why are americans sterotyped as sensationalists?

I don't assume that Americans are sensationalists . Will you still be mad if someone calls Americans as melancholic?

People who say that are far from the fact; others are not sensationalists because they are not free to speak. We have freedom even to criticize our own chiefs, parents, churches, or the president, without fear of reprisals.

I agree with you Hatley. What amazes me that the very people who say such things are indeed sensationalists themselves for believing everything they read or hear about "Americans" in general. Generalizing any group of people bothers me, when we do this it shows our own ignorance. As sure as a stereotypical comment comes out of our mouth or we make a post there are going to be 10 people to show how wrong we are.

From reading discsusions from many different people on mylot from varying countries, I have realized everyone on mylot. including Americans, stereotype badly. It surprises me how ready people are to make judgments about Americans when they have never been here, or maybe have visited once and paint everyone with the same brush. I'm constantly astounded by the solutions foreigners come up with for America's problems. I'm not belittling other people's opinions, but we all have to be careful about making snap judgments. I mean if people are to go by what only the media reports, then they are only getting a one sided view Or even if they go by a few disgruntled American citizens of mylot. Basically unless you live in a country all the time and breathe your country's cultures, you are going to be able to formulate an accurate opinion. And the same goes for Americans voicing things about other countries. Now I'll just wait for someone to say something rude about my post. lol

Hi Hatley, we in the UK get it because we are British we are deemed reserved. Well like you in America so are and some aren't but it is a generalisation. I drink tea but I can't stand cucumber and I am sure there are many Americans who don't eat burgers. I wouldn't class Americans as sensationalists, maybe more outgoing than others but that is because you have always been encouraged to live the dream, which I think is great. I am living my dream living by the sea surrounded by glorious countryside. Ellie :D

This person didn't know what they were talking about.. It really takes an unlearned person to lump a group of people together in this way.. Too many people do this and don't seem to realize how idiotic it makes them appear.. You can't judge many by a few and this is what so many people are guilty of.. I could care less about any type of sensationalism.. People stereotype others and make assumptions with only a few facts and this is what that person appears to have done.. Our media is not the be all, end all of our thought, wants or needs.. I would like to hear the truth from the media but we get what we get.. But, personally, I believe only a little bit of what I hear and only a small portion of what I see.. I do like to make sure that I know what I am talking about before I make any types of statements and I would not make this statement unless I was prepared to take the consequences of what I said.. So, this person, unless they have studied each and every individual American, doesn't know anything about Americans or what we are like..

IMO the only people who really deserve to be called senationlists are the members of the media and not just in America but any country. The more outrageous they are the more money they make. As we all know money is the bottom line for the media worldwide.

Yes, it's wrong to generalise. However, I think there are definite traits pertaining to different nationalities. I won't go into it here, suffice it to say there are definite stereotypes - in my opinion.

Poppycock. Americans are just as nice as other people and in certain ways they are nicer. Your media does seem to be full of itself, and does not show the real people who live in your nice country. I hate judging people by what the media portrays them. I really hated those old movies of settling America and the people were portrayed as ignorant hicks compared to the smooth and educated French and English. I mean there were some really educated Americans then. After all, the different between Americans and Canadians is just that you have a better climate, and have a president while we have a prime minister, and it takes all day to cross one of our provinces unless you go from south to north and it takes forever.