12 Ways to Break the USA
The European bigot’s guide to the social and geographic complexity of the US
An infographic from Atlas of Prejudice: The Complete Stereotype Map Collection
Ridiculing the geography skills of US Americans is a cute European habit with long traditions rooted in a sense of historical superiority and the assumption that the Old Continent is the eternal center of the Universe. At the same time few Europeans are able to point the location of Minnesota on the map, and some aren’t even fully aware the abbreviation USA stands for “United States of America.” Although they know what the word “state” means, in this particular case they consider it a synonym for “province.” Such disregard to detail results in sloppy stereotyping: Americans are universally described as fat religious freaks who love guns, support the death sentence and reject the theory of evolution.
The problem? Disregarding detail is not a very European thing to do! Concerned that our stereotyping efforts yield such shallow results, I have taken the burden to refine European prejudice of the US by informing my continental brethren about the endless possibilities the immense geography of the US offers. Why rely on blanket statements when you can assign different stereotypes to specific regions? The more fine-grained you bigotry becomes, the less it will be perceived as such because people are trained to associate stereotypes with generalizations.
Remember, you heard it here first!
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An international bestseller, the Atlas of Prejudice has been published in English, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Italian. Its various hardcover, paperback, and electronic editions have sold more than 100.000 copies worldwide!
