Archie

French-American here — spent 20 yrs in France, 13 in the US. Let me speak to this. I think the only reason Europoors tolerate their miserable existence is because they tell themselves lies about what the rest of the world is like. They eat gruel in their AC-less social housing while the most awesome party in history is being thrown just next door. If you hang out in France, you'll routinely hear them say things like: "in the US, people die in front of hospitals" (they literally believe this to be the case) or "our social system is the envy of the world." Their image of the US is completely delusional, and they are often shocked to discover that when they visit here. Their Marxist media brainwashed them into thinking America is some Dickensian horror, with Monopoly-style fat capitalists running around with their top hats and monocles, exploiting dirt poor workers. The reality is that: * Social security is (unfortunately) the largest gov expense in the US * Hospitals are by law forbidden to refuse care to people * Americans are so much richer than French people it's not even funny. The *poorest* of our 50 states (Missisipi) has a GDP per capita of $53k, 36%(!) higher than France's $39k. Now, how do Americans perceive the French (and Europeans at large)? Well, the tragic reality is that they really, truly don't think of them. They may cross their minds once a month, at most. Why would they think of that irrelevant backwater of a continent? The few times they do come to mind, it is, at best, as a quaint vacation spot. A nice place to sip espresso and spend their American dollars — which go such a long way in these third world countries! The closest comparison is how Europeans think of Thailand or Cambodia. That's at best. At worst, they think they're a lazy, entitled, smug, snobbish, rude people with a bright future behind them, who confuse regulation for progress, don't realize their economies were left in the dust a very long time ago, simply stopped innovating because they've lost the will, ability, or both, and who would rather brag about their 60%(!!) public spending to GDP ratio than fix their communist shit hole of a system. Nice wine though.