Wow... AMERICANS LIVING ABROAD: FIRST TIME YOU REALIZED AMERICA MESSED YOU UP (AMERICAN 🇺🇸REACTS)

[@andymac900]

The knife issue in the UK is really not an issue dude totally exaggerated by American press to deter from your gun problem, and even if it was an issue, defending oneself from a knife compared to a gun is night and day..the cowardice involved in a mass shooting is unbelievable to us in europe

[@derdude6139]

yeah and an inncedent like what happend to him with the gun guy wount happen with knifes its very hard to und unintantionaly stab someone

[@TheChiefEng]

Any people who feel they cannot live without guns is a people of cowards. Firearms in any civilian society is clear proof of a failed society. People, who cannot live their lives without guns, are pathetic cowards.

[@Evey94Marti]

I think it's just London alone and only on some damn bad nights but compared to the crimes comitted (which happen everywhere eventually) in other big european cities the knifing just sticks out.

[@paul1979uk2000]

True, I've never seen a knife attack in the UK, I know they happen but it must be so rare to not really be an issue but the American right wing press makes it seem like it's happening all the time and that's mainly because they have an agenda to keep the American people in line, after all, if Americans really started knowing how other modern countries are, that will put a lot more pressure on governments to do really change and the government and corporations don't want that when they can more or less treat Americans more or less as slaves. I feel that a lot of this started to get much worse in the US around the 1980's onwards and it's progressively getting worse in the states that if they are not careful, the gap between the US and the rest of the modern world could grow so big that the US isn't seen as a first world country any more. It's clear that most Americans don't realize how good other countries have it, especially EU countries, which is ironic because even Europeans don't realize how easy and good they've got it because boy do they complain about everything lol, but then, maybe that's part of the reason things are so good.

[@craftyyounglady]

I just looked for some stats on this... you are apparently 130% more likely to die of a knife crime in the US than the UK! 😬.... soooo yeah.... and 6000% times more likely to be killed with a gun.

[@FluxNoise]

"Americans in other countries sound like people broke out from a cult and don't have to live in fear for the first time" - nailed it, i'll remember this one for the americans i often have to work with

[@CptApplestrudl]

I also like a metaphor I heard once: Americans are homeless people living in a cardboard box, dreaming of a bigger box.

[@alguemporai8180]

I live in Portugal. If someone is trained in CPR, or is a health professional (nurses, doctors, paramedics, etc, even firefighters) and doesn't try to help someone who needs help, that person could go to jail and lose their work permit... suing someone for trying to save a life is something I never thought I'd hear. Its very strange honestly😅

[@muratferguson4534]

same in germany. Its called "unterlassene Hilfeleistung". And I was THAAAAT shocked that THIS IS NOT NORMAL in the USA. Really shocked that the richest country on earth.

[@lphaetaamma291]

And even if you are not professional trained: if you don't at least call an ambulance you can be punished for "Unterlassene Hilfeleistung" as well.

[@Saje3D]

Honestly, I think it’s about a sense of desperation. Any legal means to gain more financial security. I think that’s what a lot of it is. People are bleeding out, metaphorically.

[@jalicea1650]

@@muratferguson4534 liability issues and the fact the person might be uninsured and may litigate you for helping them, that's enough for many people to refuse someone who may be dying who needs CPR. In America, remember socialism is often equated with free health care, helping someone who may turn around and then sue you. People become wary if they suspect that the person may be "faking" it. While some states have "good Samaritan" laws to mitigate this fear. Yet the horror stories persist and we see commercials on TV from lawyers saying, "Has this EVER happened to you? Want to sue the person/employer/etc? CALL US!" It's gotten so bad people literally freeze up. We don't want to help unless we know the person isn't going to go after us for helping them. Depending on the state you live in, people have been known to see people get murdered, burn alive in their cars, and get raped while others look away or look on knowing that helping them without police will result in us being punished in some way. .

[@zotaninoron3548]

The U.S. also has laws requiring healthcare professionals to render assistance if they are at the scene of an emergency and can be stripped of their credentials if it is discovered they've fled the scene of someone suffering a medical emergency to avoid liability.

[@scollyb]

The UK (2016 figures) had 3.26 murders per million people using knives, the US had a rate of 4.96 using knives and 34 using guns. Knife crime makes the news here because it's shocking, it doesn't in the US because its tiny compared to gun crime. But knife crime is still worse the US than in the UK

[@Pseudomonasa]

Germany homicide per 100k 0.83 compared to US 6.3 per 100k total in the same year

[@4Curses]

For a moment I was like "Oh good, it hit a wall." then you went on, "there were two people behind that wall" And i realized: "Oh yeah, the USA don't have REAL walls."

[@Luziemagick]

Hahaha..well, punching holes in a wall..don't try this in germany..but ..why not..we have health insurance..and an ambulance is an option, too.

[@dariuszrutkowski420]

Europe - where walls are made of walls not cardboard. Brick, reinforced concrete, sollid wood (log cabin type houses) pick your poison. Punch away to your hearts content and be ready for a world of pain.

[@MARKSTRINGFELLOW1]

It's weird to feel safer in an unknown country than you do at home If you all had passports America would be empty

[@elora512]

That makes sense now. US media portray a lot angsty men punching holes in their walls. It always confused me because here, the walls, well... they're made of bricks and concrete.

[@felixilef]

@@Luziemagick to be fair a 45 caliber would punch a sizeable hole in a non-carrying wall in germany too (which the wall to a bathroom probably is)

[@alechs]

whenever you’re asking yourself "can i afford going to the doctor?" the question might as well be "am i rich enough to live?" and i think that's what's wrong with America.

[@jalicea1650]

Isn't that mentality considered, "socialism?" What you are asking is considered unchristian by many Americans.

[@alechs]

@@jalicea1650 what? not wanting to pay my existence just so i can survive the flu? i mean, it's not capitalism for sure but i'm also certain jesus healed people without taking their money, house and goods. also, capitalism is literally built on greed, an actual deadly sin.

[@simiangimp2282]

@@jalicea1650 Which mentality?

[@jalicea1650]

@@simiangimp2282 the asking of questions which capitalists/conservatives in America are against. Anything about, "affording doctors" or worse "maybe healthcare IS a RIGHT." is considered by many Americans, "unchristian" and "socialistic." Heaven, forbid you begin to think that you're entitled to equal rights and proper medical care without paying fees, premiums or anything of the sort. If you have to ask these questions you won't be welcomed in America unless you're rich, but still in many regions you'd be persona non grata.

[@iriscollins7583]

@@jalicea1650 What many Americans call Christianity is not Christianity. Jesus Christ healed, did he charge for it? Giving money to pastors to buy aeroplane, and live the life of a millionaire. Is that Christianity? I'm not religious, for many reasons, but I am interested in religion. The more I see of practitioners the more I'm put off.Hypocrisy Rampant.

[@alexanderwagner474]

Once when I was on vacation in the USA, I had to go to the doctor. The first thing the lady at the counter asked me: cash or credit card? I then presented my German health insurance, which the lady couldn't do anything with. She disappeared into a room and a minute later the doctor appeared, beaming with happiness. He was allowed to carry out all the necessary treatments without asking the health insurance company. And he then settled the payment with my health insurance. I think he earned a lot that day. I have no idea what the broken ankle cost. And by the way, it is on the one hand a criminal offense here in Germany not to give first aid and on the other hand the first aider is protected by law from lawsuits, as long as the first aider is not a professional in first aid.

[@jerrypickins]

In the US, by law, hospitals have to give you treatment even if you don't have the money to pay for it. That being said, after your treatment, you're still billed for it.

[@alexanderwagner474]

@@jerrypickins I was simply taken to the nearest doctor because the nearest hospital in Appalachia was too far away. I didn't worry about the costs, because you don't usually have to think about that in Germany. And I thought to myself that the health insurance abroad will take care of it.

[@autohmae]

@@jerrypickins For emergencies. Nothing else of course.

[@autohmae]

I don't know if this is true, but I heard: the health insurance in Luxembourg has some medical condition for which if you end up in the hospital in the US they will fly you to Luxembourg and threat you in Luxembourg because it's cheaper that way.

[@marvinasas2060]

One funny story. I am German adwell and have a German health insurance as everyone here. When I went abroad to study I booked some extra package just to be safe. It had some extra features like a full paid medical transport back to Germany and stuff like that. That extra package was 1 euro a day. for every country in the world. Except for America. For America it would have been 3 Euro a day. I guess in case something happens, 3 € is still a small price to pay. But just imagine this insurance company decided to set a fixed price for the ENTIRE WORLD except for a single country where they thought it was necessary to trippe the price. And hands down. It's not like the American hospitals are any better over there 😂

[@44WarmocK77]

Your gun story just proves why negligible discharges are one of the main reasons for gun deaths in the US, James. Alcohol and firearms do not mix. Period.

[@JamesBray3]

EXACTLY!!! And some people still argue me down about this when I tell them my first hand experience 😭😭

[@44WarmocK77]

@@JamesBray3 idiots gonna be idiots, bro. If they were only winning the Darwin awards for themselfs I wouldn't give a rat's ass about them, but unfortunately more often then not they hit innocent people like you who just managed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. 😔

[@MrJaldal]

That person should never be allowed to even HAVE a gun in my opinion.

[@arianbyw3819]

Seems like Americans and firearms don't mix.

[@vincentjutte3500]

It’s funny to me that you guys have to worry about saving others from dying because they can sue you, but what this person did to you would bring this guy to jail in Germany! He severely threatened your life!

[@lphaetaamma291]

In germany (and probably other countrys as well) you can be punished if you DON'T help someone who had an accident or is uncontious. The least thing you have to do is to call an ambulance.

[@floriangunzer6244]

Can confirm

[@Retzmag]

Same in Norway, there are obvious exceptions such as if you get to a car crash / accident and someone is already there helping, if there is nothing you can do in that situation, you should move on instead of blocking the road for when emergency vehicles come to the location

[@lphaetaamma291]

@@Retzmag one person is probably not enough to help sufficiantly, but I agree, if there is already a (large) group of helpers you can pass

[@Vibro666]

I think in my country (Slovakia) you can go in jail when you don't give first aid when it's needed.

[@DerJarl1024]

Exactly. Strafgesetzbuch (German Penal code) (StGB) Section 323c Failure to provide assistance; disability of persons providing assistance (1) Anyone who fails to provide assistance in the event of an accident or general danger or need, although this is necessary and reasonable under the circumstances, in particular without significant personal risk and without breaching other important duties, shall be punished with imprisonment for up to one year or a fine . (2) Anyone who in these situations obstructs a person who is providing or intending to provide assistance to a third party shall be punished in the same way.

[@nessesseda]

Well, I am Volga-German and there's this funny story from when I was around 12/13 yrs old (30 now). Back then we still had lots of American military bases in Germany and we once were invited to visite a friendly american couple living on one of these bases. We went grocery shopping together (the mothers and children) and that's when I experienced my first Walmart (Creepy!!), but that is not what the story is about. After about 45 mins in the store, I felt a bit dizzy (hot summer day) so my Mum left me at a cafe-like place until they were done shopping. There a girl around my age tried to have a conversation with me. I immediately understood her to be American. Mind you, I was just about 13 yrs old and english is my fourth language, so I wasn't very proficient in it yet. I somehow managed to get through a couple of sentences, before she asked me, where I'm from. I obviously said I am German, buit was born in the Soviet Union (Volga-German). She, without dropping a beat, answered: "But you don't look russian...". I asked her what russians look like and she described the most vile pale creature you can imagine. I don't know what this girl from an american military family has been taught about Russians, but it's utter bullshit. Nonwithstanding the fact I'm not even ethnically Russian, I was just born in the Soviet Union. So yeah, America, please don't fuck up your children's perception of the people of "currently bad guy of the decade" descent.

[@Manie230]

I mean you sometimes can actually tell someone is from that region because sometimes men especially have a very square face. Could be a coincidence but when ever I guessed that someone was from a Eastern European country I was right.

[@nessesseda]

@@Manie230 Oh yeah, I get you. I mean I can differentiate a slavic from a germanic from a romanic person. But it's just too on the nose for me from that experience. Also, the SU was a multi-ethnic state. But again, you're right. You can spot slavic facial features.

[@Eysenbeiss]

Made up story - why? NOBODY was allowed to visit the BASES and how do I know? My mom married an us-american soldier. The Shopping Malls were sometimes not part of the base itself, but in many cases, they were, so they would have NEVER let you, let alone your parents, inside without a background-check AND a visitors badge And when it comes to ethinicity, you probably have been lied too either, cause at least 60 !!! percent of all so called "Wolgadeutsche" were NON, they had NO german ancestors or at least not what was usually required before the wall came down. Kohl and his corrupt clique let everybody in, in hope that they would vote for them. I know, cause I know a lot so called "Russlanddeutsche" and most of them up to today don't even understand german on a regular base.

[@elunedlaine8661]

Not being able to afford to see a doctor doesn't sound very Christian to me

[@Parker8752]

To be fair, there's a lot about America that doesn't seem very Christian to me...

[@derdude6139]

@@Parker8752 yeah espacially the fundametal christians there ... i mean in germany the most people are christian too but this fundamentalist are on a completly differnt level of dillusion

[@tobyk.4911]

however, it sounds very capitalistic to me

[@f1r3hunt3rz5]

@@tobyk.4911 Truth, America with capitalism has more in common religion-wise than Christianity.

[@blackpowderkun]

It's like hospitals are ran by monks anymore. Although the kept St. and cross.

[@page8301]

Amazing reckless gun handling, unbelievable to me. I am a German, my family was friends with someone who had a hunters license and had a hunting rifle and shotgun for game. Usually it was under lock and key but when I was 16 and it was new years eve he asked me if I want to try it. He gave me the run down of safety, with heavy emphasis to NEVER point it at a person regardless of its status before letting me shoot it. The same rules were taught to me during military training, BIG emphasis on never aiming your gun at a person and the drill sergeants had the explicit order to do anything short of murder to disarm a moron who did not follow those rules including knocking them out.

[@Lizzardtong]

i heard a similar but shorter advice, something like "Don't point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot."

[@HCB.S]

@@Lizzardtong or the German version: don't point a finger at someone until you are able to really put them down verbally😂

[@Nigolasy]

If that story of James is a common thing in america... hell no, I'm never going to visit anyone... I prefer to not be shot at, thank you.

[@c.w.8200]

I've met an American who thought we don't have guns at all in Europe...it somehow really made him think more highly of Europe when I told him we hunt too. It was scary, like this is the supreme marker of civilization to you???

[@markokopel]

American way of freedom has one big problem, it doesn't end when another one's freedom begins.

[@4Curses]

American Freedom only ends when it meets a bigger gun.

[@pauldavidsaulnier945]

I'm mystified at your comment. It isn't at all clear. If you mean that people in the USA can simply shoot someone without facing criminal prosecution, then you're wrong. The bedrock principal of American law is that my right to extend my fist ends where your nose begins.

[@markokopel]

@@pauldavidsaulnier945 At least as long as the perpetrator is black and the victim is white, otherwise far too often it's just a question of money, isn't it? But I mainly meant "freedom of speach".

[@pauldavidsaulnier945]

@@markokopel Now you really got me baffled bruh . If I perpetrate a violent crime against an African American, ( or any other member of a non white group ) the chances are much better than not that some careerist prosecutor will try to charge me under the hate crime statute regardless of the actual circumstances of the assault. unfortunately you are right about the money part . As far as the last part of your response goes , American law does not recognize 'hate speech' as a concept. Nobody has the right to never hear upsetting or inflammatory opinions . The reason for this is that such laws produce in the long run societies ruled by the subjective feelings of the touchiest and most neurotic of its citizens.

[@markokopel]

@@pauldavidsaulnier945 Europe has the right of free opinion too, but hate is an destructive feeling, not an opinion.

[@Parker8752]

And this is why guns and alcohol do not mix. There's a reason that the three most important safety rules are "assume the gun is always loaded", "don't point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy", and "don't have your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire". Misfires happen, even assuming that the safety's on.

[@matijasostojic4288]

"Bro! Are you okay!" "I THINK I JUST SAW GODS LIGHT. HE WAS INVITING ME INTO HEAVEN!" The moment i had seen a gun i would have fucking ran out of the room. And he was drunk!

[@MrChillerNo1]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure pointing a gun at me, would have been enoungh for me to seriously punch some sense into him. I've never punched anyone since i was 14. But this guy, would have changed that.

[@midnightrambler8866]

I learned the exact same thing growing up.

[@ShadesinMirra]

And when you are drunk and overconfident that doesn't matter. Guns are dangerous tools of death. People shouldn't be allowed near them when in altered states of consciousness. Which means you shouldn't have firearms anywhere you can drink or smoke.

[@joppekim]

Wait, did the guy at the party seriously point the gun at you and pulled the trigger?! Holy hell. My brother did somewhat the same thing. He aimed the gun at me, told me it wasn't loaded, and he was like ''see?'' *PANG*, he shot the ground (we were outside). I wouldn't be alive if he tested the trigger on me instead of the ground. That's crazy man.

[@andreanecchi5930]

wtf

[@jeringatai3156]

Thats scary. Where Im from, we're taught to never EVER point a gun at anyone. Its funny how some americans claim guns are a tool when they themselves literally use guns as weapons "to defend themselves". Whilst in my country guns are used for hunting so we can eat. Or pest control to protect our native species.

[@riccardodececco4404]

there is a rule in handling guns: NEVER, NEVER EVER point a gun at a person - unless you want to kill - even if you just have cleaned the weapon and you are sure that there is no bullet loaded.

[@meomarte]

In a proper gun culture these guns would have been taken away from the individuals wielding them and brought to the police, where they can get them back, if they can convince the officers it will never ever happen again. This in a legal situation that does not require one to have a license. If a license is required, this should be enough to lose it.

[@tobyk.4911]

2:24 "Ask for consent before CPR" ?!?! That sounds so insane, it doesn't make any sense. When you are considering CPR, the person is unconscious, not breathing , usually no heartbeat... That person can't give consent in that situation. So, in an American first aid course they basically tell "don't do CPR, because the person could sue you"?!? For comparison, in Germany they say: If the person doesn't breath and doesn't have pulse, then call the ambulance and do CPR until they arrive... act quickly, don't hesitate and don't be afraid of helping, because even if you don't do everything correctly, you can't really make the situation worse: because without help, the person is already dead. The worst mistake that you can do in this situation, is not doing anything at all. ... Probably you will break some rips while performing the chest compressions, but: Better surviving with some rip fractures than being dead with whole rips.

[@jalicea1650]

You haven't seen the commercials in the USA? They basically go like, "Have you ever been in an accident? Did someone try to help you? Call us!" You can be sued for helping someone and people have been murdered, raped, burned alive in their cars, others have died from drowning, asphyxiated in restaurants because everyone else refused to help. The reason? If you help someone you can be held legally liable for their pain, suffering and medical bills. Do you want to take that chance? In America? Haha sorry most of us would rather die. BTW we do have "Good Samaritan" Laws to encourage us to help each other, but because our litigation laws haven't been amended. Most refuse out of fear of the consequences. Germany sounds a utopian fantasy...

[@blackpowderkun]

@@jalicea1650 Dear heaven this sounds like what if Lucifer ran a country fiction.

[@jalicea1650]

@@blackpowderkun well we are a capitalist country.... "business or pleasure?" As the devil says.

[@daveaglasgow]

@@jalicea1650 I feel sorry for you, the whole of western Europe is like a utopia compared to America. Throw in the low seriousl crime and 30 plus days of paid holidays, it is not even close

[@rikmoran3963]

As others have pointed out knife crime is bad in the UK, but it is still LOWER than in the US. And then you have your gun crime on top of that.

[@grandmothergoose]

Yep. and having guns makes it a lot easier to kill people both physically and psychologically.

[@Liggliluff]

This is the time when he realised that America really f-ed him up, with the lies of knife crimes

[@BigStib]

It's not even that bad. Has been much worse. Not least, late nineteenth century when all the inner city gangs were about (like the actual Peaky Blinders - the TV moved them forward in time) - and the original Hooligans). And all port cities used to be awful.

[@admerin6961]

That story is terrifying. I have lost several friends to moronic people treating guns like toys, among other stupid gun stories. I am very anti- second Ammendment but Lord forbid I say that out loud here. Even after explaining how I lost both multiple friends and one relative to guns (not to mention a few close calls like you describe) a right wing aquantaince of mine told me I have a "psychotic hatred for guns". Cannot make this shit up.

[@jasser6470]

even if you are against guns how would the state take the guns from these people lol it would start a civil war and the state would 100% lose

[@admerin6961]

@@jasser6470 sure, let’s wait til every person is or knows a mass shooting victim, then we can think about it. Miss me with this all or nothing garbage. Guns can be phased out if the will to do the right thing is there.

[@7470alexander]

Fact is, the gun didn't decide to just aim itself at your friend and pull it's trigger all by itself. The user is always responsible 100%, the most gun accident statistics are from not locking it up, or my biggest gripe not having proper safety training ever. I strongly recommend every gun owner to practice safety safety safety, go get trained, go to a class for proper gun safety, get your military friend, family member Etc to teach you proper gun safety. Guns don't just decide to shoot people.

[@admerin6961]

@@7470alexander oh bullshit. If no one can get their hands on guns in the first place none of that crap matters. Guns are literally everywhere, that is why people keep getting shot, not because of anything else. Convince people they don't need these dick extensions in the first place and this country will be much safer.

[@Bertuzz84]

Even the most radical political parties in the Netherlands would never dare to propose to legalize firearms like in America. I'm always shocked when i see Americans either defend it, or hardly dare to even criticize it. Like it's somehow controversial to want to ban guns there. It feels about as extreme and insane as saying murder should be legal. Because allowing firearms massively lowers the barriers to murder. It's ultra conservatism, not being able to move on to a safer gun free society. If some other batshit crazy ideas were written down 100s of years ago on a sacred piece paper, Americans would defend those ideas with their lives as well.

[@helenjarvis7755]

Some small parts of London have gang violence involving knives. Very rare elsewhere. I shouldn't have to say the UK is a whole lot more that just bloody London. Have lived near London and worked in London. Zero problems with violence experienced. Now live in Devon extremely quiet crime wise. Have been alive nearly 60 years so fairly well informed and experienced in living in this country.

[@floriangunzer6244]

Greetings from the continent, my man

[@Manie230]

The highest crime rates are often times in bigger cities and in lower income parts of said cities. I live in a 20.000 resident city near the Dutch border in Germany. I’ve witnessed some fist fights and one boy was killed width a knife. That’s like the craziest that happens during my 22 years of living on this planet and in this town.

[@Draktand01]

When it comes to the fearmongering about Korea, pretty much all of it was directed at North Korea. South Korea is regarded as one of the freest and richest countries in the region, while North Korea is both one of the poorest and least free countries in the world. Don’t confuse the two.

[@imajinallthepurple]

Just saved me a lot of typing. 😊👍

[@abouassad90]

I have been to a shooting range in serbia and i will never forget what the instructor said. Before we did anything, he said "Do never ever point a gun on somebody else. Doesnt matter if loaded or not, Real or a water pistol, never point a gun on someone. It Shows you have no respect at All!"

[@geoffpriestley7001]

I've had an old black powder revolver go off when it was cocked but with no one touching the trigger and a martini rifle that fired when the breech was closed . Springs clips and parts wear and make guns unreliable

[@jeringatai3156]

My country teaches this. Its just something we're all taught as kids.

[@voidseeker4394]

I'm pretty sure in USA it is also teached. Most people just don't listen.

[@shockofthenew]

I'm half American half British, but born and raised in the UK. As someone looking at this from the outside it can be overwhelming to think how a whole society can change (probably even more overwhelming from the inside!) but what gives me some hope is seeing people talk about this more and more. One of the really good things about social media is how it's allowed people around the world to connect and share stories and keep a conversation going about big issues, rather than being separated in our local bubbles. When I was a kid back in the 00s and even early 10s we'd see our American relatives every year or so, and when we got talking about issues like this they agreed it was a problem - a big problem - but their attitude was almost kind of... muted? apathetic? Or actually a fairer way of putting it would be resigned, even despairing. Over the course of a couple of weeks where we kept talking about it, giving examples of how much better we have it here in the UK and how we wanted that for them too, they slowly seemed to kind of 'wake up' out of that despairing attitude and by the end of a visit they'd be really fired up about it. But by the next visit they would have sunk back into that muted state again, and the same pattern repeated. I think when you're completely enclosed in a situation, surrounded by media downplaying the issues, and by neighbours who don't want to 'talk politics', having no choice but to co-operate with a system which makes you feel powerless, it can really weigh on you and push you into that defeated mindset where change seems impossible. But when you have access to other people who care and want to listen and talk about an issue, it allows you to actually start feeling your emotions about it instead of shutting down in order to survive. I see more and more Americans expressing anger, sadness, grief and horror about some of the situations in their country, and although that's difficult I think it's good. Because those emotions are what drive change. Once you allow yourself to feel the emotions and start processing them, you unlock strength and determination. Once you communicate with other people about them you have solidarity and community and collective action. Anyway, probably no one read this ramble. But if you did I'm sending you some strength today to keep fighting for these basic human rights. Y'all deserve SO MUCH better!!!

[@GoWestYoungMan]

I'm British born, but been living in Canada for a long time now. Knifing is NOT a big problem in the UK. That's yet another thing propagated by US media that doesn't reflect reality. And gun violence is almost non-existent in the UK. It's a problem in Canada but it's still FAR less prevalent than what you see in the US. In all my years in Canada, I've only known 2 households with guns. In one it was because he hunted deer but the other family were Americans from Utah. Still, I wish Canada were more like the UK in this regard.

[@sonyabowler7491]

The only times I saw guns in England was police officers at airports and a vet going to put a horse down.

[@doublecupjohnson2771]

Bro i would have waited till dude laid his gun down and beat him unconcious. like wtf is wrong with people? Props for staying calm in that situation.

[@JamesBray3]

Everyone was telling me to do just that, but the fact that there was a gun in the nearby premises was enough for me to say NOPE, and get the hell out of there😭😭

[@MrCarlBackhausen]

I believed everything i heard from America as during the 90s and early 2000s because we actually had historical facts here in Swedish schools, that were FROM America. That is the only thing i know "Messed me up" about America. When i went on and became a self taught historian later in life, it became on of my favorite sciences after school. When i started studying the actual history of America, the uncensored, unflattering version of Americans history/origins that Americans don´t want to hear. That was legit shocking! I couldn´t believe how scary the real fact of Americas history was. Because during my whole life i had i had learnt that America was the land of the free and the BEST nation in the whole world. But the American history books and facts out of America NEVER even mentioned the horrors of: - The slave trade, shit like the Tulsa massacre, - The actual reason for the civil war, - The genocide of the native population, - The extremely corrupt patent practices of the American free market, - The founding/function of America´s secret services and the HORRIBLE shit they have done ALL over the whole damn world! Shit like the: - The Tuskegee Study, - MKUltra, - Operations like "Paperclip", - The United States involvement in regime change all over the world, - The Manhattan project, the nuclear tests on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands and the horrors that caused for some that actually lived there. The actual use of 2 nukes on 2 CITIES! Hiroshima and Nagasaki, i was taught that that was necessary because i was told that it was. That nuking two cities full of civilians was necessary for the good of world. The indiscriminate total annihilation of daycares full of CHILDREN, ALL their mothers, GRANDPARENTS AND HOSPITALS full of sick people! America said that it was for the "greater good" to kill ALL of them, all at once! DISGUSTING! I am deeply ashamed that i actually believed it as a teenager... It just goes on tbh, i can´t keep writing because i am getting a bit upset right now. It is just a lot... I thought that America was the saviours of humanity, that they saved us all from the "Evil nations". But since you start looking into the facts of American history, it is almost the complete opposite imo. That is probably how America messed us all up at one point or another. They fact that we were taught one of the biggest lies in human history, in fucking schools! No wonder America doesn´t want to teach real history and critical thinking in their own schools.

[@alicemilne1444]

The unfortunate thing is that the European colonies in the Americas were built mostly on greed.

[@lphaetaamma291]

The US is also STILL maintainig something you could call a concentration camp, aka Guantanamo. (Obviously by far not as extensive as the Nazis in WW2, but there are anyway people imprizoned for years without any trial) And don't forget the camps for japanese during WW2

[@MrCarlBackhausen]

@@alicemilne1444 Yeah, sadly that is true. It was almost all greed. The desperate hunt for gold, that wasn´t there. Also the fact that it was a land without laws or kings, so people from all over the world could go their and do whatever they wanted. There needs to be done a study on the nature of psychology and philosophy in the early days of the USA. I wouldn´t be surprised if we would see a strong case for the fact that most Europeans that build America, actually were all psychopaths. Clinical psychopathy testing through out American history. I think there is a really shocking case to be made there that hasn´t been identified or explored yet. just look at the unification days of the Wild West era. That was a bloody, horrible era in American history that isn´t at all as we have been taught either. It is so romanticised that it is almost a blatant mockery.

[@MrCarlBackhausen]

@@lphaetaamma291 True. You aren´t wrong either. It is scary. There is so much underneath the surface that isn´t talked about. It is shocking. But it isn´t the American peoples fault that that shit exists either. It is their monstrous Government. It is almost like they are being held hostage by their own government. Being fed that "this is how it is everywhere, this is the best that you could ever hope for". And even the ones that dare question the US government, that want to fight it. They are labeled as disloyal and can´t actually do anything about it. It isn´t fair. People should be treated like they are.

[@MrChillerNo1]

@@lphaetaamma291 you're thinking of black sites around the world in either US bases and close to them. Think Poland, Nigeria, etc. Guantanamo is for those known publicly.

[@briangibbs518]

I'm always hearing about freedom in America. Check the World freedom scale America ranks 21st in the world. So not very free.

[@LightSage89]

Being an American, I can say that in general being taught that Capitalism is the best economic practice ever of all time really messed me up. No economic system is perfect, but we are taught that Capitalism is perfect, that it provides perfect opportunity for our hard work, and that everyone is capable of finding success. And then you get older and find out that it doesn't matter how hard you work, you are just a cog in a machine and if companies could get away with legalized slavery they 100% would, and are all doing their best to toe the line of slavery.

[@autohmae]

I would say it's true that capitalism is the best engine for an economy, but not the type of capitalism the US has become. The technical term sometimes used is: crony capitalism. Capitalism is a tool, just like a pen or a gun, it should only be used for limited things. In the US capitalism has taken control of society, instead of society is using capitalism as a tool.

[@ThePinkBinks]

From the outside - I see they are indeed trying to bring back slavery. They’re also ramping up for a civil w a r but it’ll be called a race w a r.

[@jalicea1650]

@@autohmae Capitalism is very corrupt economic system by its very nature. Laissez faire economics leads to businesses having unchecked control over their affairs and abusing their workers. The best form of market trade is a mixed social-democratic system with a very regulated market with capitalist features. That's what most Europeans have. They don't allow companies to abuse their workers, who do not give them vacation or pay them slave wages. Employees aren't afraid of their bosses in the same way. In America we have the final form of capitalism under a neoliberal laissez faire model with light regulations usually self-reinforcing them monopolistic tendencies of the ruling classes who turn around and pay off our politicians with legalized bribery i.e. lobbying.

[@autohmae]

@@jalicea1650 yes, that's what I was saying: capitalism should just be an engine, not the whole system. You need regulations and social programs. Having said that if you think Europe is still doing OK than look at the trends in the statistic, etc.s and wind the clock further some 10 or 20 years and think about what the results are, globalism has also changed these social democracies to be more capitalistic. I personally think what changed the US the most is legalized money in politics (in modern times starting in 1970s: buckley v valeo). The incentives of politicians is now to keep the big donators happy instead of the voters.

[@connorvickers2053]

Amazing to think that in many countries around the world you have to consider the cost of living, whereas in America you guys have to consider the cost of *surviving*

[@davidbarlee4722]

Just to clarify some of the comments below knife crime is NOT a big problem in the UK, some of the British press seized on it and heavily exaggerated it to sell papers a couple of years ago and the American press ran with it. I am 47 years old and have never seen anyone with a knife and my wife is an A&E (ER) nurse at a major city hospital and has only ever dealt with a couple of deliberate stab wounds over her career (and never a gun shot wound).

[@zwartz]

My son was born 1 month early. My wife went into labour at 5pm thursday, she gave birth at 12am the next day. We spend ~12 days in the hospital, because my kid wouldn't eat and had to get food through the nostril with a stomach tube. He also had jaundice and needed ultraviolet light treatment amongst other things. We was quarantined because a common cold could really hurt him. We had the same 3 nurses on a rotation through our hospitalisation, because of his safety. All this came to a staggering cost of $0, because we live in Denmark.

[@SNMG7664]

I regret to inform you that the UK's knife crime rate per million is only like 3 fifths of that of the USA. It's scarier in the US because there's more violent knife and gun crime

[@XxDarkManaxX]

Sometimes I feel like many americans are allergic to change. Recently I wrote a comment about free speech. I wrote that I think, that it's important to voice your opinion, but there is still a line you should not cross, which is the moment you violate the dignity of another human being. And no lie, I was called a communist because of that. I know, not all americans are like that, but I feel like for many "communism" is a buzz word for everything, that's against american tradition. Kinda like "It always was like that, it always will be like that"

[@justanawkwardnerd]

I feel like that's most obvious in "America is #1" talk. Because apparently that means any criticim is wrong and that improvements are unnecessary and unpatriotic. You'd think that if you love something so much, you'd want to see it improve, and I just don't get people who don't want America to do better while they claim to love it in the same breath. It's very much a form of mindless worship.

[@alessiobenvenuto5159]

I'm a centrist, but hell nobody has to lay a finger to freedom of speech. The moment you touch something, millions of complications are gonna appear, what's satire and what's not? What words can be said and what can't? What's considered offensive and what's not? What's an acceptable ideology or religion and what isn't? God no. If you start to censor stuff, either you're in the wrong, or you have failed as a nation. Nothing is absolute, you can't limit freedom of speech based on current ideals, or new ideals will never come.

[@XxDarkManaxX]

​@@alessiobenvenuto5159 I assume, you are not from Germany, but to me it seems like you are still open to discuss this topic so if you are interested, I would like to explain, how "freedom of speech" is handled in Germany,: Back in 1949, when our todays constitution was written it became really specivic about what we call "Fundamental rights", so rights every person has. "Freedom of speech" is actually not just one, but a combination of multible rights in Germany (and as far as I know in most european countries :) ). The first article of the German constitution is "Human dignity is inviolable". In short this means all people on this planet are equally valuable. So thats your lets call it "basis". Now we get to the part, thats more complicated. We have "freedom of opinion": You can think and belive in everything you want and have the right to express your opinion through spoken or written words or pictures. Another article says "No one may be discriminated against or preferred because of their sex, their descent, their race, their language, their beliefs, their homeland and their origin, their religious or political views." But here comes the twist: Another important article says: "Everyone has the right to free development of their personality as long as they do not violate the rights of others ". As I said these rights count not just for you but to everybody else. To give you an extreme example: Let's say, you are a racist, you see a black person and tell them they should be gased. Sure that's your opinion, but at that moment, you violate their dignity as a human being, because they have the same rights and value as you, which includes not being called racist names or being threatend. We have a nice saying in Germany, which is: "What you do not want done to you, do not do to others". You are right, these days it became more difficult, to tell, whats appropriate and what not, but it's still important to keep that saying in mind. So it's not really censorship but more about respect and trying to put yourself in somebody elses shoes. Thats not always easy but important :)

[@alessiobenvenuto5159]

@@XxDarkManaxX Well, I get that, especially in 1949, but, Is it any use banning the symptoms, instead of helping solve the cause? If somebody has a controversial opinion, he should be free of expressing it, and not repressed. If he can't express it, it will be more difficult that he will engage in constructive dialogue with someone else and maybe change it. Then there's religion, many religions discriminate against other religions, maybe even against other races, how do you deal with that? The more we treat religion as a free pass to say whatever you want without criticism, the less progress will be made. What about satire then? If i make a racist joke, is that considered illegal? You say: "Don't do to others what you don't want done to you", but what if I'm ok with racist jokes made to me too? Let's go a bit more hypothetical, but not even that much. Let's say that, 50 years from now, there will be genetically modified humans, smarter and better than us, would it be wrong for them to say that we are inferior, even if it's scientifically true? The point i want to make is, "Fundamental rights" are not fundamental at all, they will change with time, with new issues and new problems coming in the future. And while i agree that laws, limitations and rights have to change to reflect the time and context, freedom of speech is different, because freedom of speech/expression is exactly what drives ideology and change forward, therefore it should not be limited in _ANY_ way.

[@XxDarkManaxX]

@@alessiobenvenuto5159 Oh boy, such a long post. Well I'll try to get through every point. I hope my english skills are good enough ^^" First of all: You always can have a controversial opinion, nobody can tell you what to think. And you can always talk about it. People may not always like it, but as long as you don't harm somebody, you will be okay. Worst case is you may get in an argument, but you will still be able to talk it out. Of cause it also always depends who you are talking to, some people are more open minded than others. If you want to voice your controversial opinion in public you can demonstrate, even though you first have to ask for permission, because officials have to check, if you are likely to cause violence, and if the area you want to demonstrate in is unproblematic. Then they will probably send a fiew cops who will escort you, not just to make sure you follow the conditions you agreed to, but also to protect you, so you can demontrate without being afraid, that people who don't agree with you might harm you. So it's not like people will shut you down immediatly :) Religion is obviously always a difficult topic, but a far as I know (I'm not religious, but it's what I've heard) we have commitees in all bigger cities with representatives of multible religions, who work together to make sure that only people preach, who accept other religions and will not try to manipulate their community. Also the state works together with schools to suppport religious acceptence from an early age. From elementary school on we have classes, where's not just talk about christianity but also the islam, jewdism, buddism, hinduism etc. Kids who are from religious families are encouraged to introduce their traditions to the other students. Also the schools work together with different houses of prayer, so the classes can make excursions to see, what practicing the religion looks like in real life. Like I remember visiting a mosque and a bhuddist temple back when I was in school. However, these classes are optional, so if parents or kids don't want it, the kid can be released for the time the classes take place. But that's barely the case. If there is a crime against a religious group (luckily doesn't happen often) it's usually not another religious group but people who are xenophobic. Satire and cabarrett is actually well liked in Germany. German humor (yes we have humor :P) is usually pretty dark and sarcastic. We are not easy to offend, in fact I actually experienced, that some things that we get a good laugh out of are pretty offensive in places like the US. Of cause you can make a racisst joke as long as it is clear, that it is just a joke. I mean, sure there are things,you don't make fun of, like people dying or suffering, but I think, that's the case in most cultures. You are right, rights change and progress all the time, our constitution is no exception, we even have a law that says that exept Article 1 (the one I already mentioned) and Article 20 (it guarantees, that Germany is a free democracy) All rights can and should be improved if nessecary. But especially these days society is devided over so many things and instead of listening to each other , people just want to make their point. People are more likely to listen to you and are more open to your ideas if they know you will not just throw your opinion at them but talk with them about it in a respectfull way. And the rights I talked about are like the guidlines to make sure, that these peacfull talks can happen. And Germany has extremely progressed since WW2, which should proove, that these guidelines actually work :) Okay, I hope my grammar wasn't to bad, I actually had to write all this stuff twice, because my damm internet is made out of wood x_x

[@1215298]

4:50 The irony is that during our "peak" stabbing epidemic, during 2017, our rate of knife crime was still 1/3 of the U.S city equivalent (e.g like New York). So even in that arena, America gets washed 😅😂

[@UnnoticedKIN]

$20 for a hospital visit in Sweden! Oh, and it gets better, we have something called high cost protection! If you suffer from a chronic illness or for some other reason need to go to the doctor several times during a short period, $20 can add up to become expensive, that's why there's a limit to how much you need to pay for a year. If you reach that limit (roughly $110) within a year, your hospital visits will be free of charge for the rest of that year.

[@jalicea1650]

You have to making this up... Sounds like socialist propaganda. Your country sounds like a utopia. Most Americans believe that you Swedes have an inferior society to our own because of the propaganda in our media. All of Europe is described from suffering staffing shortages for medical care, hospitals are overcrowded and people die waiting for treatment. They tell us that Europeans lie to us when they say what you describe. I wish Europeans would petition their government to make America actually live to the values it claims by holding us accountable in whatever ways they can.

[@michinwaygook3684]

I always said as someone who grew up in the 80s during the Cold War that the Americans were experts at the brainwashing. It was so subtle in some ways. Movies and TV shows in the U.S. made it look like their justice system was just like Law and Order. It was crazy how I believed the shit they spoon fed us considering how bad the U.S. justice system really is. As a Canadian going to an American school they had me believing in a lot of their patriotic shit. History class was so one-sided, and once I started hearing different perspectives I was actually angry they had lied to us so much as children. I think the internet has been a blessing because finally a lot of Americans are waking up to reality. It was shocking how many Americans believed in their benevolent government because when I talked to a Russian or Chinese person they would be like "we totally know what our gov't is like".

[@rrolf71]

I grew up behind the Iron Curtain and in those days we always looked up to USA as the shining example of freedom and democracy. Only later I started to realize things... what hit me most was the Pledge of Allegiance. My reaction was, "What the F%$k!? Even we never had any of such crap!" Brainwashing children in schools to be obedient to the State? I had thought only North Korea does it.

[@leonlowenstadter9223]

You actually gave the reason why gun control makes sense: It's super easy to kill someone with gun whereas killing someone with a knife takes quite a bit of physical and mental effort.

[@LumiLupo]

18:10 because americans have been told that socialism is evil for long enough... now some people are straight up afraid of a state that would take care of them because "it would be bad socialism which would destroy the country"..

[@0928AyuDev]

It's interesting. Your videos made me realize that Canada does a LOT of the same shit America does (the brainwashing especially). As a Canadian who lived abroad for just a little over a year, When I was in Japan (teaching), the first few months I tried pushing through illnesses and never took time off (Canada's healthcare may not be pricey, but they are neglectful to anyone that isn't a white male). One of my coworker fainted before she was supposed to start her lesson and my FIRST thought was "They probably gonna keep her there, try to make her get through the lessons..." but before I could even ask if she was okay, our manager showed up, explained to the students waiting for her the situation she was in, and quickly sent her to the hospital, checking in on her throughout the entire day to make sure she not only went to the doctor, but that she got home safe as well, while he covered the remaining part of her scheduled lessons. Shortly after that I got a pesky nosebleed and THE MANAGER ALMOST SENT ME HOME TOO. No hesitation, no anger, only concern. I cried when I got home that night.

[@SMOOVKILL1]

I've lived in Canada for 40 years and I've always got free treatment for everything and I'm black so I don't know what your talking about. I just spent 28 hrs in the hospital a couple months ago for a seizure. Blood test, ekg, sleep deprived ekg, eeg, cat scan, x-rays, and ultrasound all free. I've had my own neurologist giving to me 5 years ago. Ambulance cost me $45. That's in Toronto, Ontario. My medicine is $35 a month and I could get it cheaper because it's caused me to go on disability short term but I don't complain. Emergency rooms are 4 hour waits but it's free with your healthcard, which is free even to renew. If you don't have a healthcard you pay a $50 deposit in Emergency until you provide your updated card. Oh and the ambulance bills go away after a while.

[@jeringatai3156]

Im from NZ. As an indigenous Ive always known how shit this country is. Travelling overseas showed me how great my country is but at the same time showed me how bad my country is. There is so much NZ doesnt have and I dont mean materialistic things either. In NZ you have to pay anywhere between $19 - $65 to see your gp so its alot cheaper to go to the ER which is free IF you live in a town that has a hospital. In Australia they have medicare where if you show your card SOME not all clinics are free. If you work 1min overtime its automatically double pay for every minute worked overtime. In NZ several times I was forced to do overtime or lose my job. On several occasions I wasnt paid and when I tried to sort it, I was told to prove it. As if I dont clock in and out everyday. Youre also not paid double for overtime. There is just so much this country needs to improve on but refuses to. The worst is the houses in NZ are damp. Even house built a year ago would be damp by now. This is because builders take shortcuts and consistently rip customers off by using cheap materials despite customers paying more for quality materials. Another reason is that builders refuse to build houses that are suited for the NZ environment. Its cold and wet here. So naturally everything is going to get damp.

[@ElaMongrella]

An American friend of mine was almost kidnapped in broad daylight, when a couple of guys tried to drag her away from her car. Meanwhile, in Germany, I can walk my small dog at 3am and not worry. I used to even walk home from my grandmother's at night, from her town to mine, with no street lights between the towns, past a huge field, where all I could see was the lights behind me and the lights in my town ahead, but not my hand in front of my face, and I was fine.

[@ErklaerMirDieWelt]

That guy at the party should not own a gun. One of the fundamental rules of gun safety is you never point it at a person you don't want to see dead, doesn't matter if it's loaded or not.

[@danielhakansson1911]

Not gonna lie, somebody pointing an empty gun at me and pulling the trigger just to be funny. I would have snapped at that person no matter he’s/her’s intention to be funny

[@adoooheg]

as a European, the US is just so far beyond my comprehension, like from guns, through car-dependence and secluded suburbia, no paid leave, no free healthcare, universities that cost you a lifetime of money, waiters needing tips to survive because they're horribly underpaid, all the way to the people themselves and the fact that someone could actually sue you for trying to save their life is really just absolutely insane to me, like what in the actual

[@helenwood8482]

You're wrong. Knife crime is extremely rare, here in the UK. I don't know anybody who has been stabbed and I only know one person who knows a person who has been stabbed. The UK is perfectly safe. I can wander the streets of my town alone, in the dark and not even feel nervous.

[@stevebrown661]

Yes, knife crime in the US runs at about 50- 60% higher per capita than in the UK

[@jonevans6446]

Yeah same as you I have never known any one stabbed in the UK but I used to have an American house mate who was stabbed while in America

[@ryuu6205]

shooting- and bombingdrills in schools. When i heard about those i was scared for all the kids in the USA. As European i would never send my kid to a warzone were he/she can be shot. Also the knife problem in the UK is not so bad, the US just likes to make people believe the US is just as save as Europe... but it is not, almost the entire world is saver then the US, specially for kids

[@caligo7918]

I actually had emergency bombing drills in school in the 80s. But i also lived at the German/German border and we were always afraid that the cold war could turn hot. Imagine the elation when the iron curtain fell! Imagine the shock when i found out that the USA was aiming multiple nukes at my hometown, because if the USSR had attacked, the US would have nuked us to slow down the Russians.

[@ryuu6205]

@@caligo7918 didn´t know that, feel sorry that you had to go through that. Most i had in school was a fire drill. But now with this Russian-Ukraine war i fear if NATO really gets involved then our capital Brussels will be the Russians first target. Guns are never a good thing for safety and wars use guns if you do not get the connection...

[@jalicea1650]

I loved my school shooting drills. We had police there in SWAT armor to remind us how it would feel if we were about to be killed. At this point it's a tradition! Go to public-school chances are with gun ownership laws as they are... you may find yourself in a Florida situation or at the mall...theater and any public venue...

[@arianbyw3819]

America doesn't value it's children. With abortion rights denied, they can just use their women as brood mates to get more kids.

[@alanmacification]

The " knife issue " is just a side effect of the current news ethos. Knife assaults are just the " sensational " top issue once guns are removed. In the US knifings aren't reported unless there is sex involved or the killer does something creative with the body.

[@julesmasseffectmusic]

USA has so many mass shootings most don't make national news. In oz every shooting makes national news.

[@pipercharms7374]

As someone from the UK I'm scared of a gun more than a knife, if I just think logically about this, with a gun they could shoot you from a distance, at least with a knife you have the chance to fight back, if someone holds a gun to my head, I know I'm dead, if someone holds a knife to my head, I know I'm going to struggling for my life to get that object away from me but least I have a chance. Saying that though, yeah knife crimes an issue but its not like your looking over your shoulder every day expecting something to happen. I've lived in the UK my whole life and never had a knife being pulled on me or seen a knife being pulled on anyone else, I've heard about it on the news more than I should unfortently but its not something thats a regular thing.

[@MrLeechy01]

I am British and have no experience of knife crime. All the people I know have no experience of it and they have never mentioned anyone else that they know experiencing it.

[@bennizar1689]

You asked so I am going to tell you: I am from Tunisia, north Africa.. I went to work on a cruise ship in US.. in my first week a crew brought a little girl to the reception and she was crying cuz she lost her parents, so I was trying to ask her questions to know who are her parents but she was too young to answer, I finally got her mother's first name and I put her on my lap and start showing her photos of women with that name.. my boss walked in and he held his head yelling at me: put her down now put her down! wtf are you doing? I was confused I didn't know what I was doing wrong.. then he explained that I could be sued for that and it can be consider molestation which honestly I didn't know what it was because I never had to deal with it and where I am from we can pick up and hold and kiss any child in the streets, it's totally normal.. then I knew what was wrong in US so now when I am at work and a kid approach me I be like: keep that thing away from me I won't even look at you..

[@BigStib]

Please bear in mind, our 'knife crime' figures are not the same as yours. Actual injuries and deaths are way less than in the USA. In the UK, because we have tended to address concerns about weapons in our legislation(!), unless you have a good reason, the only knife you can carry around is a folding, non-locking, fairly short blade. But on top of that, if you are caught committing another offence and are carrying any sort of blade or even another tool (non-firearm) that could be used to assault another, it goes down as a 'knife crime'...even if you didn't use it. So, break into a house carrying a screwdriver or threaten someone with a Leatherman in your pocket could (especially if you cheek the police arresting you) be classed as a knife crime. And if our knife crime figures have had a blip lately, they used historically to be much higher. It's just a current leading concern because it had diminished so much and now popped up again. As to the US, I remember checking the figures recently (sorry, don't have them to hand). Your least crime-ridden city is more dangerous than our worst, by about double, as I recall.

[@BethCoppard15]

I’d educate yourself on the knife crime issue in the UK, it is not prevalent as you think at all!

[@robanec]

4:50 That's not true btw, about the same amount of people (per Capita) get killed by "edged weapons" in the US as in the UK

[@spugelo359]

Wouldn't say that is something to be proud of (to be tied with USA for anything negative)

[@steffenaltmeier6602]

well yes - in the us it's "normal" and in the uk it's seen as a serious issue

[@robanec]

@@spugelo359 it's not, but Americans get always told "oh, we need our guns, look at the UK, how many people get attacked with knives!", which is the vibe I got from James here as well

[@robanec]

@bLackstar it kinda does, because UK and US homicide rates are very close to another with a few small exceptions, the only big one being guns, where the US does have a significant problem. So while that doesn't stop people from killing each other overall, it makes it significantly less

[@robanec]

@bLackstar you can, but basically nobody does it, and selfmade guns are usually not very good. And it's certainly more effort than buying one

[@DaddyDoom]

In Portugal here. In 2020 I had a kidney transplant and spent 17 days in the hospital. The hospital I chose is 200km from home, because its the best hospital in the country for transplants (and we get to chose it if we want). I have free transportation for every post-transplant appointment, and the main meds, the immuno supressants are given for free at the hospital. All this at zero cost. Thats what taxes are for. Go check how much you pay for a kidney transplant on the US and get back at me. Last time I checked it was something around 4 millions USD. Also... our food is better and no mass shootings.

[@snoreaxx5146]

A dude pointed a gun at you and pulled the trigger? What the fuck. He was drunk and this could have been gone horribly wrong

[@Mx.RumpusParable]

I’ve been a nomad living outside the US for about 6 years now with just visits once a year to see Family… The medical system. I still struggle with going to the doctor's for something that isn’t an emergency. First year out, I literally cracked my skull in a fall, didn’t know it and just found myself on the floor with bloood in my hair and just went and washed off what I could see/feel because I was so dazed and went back to bed…. It took around 4 hours after I got up, after the rest of my body starting to develop severe pain, for the clerks of the place I was staying to talk me into going to the ER. In early 2020 I caught Covid… had it for weeks self-treating until I got pneumonia and literally had a coughing attack that had me on all fours crying and gagging while coughing before I decided it was bad enough I should go to the hospital. I’ve had numerous discussions with others over the years where they ask me if I had X or Y illness as a kid and I have to tell them I honestly have no idea because anything with those sorts of symptoms or fever level isn’t enough to see a doctor and got looked like “whaaaaaa?”. Describing how we had to *treat* pneumonia at home that I was prone to as a teen has gotten me looks of horror. Six years out now and I still am looking at the signs that, on doing the conversion, calls a temperature of 101F a “fever” and folks instruct you that’s a level to go to a doc with a mindset of “seriously???”. Trying to describe the American gradients of “fine”, “a little warm”, “kinda hot”, “ hot”, “hot enough to keep track of”, “hot enough to put in the bathtub and pour cool water over”, “the bathtub thing didn’t work for hours of trying or keeps returning, now we'll see a doctor” boggles folks. And I keep doing it to myself. Recently instead of the ER or doc I used ACE wraps and one of those thick, stiff, reusable shipping bags that zip to make an ankle support for a serious sprain I have because a sprain os never enough reason to go to a doctor. I have to take medicine daily… and every. single. time. I go for a month or two's worth at the pharmacy I walk out in enough awe still I text all of my family, basically. Because I can get, for more than one of my meds, a months worth for about the cost of 2-3 pills if I was in the US. Literally a $4K medicine amount comes out to around $90-200 depending on where I am in the world. I’m going on and on, but I’m seriously screwed up by what the medical situation was growing up in the US was like and how it still effects me after about 6 years of care outside of it. I’ve adjusted over time, but not at all to where I function like, “I’m sick/injured so I should seek medical help”… getting better about it, but my immediate and primary reaction is “I’m sick/injured…. clearly not bad enough yet to need medical help”. Oh, and on a different subject - taking any amount of public transportation, even if it’s a single train or bus or shared van or whatever, as something normal to have. I genuinely am excited still by being able to get on a bus or train to go somewhere…. Or to have it more common than uncommon to feel safe walking alone at night. My friends from other countries take it for granted that risk is there but low… I still feel relieved and excited every time I walk home in a city at night and feel okay and telling other Americans about it, especially females, stuns them. Especially when it’s countries they assume/have been led to believe are terribly dangerous/unstable. Being aware but not constantly on moderate to high alert of one’s surroundings when walking alone is SO Strange and amazing. Again, talks with friends from other countries about what we take as just normal, in this case risk and safety measure levels, gets a “wtf?” look over and over. This is already a novel, but soooooooo much else.

[@deadlineuniverse3189]

“I cannot let my eleven year old out to play. He would get adop-abducted.” Some kidnappers: “Where is the difference?”

[@swanpride]

The sad thing is that children in the US aren't really more likely to get kidnapped by a random stranger. It's mostly fear mongering...and the danger of your neighbours calling CPS on you if you dare to let them play on their own.

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 18:17 - Why is it like that? For 3 reason 1- Insurance profit is put on you, you have to pay for insurance profit 2- Hospital or doctor or ambulance profit is put on you 3- Government has no power to regulate prices In the rest of the industralized world (and in most of the 3rd world countries) we ALL removed rune 3 and at least one of rule 1 or 2 So, our governments in Europe (all 44 countries do this) FIX a cap to the prices of drugs, medicine and treatments. If you want to sell a medicine or give a service for a treatment in an European country, you have to follow those prices cap, if you don't want, you cannot sell your stuffs and services here, end of the story Some countries remove both rule 1 and 2 (like UK and Italy, where there isn't any insurance and hospitals are run by the government) Some countries remove only one, like in France where there are insurances run by government that don't do profit Some countries keep the prices low also paying directly part of the costs of the medicine/treatment If you remove a profit (or both) and you keep prices under control you end up with this: - a vial of insuline costs 12£ in UK, while in US it costs 300$ - calling an ambulance costs 7£ in UK, while in US costs from 3000$ to 5000$ - having a baby in Italy or Ireland is totally free (7 nights at the hospital, even an emergency C-section) while in US it can costs from 10.000 to 30.000$ - My wife was treated for a whomb cancer for 3 and half a years, with monthly visit to the specialist, chemio, psycological support, three surgeries and I spent, in total, in these three years, less than 100 euros (maybe 120$) for some additional taxes for uncovered "luxury" she asked for. All over the world we figured it out. But your beloved sentence "we're the best country in the world" makes you think you've nothing to learn from the rest of the world and you keep going bankrupt

[@snowholeoutdoors1769]

The knife issue is yet again poor propaganda spread about (non existent weapon violence) in other countries the USA knows too little about, but used to distract from their problems.

[@Vinclum]

We also had a type of the pledge of allegiance in schools in my country in the 1930s and 40s.

[@Dius765RS]

“The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are oppressed. Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison, they never even become aware that they are oppressed.” ― George Orwell, 1984

[@connynaumann5139]

The woman travelling to Norway made me cry. Half of my family is black since my mum's sister left the GDR for to Benin around 50 years ago because she met her husband in uni and so they had no real option. So my cousins are black and have the Benin and German dual citizenship. When one of them went to the U.S. for a year she was devastated by the fact how in the U.S. black people are called Afro-American.... Like they're second class citizens, which we then learned is even the truth. And she felt unsafe in the U.S. When I went over to see her, and we wanted to travel a bit, she looked up first where black people are safe?! I know racism exists everywhere in the world. But this labelling that is happening there in America is somewhat disgusting.

[@YezaOutcast]

from my point of view, the US as a state seems to be designed around the idea of taking advantage of its citizens and keeping them in the mindset that their way of life (the one that the government seems to enforce) is the best there is without alternatives. not it makes much more sense, why in the US there is fewer reports about other countries and even in schools there are less things taught about how life is elsewhere. it seems to me that in the recent years citizens from the US start to recognize that they are being taken advantage of and start to inform themselves more about how other people live in other countries.

[@cmdraven]

Yes, that is by design, to keep them ignorant of other ways of life elsewhere. Fortunately the internet has brought the rest of the world in contact with Americans. Before that they were even more brainwashed but more can see through the propaganda now. Many are still willfully ignorant though and buy what the US media and government sells them.

[@MerYeM-gc5me]

Watching your videos for a long time already now. And I really enjoy the evolution of your video cuts and adjustments! Greetings from a Bavarian living in Hamburg to the BrayGang :D

[@HuberHans]

I do have a funny 😎 story from my late father, where I realized that the American education system is kind of messed up for the very first time. It was in the mid 1980s and I was a sulky teenager (14ish). My father was an engineer, who also was a guest professor at several universities worldwide. One evening, after returning from one of his lecturing trips (I'm not sure, but it was either in Israel or Singapore), he told us: "You won't believe what I encountered this time. There was this American in my course, with the knowledge about the topic beeing ok. He came to me afterwards and asked me some specific stuff. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he asked me 'you're Dutch, right? I have a friend in Kopenhagen. His name is xyz. Do you know him?'" This, just had the whole family looking to my father whether he was kidding or beeing serious... It still boggles my mind (and yes, I encountered such Americans myself later on, too) that every European should now every other European on the continent, with a total population as big as the population of the USA. Take care - Europe ⚘

[@mosaicofmentalhealth]

The whole health care thing is so heartbreaking, im Australian, we have Medicare. I'm on several different medications for BPD, ADD, CPTSD, OCD, chronic pain (spine injury/nerve damage) and i pay about $12 a month for 5 different medications i take, like 4 times per day... don't pay for Dr visits. or even the hospital. everywhere needs to give their people health care ❤

[@Ezekiel903]

btw, something else i find insane as i visited the US was the amount of Church TV channels, i don't know if this is the correct name, but so many different churches praised the gospel, and they were all some privat "churches", full of people!!! Italy is a "religious" country, more or less, but the only time they show a gospel on tv is maybe on Easter Sunday! in the US every Sunday!!!

[@danic9304]

Knife crime is a big issue in the UK... relative to how much of an issue it used to be. There are areas, and communities for whom knife crime is a very real threat. But it still unusual. If the US had no gun deaths they would consider that they also have a knife crime problem, but as it stands, the sheer quantity of gun deaths so dwarfs the number of incidents involving knives that knife crime is barely considered a thing.

[@owendavis690]

Every one in the uk knifing each other lol . Typical American lol

[@Mia-Beagle]

the more i learn about america the more i feel sorry for them... didn't know how bad it is there

[@AmourMatthysen]

In most countries even pointing a empty gun at someone is seen as a very disrespectful thing to do is something you must never do. A grew up with a family who owned allot of guns and one a kid was never allowed to touch a gun unless he was on a shooting range and second he was alway and it was under strict supervision. You dont carry the around you don't handle the gun past shooting it. When I see American kids with guns is no differrent to me than a child soldier. And to me a kid should never even hold a gun.

[@MrChillerNo1]

in most countries its illegal and if proven, will lead to you license revocation or even potentially jail time (depending on gravity) ALWAYS assume a gun is loaded. NEVER point a gun at anyone, unless you intend to kill them (self-defense) Bray telling his story, almost gave me a heart attack. Im still shaken, that the one shooting wasn't punshed to a pulp afterwards with the approval of everyone... Would have been my reaction the moment he'd pointed a gun at me the first time.

[@AmourMatthysen]

@@MrChillerNo1 what I was getting at was even before you consider the law in most cultures or countries consider that even holding a gun should be done with the utmost care and to point it at someone shows not only disrespect in oneself but the person you are pointing at. If I hold a gun I am told never to point it at anyone even by accident. As a gun owner you must have a safe for that gun where no one can access that gun except you and it is your responsibility for every gun in that safe. And if you kid shoot someone using your gun society sees you as the sole person responsible. Yes it is against the law but before even that its a mind-set you point a gun at someone your are saying that there life doesn't matter.

[@MrChillerNo1]

@@AmourMatthysen absolutely agree.

[@jalicea1650]

My ex actually pointed a gun at me while I was trying to break up with him. He started laughing. I started to tear up and ask him to put it down. He kept asking, "You afraid? You afraid? Why do you wanna break up with me?" He eventually put the gun down and came in for a kiss. I was like no and ran out his house jumped in my car and blocked his number. In America, that's far too normal.

[@MrChillerNo1]

@@jalicea1650 Yes, there obviously is a mental health crisis in the US. and people are way to ignorant of their own ignorance. Leading combined with lax gun laws to these situations... I'm sorry you had to go through that. Seems like you dodged a bullet, even though he didn't fire. In most European countries those actions would have been enoung to land him for years in prison. It's excactly the "I'm joking" type that ends up dead on the ground, because one day they will joke with the wrong guy, that shoots first, before asking questions. Out of the 9 people I know have guns in the US, I'd say 5 of them should not have one, judging on their conduct with it and overall immaturity.

[@Beef3D]

European history buff and gun lover here. I've visited USA on a vacation and I went to a shooting range with a guy that owned his own set of guns because I absolutely wanted to experience the thrill of shooting live ammunition, and despite that even I can't argue with the gun bit. Guns don't make me uncomfortable... it's the people who've clearly missed the crash course in essential gun safety that make me very uncomfortable. and you very much should be. NEVER skip out on gun safety, and NEVER EVER... LIKE SERIOUSLY, NEVER EVER fool around with a gun assuming it's unloaded! if you ever have any friends in the USA that clearly don't take gun safety seriously, tell em to watch Brandon Herrera's Darwin Awards compilations and distance yourself from them. I can think of plenty of real stories with guns that often had ugly accidents and sometimes grave consequences

[@darrellpowell6042]

4:58 A knife has to be used at close quarters to knife someone, a gun which as you know can be fired from a greater distance than arms length to kill someone. And knife crime is mainly a London issue, the rest of the UK is still having lower rates than London. The US has knife crime and gun crime higher than most countries. UK police have stab vests and do carry tasers, which is more than the public. The UK is much more safer than the US.

[@uselesscrap2701]

about the cpr thing : in poland you are legally obligated to administer first aid, and you are protected from any legal troubles arising from it. For a fact elementary school kids learn basic first aid from grade 1, and emergency numbers in kindergarten. Basically all citizens are expected to be able to perform cpr, patch wounds up and know how to deal with more serious stuff until proper medics arive. And then there is safety education, and from next school year they are bringing back defense education (basically light military style training, how to shoot weapons, operate gas masks, simple protocols, military ranks, advanced first aid etc.

[@mroqido9987]

@8:30 holy moly Bray, this is some unbelievable stuff... I would never ever talk to such a person again.

[@JamesBray3]

Crazy thing is, we don’t 🤣🤣🤣

[@mroqido9987]

@@JamesBray3 good. Somewhat random but now that I've got you on the line: If you ever come to visit the City of Salzburg (Hallstatt is also nearby and both are a sight to be seen) let me know! I work at a natural history/science museum and would gladly give you a private tour (:

[@karolduris8754]

I am from Slovakia, a small country in the middle of Europe. This video got me. I can't imagine that if someone was sick, I wouldn't call an ambulance. After all, it is basic health care and it is free. I was with my daughter at three specialist doctors and the bill was zero. Or prices in secondary schools. You know, it's free too. The only thing the USA has is the army, but an intelligent person once said, if you want to be rich, trade, if you want to be poor, fight. Otherwise, in our country, about one person in twenty thousand has a gun. PS great video keep it up you are great.

[@WereDictionary]

I mean... I cant blame Americans for being scared of other countries. I was scared of America when Trump was in office.

[@Katie-jm2bs]

I live in the Netherlands, and my best friend is American. Her parents traveled here to see her. They went on a few day trips to Belgium and France. Her parents were surprised to discover that Europe that’s fridges. That Europe still wasn’t in rubble from WWII. And that there wasn’t any abandoned war tanks on the beach of Dunkirk.

[@okip8206]

I finally know why American use gofund me:( at first I didn't know why but now I know

[@RatorLP]

Ok ok ok so I had an accident in November 2020, ambulance had to rush me to the hospital, my cervical spine was injured etc., and I didn’t have my health insurance card on me. So what they (or at least the Berlin fire department here) usually do is just send the papers to your home, and you forward them to your health insurance. When the papers arrived, just out of curiosity, I looked at the bill, and it was 12€. Like, when I hear that some Americans are paying 262946194629 for an ambulance ride, how tf?!?! I love our German healthcare

[@pashvonderc381]

Yep, the Health Care here is top notch.

[@tobyk.4911]

The bill for an ambulance transport in Germany is actually several hundred Euros - which the insurance has to pay. The insurance then demands the patient to pay a relatively small part of it - 10 Euros a few years ago (at least in another part of Germany), so it's possible that it's 12 Euros now.

[@tobyk.4911]

another example: 5 weeks in the Intensive Care Unit of a German hospital... how much did the patient pay (with a German public health insurance)? ... 280€. ( 10€ per day, for max. 4 weeks, "for the meals") . I thought: fair enough, I'm still saving money, because outside of hospital I would probably have spent more than 280 in a month for eating and drinking. How much do 5 weeks treatment in an American ICU typically cost? And how much of that would a patient with an average health insurance have to pay himself?

[@RatorLP]

@@tobyk.4911 oh ok so it‘s possible that the bill was just for that small payment, but my insurance covered it too so idk

[@tobyk.4911]

@@RatorLP I don't know ... I guess that if that bill came from the organization which operates the ambulance (and not from the Krankenkasse), then it's probably not the "small copayment" that I was mentioning. But certainly a 12€ bill can't be the whole cost of an ambulance transport, even of it were just a 200m distance or so, the health insurance certainly needs to pay much more. I mean, it should be obvious that the costs for an ambulance transport must be higher than the costs of a normal taxi ride. In my case, the costs (paid by the insurance) was something similiar to 500 or 600 € ... for less than 10km transport distance to the hospital. So, ambulance transports also cost something in Germany - The big difference to America is that we, the patients, don't usually see this costs in the same way as Americans, because the bill goes directly to the health insurance/Krankenkasse (or, if someone has a private health insurance, then he gets a bill - but usually also doesn't have to worry much about the financial impact.)

[@Michael.Talbot]

I have lived in the UK all my life and I have never been stabbed or even heard of anyone I know being stabbed, it all sounds gang related tbh in a few areas of a city but if you go out looking for trouble then i guess you will find it anywhere. The trick is not to go out being a complete tit and I think you will be OK. 👍

[@leec6707]

Having worked at the Emergency Department (formerly A & E) and almost all knife incidents were related to county lines.

[@MenaceSociety]

I've lived in the UK 5 years now and don't know anyone who has been attacked or threatened by knife. You have to either be in the wrong area or really mixed up in a rough crowd to warrant that kind of threat.

[@smudolinithegreatdragobear2433]

Did you know that in Japan and Korea it is considered RUDE to tip your waiter/ress?

[@rrolf71]

Conventions vary around the world and change with time. But I think only in the USA the tips are basically needed for the waiter/waitress to survive, because minimal salary for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour...

[@bastiwen]

Regarding the first part about saving someone, where I live you could actually get in trouble for ignoring someone in danger. If the person is in a position where their life is at risk, failure to provide assistance can result in a heavy fine or even prison time. That's why every person has to take "samaritan" course (where you learn what to do and not to do, how to react, cpr, etc.) before driving. You cannot pass your driving test if you haven't gone to this first aid course first.

[@suppengroove]

now imagine a video like this in reverse: people from wherever that now live in america D; (exaggerated) i had a cold, went to the pharmacy - bam! two third of the paycheck gone oO - surrounding people were like: not from here, huh 🤣

[@Mia82978]

It seems crazy to me that if you see someone who might need help that you just don‘t help. Even if you are not a professional or trained, in Germany that‘s even illegal. It‘s called „Unterlassene Hilfeleistung“ (denial of assistance) and you could get fined if it gets discovered that you were there, able to help but didn‘t do anything

[@badrequest5596]

If a person stops breathing, is unconscious and needs cpr, HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GOING YOU ASK FOR CONSENT?? Die once if you consent??!

[@JamesBray3]

I swear to goddddddd 🤣🤣🤣 it’s pretty ass backwards out here

[@stophi2581]

imagine what that does to people if they are scared and living in fear all the time. explains a lot.

[@BeckyPoleninja]

Where did you get that about knifing!!! Sorry, not true

[@rdevries3852]

From the Netherlands here. Early last year I had an accident at work resulting in my foot being broken in multiple places. I spend 7 weeks recovering at home. For the first of those 7 weeks I got paid 100% of my normal salary, for the remaining 6 weeks I got paid 70%. I never saw a bill from the hospital. And for the entire period I was on sick leave (and for *_97 more weeks,_* if it had come to that) I was legally protected from being fired by my employer for missing work.

[@epitronic515]

That is to me like the most alien-so-far-from-earth thing ever. Paying between 10K and 30K USD to actaully give birth in a hospital. It's like buying a new car. In some countries it cost 100 bucks, in other maybe 20 bucks, but never ever the amount you have to pay in the US. You actually have to tick options, like in a sales contract. If you want to hold your child after a c-sec, you'd have to tick the option first, and it cost 40 Dollars extra!!! Duuuuude that is so far out there.............I can't get over it ;-)

[@JamesBray3]

Yeah bro it’s honestly sad as hell 😞

[@rrolf71]

@@JamesBray3 Just don't check how many guaranteed weeks of paid maternity leave countries around the world give to their moms if you don't want to get depressed even further...

[@iljabuchmuller7889]

Actually, with the ambulance story in Germany it would be even a worse idea to use Uber: 1) you pay the gas (which you may get reimbursed somehow) 2) (most of the time) you're slower (no sirens) 3) you have the supervision and (reduced) liability of any additional health damage 4) the ambulance has pro staff which does first-aid before transport 5) ambulance calls ER up while driving.

[@tb4744]

I've done a lot of travelling a around the world. I recommend that every American takes some time and travel.

[@helloweener2007]

I was at shooting range last year. Did some shots with a Beretta. First thing they say to you: "Never ever point with a gun towards a person. It does not matter if it is unloaded, or secured. Assume at every moment that it is loaded and unsecured and handle it like that."

[@yaseiKen]

Im not american nor been to America but there's an online experience i want to share. Be advise it involves a racist organization. In 2013-14 i was playing this mmorpg ,i decided to create a Guild and name it Katipunan with a guild tag as "KKK". For context im a Filipino and for me KKK has a very different meaning and at that time i didnt know that in America 3K has a very bad reputation. For us Filipino the 3K is "Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga anak ng bayan" which directly translate to "Supreme and Venerable Association of the Children of the Nation" a secret society that initiated and fight for our liberation from the Spain and later on America. Anyways as soon as someone notice my guild tag i received backlash and hurtful words specially from the americans. Even if i tried to explain my side they already close their mind. I mean they didnt even try to fact check my reasoning and decided to harass me verbally and my character in game. Well yeah thats how i learn, in the hardest way, about the other 3K. It made me a little scared to talk about our 3K now which is sad bcoz i am very proud of our heroes. And for the americans I'd like to remind you guys that in this world there are multiple culture and history not just yours. Btw i deleted that guild and then my character on the same day just to avoid the harassment

[@geoffpriestley7001]

Theres an American reactor that was looking at a map of Europe, she went on about Montenegro and why would someone call a country such a racist name, lets hope she doesn't see Niger in Africa

[@yaseiKen]

@@geoffpriestley7001 yeah ive seen couple of videos about something like that too. And i remember that sometime ago a rising boyband group here in the Philippines was condemned in twitter bcoz they tweet "Hello Negros", without background research they assume them as racist well in fact they were going to perform in the island of "Negros". It is the name given by the spaniards in colonial times, the audacity of some people to say that we shud change the name of the island bcoz it is racist. A word becomes racist if you imply bad intention with it, its a freaking island. Source: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l16qh5KhgbJ5iZo

[@geoffpriestley7001]

@@yaseiKen dont worry we have the nig nog cycling club sounds racists untill you know that nig and nog is local slang for boy and girl back in the 1900s

[@jerrypickins]

So, my state of Iowa, just passed a bill that forces public schools and a few private schools to do the Pledge of Allegiance every day. They said that it wasn't mandatory for students to participate if they didn't want to, but if a teacher did not comply in leading/participating in it, they might be subject to a fine. Same thing for schools who do not follow this new bill aswell. Back when I was in school we stopped doing mandatory Pledges around the 8th grade. Do you know what happened when it wasn't mandatory anymore? Even the most "patriotic" students didn't bother to say it, despite being completely free to do so. For all of us, it was seen more as an annoying habit than our "patriotic" duty to show support for our troops and the nation.

[@kathrinbeckmann6530]

Almost as if believing you're the best at everything kinda gets in the way of the idea of actually improving on things Cause why would you have to change anything if you're already the epitome of excellence?

[@argantyr5154]

I'm danish, and we are officially a Christian Country, I am baptized, we something called konfirmation (confirmation) in the 7th grade where you "confirm" that you are Christian. Personally I think thats to young an age to do that, I think it should be around 18 years. We do pay some percentage (can't remember how much) to the Church as a default, but you change that if you wish. The money goes mainly to maintenance of the churches (the traditional Danish Chursh are several hundred years old), payment to the priests, etc. Most Danes are what we call "Cultural Christians" It means we don't go to Churches at Sundays, but only when someone is Baptized, Funeral and Marriage and that sort. I don't mind paying a bit to the Church because its a huge part of Danish Culture, and not because I'm Religious. But what blows my mind a bit is when I see hear things from the US how much money TV preachers get, the 0 % tax for your Religions etc.

[@DLT-po6to]

I don't understand the american obsession with customer service. When i travel i don't even think about customer service. I want to explore the place and culture and take it all in. As long as the people don't slap me in the face everything else checks out. When i travel to the US it's really weird and cringy for me how "false friendly" everyone is. People who are standing in the store entrance just to greet everyone? What the hell is even that?! It is weird and unnatural behavior, that's what it is. Noone is THAT happy that you come into their store. Who are you kidding? Just behave normal, mates ... you are creeping me out.

[@JamesBray3]

It’s probably a mix of the corporate culture that everyone acts fake friendly here. I also find it mad creepy 🤣🤣🤣

[@DLT-po6to]

@@JamesBray3 Well nice to see that even some americans feel that way. 🤣

[@Tuxman25]

Me and my wife were travelling Portugal alone a few years back, and when we arrived at a wine yard in the Douro valley 3 buses full of american tourists showed up. It was puzzling to see how much fear they all had from being outside their "safe space" (which was the bus). They did not dare leaving the wine yard even for a few minutes. They looked at us like we were aliens when they heard that -of course- we are travelling alone without any fear. I mean, this is europe, one can live one's life in peace here without needing AR15 to "defend oneself". I still do not understand how anyone could appreciate living a life under the conditions those american travellers seemingly had to experience at home, being so full of fear is is borderline paralyzing free movement.

[@Mike-James]

South Korea is a great country, north not so much, In the USA you have the good Samaritan act that protects you from being sued when saving some one.

[@derdude6139]

i still have the feeling you have to proof that in court

[@alanmacification]

They can still try to sue depending on the wording of the law. Sometimes it means: " to the best of your ability under the circumstances " or " your actions were those of any reasonable person given your abilities and the circumstances. " Mostly these laws are designed to protect doctors outside their normal clinical settings in emergencies.

[@Mike-James]

@@alanmacification thanks for letting me know.

[@aisjay1204]

that story about the guy shooting at you at a party has my JAW ON THE FLOOR as a canadian i have no idea how i would react to that situation holy shit glad you're uninjured

[@aisjay1204]

bro almost did a triple homicide because he didn't like what your face was doing incroyable