Is it true that most people from foreign countries think americans are all white?

Question

I have an example. My sister has a Korean friend who thought that being American meant having blonde hair and blue eyes. Never mind the red heads, brunetts and any person with color. Have you noticed that people from other countries think this? How do you feel about it.

Answer 1

Well I'm not from America and the overall impression that Americans give the rest of the world about themselves is stupidity and/or apathy. Look at your president. Most of you don't even bother to vote and of the ones that do, half of you voted that git into power. You gloat as if your **** doesn't stink and you live with poverty on your doorstep. Your own racial tensions are at boiling point and your christian fundamentalists are as dangerous as any islaamic fundamentalists I've seen.
But I can forgive all this because, what a great show the simpsons is!!

Answer 2

Actually, I just got back from Kenya a few months ago and encountered this first hand. No one in the village I was staying in would believe that I was American (nevermind the fact that I was born and raised in the USA and have only been to my mother country, Korea, once ^_^ ). Most people would ask me, "Are you from China?" and when I would reply that no, I was from America, I received responses that varied from disbelief to shock. Because of prominent African American figures in American politics and media, most of the Kenyans I met were aware of the fact that Americans could be either black or white, but did not realize that there were people of all races in the States.

As for how I feel about it, it made me feel slightly frustrated having to explain how it came to be that an asian girl was from America everytime I was asked about my nationality. However, in retrospect, I don't blame anyone who has limited resources to the rest of the world to make these sorts of assumptions. It's one thing to really not know that there are people of other races in America, and another thing to think that only "white" people can be considered American, the latter being a form of discrimination that I do not tolerate. In fact, when I was in South Korea for the first time (and only time so far), there was a group of people I encountered that did not consider me American nor Korean, but an American impersonator, as if I had no right to act like an American and absolutely could not be considered Korean. Despite how indignant I felt during my stay there, I did not, and will not, allow a few narrow-minded people to bias my view towards the entire Korean population.

Answer 3

Err, I think not. I do know how diverse the American population is. I perfectly have a good understanding of the multitude of races there are in the US. I do not think all the Americans are blond with blue eyes. I guess, the Americans just get stereotyped as such. I also think your sister's Korean friend also know the same, he/she just thought that MAJORITY are blondes with blue eyes.

I am a Filipina, by the way. :)

Answer 4

State schools do not teach this anymore. You can study it on your own. America and American each have their meaning. For some it's about race for other it's something else. But what I am talking here is nothing but the meanings for the words America and American.
Don't confuse being a U.S. Citizen with being the same as an American. They are not one in the same. Anyone can be a Citizen of the U.S., but not everyone can be American.

Answer 5

In my travels, most people from foreign countries seem to be well aware of the fact that americans come in all hair colors, and all skin colors.

However, I have found most people from foreign countries believe that americans are all jerks.

Answer 6

Nope. America is filled with many people from all over the world and guess that makes Americans anyone in the street.

Answer 7

duhhhh... they call us white men at my school asaid from my school they have aand international school and they call us white mena and thought the whole country was white

and you were rigth on the blonde hair thningy...

the international school at my school is all asain...al different types...

Answer 8

i'm not, i think american is multi racial country.

but there's some people that think asian are asian people such as chinese, japanese, korean and african are only black people..well...that's not true, in asian there is melayu people and the others, in africa there's white people too.

Answer 9

Yes. Just like we think Asia is all asians and Africa is all black people and Europe is all fancy pants cowards with fancy accents.

Answer 10

some people don't think. America was built on immigration, so how the hell can they think this way?