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I'm also an American working as a developer, but in The Netherlands. One thing that really surprised me (but maybe it's because it's right around the election) is how much time we spend during user groups talking about US politics. I even had a native Dutch person tell me "I heard in the US it is legal to do post birth abortions".

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> I even had a native Dutch person tell me "I heard in the US it is legal to do post birth abortions"

Americans really do not understand sarcasm; no matter how much you may claim to do so!

I guess it's partially a symptom of some sort of an inferiority complex. Europe has been almost entirely left behind economically (at least in any emerging sector) yet being able to keep pointing out how superior they are in certain aspects (often quite rightfully so) to Americans makes it easier to mentally ignore the fact that European economies are stagnant and keep falling behind.

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