[alithinker]

OK guys, I know this topic might sound strange to some of you, but please hear me out.

I am a citizen of Saudi Arabia (I am not fond of the Saudi regime, I was just born to a Saudi father and hence, I have the citizenship.) And I went to America first time when I was 21 in order to study in college.
Back then, I knew nothing about America, and I had never been to any country other than Iran- where I was born and raised till I was 10- and Saudi Arabia- where I spent the rest of my years growing up.
(For more information regarding my life, refer to my other thread: "The Daily Life of an Unemployed Saudi" viewtopic.php?f=4&t=162665)

So coming to America was very exciting to me. I was sooooooo curious about everything! And I cannot tell how I was amazed by the experience. My experience with the Americans was nothing less than AMAZING! I really liked it there.
It is not because of the booz that was now available to me, or the hot girls that were everywhere- both banned and forbidden to me here in Iran and Saudi Arabia. What amazed me the most is how people treated me as if I were one of them.
I don't know how to describe this, every American I met was so nice to me. Everybody treated me as an "equal", EVERYONE. They didn't see me as an outsider, or somebody from a different country or culture. They treated me as if I were an American myself. Or rather, they treated me as a human.
Please consider the fact that I am from Saudi Arabia, a country where 14 people out of the 19 hijackers came from. And yet, nobody in America treated me any differently when I told them I was from Saudi Arabia. I think it is just that people in America just prevent themselves from jumping into judgements and conclusions about you based on you're background. They really don't care where you're from or what is your religion. They just care about what they see, and that is how you act. Which is AMAZING by the way. I think people everywhere should be treated that way. I think that is part of your human rights.

So what I was wondering is: are Americans alone in this kind of treatment? Or are people everywhere so nice to each other and I just happen to be raised in a shitty neighborhood :P?
I mean, if were to go to Europe, for example, would Europeans be just as nice and welcoming to me as Americans? Would they treat me as if I were one of them? (This question, obviously, applies to people of other countries and continents as well. Are the people of Japan friendly to foreigners and strangers? Could you marry a Japanese woman? And what about India, or China? I am just really curious.)


But there is one even deeper question that requires an answer. This question is even harder and more mystifying to me (and it kind of deserves its own thread to be honest):
If American people are so nice and friendly, how come their politicians are so rude and mean? How come in the political arena it is completely the opposite?
This is such a paradox to me, I can never understand it.

When I came back home, nobody believed me when I told them that Americans are nice. I mean some did (those who have been to America or who have heard similar stories) but I could never explain to them why American politics sucks so much.

And when I talked to my American friends about this that didn't help either. They are either in full support of their government's policies- no matter how obnoxious or ridiculous they are- or they are in full denial of their government's policies, as if the government is ruled by some upper hand or the Illuminati, and not real genuine Americans. What the hell! How does that make any sense?


What do you guys think?
First: Why are Americans so nice and friendly on the personal level? Are they the only people like that?
Second, and more importantly, why do they suck so much in ruling the world? Can't they be nice and fair? Can't they treat other countries just as equally and friendly as they treat strangers on the personal level? (This just really doesnt not make any sense to me.)

[Conscript]

You didn't come to the east coast, did you?

Here we treat everyone equal, because we hate each other and just get in the way.

[mikema63]

I was always taught to be polite and freindly. Seeming like a nice freindly person is almost an obsessive duty in the southern states.

[alithinker]

You didn't come to the east coast, did you?

Here we treat everyone equal, because we hate each other and just get in the way.

Actually, I have been to Wyoming, Florida, and New York.
When I first went to America, I went to Wyoming. (Don't ask me why, it is a long story). I stayed there for 2 months, and then I transferred to Florida Institute of Technology.
I stayed in FIT for 2 years then I transferred again to another school, Syracuse University. There I stayed for 3 years until I graduated.

Across the board people were very friendly- equally friendly I would argue. Only difference was in their ideologies.
In Wyoming I met a Christian guy who was very friendly. He was very nice to me but supported the government in everything they did- including the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In Florida I met others who weren't necessarily Christian but they were equally friendly to me. However, they seemed less supportive of everything the government did.
It was really in New York though where people seemed very rebellious and critical of their government and didn't just believe everything they were told.

Now I cannot tell you that everything your government does is bad, but damn there is corruption.

Here in Saudi, the people who run the country aren't even assumed to be human. lol People here hate them so much they don't even regard them with humanity. They are assumed to be monsters. (I never met any of them, so I don't know XD).
Over there though, people are "elected" to office. And while there are some nice people occasionally (I loved Ron Paul for instance), there seems to be a cloud of corruption that hovers over Washington. People just seem to be so corrupt. Or maybe it is just that they don't know how to handle so much pressure from every side, Idk. I just think it is sad and messed up that your politics is the way it is.

[Frollein]

Because it doesn't mean anything. No matter what they think of you, they'll smile and grease the social machine, because the cultural consensus is that nobody should feel uncomfortable in social situations.

I'm not saying that's good or not, just that it's not genuine.

[layman]

Americans love to talk and especially talk about themselves.

This often comes accross as friendly.

Maybe it is

[alithinker]

No I think I know now why Americans were nice to me. This is just a theory but I am pretty sure it is true.
You see, I did not tour the world and so I can't tell you American people are the nicest people in the world. Maybe they are not. Maybe there are countries out there where people are even nicer than Americans. The thing is, though, that American people seemed nice to me compared to my background and where I come from.
It is not that people here are arrogant or cruel. It is complicated. If any of you visited the Middle East you would probably notice this. People here might be "respectful" to you. But they are not nice or friendly. For example, a man here would not let you marry his daughter if you are not a Muslim. In fact, a Shiite man cannot marry a Sunni woman and vice versa unless they convert first. It is basically racism/discriminatory.
People here treat each other differently by class. I said this before but I'll say it again. If you have white skin and look European people here would probably treat you very respectfully. But that respect is not out of "love", it is out of "fear". I hate that kind of respect. Alternatively, if you have dark skin or look like someone who came from India, for example, people might treat you with contempt and look down on you. You might be perfectly nice and even be beautiful looking or whatever, but people would still mistreat you because you look Indian. And Indians are like a lower class here. It is disgusting really.

However, America was probably not very different 50 years ago. 50 years ago, if you had black skin people would probably discriminate against you because your Black. Nowadays, that still might happen but it is different. It is illegal- as far as I know- to discriminate against one another in America based on race. I know racism still occurs sometimes and people still hurt one another based on looks sometimes. But since it is literally illegal, it is a lot harder to be a racist. (I mean a Black man can become a president now in the US.)
Now when it comes to "equality", America probably isn't the best place- I am guessing. It seems that there are lots of nations on Earth where a person is not judged by their looks- and that is GREAT!
But here in Saudi, since racism is literally legal- it is literally the law; Muslims State- people can discriminate and get away with it. Now believe it or not, that "law" alone is what- I believe- what makes all the difference.
If you legislate racism, no matter how nice one might be, it becomes hard not to be a racist. It really is hard not to be a racist here in Saudi- I can tell you that from experience. Here is a story:
one day I invited a co-worker of mine to a meal. He is from the Philippines. I was trying to have fun and have a good time but then everybody in the cafeteria was giving me mean stares. It was scary. I felt like I was doing something wrong by paying for my friend's sandwich. And trust me, I was not being paranoid. This was not a single incident. I have had numerous other experiences where I felt out of place for treating other non-Saudi people fairly.
Here is another story: I used to hang out with a bunch of Saudi guys. And they had an Indian chef- whom they hired to cook them meals every now and then. And I noticed that the chef was never allowed to eat with them on the same table. He would literally eat by himself every time they had a meal, on a single table next to them. This was ALWAYS the case. This disgusted me. It is needless to say that I don't hang out with those guys anymore.

[enzacol]

In Italy we were very friendly, but now something has changed, and fear always wins