Don’t Hate me Because I’m American!

Austrian who Hates the U.S.

I’m out in the middle of a remote area of the Coramandel Peninsula in New Zealand, and after having hiked literally one and a half hours to the beautiful Cathedral Cove, I see this on the beach:  An Austrian girl wearing a t-shirt that cleverly reads: “God Save US from U.S.”

My parents weren’t particularly educated – my father only finished 6^th grade, and my mother went through to 7th.  They never traveled, and never got out of the U.S.  So it makes sense that they raised me to naively believe that everyone not only loves Americans, but they want to be just like us.

I was stunned the first time I realized that Americans are not only not loved, in many countries, they are strongly disliked!  I learned this first-hand 11 years ago when I went on a solo trip around the world.   I was so disappointed to learn the truth!

In France, I heard broken English grumblings across a restaurant (meant for me to hear) about greedy Americans.  Later I was in Australia and had campfire discussions with people of all ethnicities, and was shocked to learn that many of the countries represented there by backpackers carried many negative beliefs about our country.

They said things like:  Americans are greedy.  American Government puts their nose where it doesn’t belong.  America is a big bully to the rest of the world.  Americans don’t travel well.  They are spoiled & lazy.  They are wasteful.  They all have guns   America is dangerous.  And so on.

Some of the Australians told me they would never come to America, as it is a very dangerous place to visit, what with everyone having guns and all.  Wow!  I never saw it that way!  I guess you just get used to the gunshots and the violence……

Is America really that messed up?  Aren’t we the good guys?  I asked a French guy what he thought about America sending millions of dollars in aid to Africa to help feed the poor and combat AIDS there.  Isn’t that good of Americans?

“Americans just do that to look good.”  He said smugly.  But, I argued, doesn’t it count?!

Have I been mislead all my life, by the media, the Government, and my own uneducated parents, thinking that we are the good guys?  Are we really bullies?  Could we be worse than the terrorists who murder innocent women and children?

When the World Trade Center was taken down by heartless terrorists on 9/11, there were some people who said Americans deserved that.  But why would all those children who died in that tragedy deserve to die that way?  And in saying so, and in believing so, isn’t America the victim here?  Or are we too big to be victimized?

If American suddenly lost power to the terrorists, and we all ended up wearing sheets over our heads and praying to Allah, the rest of the world would be screwed.  They would be next on the list.

The girl wearing the t-shirt was embarrassed when I told her I was American.  “I’m so sorry!”  She said, apologizing for her t-shirt.  “That’s okay, I’m used to it.”  I said.  Or was she saying she was sorry that I’m American?  I couldn’t tell…….