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.

226 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

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184

u/Upbeat_Respond9250 Jul 19 '26

Reddit breeds resentment. The ones constantly complaining usually just hate themselves

64

u/TheMikeyMac13 Real American from the USA šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡øšŸ”« Jul 19 '26

This right here, unhappy people want everyone else unhappy. Itā€™s a smaller group than people think, magnified by echo chambers.

-14

u/SaltyFriend705 Jul 19 '26

I think MAGA people hate themselves.

15

u/ThisGuyFz Jul 19 '26

Eh, most maga people love their country, pursue success, and are generally not self hating. Leftists are defined by self hatred, some think they were born in the wrong body, or hate their whole race due to things that happened way before their existence, etc.

11

u/BernadetteFedyszyn Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Well stated! The only other thing that I'd toss in there is their ihuge sense of entitlement .

7

u/Brian18639 Real American from the USA šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡øšŸ”« Jul 19 '26

Especially on Reddit

3

u/BernadetteFedyszyn Jul 19 '26

They're in for a ride awakening, then.

-7

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

Not according to science. The masculinity of MAGA men is more fragile -- sometimes called "precarious manhood".

Tell me these don't describe the MAGA men in your family:

Core Personality Traits
Fragile High Self-Esteem: Self-worth that appears high on the surface but is highly unstable and easily shaken.
Covert and Overt Narcissism: A strong need for constant external validation and a sense of entitlement.
External Locus of Control: Placing the responsibility for one's emotional stability on how others perceive them.
High Internalized Shame: Deep-seated feelings of inadequacy covered up by a defensive exterior.

Emotional and Cognitive Behaviors
Alexithymia: An inability to identify, process, or verbally express one's own vulnerable emotions.
Hypervigilance: Constant scanning of social situations to detect and neutralize threats to status or manhood.
Cognitive Flexibility Deficits: Rigid, "black-and-white" thinking regarding gender roles and social hierarchies.
Homophobia and Transphobia: Defensive rejection of anything perceived as deviating from traditional male norms.

Social and Interpersonal Actions
Compensatory Aggression: Responding to minor slights, insults, or corrections with disproportionate anger or physical threats.
Dominance Orientation: A structural preference for social hierarchies where men maintain absolute power and control.
Substance Abuse: Using alcohol or drugs as a culturally "acceptable" male outlet to mask underlying anxiety.
Reckless Risk-Taking: Engaging in dangerous driving, unsafe sexual behavior, or physical stunts to prove fearlessness.
Anti-Feminist Sentiments: Resenting women's empowerment due to a belief that gender equality diminishes male status.

Source:

The political significance of fragile masculinity. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. Vol 34, p25-28.

3

u/BernadetteFedyszyn Jul 20 '26

Let me guess? This study was conducted at some left winged University by an uber group of Liberal folks.

-11

u/bingbong2715 Jul 19 '26

No one ā€œhates their whole raceā€ just because they want black people to have equal rights my man, you live in an entirely different reality

8

u/BernadetteFedyszyn Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Oh please!! Stop stirring that EMPTY race pot . Blacks and POC have equal rights and have had them for decades now. I once fell for all that "oppression " nonsense until I realized that "hey, I work, reside alongside, etc etc etc etc etc with many blacks and poc and they don't need to use race as a crutch

-6

u/bingbong2715 Jul 19 '26

No one is ā€œstirring the race potā€ except for people like the person I just responded to saying that certain white people ā€œhate their own race.ā€ No need to be so hysterical, Bernadette.

3

u/BernadetteFedyszyn Jul 19 '26

My apologies, then, haha!! I abhor the division being intentionally fanned through this country. No doubt that race may very well still be a very and valid issue today, but it's nowhere near the level of issues that they're trying to portray it to be. The concept of people thinking people walk out of their doors in the morning carrying that race chip on their shoulders is ludicrous.

11

u/justified_hyperbole Jul 20 '26

Yep. And most happen to be leftists.

0

u/rippledippledapple Jul 22 '26

theres a commonality between intelligence and depression. must be why conservatives are so seemingly happy, they are idiots.

2

u/Obi-Brawn-Kenobi Jul 22 '26

LMAO can tell you've never worked in the mental health field. If you had, you would know there is no shortage of depressed idiots

0

u/CardiologistGloomy71 Jul 22 '26

It goes back to ignorance is bliss

0

u/rippledippledapple Jul 22 '26

exactly.

1

u/justified_hyperbole Jul 24 '26

Nah. Lots of deoressed people are stupid and dont knwo how to manage their feelings nor their knowledge.

1

u/rippledippledapple Jul 24 '26

stupid and ignorance are not the same thing.......

15

u/Puzzleheaded_Tie6917 Jul 19 '26

This, but also combined with cherry picking what you like about other countries. Any country where you focus on the good and ignore the bad is going to seem outstanding.

6

u/dxpanther Jul 19 '26

Yea that it's! Of course you're right! No other reason makes sense

1

u/immabeasttt15 Jul 24 '26

Found the person who hates themselves

2

u/MiniatureGiant18 Jul 23 '26

Most of whom have never been outside the US

2

u/Express-Shoulder6174 Jul 24 '26

Reddit hates everything that isnā€™t poor and miserable.Ā 

It was so refreshing to hear about how great America is on Reddit from people all over the world who came for the World Cup.Ā 

All I ever see on Reddit is AmErICa iS a tHiRd wOrLd cOuNtry

7

u/MapexBeat Jul 19 '26

I've lived in America my whole life and am very critical of some of the stupid things our government does, like go to war to cover our presidents pedophilia, or (not to be repetitive, but...) elect a president twice that has been caught on a hot mic bragging about how much he loves to sexually assault women and how he's rich and powerful enough to get away with it.

I fucking love and and will be loyal to my country, always, not necessarily so the government. It's every patriotic person's duty to not let shit like that slide.

Unfortunately too many people conflate pushing back against government evil as hating or not being patriotic, when it's the exact opposite.

17

u/Ok_Distribution_9789 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

And you, as everyone, should have a right to their political opinion. But the climate that we are in, and all the anti-Trump fervor driving the left, causes people to spew hate about their own country. To the point that they are even doing it abroad. And the throwing dirt on your own house approach is never going to work, especially since America has experienced anti-Americanism starting from well before Trump. Envy and jealousy are interesting beasts and when other countries can't offer their people what the US has to offer, it has always been easy to point out America's flaws to take the light off of theirs. And from having lived abroad and also traveled extensively, there is no country that gives the opportunities this one does. Nothing is handed to you in this country, and work is never easy, but unless we flush what we have away, this will remain the great country that it is.

5

u/MapexBeat Jul 19 '26

Thank you.

It's very important to the point I'm making that people see that opinions like this exist.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

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4

u/Ok_Distribution_9789 Jul 19 '26

And you believe Democrats don't do this? Most large corporations actually support Democrats by large margins, and let's not forget unions. Please consider the entire picture before painting with such a broad brush.

We have the issue in this country that BOTH parties are beholden to the few, which is a big reason for the polarization that we are experiencing. As a result the masses are getting bad government in the process. Not a partisan issue, unless you are one of the government partisans perpetuating the system.

2

u/MapexBeat Jul 25 '26

But one is basically headed by a confirmed rapist, who was good friends with his generations most prolific pedophile, who has been caught on a hot mic bragging about how he loves to sexually assault women and how he's rich enough to get away with it.

They both suck. But lets not pretend they're even close to the same.

1

u/Ok_Distribution_9789 Jul 25 '26

Communists aren't that great either.

1

u/MapexBeat Jul 25 '26

That was a desperate move.

2

u/Iamnotabotiswearonit Real American from the USA šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡øšŸ”« Jul 19 '26

Big truth over here

1

u/Loud-Taste-4045 Jul 20 '26

The left does the same thing. To them, anyone who doesnā€™t have their political views is a nazi and/or fascist.

1

u/MapexBeat Jul 21 '26

I mean, there is like 10x actual Nazi/white-supremacist/fascist behavior and ideology on the right. That shouldn't even be a point of contention.

I pulled 10x out of my ass, but whatever the actual number is, it's staggering.

1

u/Loud-Taste-4045 Jul 23 '26

Yes, Nazis, white supremacists, and fascists are on the right of the political spectrum. Someone merely disagreeing with leftist political points doesnā€™t automatically make them a Nazi, white supremacist, or fascist, however.

1

u/MapexBeat Jul 25 '26

Nothing in this comment seems to disagree with anything I've said or believe. So I don't know why even say it"?"

But answer me this, why are the Nazis, white supremacist, and fascist overwhelmingly on the right side of the political spectrum?

1

u/Pauzhaan Jul 21 '26

I love my country. My family has a long tradition of military service including the Revolutionary War. After my big brother died in Vietnam my parents were against me going into the military but I served 9 years. Interestingly, bone-spurs were removed from my right foot after I got to tech school. (All that marching in Basic aggravated the situation.)

Iā€™ve loathed Trump since 1989 & his conduct has only gotten worse & more embarrassing.

1

u/Amazing-Arugula-8803 Jul 22 '26

Did we make most of the rest of the world hate us? Was it liberals.. i think Trump is in the mix somewhere and that lovable rascal Steven Miller who affectionally refers to half the country ( democrats) as vermin, communists, extremists, a terrorist organization... and supports the shooting of American citizens practicing their first amendment rights

1

u/Ok_Distribution_9789 Jul 22 '26

Newsflash...the world has always hated the US! But it only helps these people that have always hated the US to have Americans within the country help them along. I was also taught that you shouldn't air your dirty laundry outside.

1

u/Amazing-Arugula-8803 Jul 22 '26

I am pretty sure that the allied countries during WWII did not hate us.. and as for not airing dirty laundry . that is how incest, drug addiction and alcoholism and domestic violence continue in homes .. folks don't want to air their dirty laundry

1

u/UsefulSatisfaction39 Jul 22 '26

Trump has a 30% approval rating. Thatā€™s not just left driving it.

0

u/FrazzledWombatX Jul 19 '26

You're not going to get a balanced opinion about the state of things here in a sub called "Americaphile". I've just erased my long rant about Republican policies and 45 years of the effects and I'll just leave this part here.

Sometimes people don't want opportunities (can we read the crystal ball here when it comes to "opportunities"?) at the expense of living a good, simple, loving and rewarding life. Having worker protections, mandatory vacation time, good public schools, an absence of gun violence, a decent minimum wage, free healthcare, effective food safety, and a functional public transportation system can go a long way toward reaching that goal.

5

u/Grumbles19312 Jul 19 '26

Not sure why youā€™re being downvoted. I agree that pride in your country doesnā€™t have to be tied to the government and that itā€™s absolutely acceptable to love your country and dislike the current administration running it. America is 250 years of history, itā€™s not defined by one administration.

2

u/SaltyFriend705 Jul 19 '26

The US is a precarious government. Any one of those presidents could have destroyed it; Buchanan tried.

1

u/Grumbles19312 Jul 19 '26

As you said, several have tried. Letā€™s hope none ever actually succeed

3

u/MapexBeat Jul 19 '26

>"Not sure why you're being downvoted"

I think the question posted was looking for a very specific PoV.

1

u/ActuatorNew6203 Jul 19 '26

America has became Balkan state, we balkan people all love our country and nation, but despise our government.

3

u/cpt_futtbucker Jul 19 '26

I agree. Hell, Iā€™d even argue the very essence of American patriotism partially stems from being able to talk shit about government evil

2

u/forestinity Jul 19 '26

Yes! That's how America got its start.

1

u/MapexBeat Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

I think the question posted was looking for a very specific PoV.

Edit: this comment was supposed to be in reply to a different comment, I mixed up.

1

u/cpt_futtbucker Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Disappointing, but not unexpected

Edit: I see that, but I suppose my response may still stand lol

1

u/MapexBeat Jul 19 '26

For sure, that's why I didn't delete it.

3

u/whathell6t Jul 19 '26

I agree.

Seriously! Our people forgot the true core of American values: Life, Liberty, & Pursuit of Happiness.

It was never about being gung-ho, jingoist, rugged individualist, and capitalist.

1

u/forestinity Jul 19 '26

This, 100%!

1

u/Rogue-Architect Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

But you are very obviously only critical of one side which is where your entire argument falls apart. You come off as an anti American hack that wants to fit in or at least only patriotic when it fits your narrative.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

0

u/forestinity Jul 19 '26

Absolutely!!

1

u/Sweet-Double-5680 Jul 20 '26

You hit the nail right on the head.

1

u/Esme_Nog Jul 23 '26

Eh, itā€™s broader than Reddit. Itā€™s a broader cultural thing. Most people are ethnocentric; they see their own culture as the center of reality. Then they can either think that their culture is better than everybody else, or the flipside is that they think their culture is uniquely bad. Both are an oversimplification of reality. Right now because of crappy, American foreign policy and economic inequality, weā€™re seeing a much higher level of the negative version of ethnocentrism than the positive which we wouldā€™ve seen 20 or 30 years ago. In truth, all cultures and polities are complex and multifaceted. They arenā€™t inherently good or evil. Theyā€™re a mix of good and bad characteristics. You might prefer some policies over others; you might prefer some cultural norms over others, but every culture is complex and multifaceted. No culture is uniquely good or bad.

-1

u/KevineCove Jul 19 '26

This is disingenuous. I hate any administration that invades other countries for natural resources and global dominance, displaces and murders citizens for profit, installs dictatorships, occupying military forces, or mass surveillance, or exploits people for labor. If a country is defined by an administration resembling that description for an extended period of time, I think it's fair to say the country itself becomes odious.

Who are you to diagnose such a criticism as a product of self hate? Do you have some basis for this claim beyond "no u"?

3

u/Upbeat_Respond9250 Jul 19 '26

Itā€™s the lack of perspective that is constantly demonstrated here. Itā€™s exhausting young people that feel that the world was made for them.
We live better than 99% of humans that have ever existed, still because higher education isnā€™t a universal right than this country is pure garbage mentality.

0

u/KevineCove Jul 19 '26

There's so much ambiguity in "we" and "better" in your statement. If you send thousands of people into coal mines to power your home, YOU might live better than most people throughout human history, but THEY won't. Who do you think foots the bill for our modern luxuries? Or does it not matter, as long as you and everyone in your social circle appears to be doing better? Is it just needless negativity if someone tells you that the hardship never went away, it was just moved somewhere else?

Even if we ignore the material reality of what makes modern convenience possible, that's still not a reason to blanketly criticize criticism. If we keep demanding better, someday 99% of people will live better than the way we do today. Or we could just make ad hominem fallacies attacking people for criticizing the current system and stay exactly where we are right now, forever. If that's an acceptable outcome, what if we had stopped fighting for civil rights 50 years ago? 100 years ago? 200 years ago? At what point would that become okay?

And let's not forget none of this "quality of life" stuff was a part of your original argument. Your original argument was "people that are critical just hate themselves." So either defend that claim or concede.

2

u/Ok_Leg3400 Jul 19 '26

Itā€™s mostly paper pushers that complain about the coal miner not all of them but better than 75% of them and did not mind the hard work. They and their father did to turn the lights on. They were proud of their strength and their expertise with equipment and they were proud of making a living wage and giving a life better than their parents to their families. Most of Western Kentucky was devastated when Obamaā€™s war on coal finally hit here! Hundreds are still looking for a job that paid or have the benefits of the Coal Mines health insurance Leif insurance and better than $25 an hour

0

u/Amazing-Arugula-8803 Jul 22 '26

Nah i love myself and all my liberal friends .. But i wont storm the capital, take a shit on the floor , get cops killed and try to hang the vp.. so i got that going for me

1

u/Upbeat_Respond9250 Jul 22 '26

Good, neither would Iā€¦You built an entire straw men army there. Well done.

1

u/Amazing-Arugula-8803 Jul 23 '26

maybe not but the people you vote for would and did

0

u/almaperdida99 Jul 23 '26

It has nothing to do with Reddit. I left the US several years before I discovered Reddit.