I was on Mike’s site discussing, among some other things, the alleged Americocentricity of bloggers from the US and their inability to look at people or events from other parts of the globe. This was panned as a fairly typical expression of American insularity and ignorance. And in a sense that criticism is valid.

As always happens, however, that criticism, like all generalisations, is badly flawed beneath the surface. We have here enough American bloggers who write about other parts of the world, or when they don’t know, admit they don’t know and express a wish to know. But they are, also admittedly, a small fraction of the American blogosphere.

All right, let me say right out that on this topic I’m not neutral, but also I’m not condemning the Americans. I am not condemning them because I do not believe that there’s anything extraordinarily insular about Americans per se. Yeah, they’re self-obsessed, and they behave like the US is the only nation that matters. But then ask an American and he or she can at least tell you how many states the US has, can recount a sanitized version of its history, and give a rough idea of the existence of a world outside its shores, even if they can’t identify any of it on the map.

But I lived in North India and I saw for myself the mentality of the North Indians, who comprise about half the Indian population. The average ignorant American is also the uneducated American, who has probably a less than high school education and has a low grade employment. The educated American with the college degree may or may not be contemptuous of the rest of the world, but he will know about it. The average North Indian, even if he be among the “educated” ones, thinks the world comprises some of the states of North India, specifically Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the cities of “Dilli” and “Bambai” (Delhi and Bombay/Mumbai), a vague “Madras” that includes all of South India – the East might as well not exist – and an even vaguer Abroad called “Amreeka”. He will not be able to locate India on the outline map of the world, but will consider himself the greatest patriot in the world. I am not joking.

I’m sure all of you who aren’t Americans will have met people of the type I mentioned in your own countries, people abysmally ignorant to a greater or lesser degree. The bigger and more populous the country, the more likely that this sort of situation will exist.

All right, so how does one explain the fact that the Ignorant American seems to be so much more visible than the Ignorant Indian/Chinese/Brit?

First, because the number of American bloggers – at least in English/Americanish is very great both in relative and absolute terms, they’re very visible.

Secondly, because of the United States’ government’s arrogant and overbearing attitude, we all, let’s face it, bear a subliminal grudge against the US and at least subconsciously take it out on Americans even if they are innocent of that fault. To put it simply, someone like me would more easily forgive ignorance or arrogance in a German or a Brazilian than in an American.

Third, of course, is the fact that Americans are self-centred because their system encourages them to believe that the US is the centre of the universe. You just take a look at the rhetoric of American politicians, such as Madeleine Albright going on about how the US “stands taller” or Hollywood where the world is regularly threatened by aliens and zombies and so on, but the “world” always means America.

Ultimately, of course, it’s your choice. If you don’t like an American (or Indian or Britisher or Frenchman or whatever) you’re at liberty to ignore him or her. Don’t visit his page, don’t get locked in pointless arguments unless you want to.

You don’t like the US government. I don’t like the US government. Any number of Americans don’t like the US government. Just don’t extend your dislike of the government of the country to individuals unless you have particular reasons to hate them individually.

And, of course, anyone reading this is free to hate me as well.