When you ask what Americans are like, they are truly diverse, and generalization is impossible. Just like in any country, there are amazingly good people and bad people. However, looking at them through my hazy eyes as a foreigner, I certainly see a 'certain color' there.
More than 20 years ago, I had just arrived in America and was full of curiosity. First, wondering what America was all about, I took a Native American history and culture class at university. The professor there was from the Lakota tribe.
'Americans are people who look down on others.'
When I heard this, I went '？'. I didn't understand the meaning. But I was also made fun of a lot back then, so I somehow understood the intention right away.
What this professor told us was that Americans, for example, care a lot about foreigners' English accents and make fun of them. In the early 2000s, there were still plenty of people who thought that not being able to speak English meant you were stupid.
The tendency to first look down on those below you, compare yourself to others, and boost your own ego is said to be a reflection of insecurity about their own identity.
The US looks like it's having a hard time right now. Transgender issues, gun control, discrimination, religion, etc... With the increase of information on the internet, before people can figure out who they are or what their opinions are, a 'big storm' arrives. With fragile selves, some people may entrust themselves to great powers (far-right, far-left) or opinions while remaining ignorant. Because of this, it feels like first denying others and attacking others has become trendy lately.
If you know what you like and dislike, then who cares about other people, I think. Or, if you don't put yourself in a place where you have no interest and it doesn't concern you, then there's no problem. But if you can't stand that, you have to deny the difference in opinions between yourself and others. What motivates this to flare up? Is it insecurity about one's own identity? Americans assert to other Americans within their own country, "I am American! I have American rights." This balance is truly strange. It was difficult for me to understand.
But there's one thing I can say,
In any case, violence, whether verbal or physical, is wrong.
As I wrote at the beginning, there are all sorts of people in America. Among them, there were people I thought, "This is great!" They are the fools who are absorbed in what they love. Baseball fools, football fools, basketball fools, surfing fools, hot rod fools, motorcycle fools, business fools, research fools, PhD fools, genius fools. (The word "fool" here means pure, uninhibited, extreme.) So there are honest fools, kind fools, warm fools, fun fools – good fools like that. (Of course, there are also real fools and wicked fools, which is characteristic of that country.) People who are wholeheartedly devoted to something are truly enjoyable, and if you know what you like, you can ignore "unnecessary storms." It's presumptuous to comment on other people's affairs or other countries, and I apologize, but I truly wish America had more "fools."
I am no longer interested in living in America. I'm interested in other things. Enough things happened there, and I faced them without running away. I learned many things. I am truly grateful to the many people who supported me. Above all, I am proud of my decision and actions to live in America (period).
