Do non-americans realize that the United States is literally just a bunch of countries in a trench coat that agreed to be semi-nice to each other in order to sneak into the Big Boy Club? Because let’s be honest that’s just what the USA is
The rest of the world: So… you’re a big country?
The states, standing on each other’s shoulders: Y- yes,,,
I love how everyone who’s reblogged this hasn’t added anything on or tagged anything on it. They’re all just like “Yeah. That’s it. That’s the entire United States summed up in one post-”
#oh my god is THAT why you guys are so weird
Yeah 100%
Don’t let these tags die omfg
10/10 can confirm
absolutely bonkers that my own tags have crossed my dash like this more than fifteen reblogs after i wrote them
I moved to another state. 30 minutes away. My family acts like I betrayed them and can’t understand my life choices. It’s completely different way of life, especially during covid. Completely different country.
every single fucking time one of those articles of “things europeans find weird about america” complains that sales tax isn’t included
states set the sales tax!!! it’s literally different across state lines!!! american retailers can’t add it bc they’d have to account for 50 different prices!!!!!!!
It gets even more insane! California’s clean air standards for cars and other such things are so much higher than everyone else’s! So if a car manufacturer in Detroit wants to sell their damn cars in California, they need to build their cars to California clean air standards. But retooling an assembly line and car design to have some cars meet California clean air standards, while building others to other clean air standards is a lot of work, so car manufacturers all over the country have to build all their cars to California clean air standards.
Which is why California went into an uproar earlier this year when the Federal Government tried to argue that states can’t set their own environmental guidelines! “Fuck you!” says California, “we remember Los Angeles in the 80s, how bad the smog gets, go pollute your own damn air over in your own damn state where there isn’t a thermal inversion layer to trap all the smog down near ground level!”
“But you’re making it soooo haaaaaard to sell our cars everywhere else!” they whine.
“Fuck you!” California shouts. “And while we’re at it, we don’t give a shit what you say, Mister President, we’re gonna open our damn states when we’re good and ready, and our friends Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington State agree! Also, we’ve decided to legalize weed!”
“But the Federal Government says it’s illegal!” shouts the other states.
“Fuck you, we make the drug laws in our state, and we say toke up!”
“Now, hang on!” shouts the Federal government. “You can legalize weed in your state, but all banks are federal agencies, so if your weed dispensaries set up bank accounts, those accounts have money from illegal practices in it and are subject to seizure by the federal government!”
“FINE!” shouts California. “Hey, weed guys, you can keep selling weed, but you can only deal in cash!”
“How the fuck is that supposed to work!?”
“I DON’T FUCKING KNOW, TAKE IT UP WITH DC!”
“By the way, if you’re gay married elsewhere, we won’t recognize it,” mutters Texas.
“OH FUCK YOUUUUUUU!”
And so it goes and so it goes…
“What’s sales tax?” says Montana. “What’s road maintainence?” “also what’s a speed limit?”
*gestures at Florida* Oh also, the reason Florida is “so weird” is only PARTIALLY because people who live here are bonkers – it’s also because Florida state laws around privacy do not include the details of arrests! So in other states, when you’re arrested, it can just show up in the registrar like “25 yo man arrested 04/30/20” but in Florida they can (and do) print the details of why they were arrested: “25 yo man arrested 4/30/20 for riding an alligator through town while naked and smoking weed.” I promises you the other states have PLENTY of weirdos, they just don’t get their dirty laundry gleefully aired in the local news.
Arizona:
The sales tax thing gets even worse – in some states, different cities have different sales tax rates. In some cities, different parts of the city have different sales tax rates. And some cities even have different tax rates for different kinds of good!
Retailers could “just” include the sales tax in their overhead cost but then that requires different labeling and the labeling requirements also vary based on city and state!
Income taxes are even more complex.
Some states are also big enough to be completely different in culture and even accent depending on where you are. Central Pennsylvania is different from Eastern Pa is different from western PA.
^^ 100% fact. I dare you to find a native Californian who won’t, at some point when talking about our state, find a way to clarify whether we’re from SoCal or NorCal. Because one is not the other and fuck you if you pretend we’re the same even though we are, and this rage over people’s confusion is totally disconcerting and makes absolutely zero sense.
(Both of us do our best, however, not to acknowledge that Central CA is A Thing.)
New Jersey is a small state but you’ll be damned if someone doesn’t clarify if they’re from north, south, or central (tho north and south people refuse to believe central exists even tho it does fuck you).
If I went out of Jersey and the surrounding states no one else knows what the fuck a Wawa is (the best convince store ever don’t argue just look up what it offers) and within our own state we fight over if it’s called pork roll or Taylor Ham. There are some things that can be found in certain states only and each state and even parts of each state can be wildly different.
It’s even worse when you’re military raised and thus end up spend your childhood all over the US and have to adjust how you act in school accordingly. Like I spent elementary school as a yankee, middle school as a Virginian, my first 3 years of highschool a midwesterner (in freaking Chicago no less), and my last year of high school as a Floridian and if you think you can act the same in each state woooooo. When I say bullied and given looks of confusion/disgust for how I said or did something? It was intense
