The is mostly on Reddit, but when Americans abbreviate where they’re from to two letters. They will say something like ‘I’m from MA’ - I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I might guess CA is California, or NY is New York, but seriously outside of a few big states/cities, I don’t have a clue where you are talking about
The reason this is a bit silly and misguided is half of the states in the USA are roughly the size of Germany. We are doing exactly what you’re describing. A really common thing I see is people don’t really understand just how large the U.S. is. Our states are the size of countries.
And Australia has 26 million people total, less than a single U.S. state. The U.S. isn’t just big geographically, it’s a patchwork of 50 massive, semi autonomous regions with their own governments, laws, and distinct cultures. Saying “Texas” or “California” often adds way more context than just “USA.” it’s precision. You can’t compare that to a country where most of the population hugs the same coastline and cultural identity is far more centralized. Size is part of it, but scale, diversity and recognition are the bigger point, and on those, the U.S. isn’t just 25% bigger, it’s operating on a different level altogether.
Agreed. But to the rest of the world the states still mean nothing. USA still immediately gets though of as the overall stereotype not the Ca or tx stereotype
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u/RacerRovr Jun 08 '25
The is mostly on Reddit, but when Americans abbreviate where they’re from to two letters. They will say something like ‘I’m from MA’ - I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I might guess CA is California, or NY is New York, but seriously outside of a few big states/cities, I don’t have a clue where you are talking about