Do you think the stereotypes are largely part of your country/state/city's culture, or are they absolutely ridiculous?

I don’t see how being part of the culture is in any way contradictory to them being ridiculous. Are you trying to ask whether we think the stereotypes about our local cultures are accurate?

A big stereotype about California was that God picked up the country and all the loose nuts and fruits fell to the bottom (the southwest).

The fact is everyone else is jealous that we’re cool.

I live in the Southeastern US. I suppose the stereotype is that everyone is a Republican, bible-thumping, poor, uneducated, racist redneck that lives for huntin’, fishin’, muddin’, and going to Walmart and Waffle House way more than any normal person would.

…the stereotype is alive and well and you can find these people everywhere down here but, just like any stereotype, it only describes a portion of the population.

I’m from Boston, MA

We are MassHoles
I dislike the term, but it’s almost accurate. More like we don’t take any shit and are fairly blunt.

We drive like maniacs
I don’t, but I used to when I was younger. Many still do.

We are a progressive state
Me, my family, and friends are. Most folks I know are, but you can find a few pockets of prejudice and homophobia if you look hard enough.

We have a terrible accent
Mostly true. I can turn it off when I’m teaching and most educated Bostonians lose it a bit as they go along.

We are wicked smaht
We are a college-rich state and education is highly valued here socially and in our many industries. I have noticed even the non-educated folks I’ve known over the years (tradesmen, truck drivers) are very knowledgable about certain subjects.

We all love the Red Sox
Maybe not ‘all’, but most. My wife and I are not sport fans really, but we do enjoy going to a sox game.

For a primer, watch Good Will Hunting. It’s a pretty accurate portrayal of the Boston area and the people. I pretty much grew up like those guys.

Yep, Californias infamous ” land of fruits and nuts.” lol
I am proud to be a California nut. One state had to be the leader in liberal nuttiness.

Well California is extremely diverse, everything from the mega wealthy, Hollywood scene, to lots of old hippy types, plenty of old time gold rush era properties that have been in families for decades and decades. I’d say my particular area is home to old timer property owners, lots of Bay area and SoCal transplants wanting the gentlemans ranch estate lifestyle, close proximity to lake Tahoe recreation and ski resorts, Tons of us 70’s throwbacks that want our peace and privacy, cowboys and the horsey set, even some celebrity vacation properties.

I ran into Bruce Willis at my local feed store a few years ago seeking directions to some ranch properties for sale. He was very nice and down to earth, but his Limo driver seemed stressed 4 wheeling around some remote ranch properties. Probably should have driven the Land Rover Bruce. lol

California—- gay, vegan, hippie,left of Trotsky hedonists excluding Orange county (a confederate state).

Stereotypes are plainly based on reality.

The connections between groups and behaviors are too random to have been invented.

I’m America and from watching Top Gear (the British version) and being married to someone who was born and raised outside of this country I think the negative stereotypes are that we are fat, overly religious, only speak English, and like to take a pill to fix everything. I think a lot of people in my country fit those stereotypes. Enough that is understandable why those stereotypes exist. However, it certainly does not cover everyone in the country. Some positive stereotypes are that we are friendly, helpful, and curious. I think those are all true too among many Americans.

Right now I live in Florida. People think it rains every day in FL. It does rain almost every day in the summer months for 40 minutes, July through September, but not the rest of the year. The rest of the year is springlike with many dry days. People from the northeast think Floridians are on a slow laid back schedule. We might be a little less rushed than New York City, but FL in general is efficiently run with a strong work ethic. I currently live in the Tampa area on the west coast of FL and most people think of this area as having a lot of transplanted Midwesterners, and it’s true. Southeast FL has more transplanted northeasterners Latin Americans and even gay people. I think Dade County (the county where Miami is) is almost 70% Hispanic now? I’d have to check it to be sure. I know it is over 50%. Yes, it is almost like being in another country when you are there because the minority population, whoch is actually the majority now in numbers, almost all speaks one language—Spanish. Unlike being in NY where it is the whole world in one place. Yes, sometimes you walk into restaurants in parts of Miami and they first address you in Spanish.

I lived in TN for a while, and I guess the stereotypes are the typical southern ones. White people are Republicans, black people are Democrats, and most people are religious. I can understand why those stereotypes exist, but again like any stereotype, there are plenty of exceptions. I think the south has the stereotype of not being friendly to newcomers who move to the area, I found that to not be true at all. There is a very nice congenial feeling in the south even with strangers, although we do say southerners are nice to your face while Midwesterners are simply nice. But, of course there are many southerners who are simply nice as well.

There are so many stereotypes all around the country, America is so big.

@stanleybmanly Such a plethora of compliments! I wish I fulfilled all of those stereotypes!

Well..I am not gay, nor a strict vegan, but I am a member of the Californication “4’-H” group.
Hippie Hedonist Happy brownie hill dweller. lol

@cookieman My accent comes and goes, depending on how often, and how recently, I visit the region. And, yes, I do love the Red Sox, regardless of how far 2014 falls into the toilet. And, I’m no Johnny-Come-Lately to southeastern New England; I grew up there so long ago, I have no affections for the Patriots, that homeless, unloved team that eventually landed in Foxborough.

Now, I live in Alexandria, VA. If you think that Virginians are gun-toting, pro-death-penalty rednecks, you’ve never visited northern Virginia. This is one of the most educated, and reliably blue, parts of the country.

@SMP: Yeah, they should have gone with ‘Boston Patriots’ if they wanted some love.

I live in Vietnam.

- We are reckless drives
I agree. Some of us are just demons on the streets, driving as fast as possible like we can’t let anyone surpass us. Not to mention some idiots who would rather have an accident than miss something on their phones.

- We are good at Math
Maybe… many student here attend many Math contest and win some very high prizes. But some like me are just hopeless.

- Our food is very good
It depends. There is some food that is considered “great” by many but I can’t take it. Maybe our food is good because we know how to combine the materials, and because we have a lot of good materials.

- We are selfishly smart
Mostly true. Some people are so smart but they use their wit for their own self-interest, sometimes even harming others. But long ago that is even considered a “virtue”. There are some folk tales that regard the act as “cool, heroic, sensible, blah blah blah”. Some of us just can’t distinguish between being “selfishly smart” and just being smart.

- We have a developed “copy-paste” culture
I agree, to some point. We generally don’t have a good imagination and it is somewhat hard for us to think of new ideas some are just to lazy to think. So, we just get others’ ideas. Some even go too far as to claim the ideas theirs. But there are still people who get the ideas, then try to alter it in a way that is suitable for their uses and those people usually don’t claim the ideas

Australia- we have big bugs and weird animals. We drink alot and hang at the beach. we sound like aukers. Racists- I lived in america i’m not going there. that’s the stereotype does not speak for everyone. relaxed lifestyle, for sure.

@trailsillustrated and…you have giant man eating sharks and killer jelly fish. haha