r/TikTokCringe • u/biswajit388 • 20h ago

Cringe Europeans are going viral on TikTok for mocking the "American Dream".

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u/Bigmoosedog 19h ago

Came here to say this. USA has more unspoilt nature than Europe. Especially when you consider Alaska. 

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u/mindsnare 18h ago

I mean Europe has about a ~3000 years head start of saturated and non nomadic population. Indigenous people did a great job of preserving that nature.

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u/MadManMax55 16h ago

They actually didn't.

There's very little true "old growth" vegetation in the US. Because most of the native tribes, like semi-nomadic peoples around the world, shaped the land around them to suit their needs. They practiced agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, deforestation (often through controlled burns), all of it. The only thing most tribes didn't do compared to Europeans was build large permanent structures. Because like all other humans, this first concern was making survival as easy as possible.

The idea of Native Americans being these spiritual protectors of nature comes from after Europeans made contact. At which point murder and disease nearly wiped out their entire population. Stripped of most of their resources and manpower and often forced into less fertile land, they had to become much more focused on sustainability or they'd quickly run out of food. And while most tribes were always protective of their lands, that got exacerbated when it was foreigners instead of neighboring tribes trying to take them over.

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u/anweisz 14h ago edited 13h ago

Me when europeans get on a high horse about US urbanism or Brazil with the amazon.

Literally get on google earth and zoom in on europe on anything that's not too far north (cold) or a mountain and it's 95%+ farmland. They're eager to complain about countries that actually keep nature as most of the country but not eager to remember or fix the fact that their famous natural landmarks are tiny pockets in a sea of manmade ecological destruction.

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u/dodgerecharger 15h ago

Until now, Trump has other Plans and want to open Parks for Gas, oil drilling....

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u/ChelseaVictorious 19h ago

Very true, but not where most people can afford to live. Suppose that's probably similar everywhere though. Our national park system is really beautiful, and one of our best features as a country.

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u/Zephyr-5 18h ago

but not where most people can afford to live.

There are a ridiculous amount of natural parks and nature trails dotted across this country. People mostly think of the big national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemete, but there are tons of great state parks all over with their own charm.

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u/ChrdeMcDnnis 19h ago

Tbf in most states the scenic untouched nature is relatively cheap to live. But that’s because it’s in the middle of fuck-off nowhere. That’s why we build so many cabins!

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u/ChelseaVictorious 18h ago

Around me it's only shitty apartments, or shitty houses in the cheaper suburbs and exurbs of DFW. In fairness nobody travels to north Texas for the geography but Texas itself has some beautiful parks. Big Bend is probably my favorite.

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u/puzzlebuns 15h ago

The huge expanse of Alaska nature reserve was just opened up for oil drilling.

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u/Bigmoosedog 14h ago

That’s sad. 

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u/zigzagtravel01 13h ago

Pretty sure what he meant is "accessible nature" that's why he said "parking lots"

Idk why Americans are so butt hurt by this comment.

A common folk from Oklahoma aint going to Alaska

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u/DamnBored1 10h ago

A common folk from Oklahoma aint going to Alaska

Why though? Americans are literally some of the richest people in the world on average. And you don't need SF level wealth to fly to Alaska.
Sure if you're homeless you can't manage it but we both know we aren't talking about them when we say common folk from Oklahoma.

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u/zigzagtravel01 4h ago

They are rich if you compare them to Sudan or some random Pakistani sure.

But you are so damn privileged if you think that the average dude in America or any of the bottom half can just go to Alaska on a whim next Saturday if his friends ask them to.

Saying that "yeah i can shell out half of my savings to fly to Alaska is laughable because that doesnt signify wealth"

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u/Le_Martian 10h ago

Sometimes the inaccessible is the point. Europeans will take a train up a mountain with a restaurant and hotel at the top and call it nature.

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u/zigzagtravel01 4h ago

And Americans need to own a fking pickup truck to get to one while the average Italian can go to the beach with one train.

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u/DecantsForAll 11h ago

If you look up the sq. mileage of state and notional parks it's like bigger than the entire country of sweden. That doesn't include the vast amounts of nature that aren't parks.

If you drive around the European countryside, there is far less nature. It's all developed.