"us" and "them"

this comes up on a google image search of "germans" a lot quicker than you'd think.

as covered in this article, a social network asserts that americans are the coolest in the world--according to a poll of 15,000 people. and number 1 is americans--i immediate looked up badoo because i assumed it was american-made, owned, headquartered, something, but it's not.

anyway, here is another article that is in german, but it's quite funny because they say how germany has the reputation of having hard-working people and amazing engineers and designers, which is just not cool. however and but, the article says, VW beetles! berlin! (time's article on berlin being europe's capital of cool) levi's jeans! (levi-strauss was born in bavaria... i thought it was a stretch too.) plus! recycling!

this masterpiece of tolerance has a lot of international commenters who are apparently very upset that american made number 1, and are pointing out the death and destruction america causes all the time because of the wars that american citizens pressure congress into because we have nothing better to do. also, we don't recycle and we're fat! fat! can you believe that and they got number one?!!!11

i'm just as frightened about my patriotism as the next american outside the border, but sometimes comments make me angry, which i hate because who cares? if i met these people in a bar we'd probably have a beer and not care.

one briton says the article was "written by a yank i presume." you're still calling us yankees? GET OVER IT.

see, that is the kind of thing i think.

but if you put, we'll say, six native speakers of english in a bar, two are from britain and another two are from australia and one from the US and one from canada, it gets loud, drunk, and hysterical.

i mean not always but sometimes.

and it turns into a discussion of "us" and "them."

"did you ever notice they take their dogs everywhere?"
"yeah, but we have people like that in australia, you know."
"oh, ok."
"but what about rudeness?"
"you think people are rude?"
"not outright, no, just a little, you know..."
"standoffish?"
"exactly, right."
"it's your turn."
"oh, sorry, right. which letter are we one?"
"wait a second. have you guys ever played a game like this before? with germans?"
"...no"
"no."
"as if that would happen."
"that's what i love about us! cheers!"

and a cacophony of clinked glasses and spilled beer rounds off the night.