Question by Anonymouseezz: Is it safe for U.S. citizens to visit Australia?
There’s this Yahoo Answers Australian user, Edvard J or something like that, on the religion category and every other answer he has he’s putting down Americans … “Americans are uncivilized” … “Americans are thick” … “Americans aren’t welcome in Australia” … etc, etc, etc. I mean, I guess I shouldn’t care what ONE guy thinks, but this guy is level 7, one of the top contributors in multiple categories and he has dozens of fans. I frequently see comments on here from Australian people saying Americans should accept socialism, ban guns, etc, and that we’re stupid for not being like Australia or whatever. The other day, I was viewing this article on an Australian news website that was comparing this American “tea party” group to the KKK (outright lie), and the comments to the article were ridiculous “America is a Christian theocracy”, “Americans need to be stereilised”, etc, etc, etc.
On THIS category I see comments saying Americans are all stupid, Americans are too conservative, that Obama is stupid, that American Democrats are comparable to some racist group in Australia … WTF? I don’t see any of this sort of stuff on other travel categories.
Can someone explain what the deal is?
And the reason I ask is because I plan(ned) on going to Australia with two friends, but I feel anxious about going now and quite honestly feel like I’d rather not go after seeing all the animosity on here. I haven’t told my friends about this, they don’t use this site or even the internet much so what would they know, but I don’t feel comfortable spending so much money on a trip to the place if that’s how it is.
I do think I have a right to be concerned, considering how much $ $ $ it costs to get to the other side of the world.
Ashlee, if you’ve been taught in school that the U.S. is *still* testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean (we’re not) and you’re presented Michael Moore movies (biased with a political agenda) as pure fact … then the issue is obviously worse than I thought. But thanks for the insightful answer anyways.
Best answer:
Answer by Skylar
As long as you aren’t rude or insulting towards their customs, and you follow their laws, you shouldn’t have any problems traveling anywhere, keeping in mind events of war, or civil unrest.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Stay in the USA. Spend you $ $ $ here. Australia is heading towards Winter now.
I don’t know who this Edvard J is….. but from your brief description he sounds like a 17 year old uneducated idiot with way too much time on his hands!
I’m sure I can speak for a large percentage of the population when i say we actually like Obama…. we thought GWB was a weasely liar with too much power, and for the most part breathed a sigh of relief that you guys voted against that old fogey and that dimwit Palin!
Seriously, EVERY American I’ve met in this country has been having a great time. They’ve either been travelling, or have immigrated here. When you see comments like the above, just ask yourself if they were written by a young male with half a brain, or someone with a whole brain! You’ll be fine, and you’ll have an awesome time!
Hey!
Don´t worry about Edvard J, he seems like a dumb shit to me.
Australians do not have any problems with americans, you will be just as safe here in australia as you would be anywhere else, Australians do not have a problem with the american people, i think we just don’t like some of your “practises”. let me explain.
Our previous government in Australia liked to follow the GW Bush way, we ended wars and spent money on things we didn’t want to, obviously this is not an american people problem, but more a australian problem. Due to this, the australian population became angry with “americans” mainly Bush, believing this policies were stupid and power hungry (ie Iraq). Australians were angry we followed US into Iraq, feeling we were lied too, we now have a new government, and so do you.
I remember the discussions about Palin and Obama, and Australians thought that Obama was the right choice, when the recession hit, australia managed to avoid it, were the US has had much trouble, we blame Bush and the amount of money spent on the wars for this.
I do not feel like i am explaining myself well, America is portrayed as a power hungry nation that is stepping on other countries to get what they want, they are still testing nuclear bombs in the Pacific Ocean and Hillary Clinton was running around latin and south america trying to convince them to take on North Korea. (the fox news guy is quoted as saying (brazil president stated that they did not want to back north korea into a corner) That the Brazilian President is walking around with his tail between his legs) Things like this annoy australia, we are not a power hungry nation, so to us these policies seem arrogant.
As for the “americans are stupid argument” i think this is how it happens, In english in high school we watch the michael mooredocumentariess, you have to admit theydon’tt make the average american look to clever. These movies show how Bush trained Osama, gave weapons toAfghanistann, How you can get a free gun when you open a bank account, etc. Of course it is more the lack of understanding then it is the fact we think you are stupid. Of course even the dumb shits like Edvard Jdon’tt think all americans are stupid, its just a label that he has given you. Also, and i could be wrong, idon’tt believe that american school children are educated much on Australia, for example, i am yet to meet an american whohasn’tt asked me if they can ride a kangaroo, tell me that capital of Australia is Sydney or ask me about drop bears. Sure now australians are letting these things run wild as they are sick of correcting them. To be fair, the australian system does not do much about america, we get most of ourInformationn fromindependentt research or television.
I believe you will find no racism or violence towards you, americans are super welcome in australia, we will be warm sharing and excited to meet you. howeverdon’tt besurprisedd to get asked about your takes on the Wars, Guns and Recession, not because we are being racist but because we are interested. You may also find yourself open to many jokes, and these are just that, we aussies like to have a laugh, esp after a few beers,don’tt take offense and make sure to rip us off back.
Youdon’tt say your age or where in australia you are going, so i cant offer any advice on where to go, i suggest if you hoping to see a bit of Australia to do the east coast, starting down in melbourne and doing the great ocean road and then heading up to sydney and the gold coast. (flights between syd, melbourne and brisbane are about $ 50) As you say its a long way to go so i would spend some time and see alot. (Aust is about the size of the US) If you are coming to party, i suggest sydney and melbourne, to surf i would head to the gold coast.
I understand why you are concerned, however considering the fact that the majority of people on here areschool agee bored children, i think you will be fine, America is one of the most popular places for people travelling overseas, so i think that proves that wedon’tt hate americans.
I hope i have explained myself well. i have tried to be unbiased and explain,
wedon’tt hate americans, its just an easy target for bored people.
chao
you dont see any trouble in Aussie, cant even start any if you tried. (i lived in high crime rate areas there)
Australia is the safest country in the world, even safer than New Zealand
You might notice that a lot of hate posts in this section are posted from USA,not Australia. Of course there are idiots in every country & Australia is no exception.But if you are judging a whole nation by a few idiots on an internet site,then what DOES that say for your intelligence? No offence,but the internet is full of faceless trolls who post such things to get people like you going & the sad thing is that you fall for their lies & trouble making.Australia is a very safe country,probably the safest in the world just now.I find it extremely amusing that you fear internet trolls but you live in a country that has nuclear warheads pointed it’s way from many directions.Australia has no such worries.We have thousands of American tourists here at any given time,& they all go back home safely without incident.Just remember,the internet is not a place to seek the truth,ask Americans who have been here.They will put you straight.
I find it strange that you would frequently see comments from Australians saying that you should accept socialism or ban guns, considering that neither has happened in Australia.
Anyway, it’s perfectly safe for US citizens to visit Australia. You’ll find people who aren’t big fans of your country, but they won’t hold that against you. We’re capable of drawing a distinction between the government and the people.
Don’t worry about that post, I’ve seen that twit before. Yes it’s true there are a few stereotypes about Americans and a few people will hold onto them not matter what, but generally we love you guys.
A few don’ts are, obviously, Iraq and Afghanistan and what ever you do please don’t talk up America being better than Australia we have a lot of national pride (hence we pick on our own country a lot) and will defend Australia if someone tries to talk us down.
A big don’t in our slang are the word root..e.g. if you are rooting for a team in Australian slang it means you are having sex for the team, yes root is slang for sex. Also fanny is not the bottom here it is a woman’s vagina and one has has many a good laugh at the expense of Americans saying things like a lady has a nice fanny.
Some do’s…try some kangaroo it’s delicious, watch a footy game either AFL (go the Saints) or Rugby League (go Storm). In Sydney we are passionate about Rugby League and in Melbourne it’s AFL all the way. If you are coming int he next few months it’s cooling down to winter so the beach is out, unless you surf of course. If you come around June/July you could also take a trip out to the Australian Alps and do some skiing or snowboarding. Most of all have fun, enjoy yourself and don’t worry about the idiots. Oh and watch our beer, experience has shown it stronger than American beer and can take you by surprise.
Rupert Murdoch is going to do a lot of pennants for the his media deluge inflicted on the planet through his media outlets. You shouldn’t trust most of the “news” reports that are broadcast because they are biased towards their board of directors agenda. I think that if you come to Australia it will be an experience of a lifetime. Most Australians will not judge you on where you come from but the type of person that you are. If they don’t like your attitude they may then criticise you on where you come from. They don’t tend to intellectualise their dislike of people and try to keep it simple and to the lowest common denominator. Now this is not to say that Aussies are simple or stupid but they don’t prioritise that way of thinking. You will find a huge amount of Aussies that will want to have a good time and relax; they are not snobbish and don’t like snobs or overly politically correct behaviour. As a lot of people around the world most of their perceived knowledge of other countries is through the media, movies and TV. Although you can get a lot of good, useful and true information this way most of it is biased and incorrect. I have had American friends and worked with a few and they seemed to find Australia a breath of fresh air compared to the States and the feeling/pace is more relaxed. Your concern about spending the money to come to Australia is unfounded. As I said before you will totally enjoy yourself in Aus. If you are staying at a backpacker hostel you will meet heaps of Aussies as well as other travellers.
The thing about generalising about any culture, race, religion or group of people is that it is stupid, narrowminded and ignorant. People seem to get very defensive on YA and use this forum to spew out tirades about their lack of knowledge and insecurities. This is not the case 100% of the time but is a regular occurence.
The fact remains that if you get two “different” groups of people (race, religon, culture, sports fans, car makes……….) you find find more similarities between them than differences.