To ask why Americans are so loud?

[MrsMattBomer]

We've got some American relatives and their friends visiting today. My god, they're loud. They've commented several times at how quiet and restrained British TV shows are and even when just having a conversation with us they sound sooo much louder.

My eardrums feel like they're going to burst!

Bit a generalization. I have two close American friends. One is like foghorn leghorn, the other speaks very quietly.
Some British people can be loud, Mancunians especially.

Hi Pallisers, I think my comment you repeatedly quote is as honest as any other in that it's born out of systematic observation and is factually based.

If you have a problem with my observation, which you have quoted, then I'm sorry for upsetting your delicate sensitivities, but I'm not about to lie and say that Americans I have observed, in general, are quiet, timid and mild mannered just to please you.
In my experience they aren't polite, aren't quiet and aren't humble, and they hog space. My observations lead me to the conclusions that of the Americans I have observed, they are rude, loud, space and resource hogging, arrogant, culturally insensitive and ignorant.

Now if you lived where I do and saw and sadly heard the amount of young American red blooded students as I do, (USA! USA! USA! chanting) then you might come to the same conclusions.

In general in my experience, I find young American students and tourists to be loud and pretty obnoxious and culturally insensitive. This is my honest factual observation, and I do realise yes, it's easy to stereotype and I haven't sampled the entire American continent, so we are talking about a meagre 50 years or so of my observations of students and tourists.

We have a different opinion. Doesn't mean my comment is 'unacceptable', it's just different to yours. It's called my opinion, and it is based on my observations: as far as I know I'm entitled to express my opinion freely, as you are yours. This is called debate.

I will add that I have sampled Americans on USA soil, and found Americans living in major cities tended to be more polite and quieter. But then as the saying goes, "an armed society is a polite society". So maybe the fact that Americans can carry guns actually encourages them to try not to antagonise on home soil as they could be shot by their fellow Americans. Just a thought.

What exactly does 'red blooded' mean?

It is absolutely hilarious that you just wrote an enormously long comment slagging off a country of 320 million people and as part of that called them 'culturally insensitive'! Er, pot, meet kettle.

Why don't you just come out and say 'I feel incredibly racist about American people and love to generalise massively while slagging them all off roundly' and have done with it?

Aussies are loud too. I'm a Brit living in Oz and sometimes I think "Just shut up!"

The children seem especially raucous and many seem to be allowed to screech at a million decibels without anyone saying a thing...people just smile fondly at them!

I'm an American and I find that USA chant thing just mortifying!

I did think that in a very loud way, however ...

FIL is fucking fuck loud. Only bothers me when he is waaaay too close to my babies' ears. (He has been in the UK for 45 years.)

While we're on it, why are the French cowardly cheese eating surrender monkeys? Why are the Spanish so lazy? Why doesn't anything work in Greece? And isn't it boring the way Australians are only interested in sports and beer?

FFS. Generalising about a whole nation based on stereotypes, or even a few interactions is called racism

American university students and tourists are 'loud, obnoxious and culturally insensitive'? Have you been to any reasonably sized British city on a weekend night? Or any resort town? Brits on holiday are of course well known for their reserved, quiet conversation.

See, generalisations about a whole people from the selectively observed behaviour of some are frequently offensive and usually incorrect.

The Americans I've met were certainly loud but I don't think that equates to all Americans. I'm Australian and wouldn't consider myself loud, but I notice that others mention they find Aussies loud as well...so maybe I am and I just haven't realised it

jeeperdoo I did think that in a very loud way, however ...

Jeez, no need to shout!

My main experience of Americans apart from Trump supporting relatives I pretend I don't know is of backpacking ones elsewhere in the world. They make excellent backpackers imo - friendly, outgoing, up for meeting new people and love all the history and cultural stuff. And according to several local shopkeepers they spend a lot of money too.

Cuban people...I spent a week in intensive care in a Cuban staffed hospital in Qatar. If they are awake they are shouting in Spanish.

I've thought of a good generalization. When I was back in the U.K, I couldn't get over how many people were drunk in the streets. And if you see someone puking in the streets in NYC, 9 times out of 10, it's a Brit.

AIBU to think Brits are shameless alcoholics?!

Ironically enough Cubans have a lot in common with Americans. They are loud and they are confident. Some nations are soft-spoken and some are loud, I don't think it is of itself offensive to mention this.

I am American and I also find that "USA, USA, USA" chanting absolutely cringeworthy.

I declined to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school here, starting at age 10, about 40 years ago, and was allowed to opt out.

Patriotism is very overblown in the media here; I work with US military veterans and many of them are deeply skeptical and disaffected when it comes to the US.

I am aware that I do have a loud voice, though, maybe due to growing up in a messed-up situation. I am also from the East Coast, where people speak kind of fast and in a high volume, I think.

Maybe the loud ones are just more noticeable?

Poor old being offended on behalf of others. I think it's fine and quite interesting to discuss (and debunk) national stereotypes up to a point. We must be careful when it strays into racial stereotypes or discussion about national stereotypes that have led to prejudice and unfair discrimination. We are talking mainly here about stereotypes involving privileged, weathy Americans who can afford to travel to Europe. I think they can take the stereotype of being a bit loud on the chin, somehow.

And also discussion/criticism of how nations run themselves is always fair comment, especially when they are under the illusion of being Top Nation.

I have found that there's a type of American that can be loud. But I think that they stand out because, well, we can hear them the length of a railway carriage. The softly spoken ones are probably not all Canadians!

There's a hooray Henry & Henrietta sort of Brit that can be terribly loud too, but they're such a small slice of the population we're not exposed to them quite as much.

I have two Canadian friends. One is very softly spoken and calm and the other is big and bold and exuberant and quite boisterous in conversation. Loud, in fact.

Quiet Canadian often says of Loud Canadian 'she's not like a Canadian at all, she's more like an American.'

Thank you to all of the non bigoted replies in the last page or so!

My favourite example of an outrageous post is:

"feel the same. The amount of times America has invaded places to topple dictatorships but they are basically the same."

I feel the need to tweak the sentence a little bit fwink

"The amount of times America has invaded places to topple an elected government and then install ruthless and murderous dictatorships but they are basically the same." '

I thought this person was going to correct "amount" to "number"...

The idea that you British are sneering about our rampant imperialism is a bit rich. Do you know anything at all about your own history????

I am a very quiet American, and I don't know anyone who would salute the flag, own a gun, make racist or xenophobic remarks, worship the military, or generally behave in an offensive and entitled way.

(However, after our recent election, I am deeply shocked and shaken to realise that there is a lot I don't know about my country. I am so ashamed, even though I know that 2.8 million more Americans voted for Clinton than for her opponent.)

Now I'm trying to figure out if I'm loud or not. I'm also from the East Coast. I've never really thought of people around here as particularly loud. OMG I probably AM loud because I see that as the norm!

When I was in college, there was this girl in one of my classes who talked in a really soft voice. To the point where everyone in the room had to be perfectly silent, and we'd all be leaning in around the table to try to hear what she was saying. Which was inevitably a huge letdown. (I had this idea that if I had to work that hard to hear someone, I should be rewarded with something important, or some really juicy gossip at least.) I always wanted to smack her and say, "Girlfriend, you are not imparting state secrets here. Speak the fuck up!"