Cultural stereotypes

Yesterday my friends were discussing cultural exports. It started when I saw a comment somewhere lamenting how Japan was only known in the US for weirdness, anime, and sushi (we're talking common consciousness here). And then we fell to talking about other countries.

So here is my little list. It's not exhaustive, and some of the cultural exports are really unfortunate. Please don't be offended. This is an exercise in stereotypes and deliberately intended to be unfair. But if I had to summarise a country in three words, and to name the first three things that came to my mind, politically correct or not...

US: sex, guns, stupidity. (alas! fifty years ago, it was freedom, rock'n'roll and atom bombs. A hundred years ago it was speed, money, and good old-town generosity. whatever happened??)
UK: tea, the Queen, Benedict Cumberbatch.
Singapore: Singlish, muggers, prudery. (yup, that's my country over here. We're a sorry bunch. For those who don't know, 'muggers' are children who study very hard and have no life.)
Taiwan: fried street food, TV soaps, hilarious politics
China: Chairman Mao, cheap stuff, poisoned milk powder (that one really made a huge impression on me...)
India: rape, rape, ... rape. 

Rape is the new curry. I debated putting 'rape apologists' in but they were a part of rape, so -- well, you see India's receiving a lot of bad press right now. I wanted to explore India last year and partake of its magnificent history, culture, culinary environment and landscapes but now I wouldn't fly over it at an altitude of 2000ft in case I caught their cooties. It's for the same reason that I'll never buy milk powder from China. This is what publicity can do: tea here is being associated with the UK and no longer with China, where it rightfully belongs. And this is the UK which once owned 1/4 of the globe and was the world's single largest exporter of slaves, and which also endured the Blitz with resolution and courage, that now appears relatively harmless.

Of course the US contains many sympathetic, intelligent, and unarmed people who may also just happen to be celibate, and Singapore is trying its best to wipe out Singlish while engaging in some hilarious politics of their own. And I'm sure there're men in India who've never raped a thing. It's up to these people to change what their countries are viewed for... even though I really like Singlish and don't want the hilarious politics to stay.

Now that I'm done offending everyone, I'll put up some artwork. In 12 hours. Smell ya later.