White Woman Shares All the Times She Encountered Police and Was Let Off the Hook

It’s not a secret that black Americans live in a vastly different world than white ones.

Case in point: Black men and women live in fear that they’ll be pulled over or approached by police, worried that they may suffer violence or, worse, may end up dead after the interaction.

One white woman highlighted this huge disparity with an impactful Twitter thread describing her many interactions with police over her lifetime.

It starts when she was just 15 years old and caught shoplifting:

And continues to another incident when she was 18:

The thread continues:

Nothing happened then, either:

She pointed out that she doesn’t have a criminal record:

Moral of the story? White people almost always survive their encounters with the police. The same is not true for black Americans.

A black woman responded with her own thread that’s similar to Vernoff’s, except her experience was the opposite:

No matter how you feel about politics, I think we can all agree that Vernoff, a showrunner for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19,” has certainly given everyone lots of food for thought, right?

Did you ever make mistakes in your youth that involved the police? How do you feel the police handled you or your friends?

The post White Woman Shares All the Times She Encountered Police and Was Let Off the Hook appeared first on UberFacts.

White Woman Shares All the Times She Encountered Police and Was Let Off the Hook

It’s not a secret that black Americans live in a vastly different world than white ones.

Case in point: Black men and women live in fear that they’ll be pulled over or approached by police, worried that they may suffer violence or, worse, may end up dead after the interaction.

One white woman highlighted this huge disparity with an impactful Twitter thread describing her many interactions with police over her lifetime.

It starts when she was just 15 years old and caught shoplifting:

And continues to another incident when she was 18:

The thread continues:

Nothing happened then, either:

She pointed out that she doesn’t have a criminal record:

Moral of the story? White people almost always survive their encounters with the police. The same is not true for black Americans.

A black woman responded with her own thread that’s similar to Vernoff’s, except her experience was the opposite:

No matter how you feel about politics, I think we can all agree that Vernoff, a showrunner for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19,” has certainly given everyone lots of food for thought, right?

Did you ever make mistakes in your youth that involved the police? How do you feel the police handled you or your friends?

The post White Woman Shares All the Times She Encountered Police and Was Let Off the Hook appeared first on UberFacts.

People Share What They Think Is GOOD About the United States

I’ve been lucky to travel a lot in my life and I’ve been overseas a few times.

I totally understand why there is anti-American sentiment around the world (and here at home) because of some of our policies and our terrible leaders, but I really do believe that we live in a great country and there are many positives about the U.S.

We just have a lot of work to do and we’re gonna get there together!

Here’s what people on AskReddit had to say regarding what’s good about the United States.

1. From an international student.

“I’m an International student in the USA from a 3rd world country. It’s basically a different universe. Everything is so cheap when you earn in dollars.

Large convenience stores like Target or Walmart are (as the name suggests) incredibly convenient. Electricity is dirt cheap. Amazon packages can arrive in 2 days. High school system (from what I gathered talking to friends) facilitates students pursuing specific interests, while higher education also gives enough flexibility to do a complete 180.

Public transport (where it exists) is great. People are incredibly diverse. Idk, the USA has a lot going for it.”

2. It’s HUGE.

“The size of the US is what makes it so diverse . I’ve lived in the Deep South (AL, MS) and the total opposite northwest areas (Colorado ,Washington state)

If anyone has visited multiple regions it’s so easy to realize how night & day the cultures and customs can be. Yet we are all Americans.

And people wonder why all of America can’t agree on anything (politics, etc.) It’s all perspective…”

3. Welcome!

“As someone who has visited both the northwest and southeast, you Americans sure know your hospitality and how to make tourists feel welcome.

Your rollercoasters and theme parks are great, your love for bubble gum and cinnamon flavored treats is endearing, and your forests, mountains and national conservation areas are magnificent!

Oh, and despite them being unfashionable gas gulpers, I have a weak spot for classic American muscle cars.”

4. Well, that’s good.

“Years ago I stayed a few nights in a relative’s house on Long Island New York.

In their back yard they had a long low fridge. Inside this fridge were loads of cans of beer.

There was no lock on this fridge. Nobody hopped the fence and stole it.

They also had a scarecrow and various other Halloween things out the front of the house.

Nobody stole or destroyed this stuff!

Having lived all over Dublin I was shocked.”

5. So much shit…

“The US has so much shit. Great National parks, good music in all tastes, video games, technology, food.

Many cities that could be the capital in most countries. All those skyscrapers, all sorts of neighbourhood’s.

The US can literally define a generation. People in other countries use US definitions. E.g. Baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Z. Count yourselves lucky because other regions have next to nothing (economically).”

6. Very true…

“There are not many countries out there where you can openly mock the president and criticize their every move and not have the slightest fear of reprisal.”

7. Neighbors to the north.

“My experience as a Canadian is that Americans are generally chill, friendly people and are very approachable. I have long felt more comfortable talking to strangers there than in my own country.

Canadians can be very passive aggressive and reserved, while Americans as a generalization like to chat with strangers. I’ve seen that no matter what state I’ve visited. Customer service is also a million times better in the US than in Canada, whether it be at a restaurant or even Walmart.

I get tired of fellow Canadians dumping on the US just because they don’t like the current president. The country is the sum of all its people and not who’s in the White House at this moment.

I’m looking forward to visiting your country again once Coronavirus slows down. I had hoped to do some US travel this year; at least I got one trip in before the pandemic got bad and our land border closed.

Also, you guys produced Seinfeld.”

8. Interesting.

“The fact that as a woman of color, while I do experience racism, the bulk of people stand up when they see something wrong or unjust.

I may not be this lucky in a lot of other places.”

9. Be optimistic!

“I love my European bothers and sisters dearly, but you are a cynical bunch.

American optimism may not be based completely in reality but I believe to my core it has contributed to success in life.”

10. Our principles.

“I love that that one of our founding principles (life liberty and pursuit of happiness) are still our goals as a people. We still haven’t figured out how to do it right, but damn if everyone doesn’t fight for those rights every chance they get.

Our nationality is a concept, not a race. I guess that’s true of other countries in a way, but it feels so much more here. You could have a someone, say, with Sioux heritage, someone with Chinese heritage, someone with Dominican heritage, and someone with British heritage standing next to each other and they’re all American. And they all want to be treated with respect and dignity and believe that this country should stand for that.

We have a really awful history of not following up on our founding principles, but I think every population within the US fights for those principles and agrees on them as a concept. We differ on the exact interpretation, sure, but generally – we agree that America is a place where people should be free, respected, and able to build the life they want for themselves. I’m not saying it always happens, but I am saying that’s what holds us together.

While we don’t have our shit figured out with how we treat one another, we’re all in this country and we all are demanding to be treated justly and fairly like scrappy little revolutionaries.

11. The ultimate melting pot.

“It’s such an INCREDIBLY diverse place.

So many people from all walks of life, but I also love the thought of places like Chinatown, where you can get a real taste of a different culture and you don’t even need to get on a plane.”

12. An ongoing experiment.

“Nature, national parks and their protections

All kinds of music, including jazz, pop, … all one big continuous experiment. It’s nice.”

13. Fairly stable.

“Strong input in the arts. Americans, or their corporations, make high or old culture accessible for the masses.

Disney has adapted many old stories, legends and fairy tales to modern times. The US comic book culture has created new heroes that are loved almost universally (Spider-Man, Superman, Batman).

You have a fairly stable constitution of the country. In the almost 250 years you exist you have seen one Civil War. Compare this to the rest of the world in the same time frame and your Civil War looks like a bar fight.”

14. Abundance.

“We have an absolutely incredible amount of living space that just sits there unused, and we’ve had one of the luckiest startup locations in human history.

Abundance is very American. We can afford it.”

15. It’s true.

“At the end of the day. It is still one of the best places to have an opportunity for success. People like to shit in the US, meanwhile people waiting for their visas and looking for ways to migrate.

And the food. LA, NY, SF. Whatever kind of food you’re craving for, there’s a good restaurant out there.”

Okay, let’s hear from all of you.

Tell us what you think is good and positive about the U.S.

Talk to us in the comments!

The post People Share What They Think Is GOOD About the United States appeared first on UberFacts.

Things About the U.S. That Would Sound Crazy If You Explained Them to a Non-American

America is very…complicated.

It’s also the only home that I’ve ever known, so I don’t really know any different.

Sure, I’ve traveled outside the country, but you never really know what a place is like until you actually live there for a while.

My brother-in-law is from rural Australia and he said that before he moved to the U.S. he assumed that every single one of us carried guns at all times because he watched a lot of episodes of Cops.

Of course, that isn’t true, but there are a lot of things about this place that are uniquely American.

AskReddit users opened up about the things about America that would sound crazy if you tried to explain them to someone from another country.

1. Sugar and painkillers.

“I studied in Chicago for a month at 17, and I was so confused as to why all your bread was sweet. I get migraines if I eat too much sugar and I basically lived off of chips, mac and cheese, and the salad bar in our accommodation.

On the Fourth of July I just ate a bowl of carrots dipped in ranch dressing as I didn’t eat meat at the time. It still had enough sugar to knock me out.

Also your painkiller bottles are HUGE! I had to buy ibuprofen and the smallest bottle was like 100 pills, I haven’t finished it yet and that trip was two years ago!”

2. Howdy, stranger.

“Complimenting strangers. But I like it though.

Some of you have said that you received compliments in Europe too. I said this because it was a first big difference I’ve noticed visiting America.

People there are usually very communicative and easy to talk to. I live in Slovakia and everyone just minds their own business here.”

3. Tell me about the jerky.

“I was on a night train in Italy from Rome to Venice.

I explained beef jerky and he asked me why we would do that to steak, and I was like blame the cowboys.”

4. Mind the gap.

“I don’t care if someone said it already, I’ll repeat it anyway because it’s so important:

That gap next to the doors in toilet stalls!!! I don’t want eye contact with strangers when doing my thing!”

5. Time to mow the lawn.

“Mowing the lawn.

So, I told my friend in China I had to mow my lawn….she had no idea what it meant. I went on to say …”you know …a lawnmower…it cuts the grass ..” …she looked at me like I was crazy. She didn’t fully understand until I linked her some videos of folks getting their lawn. Perhaps not the MOST American thing but not many ppl there have gardens or yards to maintain so she had never seen or used a lawnmower in her life.

I was thinking damn I had to mow the lawn as part of my chores just about every week growing up.”

6. We think it’s insane, too.

“Health insurance.

Premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, copays, out of pocket maximums, in-network, etc.

It’s an insane amount of knowledge that you need to have to make a good decision about your health coverage. And no one teaches you any of this sh*t. You have to go and learn it yourself on the Internet.”

7. Totally ridiculous.

“I honestly couldn’t believe people had to worry about calling an ambulance because of the fees.

Like… wtf? Imagine being seriously hurt or sick and hesitating to call an ambulance and having to think about how much it will cost.

Can’t imagine it.”

8. From Sweden…

“From the perspective of a Swede”

Not including tax in price tag

Shoes on inside

Healthcare prices

Gun laws”

9. Doesn’t seem right.

“The fact that there’s no government-mandated maternity/paternity leave?

In Canada, we get 12-18 months so it sounds crazy to me when I hear stories of people giving birth and going back to work in 2 weeks.”

10. Tipping is hard for foreigners.

“I always wondered why in the US it’s obligatory to tip people like you already got your meal in the restaurant for example and you get the check you just leave the amount in the check and leave the place what can they do to stop you from doing that you already got what you requested right? Is it a moral thing ?

Or you will be blacklisted or something like that?”

11. So did I…

“As a French person, I’d say the president swearing on the bible, i thought you guys were a secular country ?”

12. It’s a twister!

“Tornado chasing.

The high majority of the world’s tornados happen in the US. Where I live they only happen about once a lifetime.”

13. A lot of time on the road.

“I had a friend from Europe who could not get over the fact that I regularly drive 30+ mins just to go to dinner.

I live in DFW. There are closer things but it isn’t unusual to pick a restaurant across town just to try it.

Really just the amount of driving in general was shocking to them.”

14. Sad, but true.

“That the plot of Breaking Bad was completely plausible.

A public school teacher could face bankruptcy because he got cancer.”

15. All Hallow’s Eve.

“Asked my foreign language classes / students this question once. They all agreed: Halloween

Halloween is a bit more international now but at the time they were like, “So you get dressed up… and go around at night knocking on strangers’ doors… and randomly ask them for shit? Y’all crazy.””

It’s always interesting to try to look at your country from an outsider’s perspective, that’s for sure.

What do you think about this question?

Please talk to us in the comments and let us know what you think.

Thanks! We look forward to hearing from you!

The post Things About the U.S. That Would Sound Crazy If You Explained Them to a Non-American appeared first on UberFacts.

Map Outlines What People Think Is the Worst City in Each State

This chart is sure to cause some serious disagreements among people. It comes to us via Matt Shirley, who makes a new chart on his Instagram page every day.

Here are some past examples of charts he’s come up with in the past.

View this post on Instagram

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Please note the purple line’s fluctuations.

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Show me your bingos. @truly #TrulyPartner

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To create “The Worst City in Every State” map, Shirley asked his 292,000 Instagram followers to weigh in on the topic, so it’s not complete or scientific by any means. But it will probably get a lot of people talking.

Here is the full map:

And here’s an alphabetical list of the findings state-by-state:

Alabama: Birmingham

Alaska: Wasilla

Arizona: Mesa

Arkansas: Pine Bluff

California: Modesto (Northern) Bakersfield (Southern)

Colorado: Pueblo

Connecticut: Bridgeport

Delaware: Wilmington

Florida: Orlando

Georgia: Macon

Hawaii: Kalihi

Idaho: Caldwell

Illinois: Cairo

Indiana: Gary

Iowa: Cedar Rapids

Kansas: Topeka

Kentucky: Lexington

Louisiana: Turkey Creek

Maine: Rumford

Maryland: Poolesville

Massachusetts: Worcester

Michigan: Flint

Minnesota: Edina

Mississippi: Jackson

Missouri: Jefferson City

Montana: Browning

Nebraska: Fremont

Nevada: Sparks

New Hampshire: Manchester

New Jersey: Camden

New Mexico: Hobbs

New York: Albany

North Carolina: Gastonia

North Dakota: Grand Forks

Ohio: Dayton

Oklahoma: Ardmore

Oregon: Salem

Pennsylvania: Scranton

Rhode Island: Woonsocket

South Carolina: Greer

South Dakota: Brookings

Tennessee: Memphis

Texas: Dallas

Utah: Provo

Vermont: Rutland

Virginia: Virginia Beach

Washington: Spokane

West Virginia: Welch

Wisconsin: Manitowoc

Wyoming: Rock Springs

What do you think of this map and its findings?

Let us know in the comments, please.

The post Map Outlines What People Think Is the Worst City in Each State appeared first on UberFacts.

15 Things About America That Other People Around the World Think Are Really Weird

We feel like we live in such an interconnected world and walls and barriers have been broken down across cultures, but we still have a lot of differences with our fellow humans around the world.

Bottom line: a lot of people think some of the things we Americans do are downright weird. And they’re not shy about letting us know, apparently.

1. Rockmelon? What?

2. That’s weird

3. You better believe it

4. We’re…okay

5. For now…

6. Don’t mess with our Cheetos

7. Uncomfortable

8. Pregaming!

9. The only way to go!

10. Some do

11. Confusion

12. Uh oh

13. USA! USA! USA!

14. Oh, it’s true!

15. Have you tried it, friend?

Okay, maybe we are kind of weird…

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A Man Told a Woman to “Stop Speaking Spanish.” So Everybody Started Speaking Spanish.

The world can be a scary, sometimes confrontational place if you’re a minority. What makes those bad days worse, though, is when no one takes the time to stick up for you (or you know, be a decent human being).

That was not so on this day, though, when writer Jamie Primak found herself on the ugly end of a racist comment telling her to “stop speaking Spanish” on a flight.

Before she could gather herself and reply, the nearby flight attendant started to speak Spanish, too.

Everyone should have gotten up to dance – the flamenco or something equally Latin, just to top off the point.

Basically everyone on Twitter agreed, with most voicing a yearning to have been there…

….or to be in a similar situation one day…

…to put their own Spanish skills to work!

Seriously, in Europe and other parts of the world, people are celebrated for knowing more than one language! Imagine that!

Then again, it seems like some people don’t have that great a grip on what should and shouldn’t embarrass a person these days.

But more fun for us, right?

Just sayin… ?

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Tweets About Americans That Are Very, Very Wrong

Americans have a bit of a reputation around the world. Our culture is unique, and we take a lot of pride in being from the US of A. This gives our friends overseas an interesting impression of us – and sometimes they pick up information that isn’t quite right.

Here are 17 tweets that miss the mark when it comes to Americans:

1. This is a horrifying thought

2. Where’s my basket?

3. Twice per day, actually

4. Only sometimes

5. This is more of a regional thing

6. That would be magical, but no

7. I don’t think it’s true, but it makes sense

8. Someone lied to you

9. This one’s actually true, and it pains my introverted heart

10. Only if they’re deep fried

11. Lawn dwarves is a terrible name

12. I believe this is true, and I regret not taking this approach in the past

13. Maybe I was asleep in science class, but I don’t think so

14. I vote cry

15. Clap? Occasionally. Stand up? Nah.

16. I’m so glad this isn’t true

17. Nope, wrong country

If you need me, I’ll be listening to “God Bless America” on repeat.

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20 Times Canadians Completely Roasted America

Canadian folks really like stickin’ it to the USA, eh? But they’re also pretty on point, and they’re not at all soh-rry aboot it. Get it?

Nor should they be. Even Americans have to admit, these are pretty dern funny.

Enjoy these burns from our neighbors to the North.

 

1.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, prokopetz

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, thedailylaughs

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, invaderperidot

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Photo Credit: Tumblr

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, mendingsmiles

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, hetaliaddiction

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, focused-above

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Photo Credit: Twitter, anne_theriault

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, anewgayoflife

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, yoprinceass

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, youdbeagooddalek

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, loomn

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20.

Ooooooh BURN!

Uhh…wait… I mean.. BRRRRRRRN!

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15 Non-Americans Share the Wildest Things They’d Heard About the U.S. That Were Actually True

Let’s face it: people in the rest of the world have a somewhat skewed idea of what life in America is really like. Thanks to Hollywood’s wildly exaggerated stereotypes, it’s no wonder people of the world are all confused about what America is like.

In these 15 cases, though, non-Americans were totally shocked to learn that the “crazy” thing they’d heard about the States was actually pretty much true.

#1. Halloween culture shock.

Masked people come to your house, knock on your door asking for candy. Mostly it’s just packs of kids but sometimes whole families. This was my friends Halloween culture shock.

#2. Holy sh*t.

Drink sizes. Holy shit.

When my family visited in 2017 we landed in Texas for a stopover. First thing I saw in the shops part of the terminal was a dude who was drinking from what looked like an actual fucking bucket – here in NZ our “large” drinks would be considered an American “small” or maybe “medium”

#3. Only in Florida. Mostly.

That people actually get attacked by Alligators which got in their pools (specifically referring to Florida here).

#4. I thought it was nice.

I’m from Quebec and when we went down to Boston for a school trip, I sneezed in public and heard two or three people say “bless you”. Quite a weird rumour I had heard not 2 months prior to that. I thought it was nice.

#5. A Hollywood prop.

I’m from Australia, and all my life I believed red Solo cups were like 555 area codes – a Hollywood prop. When I immigrated to the US, my MIL was making dinner and offered me iced tea in a red Solo cup.

I lost it, made everyone sign the cup. I’ve still got it.

#6. All the Coke!

Free refills!

#7. Not-so-sweet tea.

Biscuits and gravy is a legit thing. Also you can ride motorcycles without helmets in some states??? And your iced tea isn’t sweetened unless you ask for sweet.

Edit: nothing could have possibly prepared me for the absolute dichotomy of sweet tea vs iced tea in the comments. This is evidently very important to many

#8. Conversations with total strangers.

Not exactly crazy, but I wanted to test out the stereotype that Americans will talk to anyone so I sought out a sports bar on my first visit. Ended up having a ton of really fun conversations with total strangers who I’ll never talk to ever again. It was great!

Edit: It seems reddit likes hearing stories about this trip, so here’s another one I shared a while back.

#9. Actually.

Surfer-dudes actually speak like that.

#10.  Code for “generic restaurant.”

I always thought that the Olive Garden in The Simpsons was just code for ‘generic restaurant’

#11. I thought it was a joke.

That Dolly Parton has her own theme park in Tennessee. I thought it was a joke.

#12. Our waistlines prove it.

All the food is bigger.

#13. Can confirm.

I’m still not 100% sure is true so hopefully can confirm – “buoy” is pronounced “boo-ee” ?

#14. Super good at pie.

I studied in Maryland for about half a year back in 2017. I’d always heard that Americans are like… super good at pie. I was pretty much all alone during thanksgiving since everyone else was with their families. One of the RAs I’d befriended knocked on my door and brought me all different kinds of pie. Dear lord, I’ve never tasted anything that delicious. From blueberry to apple to pumpkin. Every. Single. Pie. They were all amazing.

#15. As seen on tv.

Sports Bars are actually exactly how they’re portrayed on TV

Bless our hearts over here.

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