The American method

[Deleted]

One of my colleagues, a very pleasant soft-spoken woman, walked into my office a little while ago and said, "I think I'm going to start using the American method."

" ? "

"You know. Where you bring an automatic rifle to work and shoot everybody."

She then related the incident to me that was leading her to this solution. Anyway, it got me thinking about some of the more unusual deserved or undeserved reputations (and stereotypes) of other countries and how we talk about them in daily life.

Does anybody have any ideas about this?

[bixaorellana]

Right off the bat, the first thing that occurred to me was the American slang, "going postal" for a violent, excessive reaction to a situation.

The expression has been around for at least twenty years, and grew out of a spate of bizarre incidents involving postal workers in the US. I don't know if it was only freak happenstance at the time, if postal workers were indeed wackier than the rest of the population for a spell, or, if so, whether or not they've calmed down since.

The one that makes my blood boil is "lazy Mexicans". Nothing could be further from the truth!

[Deleted]

I think that "going postal" dates back more than 30 years. The French equivalent would be "doing a France Telecom" to refer to committing suicide, because they have had a major epidemic due to some (to say the least) poor management decisions.

In France, there is an expression that isn't used anymore for PC reasons :

"travailler comme un nègre"

However, it means exactly the opposite of what some people might think -- it means to work really really hard without stop.

[bixaorellana]

That expression exists in English, too -- at least in American English. Usually the last word is the not-nice version, though, and sometimes preceded by the word "field".
I've always understood it to mean what you have as the correct definition -- really hard, etc.

It means the same thing as "work like a mule", I believe.

[onlymark]

Walk like an Egyptian?

[onlymark]

Scottish - miserly, same with Yorkshire folk.
Irish - thick and workshy.
French - errr........ how long have I got?

[bjd]

Oh, we all know about the French -- arrogant, they won't speak English, they smoke all the time and don't wash.

[onlymark]

But the women are beautifully dressed.

[Deleted]

That's just to cover up their hairy armpits and legs.

[joanne28]

Then there are the suicidal Swedes, which isn't borne out by statistics. I think there was a spate of suicides in the 1950s that occasioned this.

Good old boring Canadians - actually, this lets Canadians fly under the radar so I say let's keep it. ;D

[Deleted]

Don't forget that we watch you slaughtering all those cute seals with the sad eyes every year!

[joanne28]

Oh dear yes, the seals. As a matter of fact, I believe the seal hunt came to attention in the 60s when a Québec gov't department filmed the hunt as a tourist attraction! Whatever possessed them to think that, I'll never know.

Another stereotypical phrase "Dutch clean". I distinctly remember a toilet in Arnhem which belied this reputation. Mind you, I had wandered into the men's loo by mistake so maybe that accounted for it. ;D

[fumobici]

When I think of an American stereotype, I think of nice but dull folk who know nothing whatever of the world outside their borders. The French on the other hand are a funny race... ;D

[gertie]

Now hang on, there is a stereotype of the Canadia as always saying "aaaeee" and drinking beer.

Texans all have horses and oil wells, wear boots and hats, and rope and ride, and are red necks with the Confederate battle flags on their cars, although how we manage that when we are all supposed to be driving around in cowboy caddies (pickup trucks) with gun racks I'm not sure. Perhaps the oil wells allow us to afford the luxury of two vehicles?

[dahuffy]

Mar 10, 2010 15:46:58 GMT bixaorellana said:

Right off the bat, the first thing that occurred to me was the American slang, "going postal" for a violent, excessive reaction to a situation.

The expression has been around for at least twenty years, and grew out of a spate of bizarre incidents involving postal workers in the US. I don't know if it was only freak happenstance at the time, if postal workers were indeed wackier than the rest of the population for a spell, or, if so, whether or not they've calmed down since.

There was a postal worker here in Moore,Oklahoma that basically had a breakdown of sorts,came back to work with a high powered rifle and just started randomly shooting people as he walked Through the building. I don't remember if he had gotten fired beforehand or what,it's been so long ago.