I remember reading a comment on here about a young lady who didn’t realise US Independence Day isn’t celebrated around the world. I kinda get it, America is absolutely the centre of the world in America. Whereas I legitimately cannot go to the local shop without meeting someone from a different country.
I was speaking to a US girl a few years ago, close to July 4th. She got really confused when I said I wasn't going to be doing anything to celebrate it. I'm British...
Then once I explained it to her, she then said 'oh, I guess it's still a bit of a sore point for you guys, right?' Lol, no. It's a meaningless day for us - the US was one of our many colonies. We lost it, which probably sucked at the time but we've kinda moved on now. We don't do that empire thing any more.
You can count the ways but I'd start with complaining that the colonies didn't follow colonialist guidelines well enough and favoring "we" over distancing language. You can ask chatGPT for a sentiment analysis if that's not enough
Haha I'd rather not get any information from ChatGPT, I really don't think he meant anything that malicious by referring to them as "we", It's like saying "when we ousted Oliver Cromwell." Most people understand that the person saying that is far removed from it and most likely using it for simplicitys sake cause y'know they weren't actually knocking about in the 15th century. but if that's how you see it, so be it.
Sentiment analysis isn't asking for factual information.
You ducked my first point and focused on my second. I only ever hear americans say "we" with regards to their harmful past with lament. The only lament in the other posters comment was lamenting that colonization could've been better.
It's not so much my take as how language is used. It might not have been what they intended, but it's what they delivered
The statement reflects on the loss of a colony due to a lack of commitment to occupy it, particularly in contrast to other North American colonies. It also criticizes the colonists' tendency to provoke wars with the French by expanding westward into disputed territory. The sentiment is somewhat critical and frustrated.
They're complaining that colonization wasn't effective enough. I get that you aren't able to understand how that relates. The English tragically aren't very adept with their eponymous language
A British friend was visiting last summer and lamenting that they wouldn't be in the US for the 4th of July. "That's your Independence Day, right? Independence from what?" My friend, independence days are your number one export, take some pride in your heritage!
I always suggest to my UK colleagues that they should start celebrating all the independence days they created around the world. They would gain a potential 48 extra holidays per year.
Oddly enough I had the same conversation but the opposite way round. I'm British and was talking with this American girl about how American English is different from British English, and I mentioned in passing that all the other former colonies that use English have differences too.
She then told me that the US wasn't a colony, so it wasn't the same. So I asked her what she thought she was celebrating on the 4th of July.
To give credit where it's due, we were teenagers at the time and she did accept that she was wrong
That’s completely idiotic that someone would think that. Probably someone who is uneducated and has never left the country. What’s funny is that an equally uneducated person from a different country wouldn’t assume their Independence Day was celebrated around the world.
I fucking hate Facebook groups and an idiot from the US will post up something for sale in dollars - like there’s a whole fucking world out there, with numerous dollar currencies, and 198 other countries - just say where you are and don’t expect everyone else to live inside your head !
Well you gotta think of America as it is. Our country is so huge that we could pretty much be our own continent, and unlike a country like Russia or China there is no one heavily populated area but a bunch of them all around. Quite a lot of Americans will never meet someone from another country, and even after traveling thousands of miles they may never leave the country.
What are you even talking about? China has a huge population spread a massive swathe of the country. Their mega cities are unimaginable to most Americans and these are dotted all around. A very brief stroll through the internet will give you that info.
You’re really just reaffirming all the derision in this thread has for ignorant Americans talking absolute bollocks.
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u/bellendhunter 27d ago
I remember reading a comment on here about a young lady who didn’t realise US Independence Day isn’t celebrated around the world. I kinda get it, America is absolutely the centre of the world in America. Whereas I legitimately cannot go to the local shop without meeting someone from a different country.