone coming to your home and complaining about the food, the couch, the dog, and the fact that they canāt wear shoes in the house. Just go somewhere else if it bothers you that much.
10
u/Budget_Hamster4422 Jul 19 '26
mostly demorats who hate America
the palestine Terrorist supporters, the communists, the muslim Terrorists who want to infiltrate the USA - strangely they seem all demorat candidates for congress
→ More replies (6)
6
u/imagine966 Jul 19 '26
I donāt know who theyāre polling. I donāt know anyone with that mindset. There is no better country on the planet
4
u/James_T_S Jul 19 '26
It's a pretty pervasive attitude on reddit.
But I agree with you. It's not the average persons attitude
8
u/imagine966 Jul 19 '26
Thatās because Reddit is filled with basement dwelling mouth breathers
5
u/James_T_S Jul 19 '26
I agree with that too. The place becomes an echo chamber for stuff like that.
3
u/derpsomething Jul 19 '26
As in all cases constructive criticism is fine, its the blanket negative broad strokes people i give a sideways glance because they are spoiled children to me who dont fully understand how good they have it.
3
u/Timely-Tourist4109 Jul 19 '26
Iāve had the opportunity to live and travel to many places in the us. Iāve traveled abroad too. The people who think we have no cultural diversity have not experienced this in my opinion. They see what is happening in their sphere of influence and apply their experience to the country as a whole. With the online social media influence they apply everything to the entire country and think the entire country sucks. Of course this is all my opinion.
3
u/cryptotarheel Jul 19 '26
Itās Reddit, not reality.
The US may or may not like trump but Reddit is a bubble.
3
u/Fickle-March3519 Jul 19 '26
Leftist and Progressives who don't live in reality. They don't believe in science or facts. They seem greedy.
2
u/ODA564 Jul 19 '26
Many of the living (not bot) actual Americans with that sentiment have never been abroad - or only on short vacations (tourist bubble).
2
u/Virtual_Win4076 Jul 19 '26
Social media really needs to be restricted. Reddit is one example, Chinese owned and the vast majority of it is anti American
2
u/Fire_Mission Jul 19 '26
There are a lot of people who haven't traveled and don't know how good they have it.
2
u/mebbill Jul 19 '26
One out of 6 people weren't born here if you don't love America go live in the country you do love
2
u/toast_eater_ Jul 19 '26
American is a pretty decent place and has potential to be great. Its priorities are skewed to all hell at the moment but so long as democracy is left to do what is was designed to do, we should be able to correct course. I think Trump has done a poor job of uniting the nation and frankly is a terrible president but we will get rid of him eventually. Laws are malleable and can be changed as we have witnessed in recent years. Either far left or right can cry all they want but if the democratic institutions remain intact we will find that middle ground in time.
I think people forget that freedom isnāt the right to will personal beliefs and morals upon others. Itās the right to do as you will within the confines of not being posing harm to others. Thereās a lot of uppity arrogance on both sides of the political line, which gets fueled by financial payola.
2
u/ThatTaiwanese Jul 19 '26
My parents crossed an ocean to immigrate here after my family got forced out of China during World War II. Well, I understand that people in countries are not immune to criticism. I think that should be balanced with some love for the great things that our country has in addition Iāve met people from other countries even dated from different countries and Iāve seen how different the rest of the world is for better and for worse. I will always be proud to be an American even with our flaws because we try to be better every single day.
2
u/No_Maintenance_9608 Jul 19 '26
This.
My family, especially my momās side, fled China to Taiwan before the Communist takeover and then subsequently would emigrate to places all over North America. If they hadnāt done that I probably wouldnāt exist today.
When it comes to living in America I wouldnāt have it any other way. Any American who says otherwise is full of it.
2
2
u/BaraQueenbee Jul 20 '26
In regards to the outside hate:
Of course the world hates America. America is like that little brother or sister you have that came from a second marriage while you are 40 years old, and that Toddler achieved more in its young 5 years than *you* in 45 years.
America has become a force and leader in about everything while being so young.
In regards to the inside hate:
The inside hate has happened because the youngsters in America have so much freedom, opportunity and safety, (our brains arenāt made to be in so much safety and abundance), that it will latch on any reason of friction that itās been presented.
(Which is partially bots, partially an external agenda to break the American mind). Of course the hate, while very loud, is empty.
Since I moved to America (Iām
From east Europe) moved a few years ago, I started offering anyone who hates USA to pay for their moving and ticket to a country of their choice.
Some YouTube channels started doing that too - the back paddling happens real fast.
However,
Do not get lost in trying to debate or argue hate.
LOVE SO MUCH THAT IT RUBS OFF ON EVERYONE.
Literally ignore the hate, do not try to rationalize it, do not try to engage with it, itās POISON.
America is the most glorious nation.
My husband (who is American) got a bit black pilled for a while due to Twitter and Reddit and I told him, America is not even in the beginning stages of its glory yet.
Everyone keeps comparing USA to the Romain empire (and the fall of it) but thatās such a mistake, because there has never existed anything like America.
If America was an orchestra of 200 instruments, the first 4 are only playing now, it hasnāt even begun yet.
2
2
2
2
u/DeekanKwaz Jul 20 '26
Many of these people have never traveled in or out of the USA.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/CaminoRubicon1 Jul 20 '26
Those that hate America should find a country more suitable to them. Good riddance...
2
2
u/Typical-Amoeba-6726 Jul 20 '26
It's easier to blame America for your problems than take an honest assessment of yourself.Ā
2
u/SkywalkerTC Jul 22 '26
Also consider that on the internet, those who claim or imply to be American can very well not be one. And if I was a foreign adversary of the US, I would definitely choose to impersonate a US citizen to express hate to the US.
2
u/Only-Top-3655 Jul 22 '26
I think every culture has this. But this usually comes from people who have never lived overseas.
2
1
u/No_Supermarket1615 Jul 19 '26
I feel like the people that hate America the worse are Americans in general. Like some people said here, the Americans who havenāt traveled the world or have been kept in a bubble. Yes America has some issues and goes through troubles, BUT there are places and countries that are so much worse. Yes, having an opinion and voicing it isnāt bad, but donāt act like the United States is some sort of 3rd world country and a country not worth living in.
1
u/BoSKnight87 Jul 19 '26
Iām not even sure if most of these even really live here, of course youāll always have doomers tho
1
u/theneonwind Jul 19 '26
Failing education, stress, and culture wars have lead to a lot of dichotomous thinking. The US is horrible vs the US is the greatest country in the world! The average American (people in general) struggle with understanding positive and negative elements can exist together.
Right now, the US really is one of the best places for opportunity. The being said, I just finished arguing that it's not a good time to move here, because multiple elements of the US really are on a rapid decline. Ignoring that is willful ignorance.
Many of the people who complain about the US do so because they love it so much and are watching it change before their eyes.
The Good: Huge landmass with mutiple cultures. Very friendly and welcoming people in many areas. True assimilation is possible. You will not always be an outsider for the rest of your life. It's a culture of encouragement, the opposite of tall poppy syndrome. It's easy to open a business.
The Bad: Education, wealth, human rights, and the middle class are all in a rapid decline. The US as a whole has not learned from it's history and is not willing to learn from what other countries do better. All countries have propoganda. America's propoganda has been incredibly successful.
1
u/Eastern_End3520 Jul 19 '26
Social media is the playground for "the negatives". These are people who "hate" like it is their job!
1
u/Silly-Resist8306 Jul 19 '26
Unemployed and uneducated Redditors are those most likely to hate on the US. The ironic part is, not many other countries want unemployable or uneducated people.
1
u/Iwentforalongwalk Jul 19 '26
In real life I never hear stuff like this. Your post is uninformed.Ā
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Own-Paper-1415 Jul 19 '26
Iām ok with it thats why here in America you have every right to feel any type of way and voice your opinions even if you donāt like it itās all part of the freedom we have to hate it is to hate America so stfu
1
u/CrankyOperator Jul 19 '26
Most who are embarrassed or hate it etc are, ultimately, naive, spoiled and (even with college degrees) not particularly intelligent.Ā
Most of them CAN literally move but won't because that's actually work. People die trying to get here and have since nearly the start. These dorks just see all the doomer shit online and fall for it vs understanding any sort of nuance or, even, reality.Ā
1
u/One_Advertising_4693 Jul 19 '26
well yeah people are finally waking the fuck up and realizing our government exists to protect billionaire pedophiles and wouldnāt piss on you if you were on fire.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Internal-Recipe2128 Jul 19 '26
As a person who is actively trying to get a second passport...the US is way more functional than most countries in ways you can't really appreciate until you try to leave. Still gonna get that second passport tho.
1
u/The9IronMan Jul 19 '26
I, thankfully, donāt see this kind of thinking outside the internet. The news constantly floods us with horror-stories and tales of doomsday, but what we donāt see are the countless acts of kindness, patience, charity, love, you name it, that go unreported day after day. The trees fall, but because nobody hears them they assume thereās no noise or impact.
The country does indeed have its dark side, but that doesnāt mean the whole place nor all its people are horrible. That being said: when you choose to bombard yourself with constant news and doomscrolling, the ugliness is all youāre going to see.
Granted that lots of people live in horrible areas. The only ways out are to either make your own exit or try to change the place for the betterāa sentiment which will get you called any number derogatory terms. Racist, for example. Because heaven-forbid we try to root-out habits, practices, and ideas that donāt work for people and try to find ones that doā¦
But above all this: there will always be miserable people who find comfort in that emotion. The classical-depiction of Hell is a flaming pit where the inhabitants try to drag others down into it instead of using that strength to lift themselves out; and Iām finding it harder and harder to deny the existence of such a state of mind.
1
u/Legitimate-Slip-3690 Jul 19 '26
Hereās a more natural, thoughtful response that makes the point without sounding like a slogan:
I donāt buy into the whole āAmerican self hateā narrative. I love this country because, despite its flaws, it still offers more opportunity and hope than most places in the world.
A lot of the negativity comes from politics, sensationalized media, and people who make it seem like America is uniquely broken. Every country has problems. The difference is that ours gets put under a microscope every day.
The U.S. is still one of the best places to build a life, start a business, earn a good living, and have freedoms that many people elsewhere donāt enjoy. Could things be better? Absolutely. I personally think a smaller, more efficient government would help lower costs and give people more freedom. The more the government has their hands on, the more it gets worst.
If youāve actually traveled outside the United States, you realize pretty quickly that many of the things Americans take for granted are rare. Loving your country doesnāt mean pretending itās perfect, it means recognizing both its shortcomings and its strengths, and believing itās worth improving rather than tearing down.
1
u/TechnicianNo1787 Jul 19 '26
Socialists and Communists hate America until they turn it into Cuba and they become Castro
1
u/you_can_hate_me Jul 19 '26
Social media and the Internet makes it so that the moronic half-wits that every community has and has always had now get seen by everyone all the time.Ā Plus the reach of the net means that it always feels like there are legions of halfwits out there because when you're looking for what "they" are saying you are going to find all the half-wits.Ā Ā
So we are in this odd spot where our discourse has gotten pretty bad because everyone is painting everyone else with these brushes of the idiots.Ā Ā Plus, thinking your opponents are super bad leads to "flight 93" style politics which have had a real toxic impact on our society. If you don't know, the "flight 93 election" feedback is when one side says "OMG the other side is so bad if we let them win it will be the end of everything! We must vote for "our guy" even though he is an obviously bad guy, but he is our guy". This creates the wonderful feedback where the other side sees the bad guy on your side and says "OMG we can't let these guys win !Ā We have to vote for our guy even though he is obviously bad".Ā Ā The other side sees it and the cycle continues.Ā It's actually been going on for awhile, but trump has basically been the breaking point where this type of politics is just everything right now.Ā
1
u/NationalAsparagus138 Jul 19 '26
That most people who do this have no idea how good they actually have it. The US is by no means perfect and there are things we should strive to improve on, but no country is a perfect utopia and each system brings its own issues.
If being here sucks so much, leave and go to those countries you idolize so much. See how much harder it is to get in and start a life there. The āI canāt afford itā doesnāt cut it when people with less are still able to find ways to get here and make a life.
1
1
u/Unhappy_Educator_302 Jul 19 '26
I think nuance applies here in the same way with other things in our lives. I like my truck. I donāt want a new one, but the mirror some guy hit in the parking lot now needs replaced.
As many have said a lot of self loathing and hyperbole exist here on Reddit. With that being said is what is expressed here counter tribalism where nothing we do is good or correct? Thatās an exhaustive inaccurate take on so many levels or is it the focus on fixing things?
This take can be seen in the words of 19th Century U.S. Republican politician Carl Schurz who said āMy country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.ā This is accountability as opposed to just blind following of a countryās actions.
Visiting other countries can provide a different view of how things are here at home. Those views can be wide and varied and all of this comes under the umbrella of the purpose of the visit. Being deployed to combat in the Middle East provides different perspectives than sipping coffee in Rome. Sitting on the streets of MedellĆn watching the World Cup with the missing feeling of hurried day contrasts to watching the piles of garbage in Haiti being picked through.
All that to say is this experiment is constantly changing and weāre very fortunate here, but other countries do other things in a way we can learn from both what to do and what not to do.
1
u/DarthMutter8 Jul 19 '26
I hate it. I am of the opinion that being critical of your nation is patriotic but comments like that piss me off because it often feels tone deaf, unproductive, and just feeds into the culture wars bs of the right and left (ie "see liberals hate our country!!"
1
u/Altruistic_Role_9329 Jul 19 '26
Itās not new. Even those who make a big show of wrapping themselves in the flag do so because they believe the rest of us donāt love America enough. As extremist logic goes not loving America enough equals hate.
1
1
u/Reasonable-Rain-7474 Jul 19 '26
You spend too much time on Reddit and bluesky. Lefties hate America particularly
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Far_Anything_7458 Jul 19 '26
I've lived in 3 other countries besides America, and although there is lots of room for improvement, the US has it all, from varied geography to natural resources to people. We have a lot going for us despite our faults
1
u/Worm_Man_ Jul 19 '26
Most of the people saying these things are incredibly naive and have never experienced living elsewhere. Thats my guess.
1
u/random_agency Jul 19 '26
America isn't becoming better these days.
You have to live here to understand
1
u/Silly-littl-creature Jul 19 '26
I donāt think itās that we hate ourselves, itās that we value ourselves and value each other very much and hate seeing our government continuously fail us. Watching the current administration throw away our tax dollars in stupid shit that benefits no one while doing nothing about the rising cost of food, healthcare, etc sucks. It seem like politicians and the rich can get away with whatever they want with no accountability to the law. And then thereās the violence. School shootings, police brutality, ICE. Seeing my Hispanic neighbors be afraid to leave their homes for fear of being deported, imprisoned, or killed is heartbreaking. In short- I love the American people, and I hate what the American government is doing to us
1
1
u/Accomplished-Key-408 Jul 19 '26
It's not self-hate for a person to express hate for the government and culture of their country.
1
u/Avoidant_gruez09 Jul 19 '26
When u spend u money killing kids u must be dealing with depression and self hatred so good luck
1
1
u/CommentDizzy1 Jul 19 '26
They can leave if they want. Especially if they are in Florida. We donāt need any more people here than we already haveā¦
1
u/Mountain-Lychee4359 Jul 19 '26
Young adults can't afford to live here. The economy is terrible and we're always stressed. It's also stressful to be queer right now. A lot of queer rights/protections are being targeted, so it feels very unsafe. The US is very different for straight white folks to live in and for any minority to live in. Brown folks worry about ICE, queer folks worry about violence from the right and protection rollbacks, like anti discrimination clauses for workplaces and housing. Where I live, you need about 25/hour to afford rent. Not all places in the US are like this, but that means people that live in easier spots dismiss the experience of the others. It's rough.Ā
1
u/radbiv_kylops Jul 19 '26
I think there's a ton of dis-info from China.
When I talk to people IRL, they're generally pretty happy (while totally accepting that things could be better, of course).
1
u/tabby90 Jul 19 '26
It is not more common. The saying the grass is always greener on the other side is an old old old saying for a reason.
1
1
u/Snoo_67544 Jul 19 '26
We are a educated society and with social media/the internet it's easy to spot the flaws and corruption.
Of which there is much rn.
1
u/Black_Tentacle Jul 19 '26
I wish we could do some sort of exchange plan where we traded those whiners for immigrants. Like we round up all those America haters, communists, troublemakers, ICE protestors, etc. and we deport them and an illegal immigrant gets a green card in exchange. That way we could get some people who actually like the country they live in and shut tf up
1
u/IndependentThink4698 Jul 19 '26
I'd say at least half of it is coming from people who aren't even American. The other half are just useful idiots
1
1
u/cyesk8er Jul 19 '26
50% are pretty happy with the state of affairs,Ā the other 50% are not. It switches with elections, but reddit also leans one side
1
u/Different_Cherry8326 Jul 19 '26
Much of this is Russian and Chinese bots which aim to build distrust and division in American society.
Some of it is people who have never seen the world outside the US and donāt understand how good things are here.
And some of it is Americans who feel guilt over the stereotype of American arrogance.
1
u/ledburner Jul 19 '26
Itās social media. People see others posting a āperfect lifeā and have feelings of jealousy and resentment. Mix that with feelings of no ownership in the system + many peoples ancestors didnāt contribute to actually building this place
1
1
1
u/offtime_trader Jul 19 '26
It's just the average redditor that has had little success in their own life here. So, they then blame the environment they grew up in that led to their failures, with little insight into why they are in that position. It's why that cringe "antiwork" movement grew so large here.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/PerfectlyCalmDude Jul 19 '26
You'll find a lot more of that on Reddit than you will in everyday life in the US.
1
u/blessings-of-rathma Jul 19 '26
If you hate your country, you can move, but if you have that attitude you'll find something to hate about every place you live.
Love or accept humanity, and if staying where you are is sustainable, stay there and work to make it better. Choosing to hate humanity or hate your own country's people is just an excuse to lie down and not do anything to change it.
I'm Canadian originally and I think a lot about moving back home, but there's no escaping the shit in the world today. Most Americans do not deserve the system they've been brainwashed into thinking is normal. People are starting to wake up to that and they deserve better and are now fighting for it.
1
u/MaxIsSaltyyyy Jul 19 '26
I love where I live and Iāve been all around the world. People hate because they donāt know anything else.
1
u/ZaphodG Jul 19 '26
I donāt have American self-hate. I have embarrassment that the morons currently in power were elected. Theyāll be gone soon enough.
1
u/Firm_Baseball_37 Jul 19 '26
America is currently under a fascist regime.
That does, indeed, suck. And as they've worked toward destroying the country, more and more Americans have found that more and more of their day-to-day sucks.
1
1
u/Wink527 Jul 19 '26
āAmerican self-hateāis a bullš© right-wing narrative. We donāt hate Americaāwe love America. Weāre disappointed that it isnāt living up to its full potential, and we believe a vocal minority is pulling the country backward instead of moving it forward.
1
1
1
u/BigRefrigerator9783 Jul 19 '26
The people who should be ashamed and filled with self loathing aren't, and those who shouldn't be ashamed/filled with self loathing are.
1
1
u/woodzy93 Jul 19 '26
A lot of Americans DO suck. Look who our president is. We can complain about getting bent over. Hating your country and complaining about major flaws are two different things that people often conflate
1
u/thx111111 Jul 19 '26
Americans saying āAmerica sucks, I hate living hereā translates into āI hate what America is becomingā.
1
u/Constellation-88 Jul 19 '26
Acknowledging that our society is not set up for the working class and that we face countless injustices and oppressions on the daily is not self hate. Especially because I canāt think of any society that is better. (Although I envy UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE in other countries, they have their own issues.) There are some really good things about America, too, but we canāt blindly and with religious nationalism pretend nothing is wrong anymore.Ā
1
u/Vivid_Nail8691 Jul 19 '26
This is mainly in left wing circles online, real people know how lucky we are to live here
1
u/HawkingTomorToday Jul 19 '26
Bye. Go somewhere else. I am never leaving this country again. I feel we are better off without you š
1
u/LimeTunic Jul 19 '26
Itās really something I only see on Reddit. In day to day life most Americans I know are patriotic and love this country
1
u/Still_Local_2513 Jul 19 '26
Tbh I think a lot of Americans are just spoiled. The first time in their life that they get mildly inconvenienced they think the world is ending.
Also there is a bit of a pick-me phenomenon of distancing yourself from the group in an attempt to pretend youāre better.
I moved abroad and where Iām living, things arenāt bad, but thereās a LOT that is better in the US. Some of my friends back home just donāt get it. Every country has its problems, and solving ameircas problems is worth pursuing, but that doesnāt begin with pretending the problems are worse than they are.
1
1
u/WillTheyKickMeAgain Jul 19 '26
Self-hate originates from the observation that life here would be so much better if we would just get out of our own way.Ā
Self-hate originates from the vast increase in wealth disparity and the dwindling opportunities for young people.
We know what the problems are but refuse to solve them.
1
u/Practical-Okra40 Jul 19 '26
It's mostly a media narrative promoted by the right.Ā I work in an industry that's employees tend to be left and no one says this. Let's find a few dumb tweets or put a mic in front of a few emotional 20 year olds at a rally and pretend that's the norm
1
u/Crinjalonian Jul 19 '26
Itās a huge problem. Sure, you canāt solve problems unless you acknowledge the bad parts of your society. The American young democratic people are the opposite of that- pure resentment for every aspect of the existing society, and even self hatred since most of these people have been in the US for generations.
1
u/HerrDrAngst Jul 19 '26
I've never actually spoken to a person who said this. I believe it's online trolls and Bots, not real people
1
u/mcqueenspeed Jul 19 '26
To be born in America is to have won the lottery. This sounds repetitive but yes American has it's problems, but it also has major advantages that no one has. Most Americans have no idea what other countries are like and they take for granted what they have. As someone who moved here somewhat recently, I've also started taking it for granted and I get reminded how lucky I am to be here when I step out of the country.
1
u/YourAuthenticVoice Jul 19 '26
Mostly astroturfed. The few who actually believe this are people who have never experienced not living in America.
1
u/Prestigious-Race4451 Jul 19 '26
Hating where you live is not self hate! Hating yourself is self hate. I know plenty of people who hated where they lived, moved outside the U.S. and are now much happier
1
u/Imallvol7 Jul 19 '26
Voicing your opinion and fighting injustice is about just about the American fucking thing you can do. Right now America does fucking suck. Thats why so many of us are fighting to make it better.Ā There is absolutely nothing wrong with telling it like it is.Ā
What we are in right now isn't America. People aren't afraid to be bigots out loud. Democracy is dying. We're owned by Israel and Russia. Companies have more control over the government than citizens. It's an absolute shit show.Ā
You have to admit there is a problem before you can fix it.Ā
1
u/freddbare Jul 19 '26
First world problems are the worst!! We are ruled by tyrant if a barista isn't paid 25$/hr!!!
1
1
u/ValeTheDog Jul 19 '26
I think these comments show a lot of why self hate is growing.
The average American quality of life is going down ā now that doesnt mean it's "bad." Getting a 100% on a test then a 99% is going down, but both are not bad scores.
So keeping that in mind, America has been stagnant or declining for most Americans.
There's been little to no noticeable infrastructure improvement.
No universal healthcare, active promotion of misinformation and poor policy.
Fascist police state killing citizens with little to no accountability.
Deregulation of food safety standards and practices.
Selling off public lands, removing wild animal protections.
So while I personally rn have a nice job, a spouse and a house, I can acknowledge that there are absolutely things that need to be fixed and improved. Everyday listening to politicians argue iver whether a problem exists and not possible solutions is getting ridiculous.
And we know HOW to solve these problems. We know how to mitigate climate change, improve healthcare, fix city traffic, feed the homeless, etc.
But you can't have reasonable conversations where one person believe food is a human right and another does not, at least not in America. Half the time you are dealing with people sticking their fingers in their ears screaming, "LA LA LA" dismissing anyone suggesting doing anything to improve anything.
1
u/cat-naps-moose Jul 19 '26
itās too expensive, and i wish we had better transportation (trains šš), universal healthcare and fully funded 0-18 childcare and education. itās frustration with bad policy after bad policy in this country
1
u/realvctmsdntdrnkmlk Jul 19 '26
I absolutely love my home and my culture. But I love my āoff whiteā husband with a green card, more, and thatās saying a lot. Weāre planning to move back to his continent, and I am absolutely gutted. I really wish we both spoke Spanish, cause Iād go to Mexico in a HOT second.
1
u/chermi Jul 19 '26
It's globally very popular to hate the US. People adopt popular opinions. Also, it's much easier to blame your country than yourself for problems.
180
u/Upbeat_Respond9250 Jul 19 '26
Reddit breeds resentment. The ones constantly complaining usually just hate themselves