People Share The Popular Misconceptions People Have About Their Home Country
Every country is unique in their traditions, their customs, and the way people live their lives. It makes traveling so desired by so many people.
However, with the spread of misinformation and the consumption of media that decides to simplify whole cultures, people think wrong things about an entire culture worth of people.
They might think a country acts a certain way, or sounds a certain way, or likes to look for elves in the mountains.
Wait, what?
Reddit user, SodaWithoutSparkles, wanted to know what people get wrong about where you live when they asked:
"What popular beliefs about your country just isn't true?"
There are the classics, the ones right at the top of people's minds when they think of another country, or another continent, worth of people. Wrong, yes, but popular, and maybe that's the problem.
Such A Small View Of A Large Continent
"Kenyans are all long-distance runners, live in huts, speak no English, and have pet wild animals. Ugh."
"So here goes: The long-distance guys are mainly from one community/ tribe called the Kalenjin that's about 15% of the population. Next, Kenya is still a developing nation with a lot of poverty, but there's a lot of modern architecture. Next, the country is rated 18 out of 100 on the English Proficiency Index. And lastly: you can apply for a special (and rarely-granted) permit for your bobcat named Babou, but keeping wildlife is not at all common. And the Kenya Wildlife Service will conduct regular visits to ensure Babou isn't being kept in Meowschwitz-like conditions."
movie_favorit
"People in the west have really outdated views on Africa. We tend to see the whole continent as one blob, and assume everyone's poor or living in a shack."
"Think that's partly due to all the charity videos at christmas. If you see Africans, they're often in a charity ad because some war torn region is suffering from food shortages or a lack of clean drinking water. Meanwhile, as you know, plenty of African countries are poor but wealth discrepancies are large so there are plenty of living relatively affluent lives in modern cities. I assume living in Nairobi wouldn't be that different to living in many a western city, if you can afford that lifestyle."
"Most of reddit is too poor to live comfortably in Kinshasa for example, even if the DRC's a genuinely poor country. And if you explain Ethiopia was Christian centuries before eastern Europe, our brains shut down."
"We're entirely clueless. Sorry about that."
MargarineAndLube
We'll Punch You, Then Apologize, Then Punch You Again
"We're polite"
Homirice
"A fellow Canadian"
bubalub
"We are polite. The misconception is that nice and polite mean the same thing."
Quite_Bitter_Being
They Also Aren't All Plumbers Who Fight Dragon Kings
"No Italian aren't all short, black haired, fat, mobsters that wear wine-stained tank tops and coppolas. We are loud tho"
fawovi7739
"I spent six months in Italy as an au pair, and I don’t think I met a single person I could have mistaken for a mobster. Everyone was very loud and smoked a lot though. I loved every second of it."
MiniatureAppendix
"Jesus, we are so loud. I'm an Italian living with n Germany. We are sooooo loud. Every-single-one. Incredible."
Lelo1293
Keep Things The Way They Are
"No we don't speak Spanish, yes we'll probably understand you when you speak Spanish to us but we'll probably think you're an a--hole. No we don't want to join up with Spain, we like our distance."
throwawaygoodcoffee
"You're from Portugal?"
CharlesChrist
'Ello Guv'na!
"People think British people are either stiff Upper lip public schoolboys or cockney brick layers/football hooligans. There's a whole world of people in between! Some of us don't even like football. One of my friends DOESNT EVEN DRINK TEA! Not sure why she's my friend to be honest."
movie_favorit
It's not just people misunderstand, but the animals of the region. You might think one thing about the creatures of a region only to find out that it's just not true at all.
So Common A Misconception You Have A Retort Ready To Go
"Welsh people shag sheep. Temptation is there but the static shock wouldn't be worth it."
movie_stearm
"I'm English but live in Powys. I get told this joke when other English people find out I live in Wales."
"The best retort I've heard from a Welshman is 'Yep. We shag them and we then sell them to the English to eat...'"
WestEssexEnclave
Let's Go A An Australian Bush Bash!
"We don’t all ride kangaroos to work fighting off giant spiders while keeping an eye out for drop bears."
"I work from home."
ElZoof
"There are a lot of kangaroos though. I feel like that is the one stereotype that tourists wouldn't feel ripped off at"
PissAnt5
"Why would we fight off giant spiders? I keep them as pets, they protect me from drop bears."
LaitueGonflable
Every country has myths, legends, or rumors themselves that spread about, gaining a legacy pushing them into lore. After all, how else do you explain the elves living in the mountains?
Think Of The Magic
"That some high percentage of us believe in elves."
Iplaymeinreallife
"I know about 25 Icelandic people and 2 of them seriously believe in elves and gnomes. To me, that's a pretty big percentage"
Pizzacanzone
"When there’s 5 people in your country and 2 of them believe in Elves, i don’t know, that’s a high percentage of people who believe in them"
CommunitRagnar
Credit His Origins Where They're From
"Dracula is often depicted as living in Transylvania. While he was imprisoned there for a while, he was actually the ruler of Wallachia (another historic Romanian province that neighbors Transylvania to the south). As for the rumor that we are vampires, I neither confirm nor deny this statement."
fawovi7739
"There was another similar question awhile back that said something to the effect of:"
"I don't know why people think Romania is full of vampires. I've lived here for 600 years and I've never met one."
differentiatedpans
At Least We're Nice Half The Year
"Iceland was not named as part of some conspiracy to keep folks away from a good thing. The name comes from the fact that early settlers arrived during summer and then suffered horrible losses of livestock and people once winter hit and icebergs were seen filling the fjords. It was more of a warning than anything, that this place sucked. Greenland on the other hand was probably named as such to make it sound more hospitable"
movie_online_2
Try to educate yourself before you go out traveling.
Educate yourself on how to find those hidden elves, that is!
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It's easy to feel homesick.
You travel far away, far from what you've known, to live somewhere else. During your excursion you'll let your mind wander, thinking back on the things you remember most of your homeland. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the sheer amount of alcohol you and your countrymen all drank.
Everyone's country of origin has something unique that stands out about it when comparing it to the rest of the world, and we're sharing them today.
Reddit user, ManavMishra07, wanted to know what makes your country stand out when they asked:
"What's your country known for?"
Sometime what your country is known for can be obvious, as if it needed to be written on the side of your flag or something.
Don't Forget The Socialized Healthcare
"Maple syrup and politeness."
Mortar_n_Pestle
"Canada"
Puzzleheaded-Show289
Wait, So Who Lives In Them Now?
"Pyramids, for the last time we do not live in fucking pyramids okay"
iIAdHmSa
"Sooo, do you just use them as weekend homes or something?"
not-gandalf-bot
Mountains As Far As The Chocolate Can See
"Chocolate, cheese, watches, neutrality and mountains."
dia6hf
"Switzerland"
TangibleRalph
Other times it can be all the fun stuff, the things most adults would love to do every time they go or the stuff teenagers get up to when they think no one is looking at them.
NOT How You're Thinking Of It
"Spiders, snakes, lizards, mosquitoes, flies, crocodiles, sharks, ants, toads and c-nts, lots of c-nts"
Zealousideal
"Australia"
grenzor
Learn Your Geography
"Weed and sex workers"
"Edit: Alright I think it’s time to clarify that Amsterdam is not a country, it’s the capital of a wonderful small country called the Netherlands. And while we’re at it, Holland is not a synonym of the Netherlands, it is only a part of it"
thedivineconspiracy
All Of The Fun Stuff
"Banks, castles, a very specific kind of molten cheese and a popular destination for our neighbouring countries to buy alcohol, cigarettes and coffee because it‘s cheaper"
InfiniteOmniverse
"Luxembourg."
"Used to buy cigarettes there when I was an au pair in Trier."
Aimil27
And then there's these, the stuff you kind of wish everyone would forget about your home country.
Now We Know What The Queen Gets Up To
"Bad teeth, tea, the queen and knife crime"
Hot_Ad_7663
"Always wondered what the queen does anyways"
random_tiktoker
Rubbing It In Everybody Else's Face
"Spreading freedom at the point of a gun"
TimFromTampa
"There is literally nothing more American than that"
YardOk8020
Know Your History
"A failed Artist."
Zealousideal
"It doesn't matter how many Austrian artists are great there are always a failed one that spoils the bunch"
glowing_feather
"Don’t worry. Most people think he’s German."
Leo_Kovacq
Turns Out The Nazis Ruined A Lot Of Things
"Chocolate, fries and beer."
AcanthocephalaLow590
"Much like our waffles we crumbled in the hands of the Nazis."
Rwokoarte
Don't be ashamed of where you came from. It's what made you who you are today.
Maybe be ashamed if they're still doing the stuff that made them infamous.
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Why do you love your country?
Patriotism is important for a healthy community and society. It allows for people to care for their fellow countryman, and to care about the welfare and quality of the environment around them. While it is easy to complain about where you live, it's nice to take a step back and consider what you are grateful for. After all, no place can be 100% bad.
Redditor u/schaapdejoopheffer asked people, "What is something about your country you're actually really proud of?" and answers poured in from all around the world.
It's not perfect, but...
Giphy"USA- our music. Jazz, Blues, Rock and Roll, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country. All started here. Even the concept of MIDI originated in California.
Yes USA is in shambles politically, economically, socially, etc- but thanks to my country, I also have some of the things that get me through it!"
Great sense of direction
"That in the UK you can direct people mostly using pubs as signposts. 'Yep, turn left at the Black Swan, go a mile past the Coach & Horses and then is 100m past The Eight Bells. I miss pubs. Damn this lockdown."
Scary beautiful weather
"I live in the USA, and I love the weather. There are amazing lightning shows here and stunning supercells and tornadoes, sometimes these things are destructive, but when they aren't, they really are beautiful, and amazing."
Cash that's way ahead of its time
"I know I'm late to this feed but I'm Aussie and really proud of Australian cash. When I went to America, It really drew my attention towards how good Australian cash is because I collected SO MANY AMERICAN COINS. Also, all the notes are waterproof and the new design as braille on it."
You can experience the best of nature
"Siberia for sure, it should be the defenition of seasons, in winter it can get to -50 C°, in the summer it can get to 30 C°, in spring and autum there are a lot of berries and fruits that grow everywere, I think it is everything right about a place, you get to experiance everything."
Perfect place for vegetarians
"Indian here and it's gotta be the food. We have the most varieties of delicious vegetarian food. And the lowest consumer of meat in the world, pretty good for a country of 1.3 billion"
Incredibly well made dams
"I'm from the netherlands, and i would say our dams. Most of our land is below sea level and the dams do great work, including at the tv-tas islands. (Not the carribean islands)
It can take the biggest storms. But sadly once in 10 000 years there is a superstorm that can break them."
A bunch of quirky states
"I like having a bunch of small states in America so it's easier to distinguish where somebody is and every state kinda has their own quirk. Most countries have their own variation of this but I think America does it the best."
Protecting small businesses
"As an Aussie I'm proud that when Burger King tried to expand out from America into Australia, we made them change their name to Hungry Jacks for all their stores in Australia because of 1 really small fish and chip shop that already had the name Burger King"
A lovely gesture during a crisis
"Kenya, when the Maasai tribe donated 14 cows to US in sympathy after the 9/11 attacks"
The food is really, truly good
Giphy"As a Mexican, I have to admit that our government has gone to ****. But, we do have an amazing food culture."
Perfect place for skiing
"Austria. Don't need to drive/fly far away for some of the best skiing resorts in the world."
It's all about the landscape
Giphy"I'm from Iceland and I have to say that I'm super proud of its nature. I mean it's definitely special and so unique!"
Internationally known
"Lego"
"At one point LEGO was almost 1% of denmark's global exports."
The best dams
"Our ability to control water. The work the Dutch put in to make this land livable with the dam-systems earns my respect."
You can find all of the habitats
"As an Aussie, our diverse land of deserts, rainforests and bushland. The Australian outdoors is incredible."
Who hasn't had to read Russian literature in school?
"Яussian literature probably. It serves as a great example of our natural ability to turn our suffering into art and base our national culture on it."
People From Around The World Share Which Things They Hate About Their Own Country
“You are your own worst critic."
Unless you're a country. Then every single one of your citizens is your worst critic.
For all the chaos and polarization it produces, the internet holds a powerful and unique capability: crowdsourcing.
In a world of 195 countries, it's difficult to really get a handle on the feel of each one. We know about a place's economy, it's war history, and it's place in the global economy.
But it can be difficult to get a read on the day-to-day feel of a place.
Reddit comes up big.
qara-bala asked, "What do you hate most about your own country?"
Unfortunately, a Wildly Popular Answer
Corruption.
We have the makings of an amazing nation and could have a thriving economy and truly show the world what equality (in race and gender) should look like.
But no. Our government steals form the poor, empowers no one and blame the past for all our "problems."
The Dark Underbelly of the Cute Sheep Photos
High suicide rate and a sh*t ton of meth.
Welcome to New Zealand!
Take Your Pick
A woman is murdered every 2 hours and a half.
The government keeps stealing from the people.
(Mexico)
Inconclusive, But This Screams 2nd Amendment Argument
That individual states are permitted to ignore sections of the bill of rights that they disagree with.
HypocrUSy
How exactly does the country with the highest incarcerated population on the planet get to keep calling itself "the Land of the Free?"
He was Only One Dude!
That the first thing that comes up when someone mentions it is Pablo Escobar.
Growing Pains
The sheer global arrogance that seems to be genetically embedded in almost all of us.
Yes, the British empire was once one of the most powerful in the world.
It's gone now. Get over it.
Not Just a Stereotype
The alcoholism.
(Irish)
Australia Asked Gay Asylum Seekers If They Could Just Pretend To Be Straight And Go Back To Their Home Countries
Many people across the globe are forced to seek asylum in far away places for fear that their sexual orientation or gender identity will lead to persecution, prosecution and even death in their home countries.
That risk must generally be proven when requesting asylum.
Spoiler: there's a right way and a wrong way to ask for proof.
Buzzfeed Newsrecently acquired internal documents from Australia's Department of Home Affairs through a Freedom of Information request.
The documents, at their worst, note that some Australian immigration officers asked if asylum seekers could successfully return to their home countries, pretend to be straight, and so avoid persecution.
@HannahD15 WTAF. Just checked my watch, yes it is Jan 2020.— 🌻The Hon. Prole Hammyhamster (@🌻The Hon. Prole Hammyhamster) 1580178730
In 2018, the Department of Home Affairs conducted an internal review of immigration officer performance during the interview stage of an asylum seeker's journey through Australia's immigration apparatus.
A total of 21 interviews occurring between November 2016 and August 2017 were randomly chosen and reviewed.
To humanize and contextualize this, consider that these interviews are the moment when a non-straight and/or non-cisgender person arrives to prove their case. If the interview goes well, the person will be able to remain in Australia, safe to inhabit their identity without fear of violence anymore.
The burden of proof becomes significant in a moment like that.
Does this person need to show that they'd be persecuted at home if they openly expressed their orientation and/or gender, or that they'd be persecuted even if they kept their orientation or identity hidden?
Australia answered this question nearly two decades ago, in a 2003 ruling by its highest court.
At that time, the court heard a claim brought by two gay men seeking asylum in Australia despite remaining in the closet back in Bangladesh. The court ruled that asylum claims based on sexuality must be considered even if it's possible to hide that sexuality in the country of origin.
Officers must, according to that ruling, consider only what would happen if an asylum seeker were openly gay or openly non-cisgender at home.
A decade's passing apparently made that distinction fuzzy.
Four of those randomly chosen 21 interviews include immigration officers asking an asylum seeker if they could keep their sexuality discreet at home and not face persecution.
@avatarOfTruth @HannahD15 @BuzzFeedNews That being “discreet” is no guarantee of safety? People beat and kill other… https://t.co/XGersyNoqQ— Rod 🇺🇦 (@Rod 🇺🇦) 1580179234
In two other interviews, asylum seekers were in a heterosexual marriage. Immigration officers cited this and called their homosexual orientation claim into question, effectively a "straight until proven gay" approach.
Both those asylum claims were rejected.
@HannahD15 Well, now hang on, maybe they also asked political dissidents if they could be, you know, “less dissident”— Nathan L (@Nathan L) 1580179618
One interview asked the person, "Why do you think you are gay" displaying a clear misunderstanding of how sexuality works.
Ghassan Kassisieh is the legal director for Equality Australia, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to "promoting and protecting LGBTQIA+ rights."
He spoke with Buzzfeed News about the negligent disregard of Australian government policies by the immigration officials.
"Seventeen years after the High Court ruled that applicants must not be expected to remain discreet about their sexuality in order to avoid persecution, 4 out of 21 interviewers seem to have continued down this problematic line of questioning."
"Worse still, applicants who say they remain heterosexually married to avoid bringing shame on themselves and their families, are simply not believed to be gay."
In its conclusions, the official government review acknowledged concerns and dedicated itself to improvement.
"Assessment of LGBTI claims can be difficult, as the evidence is usually limited to the applicant's personal account."
"It is important that the questions asked during the interview assess the credibility of the LGBTI claims, but are also sensitive and not overly intrusive."
The Department of Home Affairs did provide new instructions to immigration officers to ensure interviews were conducted more sensitively.
Kassisieh's response to those changes was positive, but cautious.
"Guidelines are only good if people follow them."
"While the department must be commended for its guidelines, training and quality assurance processes, the results of its audit show that more needs to be done to ensure every applicant is given a fair hearing no matter who is making the decision."