View Full Version : Are Americans stupid?
radamanthys
07-30-2009, 08:27 PM
Appearing on CNN, noted intellectual Bill Maher declared the United States a "stupid country," adding that we're getting "dumber and dumber by the day."
Can't really find a good article about it, but that's the gist.
So, do you agree? Are Americans stupid?
Stanley Burrell
07-30-2009, 08:29 PM
Don't know about stupid.
Impatient as a motherfucker though.
Bill Maher... here is how he argues with people... he finds someone who doesn't know what they are talking about then says "SEEE" then talks about them when they are not around and just agrees with himself a lot.
And let's not forget his audience... I think he just finds the same people who were interviewed on the Howard Stern show asking what they like about Obama's policies using McCain's policies insted. and agreeing with McCain's policies thinking they are Obama's.
I watch it sometimes for some reason just to laugh at the audience.
pabstblueribbon
07-30-2009, 08:37 PM
NOU
See Idiocracy.
Stupid? Probably.
Complacent? Definitely.
ClydeR
07-30-2009, 08:40 PM
Appearing on CNN, noted intellectual Bill Maher declared the United States a "stupid country," adding that we're getting "dumber and dumber by the day."
No, Americans definitely are not stupid. America is the greatest country in the history of the world, and our citizens are, with a few exceptions, the smartest people in the world. Most of those so called "studies" saying that people in other countries are surpassing us in education were done by teacher unions who want to be paid more money. But there would be plenty of money to give them raises if they didn't spend so much teaching about social issues, teaching illegal immigrant children and force feeding our children pseudoscience.
Geshron
07-30-2009, 08:42 PM
I think like anything American, when we do it right we do it to the max.
With that in mind, we do have some of the most stupid human beings in our country. Octo-Mom, anyone who thinks American Idol is a legitimate contest/television show, Dancing With The Stars, anything Brangelina related, etc.. So our pop culture makes us look rather stupid.
Androidpk
07-30-2009, 09:18 PM
Way too broad of a question. Sure there are a lot of stupid people, and like Geshron said our pop culture magnifies that, but we have a tremendous amount of gifted people graduating high school and college every year.
Deathravin
07-30-2009, 09:26 PM
Not stupid
Very lazy.
When the OP said Bill Maher was a noted intellectual this thread lost all credibility.
Rocktar
07-30-2009, 10:47 PM
Stupid, no.
Lazy, impatient, short sighted, hell yes.
Methais
07-30-2009, 11:21 PM
Are Americans stupid?
Americans are gullible.
Celephais
07-30-2009, 11:31 PM
People in general are pretty stupid by the definition popular culture likes to use, but I mean... on one hand you can say we're smarter than animals because we don't eat our own shit (sorry tubgirl), on the other hand, we've invented religion.
AnticorRifling
07-30-2009, 11:36 PM
How do I vote on this poll?
Makkah
07-30-2009, 11:40 PM
At least we're not fucking Canada.
Tisket
07-30-2009, 11:41 PM
Poles are stupid.
AnticorRifling
07-30-2009, 11:42 PM
At least we're not fucking Canada.
We tried but the bitch was a cock tease eh.
Celephais
07-30-2009, 11:42 PM
How do I vote on this poll?
http://stuffisstuff.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/fry-see-what-you-did-there.jpg
Some Rogue
07-30-2009, 11:53 PM
When the OP said Bill Maher was a noted intellectual this thread lost all credibility.
^
That.
4a6c1
07-31-2009, 02:16 PM
Sorry guys. I've been everywhere else and I love my country but yeah, compared to other countries we R DUMB.
We need to fix the education.
Methais
07-31-2009, 02:22 PM
We need to fix the education.
I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some ... people out there in our nation don't have maps and uh, I believe that our, ah, education like such as in South Africa, and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uh, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., or should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for.
Proxy
07-31-2009, 02:56 PM
Sorry guys. I've been everywhere else and I love my country but yeah, compared to other countries we R DUMB.
We need to fix the education.
Echo. I've traveled a lot my self and Americans are Dense, Narrow Minded, Egotistical, Lazy, Irresponsible, Self Important, Vulgar, Re-Re's compared to what else I've seen abroad. Education system sucks, and Socially we are bankrupt.
Sweets
07-31-2009, 03:35 PM
I'm Canadian. That's like a woman asking her husband if she looks fat in these pants. Sheesh. Well...You always look good to me honey.
radamanthys
07-31-2009, 03:46 PM
If we take this straight as he referred it, as per ability to elect a competent leader, yes. I agree. Nobody takes civics in HS anymore. If 'stupid' in this case means uneducated, ill-informed, boorish, and prone to superficiality (ooh, shiny), then absolutely. That's American Politics, folks. Who's prettiest? Who do I want to have a beer with? Who's team am I on again?
Our two-party system is no more to most people than a football game in November.
That said, we can really git'r'done with weapons research. And bombing brown people. We're really good at that.
Sweets
07-31-2009, 03:54 PM
If we take this straight as he referred it, as per ability to elect a competent leader, yes. I agree. Nobody takes civics in HS anymore. If 'stupid' in this case means uneducated, ill-informed, boorish, and prone to superficiality (ooh, shiny), then absolutely. That's American Politics, folks. Who's prettiest? Who do I want to have a beer with? Who's team am I on again?
Our two-party system is no more to most people than a football game in November.
That said, we can really git'r'done with weapons research. And bombing brown people. We're really good at that.
As my arts teacher used to say "Bang ON!"
Being dumb has nothing to do with intelligence.
Sweets
07-31-2009, 03:56 PM
And just to clear the air, I think Canada is dumb as well. We follow US very closely...we're like...Dumb and Dumber. I want to be Lloyd though.
4a6c1
07-31-2009, 03:58 PM
That said, we can really git'r'done with weapons research. And bombing brown people. We're really good at that.
this makes me want to have nonconsensual sexytime with you
http://forum.gsplayers.com/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gifAre Americans stupid? (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?p=977741#post977741) 07-31-2009 04:42 PM Too bad you never had ANY credibility. Dumbass!
LOL, looks like I pissed off a Bill Maher fan.
:lol:
Rocktar
07-31-2009, 11:17 PM
http://forum.gsplayers.com/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gifAre Americans stupid? (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?p=977741#post977741) 07-30-2009 08:23 PM Shut up
Awwww, I did too.
waywardgs
08-01-2009, 12:16 AM
Americans aren't any dumber than anyone else. Which, in my estimation, is pretty dumb. So yes, Americans are stupid. Everyone else is too. Clap clap, fuckers. Mediocrity wins again.
radamanthys
08-01-2009, 12:22 AM
Americans aren't any dumber than anyone else. Which, in my estimation, is pretty dumb. So yes, Americans are stupid. Everyone else is too. Clap clap, fuckers. Mediocrity wins again.
Did you ever notice that? How many really stupid people you run into during the day?
God damn there's a lot of stupid bastards walking around.
Carry a little pad and pencil with you. You'll wind up with thirty or forty names by the end of the day.
Look at it this way: Think of how stupid the average person is and then realize that half of them are stupider than that.
And it doesn't take you very long to spot one of them does it? Take you about eight seconds.
You'll be listening to some guy...you say..."this guy is fucking stupid!"
Then...then there are some people, they're not stupid...they're full of shit. Eh?
That doesn't take very long to spot either, does it? Take you about the same amount of time.
You'll be listening to some guy..and saying, "well, he's fairly intelligent......ahht, he's full of shit!"
Then there are some people, they're not stupid, they're not full of shit...they're fucking nuts!
Dan Quayle is all three! All three! Stupid, full of shit, and fucking nuts!
And where did he get that wife of his? Have you taken a good look at that Marilyn Quayle?
Where did he get her, at a Halloween party or something? She looks like Prince Charles for Christ sake!
Let me ask you something, does he actually have to fuck that women! Huh?
God help him, I wouldn't fuck her with a stolen dick!
That's my political humor. People like it when you're topical.
--George Carlin
Methais
08-01-2009, 04:58 AM
Did you ever notice that? How many really stupid people you run into during the day?
God damn there's a lot of stupid bastards walking around.
Carry a little pad and pencil with you. You'll wind up with thirty or forty names by the end of the day.
Look at it this way: Think of how stupid the average person is and then realize that half of them are stupider than that.
And it doesn't take you very long to spot one of them does it? Take you about eight seconds.
You'll be listening to some guy...you say..."this guy is fucking stupid!"
Then...then there are some people, they're not stupid...they're full of shit. Eh?
That doesn't take very long to spot either, does it? Take you about the same amount of time.
You'll be listening to some guy..and saying, "well, he's fairly intelligent......ahht, he's full of shit!"
Then there are some people, they're not stupid, they're not full of shit...they're fucking nuts!
Dan Quayle is all three! All three! Stupid, full of shit, and fucking nuts!
And where did he get that wife of his? Have you taken a good look at that Marilyn Quayle?
Where did he get her, at a Halloween party or something? She looks like Prince Charles for Christ sake!
Let me ask you something, does he actually have to fuck that women! Huh?
God help him, I wouldn't fuck her with a stolen dick!
That's my political humor. People like it when you're topical.
--George Carlin
Despite all that, Dan Quayle > Joe Biden.
ON TOPIC: Humans in general are stupid. Planet Earth is like a bad episode of Seinfeld to aliens.
Gelston
08-01-2009, 05:54 PM
I voted no, but I actually mean yes. I think humans in general are stupid though, so I'd say we are about equal to the rest of the world.
TheEschaton
08-01-2009, 06:08 PM
Dan Quayle is not better than Biden.
A) Bill Maher isn't an idiot, but I wouldn't call him an "intellectual". He has an informed opinion, though. He's definitely smarter than nub. And if you watched his show, you'd see how much he rips into Obama as well (for not being liberal enough).
B) I think he has a point in that Americans are far less informed about the world around them. Are they physically dumber? No. They are certainly more short-sighted and willfully ignorant, though. Just one look at our manifestations of pop culture and religion should show that. When I was in Buffalo, everyone was like, "Why you in town?" When I said I was in town for "the bar exam", I'd say about 80% of them didn't know what that was. Maybe it's Buffalo, but then again, Buffalo's a pretty "average" American town.
"There is nothing more dangerous in the world than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
-TheE-
Gelston
08-01-2009, 06:16 PM
B) I think he has a point in that Americans are far less informed about the world around them. Are they physically dumber? No. They are certainly more short-sighted and willfully ignorant, though. Just one look at our manifestations of pop culture and religion should show that. When I was in Buffalo, everyone was like, "Why you in town?" When I said I was in town for "the bar exam", I'd say about 80% of them didn't know what that was. Maybe it's Buffalo, but then again, Buffalo's a pretty "average" American town.
"There is nothing more dangerous in the world than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
-TheE-
I agree but I don't see much problem in that. If someone doesn't know the political agendas of the UK or what country Doha is in nothing is harmed. Its really just useless information for the average human being anyways. I know what the Bar Exam is(I don't remember when I found learned of it), but if someone doesn't and they don't plan to be a lawyer oh well. I'm sure the average American doesn't know the carrying capacity of an LCU or how many LCACs can fit inside the well deck of a LSD, or the max effective range on a point target of a M240B, and thats cool. Most people don't really need to know that stuff.
Clove
08-01-2009, 06:17 PM
Poles are stupid.Poles are lucky.
http://three65.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/pole_dance.jpg
Seizer
08-01-2009, 06:24 PM
Apathetic.
Androidpk
08-01-2009, 07:41 PM
Doha has a killer black market, great place to buy videogames and DVDs.
Gelston
08-01-2009, 07:46 PM
Doha has a killer black market, great place to buy videogames and DVDs.
Doha is garbage. I much more prefer Thailand, they had PS3s with like hundreds of games installed on the Hardrives for like $300.
Androidpk
08-01-2009, 07:48 PM
I loved it. I was there in 2004 so I was still rocking on my Xbox. No cheap ps3/360 action for me :(
Gelston
08-01-2009, 07:51 PM
When our ship pulled in to Doha, we had a floating dock set up and had to ferry in to shore.. The waves got bad so about half the people from the ship were stuck on shore. They spent almost 2 days sleeping in the customs house.
Methais
08-02-2009, 03:47 PM
Dan Quayle is not better than Biden.
A) Bill Maher isn't an idiot, but I wouldn't call him an "intellectual". He has an informed opinion, though. He's definitely smarter than nub. And if you watched his show, you'd see how much he rips into Obama as well (for not being liberal enough).
B) I think he has a point in that Americans are far less informed about the world around them. Are they physically dumber? No. They are certainly more short-sighted and willfully ignorant, though. Just one look at our manifestations of pop culture and religion should show that. When I was in Buffalo, everyone was like, "Why you in town?" When I said I was in town for "the bar exam", I'd say about 80% of them didn't know what that was. Maybe it's Buffalo, but then again, Buffalo's a pretty "average" American town.
"There is nothing more dangerous in the world than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
-TheE-
I learned what the bar exam was when I first saw My Cousin Vinny. Therefore pop culture can make you smarter.
Poles are lucky.
http://three65.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/pole_dance.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/magiemaggot/poll_dancing.jpg
Tisket
08-02-2009, 04:22 PM
Our current available selection of smilies lacks one that represents how Methais makes me laugh. So I will use my own:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w66/Sassy_Photos_2007/lmao.gif
Methais
08-02-2009, 04:42 PM
Our current available selection of smilies lacks one that represents how Methais makes me laugh. So I will use my own:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w66/Sassy_Photos_2007/lmao.gif
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs38/f/2008/317/2/4/Awesome_Smiley___Old_Snake_by_Sitic.png
ArkainSkyShroud
08-04-2009, 02:16 PM
Emotional intelligence has no direct//accepted method of testing and therefor is a huge gray area to postulate upon; but if we were to look only at standardized testing scores America is certainly lacking and this is not due simply to the 'factoid' purposed by ClydeR. edit: heres a new one for me have yet to finish digesting it http://mwhodges.home.att.net/new_96_report.htm
4a6c1
08-04-2009, 04:04 PM
OO
-
----
HAI
who r u
Kyra231
08-04-2009, 04:08 PM
Funny I saw this thread right after I came in from being accosted by the bored 19 y/o next door. She asked me if there were any beaches or lakes in Michigan.
4a6c1
08-04-2009, 04:13 PM
Tell her there used to be but they moved.
radamanthys
08-04-2009, 04:33 PM
Funny I saw this thread right after I came in from being accosted by the bored 19 y/o next door. She asked me if there were any beaches or lakes in Michigan.
Waterboard her for her insolence. It'd be fun AND ironic at the same time.
Kyra231
08-04-2009, 11:07 PM
Waterboard her for her insolence. It'd be fun AND ironic at the same time.
Tell her there used to be but they moved.
:rofl:
Our education system is lacking.
Madcap
08-04-2009, 11:19 PM
Appearing on CNN, noted intellectual Bill Maher declared the United States a "stupid country," adding that we're getting "dumber and dumber by the day."
Can't really find a good article about it, but that's the gist.
So, do you agree? Are Americans stupid?
Has anyone seen the movie Idiocricy? .. I swear.. That movie is spot on.
We may be stupid, but we don’t care! We have guns!
delxforce
08-05-2009, 12:40 AM
Has anyone seen the movie Idiocricy? .. I swear.. That movie is spot on.
Got beat to the punch. That movie scares the hell out of me. Though the level of technology the people in that movie could still produce was a bit off.
Yes I think Americans, in general, are stupid. There are plenty of exceptions, but not enough.
Commercials are a perfectly good example of stupidity being catered toward.
I especially hate commercials that make commodities like cell phones and video games either horrifying to be without (Verizon), or more important to discuss than paying respects at a funeral (gametap).
My other pet peeve is when I go to the market, pretty much every magazine at the checkout stand is a gossip rag, tabloid, or something advertising how you can improve some aspect of your image with just 3 easy steps.
Madcap
08-05-2009, 12:43 AM
Got beat to the punch. That movie scares the hell out of me. Though the level of technology the people in that movie could still produce was a bit off.
Yes I think Americans, in general, are stupid. There are plenty of exceptions, but not enough.
Commercials are a perfectly good example of stupidity being catered toward.
I especially hate commercials that make commodities like cell phones and video games either horrifying to be without (Verizon), or more important to discuss than paying respects at a funeral (gametap).
My other pet peeve is when I go to the market, pretty much every magazine at the checkout stand is a gossip rag, tabloid, or something advertising how you can improve some aspect of your image with just 3 easy steps.
I for one AM lost and horrified without my cellphone.. Marketing guru's have me hook, line and sinker I am afraid. :)
radamanthys
08-05-2009, 02:38 AM
Any thought on the cultural acceptance of stupidity?
Watch the news: When people are too lazy to read the fine print, or too stupid to understand, it's the company's fault for being 'predatory'. It has nothing to do with the lack of education/intelligence lack/laziness of our populous. (Of course, there are legitimate cases of fraud as well.)
There are many examples on the news of how we blame the better (smarter) man for manipulating the weaker (dumber). In some cultures, it's the weaker man's fault for being weaker, and the stronger man's boon for being stronger.
Not advocating either method. That said, I ask again: Do we forgive stupidity, even endorse it?
Latrinsorm
08-05-2009, 03:22 AM
Any thought on the cultural acceptance of stupidity?What our culture has accepted and deified is indifference. (It would be nihilism except for the NFL.) Zealotry is painted as extremism or radicalism, all deviations from the common are castigated and canonized in turn, but out of reflex, out of a bitter cynical spite. Washington's dream has finally been realized on a stage too terrible for him to have dreamt; we have been cut off from the foreign entanglements of each other. It is the highest impropriety to suggest a man is not an island, or a fortress, or some swaggering Jacksonian demigod. Love has vanished. Champions have vanished. Heroes have vanished.
And then Obama spoke, and there was much rejoicing. People all over the world, join hands.
(Note: I can't figure out if I'm being serious or not. Go with your gut, unless you are a squid.)
4a6c1
08-05-2009, 08:58 AM
Hmm. I am a squid. I see your nihilism and raise you a Roman quandary.
Pop culture tells us not to connect ourselves to anything unless it is an insubstantial cause that does not demand commitment. Commitment is the utmost sin against our way of life. No faith, no family, nothing real is acceptable in the liberal mindset. Only lofty ideals of societal perfection are socially acceptable.
Socrates would disapprove.
I have to laugh. Teh liberal r evil!!!
You seem smarter than that ridiculous generalization.
Parkbandit
08-05-2009, 10:34 AM
I have to laugh. Teh liberal r evil!!!
You seem smarter than that ridiculous generalization.
To answer the OP, yes, some Americans are stupid. I've quoted one for example.
XKCD to the rescue again:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sheeple.png
delxforce
08-05-2009, 05:57 PM
Any thought on the cultural acceptance of stupidity?
Do we forgive stupidity, even endorse it?
Former President George Walker Bush. I swear some people only voted for him because Walker is his middle name and he is from Texas. Just like Walker Texas Ranger, yeah, Chuck Norris kicking ass and taking names. I think the fact that a lot of people admitted to voting for him was because they would like to have a beer with him, instead of whether or not he was fit to be president says a lot about how we view making educated decisions.
I think to a certain degree stupidity in not only forgiven, but endorsed. This is a big tactic in politics, financial dealings, and large corporations, among others.
Former President George Walker Bush. I swear some people only voted for him because Walker is his middle name and he is from Texas. Just like Walker Texas Ranger, yeah, Chuck Norris kicking ass and taking names. I think the fact that a lot of people admitted to voting for him was because they would like to have a beer with him, instead of whether or not he was fit to be president says a lot about how we view making educated decisions.
I think to a certain degree stupidity in not only forgiven, but endorsed. This is a big tactic in politics, financial dealings, and large corporations, among others.
See here's a good example of a stupid American. He/she thinks some people voted for the President of the United States because his middle name was the same as a fictional character. The irony of this is that he/she is also making a post seemingly judging other Americans for being stupid.
delxforce
08-05-2009, 07:24 PM
See here's a good example of a stupid American. He/she thinks some people voted for the President of the United States because his middle name was the same as a fictional character. The irony of this is that he/she is also making a post seemingly judging other Americans for being stupid.
First, I know of at least two people who admitted to doing just that, voting for W. just because he reminded them of Texas Walker Ranger. Secondly, I was implying that stupidity is forgiven and/or endorsed through that statement, not that the vast majority of people in America are stupid because of those particular few. I was setting the bar pretty low, and I would like to think that the vast majority of people are above that particular bar.
But then again, it is well known and documented that a large number of people who voted for Bush admitted one of their deciding factors was that he seemed like the type of guy they would like to have a beer with. I'm sorry, but that is a pretty bad reason to put someone in one of the most powerful positions in our country.
I asked a few people who voted for Bush for that reason whether or not they thought Bush would be good at foreign relations, since that is one of the president's responsibilities. They admitted they thought he would be terrible at it. I could care less that they voted for Bush, what left me a bit dumbfounded is the reasoning.
Mighty Nikkisaurus
08-05-2009, 07:30 PM
XKCD to the rescue again:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sheeple.png
You suck. I've been waiting for someone to use the word "sheeple" so I could bust that out.
You suck. I've been waiting for someone to use the word "sheeple" so I could bust that out.
The early (ish) bird gets the worm.
4a6c1
08-05-2009, 10:41 PM
sheeple is a fun word
Winter
08-07-2009, 08:32 AM
I'm from the UK and the perception that we have of you guys is that you're not stupid but a little ignorant.
My brother was on a skiing trip to the states with his high school a few years back met some American teens in their hotel, the opening convo went somthing like this
"Hey, strange accent where are you guys from?"
"England"
"Cool, which state is that in?
"......."
ElanthianSiren
08-07-2009, 08:34 AM
Naive and irresponsible, yes.
Stupid, no.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.