About strange myths that permeate MN about other countries and cultures

[Wetsummers]

Does anyone else know what I mean - in particular about ‘Africa.’ I’m not claiming to be an expert on African culture or social norms but I’m pretty sure the ‘African tribes’ often referred to on here are a myth.

See also the insistence that we start children at school too early. Pretty sure most 4/5 year olds are in some form of education / kindergarten or whatever.

And you can’t open a thread on sleep without someone confidently stating the Japanese all co sleep.

Not a myth though. I still have to spell out my 6 letter German surname. Every. Single. Time

The anti USA sentiment on here is massive. Like everyone has a gun & is a crazed anti-abortionist

I think you've misunderstood, I don't think anyone thinks that or says that.

I know that not everyone has a gun or is anti-abortion. That's completely obvious. But the laws are pro gun and anti abortion. The society as a whole is far too pro gun and anti abortion. And the healthcare is expensive and workers rights are limited and the work culture is much harsher, and so many other things.
I would never want to live in America. IT doesn't mean I hate all americans though. I imagine my thoughts are similar to most others posting the same

I don't think it's just MN; people in general have weird ideas about other countries and cultures.

People in other countries often have strange ideas about the UK:

That everyone in the UK is English.

That the Queen has enormous political power.

(Some Americans specifically think that) We are not free, because we have all 'surrendered our guns to the government'.

The early schooling one is, I think, partly true and partly a myth. In many countries, children will be attending some form of educational setting at 4 or 5; but I think that the UK introduces formal assessments, and training for such assessments, earlier than many other countries..

That the UK are wierd for using toilet paper... never heard that until mumsnet and its utterly bizarre though process.

I have family and friends in Africa, Asia, Australia USA, Canada and ALL use toilet paper, I have also travelled to many countries myself and ALL used toiilet paper.

Even France which is 'famous' for the Bidet I have never enountered one in all the trips I have had there, not in any of our hotels and certainly not in public bathrooms.

The wierdest I have ever encountered was a sort of hole in the ground squat troth thing for men in the middle of nowhere (not a town or city just a stop off rest point point on a long journey) in Africa but then they still had a cubicle in a little clay box room with a proper toilet just for the women, my DH was perplexed by it lol still had toilet paper in the cubicle though.

We are a monocracy though and the queen does have the right to complete political power, she CHOOSE to take a step back and not rule alone but things from parlament are only her advisers and all things do have to be signed off by her and she could refuse if she felt like it.

I’m 40 with a short common Scottish surname and my first name is one of the most common girls’ names in the western world.

I need to spell both every time.

I have no idea what kind of name someone would need to have if they wanted never to have to spell it.

Some MNetters don't seem to understand that cultural practices are as broad and wide-ranging as the countries they perpetuate to know about. So, regurgitating a Daily Mail article about how the French raise kids on cheese and wine, which makes them all far more sophisticated than our horrid children in the UK, would be total BS to someone in the neighbouring French Town where they obtained the scoop from someone who was born here in Scunthorpe anyway.

Before someone states the obvious, I know the French don't raise their kids that way lol 😆

Direct personal experience is great. For example, I like our friends from Normandy's family culture of the children going everywhere with them, no matter the occasion. So the kids are excellent at parties and social situations and not hyper excited about being let out for the night. It's a nice way to live I think.

That made me chuckle!

To give it a bit of balance, I used to work with Americans coming to uK for the first time who frequently asked me if we had running water in UK. They thought we all lived in Dickensian conditions.

Depends where... I use to think anyone going to Australia was insane but then learned no one has died by spide bite in Australia since the 70s.

Its not AS scary as I always assume, I have zero urge to ever encounter a Crocodile and yes Australia has them BUT It would be unlike that while Im troling down Sydney for a dip on Bondi that one will fly out of a manhole cover and eat me.

Some out back rivery-swamp area though... maybe.

Oh god, did you see the thread where the OP wanted to move to Cardiff and was told by so many people that it was a backwater with no culture, shopping, transport links, or good schools? One person even compared it to rural Suffolk in the 70's!

The tedious trope - all too common on here - that if you dare to get sick in the US you risk losing your home and will end up on the streets

It's certainly happened, but the circumstances are usually uncommon and it's almost as if folk haven't educated themselves (or perhaps don't want to?) about the various provisions available

Exactly. As for the poster saying 'well if you have money you can get a higher standard of living' .
Well sure, if by that you mean "I'm all right Jack, fuck the poor, the sick, women needing abortions etc etc, they can all die or live in misery because I don't give a shit"
You. Couldn't. Pay. Me. Enough

Yes I do.
I used to work for a newspaper and we were always told to check spelling on every name.
Also, if you are entering a name onto a data base it has to be correct, never assume how someone spells their name.

This I use to use an American based forum that use to claim regularly that British people where advised by doctors to drink thoughout pregnancy (always to justify the fact they where still drinking heavily at 5 months pregnant).

No idea why they think that but I pointed out many time that we are NOT told to drink though pregnancy and the majority do not.

Dispite this they are mind blown that we can do something as 'dangerous' as eat runny eggs while pregnancy (thanks to the fact the UK vaccinates our chickens unlike the USA).

I actually think it quite arrogant to expect everyone (or even anyone) should be able to spell your name correctly.

I've an obscure French-Canadian name. The bloody French all put an acute accent over the first 'e'. I'm 66. You'd think they'd realise I know how to spell my own bloody name.

Apparently not!

@ancientgran

"So if someone said their name was Mary Smith you'd ask them how to spell it?"

I've worked in insurance and asking people to spell their names is ingrained. There's about four ways to spell Smith.

I know that not everyone is gun crazed in the US, but I have lots of Americans on my FB posting articles and that leads me to US news. There's lots of very sad random shooting of children caught in cross fire. There's been a few cases of people who've overtook etc in highways and the other motorist has got out and shot dead a toddler/baby in a car seat. The 14 year old who was killed by a ricochet police bullet in a mall was another I've never forgot.

Mine is that there are no fat people across Europe, especially France, even though the statistics say different, they won't have it.

So agree about “ well-behaved French children”.

has anyone seen their school parties? Recently on a work trip a hotel guy said the British school parties were easily the best behaved

I always think the French (ALL OF THEM OBV 😃) like to hit their kids.

The thing about names is not that they are weird it’s just that English people don’t listen.

In countries with a stronger tradition of immigration say like the United States, there are so many unusual names people have to listen

I found an african tribe mention on another thread but I can't past the link for some reason.

Google mumsnet African "tribe"

This thread comes up first but there is one more.

There are people in the US with equally ridiculous views about the NHS. When the Alfie Evans case hit the news in the US, there were several forums and Facebook groups where comments like ‘Thank heavens we don’t have free healthcare here - they can just switch you off when you get too expensive’ were commonplace. The ignorance was staggering. I dared to comment a couple of times and was shouted at for commenting on an AMERICAN forum. Never mind that I actually lived in the country where it was happening and maybe understood the situation just a little bit better.

There are people in the US with equally ridiculous views about the NHS. When the Alfie Evans case hit the news in the US, there were several forums and Facebook groups where comments like ‘Thank heavens we don’t have free healthcare here - they can just switch you off when you get too expensive’ were commonplace. The ignorance was staggering. I dared to comment a couple of times and was shouted at for commenting on an AMERICAN forum. Never mind that I actually lived in the country where it was happening and maybe understood the situation just a little bit better.

Yes and the reverse myth - that when the Scottish move to England they won't suffer anti-scottish xenophobia. They absolutely do.

It helps if you have a Glaswegian accent and can tell people to ‘get tae fuck’ whilst smiling sweetly…