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How is the political climate currently in the state and city that you live in? I live in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the DC suburbs, about 10 miles out from the city proper. It skews liberal but it's also one of the absolute wealthiest areas of the country, so between that and the capital being, you know, right there, we obviously have a bunch of doofy conservatives too. What kind of food culture does your local area have? if you're into cooking, or simply know of some local delicacy, please share a specific dish, with a recipe if you have one, of something that you enjoy making or buying yourself that would be representative of your local food culture. You can get literally any kind of cuisine you want here. The DC metro area in particular probably doesn't have a local delicacy per-se, but we have large populations of immigrants from Central America, India, Ethiopia, and Asia (especially Vietnam and Korea) so there are a lot of really great restaurants from those cultures. So if you like Peruvian style chicken or a nice bowl of pho, you're in luck. How is religious life and worship for you in the states? As an outsider, it appears as if religious life might vary pretty wildly from state to state, with some US areas having markedly different religious demographics than others. I'd be especially interested in whether people experience any prejudice or bias against their religious practice, or lack thereof, in their home states, or from US society at large. Religion is still fairly prevalent around here but most people don't take it too seriously. I went to church a lot as a kid but eventually my family just sort of stopped. Generalizing a bit, but minority/immigrant populations seem to be more devout overall around here. Almost no one my age (mid-late 20s) is particularly religious, but I think that's fairly common for my demographic and urban areas world wide. Sharing what you work with or study for, or if you have any specialized knowledge, would imo also be interesting, because it would allow follow-up questions for specific fields, like, imo someone working with law or healthcare would probably have interesting insights on those areas. I plan conferences and trade shows for non-profit organizations. It's not really exciting but I do get to travel around the US a lot, which is neat. If you belong to a minority group, do you experience harassment? If you do and you are willing to share personal anecdotes, and thoughts about how your state or city might differ from other areas in the US, then please do. I am mixed race Asian-White. I have never experienced outright harassment anywhere in the country. How familiar are you with other US states than the one you live in? Like, how many different ones have you lived in, or visited for a shorter or longer period of time. Are some states essentially as foreign to you, or even more, than some foreign countries might be? Do you feel as if there is animosity between your home state and other states? I have lived in Minnesota and, as I mentioned, I travel all over the US for work. I've been to every state in the continental US, although some I literally just drove through. Every region is going to have it's own little differences and customs, but on the whole there isn't going to be too much of culture shock. You'll still speak the same language, see the same chain restaurants and stores, etc. Virginia and Maryland have a sort of regional rivalry, but it's not anything serious and most people actually don't really care. It's just fun to say Marylanders are the worst drivers, stuff like that. have you experience bias or hostility as an American when travelling abroad? Nope. Everyone I met seemed interested to talk to an American or were, at worst, ambivalent about my nationality. If someone was to visit the US for the first time, or your state or city in particular, what sights would you recommend? Well since it's DC there's all kinds of US government stuff, museums, everything you'd expect of a major city. Virginia itself is probably a place you'd like to visit if you have any interest in American history. Jamestown was the first British colony in North America. Several US presidents were from here and you can still tour the homes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others. Yorktown is where we won our independence from Britain. Also, Richmond (the state capital) was also capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and due to it's proximity to DC, a huge portion of the war was fought in Virginia so there are tons of battlefields you can tour as well.
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Feb 10, 2017 18:17
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Oh something else interesting that I don't think anyone has touched on is that a lot of people in America probably wouldn't identify themselves as "American" first. I don't know if it's because we're a nation of immigrants, or because the country is so big, but it's pretty common to people to refer to themselves as whatever nationality their ancestors were and people are often pretty interested in their ancestry and ties to more "established" (for lack of a better term) cultures. If you ask someone where they're from it would not be uncommon to hear "my family is Italian" or "my family is Scottish" even if the family has actually been here for generations and they don't really have any connection to that country anymore. It's kind of an interesting disparity considering how vocal many of those same people can also be about America being the greatest country. Another variant of this is that it's not uncommon for people to identify as being from their state first, especially in the south.
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Feb 10, 2017 18:44
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How is the political climate currently in the state and city that you live in? I live in the Greater Philadelphia area. The city itself skews very liberal but 20 miles outside of it and beyond you would've seen a a dearth of Trump signs as the election was going on. Overall Pennsylvania is very rural, we include a portion of the Appalachian, rust belt and agricultural populace. Between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh we're pretty sparsely populated and the two cities might as well be a world apart, considering it's about a 5 hour drive on a good day. What kind of food culture does your local area have? if you're into cooking, or simply know of some local delicacy, please share a specific dish, with a recipe if you have one, of something that you enjoy making or buying yourself that would be representative of your local food culture. We're big on Italian food here, we have some great high-end Italian cuisine. We're world famous for the Philadelphia cheese steak, though we seem to be resting on our laurels a little bit there (the best cheese steak I've ever had was in Charleston, West Virginia). I hate both Pat's and Geno's, though, so I'm probably not your typical Philadelphia native. How is religious life and worship for you in the states? As an outsider, it appears as if religious life might vary pretty wildly from state to state, with some US areas having markedly different religious demographics than others. I'd be especially interested in whether people experience any prejudice or bias against their religious practice, or lack thereof, in their home states, or from US society at large. Pretty much no one I know my age attends church regularly (mid 20's). I personally have never ascribed to a certain faith nor felt any pressure by anyone to do so. Sharing what you work with or study for, or if you have any specialized knowledge, would imo also be interesting, because it would allow follow-up questions for specific fields, like, imo someone working with law or healthcare would probably have interesting insights on those areas. I studied criminal justice and intended to become a cop but started leaning more toward social work toward the end of my studies. I worked for a murder victim advocacy group in the city for about a year, and considering there are an average of 300 murders in Philly a year, I never wanted for work. I'm leaving for Ukraine to serve two years for the Peace Corps in about a month. If you belong to a minority group, do you experience harassment? If you do and you are willing to share personal anecdotes, and thoughts about how your state or city might differ from other areas in the US, then please do. I am a white male of English/Welsh descent, I pretty much hit the genetic lottery. How familiar are you with other US states than the one you live in? Like, how many different ones have you lived in, or visited for a shorter or longer period of time. Are some states essentially as foreign to you, or even more, than some foreign countries might be? Do you feel as if there is animosity between your home state and other states? I have lived in both New Jersey and Phoenix, Arizona. New Jersey people are just plain mean and Arizona white people were incredibly bland and incredibly racist toward Latinos. This past summer I road a bicycle across the United States from Virginia to Oregon and savored every flavor of Americana in between. As others have mentioned, the difference is more geared toward a city vs. rural/coast vs. inland dichotomy than any real distinction between states, though every state did have something distinctive that the local population latched onto as a point of pride. The East does seem to have a more cold, driven and individualistic population than the West, which I would characterize as more laid-back and warm. The most unwelcome I felt during the whole trip was in Jefferson City, Missouri. However, St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri were two of my favorites so who knows. I felt Kansas had a very prickly and suspicious population, but Lawrence, Kansas was the most progressive hippie place I've ever been to so yeah, pretty dissonant country. The rural areas of pretty much every state I passed through had a significant meth/heroin/prescription drug problem according the locals I spoke to. Outside of major cities, pretty much from the time I left Kansas City to the time I arrived in Portland, Oregon, I didn't see a single person of color. have you experience bias or hostility as an American when travelling abroad? I've only ever been to Canada so that doesn't really count. Through my college swim team I have friends from Germany, Hungary, Ukraine and Russia who had all consumed American media and culture prior to their arrival and were all eager to ingratiate themselves in it and get to know Americans. The Russians adapted fine but the Eastern Europeans seemed to have some difficulty getting used to the idea of sarcasm, irony, self-deprecation and insult comedy. It's clear that they came up in communities where one expresses oneself clearly and maintaining one's honor and respect among peers is paramount. I became very good friends with the Ukrainian and he admitted to me at a much later date that he had come very close to killing me after I playfully whipped him with a towel after practice one day. He's told me that pretty much everyone he grew up with's favorite artist was Eminem, they all loved the movie 8 mile and that that film's depiction of Detroit hit pretty close to home for them. If someone was to visit the US for the first time, or your state or city in particular, what sights would you recommend? You can see the Rocky statue, enjoy the unique Philadelphia tailgating/Eagles experience, or hit up the Mutter Museum. Centralia, PA is about 2 hours away (the abandoned underground coal fire town that inspired Silent Hill) but everything creepy has been taken down and now it's just a motocross track used and abused by the locals, the Graffiti highway there was pretty cool though and I got to seem some pretty impressively artistic murals before they got covered with dicks. The PA Grand Canyon is about 3 hours away and a very beautiful spot. The Poconos are also pretty incredible and great for skiing in the winter. Atlantic City, NJ is 2 hours away and could best be described as a colder, seedier Las Vegas. I've had a lot of fun there. The Jersey Shore is unremarkable and probably less swarming with Guidos and douchebags than the show would have you believe. DC and NYC are both about 2.5/3 hours away.
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Feb 10, 2017 20:22
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Just thought of this thread yesterday when I went to a local foods market and found some collard greens. This is one thing I miss that my Mammaw used to cook down South. I was so excited, I bought some and cooked them up and need to go back and get more. Thankful to whichever local Canadian farmer decided, of all things, to grow collard greens up here. The only time I ever see them is at this particular market.
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Feb 10, 2017 21:43
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God Hole's post was pretty good but I wanted to clarify a few points as a fellow Pennsylvanian:God Hole posted:How is the political climate currently in the state and city that you live in? The area between Philly and Pittsburgh is colloquially referred to as "Pennslytucky", as a kind of disparaging portmanteau implying Kentucky as a rural backwater and the middle of the state is an extension of said backwater. Harrisburg and Lancaster aren't too bad. The Lehigh Valley (where I'm native to and currently live) has seen a bit of urbanization, but otherwise Pennsyltucky is a fitting name. God Hole posted:What kind of food culture does your local area have? if you're into cooking, or simply know of some local delicacy, please share a specific dish, with a recipe if you have one, of something that you enjoy making or buying yourself that would be representative of your local food culture. Having lived down near Philly for about a decade, both Pat's and Geno's are tourist trap trash and many better steaks can be found in the smaller joints and street carts. You should also probably mention the Pork Italiano/Italian Pork, and chicken cutlets. Also, for general PA food: Scrapple. I unironically love that stuff. God Hole posted:If someone was to visit the US for the first time, or your state or city in particular, what sights would you recommend? Philly is probably one of the best beer capitals of the country, definitely the best on the East Coast. I also like how you noted "See the Rocky Statue" and not "visit the impressive art museum it's attached to", hah. Centralia used to be a lot cooler. I was there a few times back before the internet really found out about it and spray painted dicks all over everything. The "Graffiti Highway" didn't' exist and it was just an old, abandoned, smoking cracking ruin of a highway that felt really post-apocalyptic and a lot more uninhabited. Atlantic City is a hellhole of a town and should be purged from the earth. I spent the better part of two months there for work and nearly everything outside of the casinos and boardwalk was horrible. If gambling or casino glitz is your thing, there are plenty of other options in PA. For the beach, Ocean City Maryland and the general Delware/Maryland coastline is worth the extra hour or two drive.
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Feb 11, 2017 00:59
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LogisticEarth posted:The area between Philly and Pittsburgh is colloquially referred to as "Pennslytucky", as a kind of disparaging portmanteau implying Kentucky as a rural backwater and the middle of the state is an extension of said backwater. Harrisburg and Lancaster aren't too bad. The Lehigh Valley (where I'm native to and currently live) has seen a bit of urbanization, but otherwise Pennsyltucky is a fitting name. Yeah didn't mean to imply there was nothing in between the two cities, the old steel mill in Bethlehem has been repurposed into a concert venue and was a pretty cool place to visit for Musikfest. They light the stacks up and it's a pretty trippy view from afar.  Harrisburg is an all around clean and beautiful historical city and the home of the infamous three-mile island if you're a student of nuclear history. Reading, PA gets a bad rap but I find it to be a pretty charming town. We have a significant portion of the countries' Amish population and they can be found out near Lancaster. They appreciate not being treated as a tourist attraction, but no matter how many times I do it it's still pretty surreal driving down the highway and overtaking single-horse-drawn buggy in the 21st century. I think the underground fire in Centralia has shifted because none of the cracks in the highway were smoking when I went. I was really bummed not to be able to find any unholy smoking hell pits while I was there.
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Feb 11, 2017 03:57
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Grandmother of Five posted:That said, cultural difference on those topics are interesting to hear about and examine in themselves, and I think that this post; Well if you're interested in this, I'll try to add another perspective without hopefully continuing yet another gun control derail. I think the importance of guns in rural American culture today is largely a modern invention, calling back to a past which never truly existed. My mom's side of the family were homesteaders who owned and lived on a ranch in South Dakota. In ye olden days this was the wild west, and today its stereotypical Red America with tons of trucks, guns, and only country music on the radio. My grandfather owned a gun or two, but I don't know the details because while every family in the area almost certainly owned at least one gun, it was a tool for ranching and not a cultural icon. My uncles who still live there probably also own a gun or two, but again I don't know the details because they don't sit around all day talking about guns. People like my mom's side of the family were poor as hell and didn't have the disposable income to buy a dozen guns, they didn't even have indoor plumbing until like the 1960's and they were significantly better off than a lot of their neighbors.
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Feb 11, 2017 15:36
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How is the political climate currently in the state and city that you live in? Here in Seattle, Washington, the prevailing mood is fairly liberal and slightly tense. Washington, like (almost?) all the "liberal" states, has a liberal urban core and then a wasteland of people who think Trump is the niftiest thing since they discovered online message boards where they can say the n-word. Seattle itself has a lot of divisions against itself, we like to think of ourselves as being super progressive and next-generation, but we're also heavily segregated in a fairly literal manner and hideously unbalanced financially. A lot of Seattle's boom has to do with tech, and techies make a lot of money, which means gentrification and higher housing prices, and of course nobody wants to build affordable housing because we're NIMBY central so people who work in the service economy keep getting pushed further and further out of the city. We also have a massive homeless problem that nobody wants to do anything about. It leads to a really weird clashing of ideologies - if you go to the Queen Anne neighborhood (which literally had "no blacks" leases into the middle of the last century), the only non-white person you'll see is an "acceptable" minority or a homeless person who took the wrong bus, but everyone there is proudly liberal. It's really the worst aspect of the progressive side, and it reminds me of Mike Judge's parodies of liberals in King of the Hill - they'll drink kale juice and vote for Hillary, but they'll also hold their purse extra tight if someone darker than Cary Grant stands behind them at Starbucks. We're basically Tiny San Francisco - loads of people with hundred-dollar haircuts drinking fifteen-dollar smoothies stepping over homeless people while talking about human rights and retro furniture. What kind of food culture does your local area have? if you're into cooking, or simply know of some local delicacy, please share a specific dish, with a recipe if you have one, of something that you enjoy making or buying yourself that would be representative of your local food culture. Lots of Asian food, since we have a significant Asian population, both due to historical immigration (we have a "Chinatown" neighborhood) and the University of Washington, which takes in a lot of Asian students. Coming from central California, I'd never had bibimbap, pho, or bahn mi, and now I can't live without them. We also have the requisite local fast food place, Dick's, which makes greasy, okay hamburgers and is open until the bars clamp shut. I think a "real" Seattle meal would be a pork bao eaten on the waterfront. How is religious life and worship for you in the states? As an outsider, it appears as if religious life might vary pretty wildly from state to state, with some US areas having markedly different religious demographics than others. I'd be especially interested in whether people experience any prejudice or bias against their religious practice, or lack thereof, in their home states, or from US society at large. I was raised totally without religion, and thankfully it's not a big thing here. Religion is weird to me, particularly the big-top three-circus American religion, which was a whole thing where I grew up (I could never live in the south). Seattle's pretty good about accepting all types, and I regularly see lots of Muslim people and Hindu people on the bus and even, sometimes, Mormons riding tandem bikes. edit: w/r/t being atheist, I don't get much reaction here but I got a lot of "what do you mean you don't go to church?" growing up. I was always the odd one out at a friend's dinner table when everyone would bow their head and do some kind of grace thing, and more than once I got the "how do you know not to commit murder?" argument. A few times I got roped into a religious thing without even realizing it, my friend would be like, "hey I'm going to a party, wanna come along?" and it'd start out normally but then an adult would bring out a bible and everyone would get all pod-people and hush up to listen to a sermon in the middle of eating pizza, and then I'd get pamphlets pushed on me and people would be weirdly aggressive about "joining". If you belong to a minority group, do you experience harassment? If you do and you are willing to share personal anecdotes, and thoughts about how your state or city might differ from other areas in the US, then please do. Not of color, but as a gay guy it was a huge relief leaving central California and moving here. I'd say we're probably second/third to San Francisco in terms of American LGBT meccas, and I spent my first couple months here housesitting on Capitol Hill, which is our Castro District. It still warms my heart to see gay couples holding hands in public, and I haven't experienced any harassment since I've moved here. I think the biggest issue is gentrification, which is turning our gay neighborhoods into hipster bistros and barcades, and now and then there's an incident with a drunk college student saying something lovely or beating up a trans person. How familiar are you with other US states than the one you live in? Like, how many different ones have you lived in, or visited for a shorter or longer period of time. Are some states essentially as foreign to you, or even more, than some foreign countries might be? Do you feel as if there is animosity between your home state and other states? I'm familiar with most of the West coast, I lived in central California for most of my life and did a lot of travelling to our neighboring states, but the entire Eastern seaboard is totally, utterly foreign to me. What's funny is almost every Christmas and holiday film is set in the East, so even as a kid I was like, what is this? Where is Christmas like this? The south is particularly foreign to me, and I'd like to visit it some time just to see what it's all about, even if they do stand entirely against my existence as a person. The recent election really underlined that, but it's not really news that a significant portion of the country hates me and everyone like me and wishes violent harm on everyone who isn't them, and telling a certain type of person that you're from, say, California, or Seattle, provokes this "ugh" response. The feeling is mutual. Have you experienced any stereotypes against your nationality or state when travelling? Not necessarily against, but it's funny how many people I've met who think California is just an 800-mile strip of beachfront property populated by movie stars and gay people. I lived square in the middle of the state, so I was two and a half hours from a beach, experienced some of the worst air pollution in the country, and had nothing to do because central California is, at its worst, nothing but agriculture, dust, heat, and Republicans. My high school had a regular prayer circle on the front lawn, and our county voted to undo gay marriage. It's a miserable shithole and it's great when someone lights up and says "Oh, California!" and I can see little palm trees in their pupils. If someone was to visit the US for the first time, or your state or city in particular, what sights would you recommend? IDK about the US in general, that's like saying "if someone was visiting Europe, what should they do" because it's so huge, but if they were to visit Seattle I'd suggest the usual touristy stuff, plus taking a peek at our awesome pinball scene and then renting a car and driving around the Olympic peninsula. It's a stunning trip, especially if you like rain (I do). When we did it, we made it through the last leg down to Ocean Shores towards nightfall, so we got these endless misty forests that slowly grew darker and darker, and then we got to our hotel and when we woke up we were on a sunny beach. It was like a magic trick. Magic Hate Ball fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Feb 11, 2017 |
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Feb 11, 2017 19:00
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How is the political climate currently in the state and city that you live in? I live in Reno, NV. Nevada is interesting because our two main cities (Reno and Las Vegas) are heavily tied to population centers to the west in California (Sacramento and the San Francisco bay area for Reno, Los Angeles for Las Vegas). This has created two fairly distinct cultures in northern and southern Nevada. Las Vegas has been pretty liberal for as long as I've lived here, but Reno is much more mixed. Guns are a big deal in Reno. Lots of people own guns, of them, a lot of them own a LOT of guns, and especially on the weekends, shooting ranges do some really brisk business. For example, there is an outdoor shooting range near Carson City (the state capital, which is about a 20 minute drive south of Reno) that I've given up going to because there are never open lanes, even when I've tried to be clever and go in the middle of the work day! So gun control isn't super popular here. Other than that, I think we're pretty politically mild here. We just legalized marijuana in the last election, there are legal brothels in parts of the state, and because a big part of our economy here is outdoors focused tourism, nature conservation is really popular as well. I'd say we're more libertarian here than anything really, with both the good and bad that entails. What kind of food culture does your local area have? if you're into cooking, or simply know of some local delicacy, please share a specific dish, with a recipe if you have one, of something that you enjoy making or buying yourself that would be representative of your local food culture. There is a surprising amount of good stuff here! The first thing I have to mention is casino food. While Reno doesn't have the kind of casinos Las Vegas has (out nicest ones would probably be average at best in Vegas), gaming is still a big part of the economy here and downtown Reno is dominated by some of our larger casinos. I don't know many locals who gamble regularly, but the food in casinos can be excellent, and better yet, cheap. Most larger casinos will have multiple restaurants in them, ranging from cafeteria-style food to high-end steakhouses and whatnot. Unlike a normal resteraunt, the main purpose of most of these places are either to draw people to the casino to gamble or to keep gamblers fed so that they keep gambling (on a side note, there is a whole science to casino management that tries to maximize the amount of time that a gambler stays in the casino. This can range from mundane stuff like serving free drinks to the players to things like really heavy tinting on windows and no visible clocks to make it difficult to tell what time it is. It's pretty fascinating stuff). Because of this, these places tend to be high quality and fairly cheap as well. Our real unique cusine here is Basque food. Way back in the day we had a fairly large Basque sheep herding population here, and while there aren't a ton of sheep (or Basque people for that matter), their food has stuck around. Unsurprisingly, most of it is what you could generally describe as Spanish-French fusion, but their big claim to fame here is chorizo sausage and is probably what most people here think of when you talk about the food. A chorizo burrito is one of the most delicious things you'll ever eat, and perhaps the worst thing to have for lunch if you want to get any work done for the rest of the day. Vietnamese food is also really big here, owing to them making up most of our (admittedly small) Asian population. Sushi is surprisingly popular in Reno, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that we have more sushi places per capita here than in Tokyo. For being in the desert, it's really high quality too, probably owing to the fact that we're not that far from San Francisco. Something that's ubiquitous with sushi here that I'm told (I don't know if this is true or not) is not common elsewhere in the US is the idea of all-you-can-eat sushi. It's exactly what it sounds like, a flat price for all the sushi you care to order. It's pretty expensive (most places charge about $20-25), and the worst part is that most places price their a la carte rolls at like $5 each, making that a less than ideal option. I know one place that actually has a reasonable sushi lunch special, and that's where I've been getting most of my sushi lately. Finally, Mexican food is everywhere here and is for the most part outstanding. We're starting to see a lot of other Latin American places pop up too, especially Peruvian and Ecuadorian. How is religious life and worship for you in the states? As an outsider, it appears as if religious life might vary pretty wildly from state to state, with some US areas having markedly different religious demographics than others. I'd be especially interested in whether people experience any prejudice or bias against their religious practice, or lack thereof, in their home states, or from US society at large. I'd guess we're about average? None of my friends go to church regularly, and the only people I can think of who do are a few of the people I volunteer with. We're next to Utah so there are a fair number of Mormons here, there's at least one Buddhist temple here, and from what I understand we have a fairly large Jewish community as well. Sharing what you work with or study for, or if you have any specialized knowledge, would imo also be interesting, because it would allow follow-up questions for specific fields, like, imo someone working with law or healthcare would probably have interesting insights on those areas. I'm a project manager for a financial services company that has an office here in town. That's boring, but I used to work for IGT which is the biggest slot machine manufacturer in the world. If you belong to a minority group, do you experience harassment? If you do and you are willing to share personal anecdotes, and thoughts about how your state or city might differ from other areas in the US, then please do. I'm white, not much to share there. One thing I have witnessed though is a lot of discrimination against Mexicans by working class white people. I've spent a lot of time working in manufacturing where you have a lot of Mexicans in shop floor positions. For the most part there aren't any problems, but you always have at least one jackass who turns it into an us vs. them thing and creates a lot of problems. How familiar are you with other US states than the one you live in? Like, how many different ones have you lived in, or visited for a shorter or longer period of time. Are some states essentially as foreign to you, or even more, than some foreign countries might be? Do you feel as if there is animosity between your home state and other states? I was born and spent a good chunk of my childhood in the San Francisco bay area and still consider it home. I've actually spent about half my life living overseas. As for other states feeling like foreign countries, not really. Different regions in the US can have some fairly large differences in what people generally hold to be important, but I think people make them out to be more than they really are. have you experience bias or hostility as an American when travelling abroad? Sure, but it's always been from people who were assholes and would have found something different to be assholes about if I wasn't American. For the most part, people are just curious about a place and culture they haven't experienced, just like the OP. Once they got past that, I found I was treated basically like everybody else. If someone was to visit the US for the first time, or your state or city in particular, what sights would you recommend? If you're going to come to Nevada, come to Reno if you like outdoors stuff like skiing, hiking, fishing, etc, go to Vegas if you want to party and see a place that's really unlike anything else in the world. The problem with visiting the US in general is that it's so big and there's so much to see. I can think of two really good plans if you visit West Coast: Visit California. I can't think of any place in the US that has as much diversity of things to see as California. If you had a couple of weeks, you could do the following: Start in San Francisco, see the sights there, then do the drive down Highway 1 to Los Angeles. It's one of the best drives on earth, with stunning scenery, beaches full of elephant seals and some really nice stops such as Hearst Castle. Once you've seen what you want to see in LA, you can either go check out Las Vegas (which is about a 4 hour drive from LA) or loop back a bit, driving up along the eastern Sierras (the mountain range that runs down the eastern edge of California). This would take you through the Mojave desert which is spectacular just for how vast it is and up towards Yosemite which is arguably our best national park. You can see the giant redwoods in that area as well, then keep heading north to Reno to check out Lake Tahoe / go skiing / etc. From Reno, it's about a four hour drive back through California to where you started in San Francisco. East Coast: Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. I don't know the east coast as well as the west coast, but if you really want to see our culture and history, it's hard to beat these four cities.
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Feb 11, 2017 22:06
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I'm from the south, lived in France, Ontario, and Colorado as well and been to most of the states.. I just wanted to chime in that "we" don't all love jesus and hate non-hetero-wasps. The south has a higher proportion of rural and suburban areas but otherwise it's the same divide as in every state. A Dallas liberal and a Seattle liberal will sip lattes and trash talk the hicks, a west Texas conservative and an east Washington conservative will sip beers and trash talk the city slickers. And of course in reality even the reddest counties have at least 20% liberals usually, and vice versa. Especially lol at the Boston guy saying he'd be friendly with a new yorker but be philosophically distinct from a texan.. Dude you'd take Austin any day over Watertown, NY. Hell most people I know would take loving Lubbock over Watertown.
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Feb 12, 2017 03:24
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To paraphrase someone else, red states and blue states have all the same kinds of people (politically speaking), just in different ratios
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Feb 12, 2017 03:33
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Tiggum posted:I really love hearing about regional differences, but especially from people who experienced them as outsiders, so if anyone moved to or from America (or even moved to a different part of America) I would love to hear about the things you noticed that were different, things that you had no warning of and just assumed that what you grew up with was the same everywhere. Even just little things like what words mean (eg. grill/broiler) are interesting, but bigger stuff would be great. ok I've moved to the US twice for work and have had pretty bad culture shock both times. First was Washington (Seattle, not DC), second was North Carolina. To Americans a lot of this will probably seem silly, but that's culture shock for you! First and foremost was the driving, you absolutely have to drive everywhere. I grew up used to walking/biking everywhere or taking public transit, since everything was pretty close together. In the US it's more like little islands separated by highways or huge 2-3 lane 45 mph (~75 kmh) roads that are somehow not considered highways. Even living close to a grocery store and trying to walk there occasionally wasn't very fun because the sidewalks are small, the intersections are huge, and you have a constant stream of cars whizzing by at 80 km/h. This was honestly the hardest thing for me because I really like just walking around and taking transit. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like more work to drive to the mall and deal with traffic than just being able to ride the train wherever. I kind-of-sort-of got over it by going to parks on the weekends (which were quite nice and plentiful). Flags everywhere. Stores have flags, homes have flags, even the pants are flags. I was used to only seeing flags on government buildings, so it felt really weird and a little cultish to me at first. I also learned about the pledge of allegiance, which seemed REALLY weird and cultish. I guess if you don't know (since I didn't), every day schoolchildren recite a pledge that goes: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." I still think the pledge is pretty weird, but I got used to the flags. Most Americans I talked to about it just tune them out, and it seems to be more of a style thing? I found it really weird that most minimum wage and working-class jobs were dominated by black people, especially in NC. At the offices I worked it would just be a sea of white people, and then when you go to the store or Five Guys or whatever almost the entire staff would be black. Racial tensions and politics seem higher in the US in general, and it wasn't really a thing I noticed until moving there. Sweet tea in NC is incredible. It's not like the powdered Nestea or Brisk or whatever, it's actual brewed tea that's then loaded down with sugar. It has a unique taste and gets you wired as balls. I would treat myself with it occasionally but not often because... Everyone is fat, especially in NC. It was very rare for me to meet someone that wasn't at least a little chunky outside the gym. At the gym were the usual gym rats that were ripped but I guess they must have lived there because basically everyone else is packing. It's also easy to understand why, because the portions are gigantic. If you eat out at a restaurant or fast food they would give you 3x the normal portion sizes. We went to a famous BBQ place in Raleigh, got 1 meal and split it between us, and were still completely stuffed and had to get a to-go box for half of it. Then they brought out a "slice" of carrot cake that was basically an entire cake. The cake was given to us for free, because the hush puppies (deep fried cornmeal) that you ALSO get served complimentary with every meal were 5 minutes late. Another time I was taken to Five Guys, and besides the massive, dripping (and delicious) burgers we got a "medium" fries and it filled the bag, and came with complimentary peanuts. Basically the point I'm making is that if you don't prepare your own food everyone will try to feed you to death. I would eat out once a week and have enough leftovers for an additional 1-2 meals, but most locals would clean their plate. I was always very scared of guns and had a fear that someone would just randomly pull one on me, but I never really physically saw any aside from cops. I did see plenty of signs like "please don't bring your guns into this movie theatre" or "this is a drug-free school" (as opposed to a drug-filled one?) which were pretty unnerving. That one has stayed, and most Americans didn't really understand my fear, but it's just a weird feeling coming from a place where they're not allowed to where they are and always made me feel vaguely unsafe. Bills are higher, but so are wages. It was difficult to get my head around finances at first because there is no single-payer or pension plan, you do that stuff yourself, but it's also pre-tax. You have your own 401k, your own HSA, etc. So while the salary is $20k more in the states, my monthly savings are the same or less because so much goes towards maxing the 401k, putting enough in the HSA to match the deductible, etc. My employer's a 100/0 medical plan, but with a $2000 deductible, bascially pay out of pocket for everything except major surgery. That's also considered a pretty decent plan, many have worse. Having to actually pay at the doctor was a weird thing to get used to (I got a few "hey wait you have to pay" while walking out), but the doctors were also much friendlier and professional, and it's super-easy to get appointments for even special things (but that's also unsurprising, given how much I'm paying them). Also in NC everyone has central air and it adds a lot to the bill, because all the houses are cheap and poorly insulated. I got mad at a lot of apartment places for having thin walls and bad insulation before learning that's just really common in NC. Anyway, this has gotten long and I'll stop there. Hope that's enough of a foreign perspective! Also hope I didn't make all the Americans mad, it was just a list of some of the things I found odd. Jenalia fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Feb 12, 2017 |
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Feb 12, 2017 07:27
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I'm from North Dakota, but I've traveled enough to realize that with the exception of a few cities, the country is the same type of poo poo with some slightly different accents. People who get so hopped up on red state/blue state hysteria make my eyes roll so far that they just about fall out of their sockets. My state is empty, and as I've grown older I've appreciate that more and more. It's somewhat insulated from the problems affecting the country and the world. People from other parts of the country, the coasts in particular, have a weird sense of elitism and always like to joke about how the state doesn't exist, no one has ever heard of it, etc. To them, the entire middle part of the country is the "flyover states." You get that kind of sentiment with city vs. countryside in every country, though. Yes, people carry guns. Usually not open, but concealed carry. People are fat and getting fatter, mostly because people eat out constantly and drink tremendous amounts of soda. There's a protest about a pipeline that you may have heard of. People here don't really care. They don't have love for the oil companies, but they don't have love for Native Americans either. Part of it is because they view many of the protesters as tourists from the coasts who are just here to have one big party and pretend like they give a poo poo about these poor bastards living on the Res. It's the flavor of the month for these people.
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Feb 12, 2017 08:34
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Just wanted to say that I've been enjoying the replies, so thanks to people for sharing such in-depth comments on US life and culture. There is one stereotype of Americans that exists here, that I don't remember anyone else mentioning as a "between-states" stereotype; that Americans are generous. I think it might come down to, how Scandinavian people are often reserved in contrast to many others, but also specifically about how tipping is handled differently. You are not supposed to tip for any service here; but most people are obviously happy to receive a tip all the same. When talk turns to tipping, American tourists are nearly always held up as the most generous tippers in general (and those drat Norwegians with their dirty oil money, but they are tipping to spite us), or it being an American party that gave someone the biggest tip that they've ever received. There is of course different reasons for why tipping is done, but I think it is sort of an interesting example of how a custom or a system can translate into something different when done out of context, like tipping anything at all, is going beyond the expected here, and perhaps rarely even thought as little vulgar, disruptive or exuberant, where in the US, I am under the impression that you are expected to tip for many services as a default, because of relatively low paying minimum wage jobs relying on tipping as a source of income.
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Feb 12, 2017 15:40
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Grandmother of Five posted:Goon favorite: Tipping! Other than the strange American goons that "Don't Tip", it's just reflexive to tip. Especially in a Restaurant. Things get grey when it comes to other services like delivery, take out, and haircuts but most American's will instinctively tip their wait-staff This can get comical if we are out of the country. My brother and I decided to travel in Eastern Europe shortly after the thaw and fall of The Wall. So we were in Poland, Formally East Germany, Hungary and pre-divide Czechoslovakia. The exchange rate was amazing so we were able to eat in some of the finest restaurants in Krakow and Warsaw for super cheap. My brother was in charge of "how much we spend' per day and he had it calculated that we could leave a little for a tip each time. We became physically ashamed at leaving sub-10 % tips at these places, and figured we could never go there again. There was this one place in Warsaw that had THE BEST crispy duck with apples and we wanted to go back, but were so ashamed of our pitiful tip we went to another place. It was only, like, two years ago...so twenty years later that I realized NO ONE tipped there. So we were probably being really weird and overly generous and possibly insulting to leave cash on the table for the waiters. Any Poles want to enlighten me about early 90's restaurant behavior?
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Feb 12, 2017 16:08
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Where I'm from, it's generally expected to provide at least 15% tip for the wait staff at a bare minimum. If your waiter goes above and beyond, for example, smiling, showing knowledge about different drink specials, food recommendations, jokes, comfortably assured they didn't spit in your food, it's pretty much a given you'll provide more than that. In my state of PA, wait staff receive $2.86/hr I believe, which is a solid 5 dollars below minimum wage, so tips are absolutely necessary for a server to survive. Also, they usually have to separate their tips between bus and bar staff regardless of how much either of them actually assisted them. The old man patted him on the back with a wink, thanked him for his service - knowing intuitively that he was a vet - and went back to his seat at the bar without raising any fuss.
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Feb 12, 2017 16:44
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reagan posted:There's a protest about a pipeline that you may have heard of. People here don't really care. They don't have love for the oil companies, but they don't have love for Native Americans either. Part of it is because they view many of the protesters as tourists from the coasts who are just here to have one big party and pretend like they give a poo poo about these poor bastards living on the Res. It's the flavor of the month for these people. jesus christ for non-americans, this is about an oil pipeline that was deliberately re-routed away from a predominantly white community (because they were afraid of spills) and through native american land instead so this is a good illustration of how someone can see their government do some horrendous racist poo poo and then feel smugly superior to... the people protesting it
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Feb 12, 2017 17:24
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reagan posted:There's a protest about a pipeline that you may have heard of. People here don't really care. They don't have love for the oil companies, but they don't have love for Native Americans either. Part of it is because they view many of the protesters as tourists from the coasts who are just here to have one big party and pretend like they give a poo poo about these poor bastards living on the Res. It's the flavor of the month for these people.
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Feb 12, 2017 21:39
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Desmond posted:Are you kidding me? Why wouldn't people who live there care about it or about native Americans having to deal with a pipeline? This is big news everywhere else, and the only people who don't care about the pipelines are in the minority. Pipelines are controversial, and with good reason. It's not a loving fad or a flavor of the month thing to protest them. Sometimes people in the minority can carry more political weight than the majority* Pipelines bring money and jobs to an area. Maybe not as many permanent jobs as the oil companies have the locals believing, but then again US citizens have never really needed much justification to poo poo all over Native Americans. *See Trump election
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Feb 13, 2017 01:05
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God Hole posted:Pipelines bring money and jobs to an area. Maybe not as many permanent jobs as the oil companies have the locals believing, but then again US citizens have never really needed much justification to poo poo all over Native Americans. In the interest of time, I'm going to be short and trite here, but bear with me. North Dakota operated on a comfortable surplus before the oil. They made a bet that oil would always be three figures / barrel. If they were right, they'd get even more surplus, but if they were wrong... Right now, because of the way the taxes and fees are setup for oil companies, North Dakota no longer has a surplus and is operating at a deficit because of the infrastructure costs. The break even point for ND is between $60 - $80, depending on who you ask. The entire deal was structured to give the oil companies a win/win situation such that when the price of oil is low, the citizens of ND pick up the bill for infrastructure costs incurred by oil companies. It was structured this way because either the politicians who did so don't care, are too dumb to know, or are paid for by the oil companies -- which one it is, who knows. What I'm getting at here is that the pipeline they are laying isn't going to do ND any favors and will likely incur additional cost to the state and it's taxpayers, on top of the environmental risks it represents. The general population generally thinks the oil companies are the Good Guys™ though and they support them because they think they bring money into the state, even though a quick glance at the balance sheet of the state would suggest otherwise. On top of that, the buying power of a dollar has dropped dramatically in the western third of the state where many people were forced out of their homes when property taxes soared to amounts they couldn't pay due to the cost of living sky rocketing. The reason for all this happening is complex and kind of loops back to my first post in this thread, but to sum it up in seven words: North Dakotans are on average, pretty stupid.
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Feb 13, 2017 01:22
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:jesus christ You missed my point. Just lol if you don't think that these pathetic liberals will abandon this cause as soon as the next trendy one pops up. As for concerns about re-routing the pipeline, going to the south is going to impact more than just native Americans downstream in the Missouri river, but I suppose it's always easier to reduce things to RACISM rather than think about them in a critical manner.
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Feb 13, 2017 03:11
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Jenalia posted:Anyway, this has gotten long and I'll stop there. Hope that's enough of a foreign perspective! Also hope I didn't make all the Americans mad, it was just a list of some of the things I found odd. God Hole posted:Where I'm from, it's generally expected to provide at least 15% tip for the wait staff at a bare minimum. If your waiter goes above and beyond, for example, smiling, showing knowledge about different drink specials, food recommendations, jokes, comfortably assured they didn't spit in your food, it's pretty much a given you'll provide more than that.
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Feb 13, 2017 06:32
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Tiggum posted:This was a great post and if you've got more examples I'd love to hear them. Also, what country are you from? It's, at least I think, more something you joke about than anything else. I've never gone out with anyone who thought it was a legit concern, but I also don't hang out with assholes.
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Feb 13, 2017 06:42
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If you've ever worked in the service industry, unless you're eating in a pretty high class place, it's pretty much understood that the food preparation is going to involve some gross poo poo. I've worked in good restaurants and bad restaurants, and have seen cockroach and mouse traps in both. I've watched a guy use the same rag to clean everything from a bar top to kitchen plates during his entire 8 hour shift (this was encouraged by management because we were low on rags). I once watched a steak get dropped on the floor and then put right back on the plate to serve to the customers. As for intentionally spitting in one's food, that's more of a pervasive pop-culture cliche than anything else but pretty much if you're an rear end in a top hat to your wait staff, it's not outside the realm of possibility.
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Feb 13, 2017 06:56
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Tiggum posted:I don't know if this is an American thing, a people talking poo poo on the internet thing, or maybe a more universal thing that I'm just oblivious to, but it seems to me that Americans have this weird fear of waitstaff spitting in their food. Like, I've never worried about that at all, anywhere. It seems like such an unlikely thing to happen. This is a tangent from the fact that in cultures where tipping waitstaff is normal and built in to their salaries, there is a significant portion of people who truly believe that the only way to get quality service and food from places is to make sure that the staff must essentially beg and cater to your every whim just to make a basic living wage. They believe that if waitstaff were paid actual career money service would go down and they would have no reason to bring you good food or offer you good service. This is despite no other industry having this issue when the staff is being paid decently, and that this clearly does not happen in non-tipping cultures. It's some combination of paranoia and narcissism. Yes it is awful. Tipping culture is awful. It creates this mentality. Here's an article in praise of this system so you can see how sociopathic but totally real these ideas are (yes not america but we have the same poo poo system too) http://torontolife.com/food/restaurants/the-critic-no-tipping-policy-service-industry-danny-meyer-amanda-cohen-hemant-bhagwani/
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Feb 13, 2017 07:24
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reagan posted:You missed my point. Just lol if you don't think that these pathetic liberals will abandon this cause as soon as the next trendy one pops up. No, I got your point. You're trying to defend "we don't care, because we don't care about native americans", which is pretty hard given how obviously wrong it is! So the only option you have is to pretend that actually no-one cares, and they're just pretending to be care so people will think they're cool or w/e
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Feb 13, 2017 08:11
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RE: DAPL pipeline outrage. I'm inclined to side with the folks who think it's only a national issue because it's trendy and has a good narrative around it. What makes this particular pipeline construction notable is largely because there was a very organized protest by the local native population, and the police response. There are pipelines going in all over the country, every day. The reason I think that the DAPL is just flavor-of-the-week is because, for example, there's a large natural gas pipeline going right through my county in PA, and I have friends talking about flying to North Dakota to join the protest, when they barely do anything about the one right in their backyard. Shady stuff going on with the FERC environmental assessments, cutting through prime watersheds, etc. It was the same deal with fracking in PA. Everyone in Philly and NYC was screaming their heads off about how evil fracking was without really understanding the real situation. Meanwhile the towns up in Bradford county with a median income of $18,000 were enjoying actually poking their heads out of grinding poverty for a while. I've worked in the environmental consulting world for nearly a decade, and am now in watershed protection with county government. What we need are watchdogs and engaged citizen scientists, not protestors. I need volunteer water testers, people to map and monitor environmentally sensitive areas. We need people to advocate for rational water protection regulations, not waste breath on shutting down one singular controversial project. poo poo, even folks to come to our local watershed association meetings and serve as a board member or help them update the website. Instead, people spend their time ranting on Facebook and sending pre-printed postcards to their senator about a project half a country away. This is not a problem unique to my area. The "national outrage" model we seem to have has gutted a lot of local organizations that do the most good on the ground.
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Feb 13, 2017 13:32
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LogisticEarth posted:This is not a problem unique to my area. The "national outrage" model we seem to have has gutted a lot of local organizations that do the most good on the ground. The national outrage model is more prominent because more productive or local conservation and regulation efforts are constantly under siege by the right. I don't know how many developed nations have a major governmental party that has, for decades, been involved in a comprehensive campaign to destroy the government itself, but it's been a persistent issue for the US.
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Feb 13, 2017 14:29
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Oxxidation posted:The national outrage model is more prominent because more productive or local conservation and regulation efforts are constantly under siege by the right. It's a common thread in Anglo politics generally. The UK right is equally committed to destroying as much of the state as possible, they're just taking longer over it because there was more to begin with and people get very angry at loving with stuff like the NHS so you have to carve it up subtly rather than being able to come out and say "we'll repeal Obamacare" like in the States.
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Feb 13, 2017 15:25
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Tiggum posted:This was a great post and if you've got more examples I'd love to hear them. Also, what country are you from? Thanks! A good question! I'm "from" Japan since I was born there but we left when I was still young, mixed parents, so I don't know if I'd say I totally identify with Japanese sensibilities. I've lived in Canada, France, and (briefly) Sweden. The country and culture I'd say I identify the most with is probably Canada since I did the most of my growing up there and kept going back. In Washington it rained, a lot. Just really thick, oppressive and unending rain. I actually got SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) because of it and had to get a lightbox. Between the rain, having to drive 20+ minutes on the highway to do anything at all, and kind of a depressing work environment that was why I left the first time. On the flipside, NC weather is just so beautiful year-round that I take every opportunity to be out in it. Weather-wise it's the nicest place I've ever lived, and the locals are so unused to anything but perfect weather all the time. There was a "blizzard" about a month ago that resulted in a couple inches of snow and ice on the road and everyone freaked out. Everything shut down, groceries were emptied, and everyone drove slowly. It was the only time I actually enjoyed driving here because everyone was driving defensively at reasonable speeds (while I was used to Canada snow driving). About two months before that there was a "storm" that made it pretty windy/rainy (though nothing like Seattle) and knocked out power at a Walgreens. Same case again, nobody went out, grocery stores emptied. That's just how nice the weather is in NC all the time, and each of the freak weather events lasted 1-3 days. The US has a couple of walkable cities, but for the most part people are inside. That's weird phrasing and hard to understand, but people-watching in other countries was usually done on the sidewalks as the crowds mingled, whereas in the US you do most of your people-watching in the stores and restaurants. The stores are much bigger to accommodate this, but even in rural France and Canada you'd see more people just out and about. In Washington and NC you'd have to go to the parks or designated paths to see people out, and they were usually with their kids or dog, so there was a sense of obligation. There are even a lot more dog parks, specifically for taking your dog to. It just feels like it's a lot more zoned, and you have designated activity areas, if that makes sense? Milk and cheese are very popular in the US. Very very popular. If you're like me and lactose intolerant it can be really hard to find stuff that DOESN'T have lactose in it. Even things like bread will have this little text somewhere on the packaging that says "may contain traces of milk" or "processed in a facility that manufactures milk products" which is legalese for THIS WILL gently caress YOU UP. I've experienced this before (you learn to be careful) but in the US moreso than anywhere else it's been more of a guarantee. I'd had products containing the warning before and been fine, but in the US if it even mentions milk or whey anywhere on it then it's like eating a brick of cream cheese. For the first few months I was perpetually eating lactaid and feeling awful until I had systematically gone through and eliminated every single food product that was made within 100 feet of milk. If I'm eating out I just accept that it'll be impossible to avoid, Americans put cheese on absolutely everything. There are dishes where I question why they even include the other ingredients, because they're just vessels for getting hot cheese into your mouth. That labeling thing also reminded me of this: you can't trust the labels in the US. There are a few icons on packaging that are regulated, but for the most part they can (and will) say anything and straight-up lie to you about what the product contains. I had to spend time researching what those regulated icons are and just learn to distrust everything and do extensive research on anything I buy. This can include food at the store, like how most olive oil and honey are anything but, or more manipulative marketing schemes. I've received notices in the mail that masquerade as overdue bills or SCARY SOUNDING NOTICE that turn out to be an ad for some scummy insurance. Ads get shoved in the mailbox, onto/under your door, on your car. In the US it always feels like someone is trying to sell you something, and chances are good that they're being unethical about it. Apartments would have really draconian leases and charge huge fees to cancel or modify them, and then the office manager would really try to encourage you to cancel or modify your lease since they get a cut of the fee. Basically it feels like the law is on the side of the businesses, and you're the hapless and uninformed consumer caught in between. In Canada and especially France it felt like the opposite, that you had a lot more power/options as a consumer. It's also a lot easier to buy stuff in the US than anywhere else in the world. If I have the money to pay, I can have just about any product on my door later today or tomorrow. There are shops everywhere, so I can also just go out and buy what I want. I used to call around to see if a store would have what I want, but in the US there's every possible store I could need within 30 minutes of me. Shopping online is a lot easier too, because everything is in stock and probably comes with free shipping. It means shopping is a bit less of an "adventure" but it's also a lot more convenient. It also means you never have to leave your home ever! Americans are friendly, but it's a bit more of a mixed bag. Related to the above, sometimes they're being really friendly cause they want to sell you something. In the stores they'll greet you and chat with you and such but you can also sometimes tell they'd rather not be. Talking to someone in a relaxed social setting they tend to be friendly. In Seattle people were a little more rude/uncaring, but in NC people seem genuinely friendly and nice. In NC I've seen grocery baggers run out after someone to their car with a bag they forgot, and in Seattle I saw those "take a penny leave a penny" trays be constantly empty. It depends a lot on where you are, I guess is what I'm saying. For a point of comparison, I found people in Vancouver to be the rudest so I'm not trying to say people in Seattle were nasty or anything. When you've lived in Europe and the West, you get an "authenticity" sense, where there's a difference between polite friendliness and genuine warmth. NC has contained some of the most genuinely nice and friendly people I've met. You do have to be careful though, as people tend to guard their motives and true feelings more. Canadians have very vulgar mouths (if you ride the train in Canada and eavesdrop get ready for the F bombing of a lifetime) whereas Americans tend to be a bit more... proper. I really feel like I need to watch my potty mouth here. Oh also they don't know much about places outside America, as is the usual stereotype. If I say I used to live in Canada they assume that means I lived in the arctic. I had an American genuinely ask if we celebrated Christmas "up there." It gets worse if you talk about Europe. They were polite and interested though. It's much more important to assimilate into American culture, so you don't get exposed to other cultures as much. I knew a Chinese guy that had moved and changed his name to Mike and worked very very hard on his English in order to fit in. Gosh golly (loving fuckballs) I can write a lot about America apparently. Right now I'm still in NC and trying to decide whether or not to stay. It's been tough to choose, because NC is honestly the nicest US state I've ever been to out of the 15 or so I've visited. The weather is nice, the locals are nice, the jobs are good, the prices are reasonable. I just get really homesick, too. Returning to Canada means probably never having a house (or a really long commute), but I also feel more comfortable there. A lot of my fears are irrational like being stuck with a huge medical bill, or getting shot, but the major tipping point for me is going to end up being the driving. It's the only place I've been or lived where the car culture is so pervasive, and I find driving really stressful. Jenalia fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Feb 14, 2017 |
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Feb 13, 2017 17:56
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Why are Europeans so afraid of guns? It's 99% likely that I will never need a gun to protect myself, but I have one anyway just for emergency protection. It's just another preparedness tool like flashlights, radio, bottled water, batteries. I hope I will never need them in a real life or death situation, but nothing wrong with being prepared.
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Feb 13, 2017 18:05
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Ein cooler Typ posted:Why are Europeans so afraid of guns? Believe me, you're like the 100th American to say that to me. I did say it was irrational, but I also tried to describe it in my first post: there is something unsettling about coming from a place where they're not allowed to a place where they are. They are long-range murder devices. If someone pulls a knife on me, while I still may be hosed, I feel like I have a better chance of getting away. With a gun, I need to serpentine and hope they're a bad shot. If I see someone with a knife it's a little scary but maybe they're a butcher or whittle sticks? If someone is carrying a gun they at least have some intent to kill. Also statistically my chances of being involved in gun related violence have gone up significantly by moving here, so it's definitely a thing you notice. Like you said though, it's still pretty unlikely. Fears don't operate 100% on cold hard logic.
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Feb 13, 2017 18:29
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LogisticEarth posted:RE: DAPL pipeline outrage. I'm inclined to side with the folks who think it's only a national issue because it's trendy and has a good narrative around it. What makes this particular pipeline construction notable is largely because there was a very organized protest by the local native population, and the police response. And because of the particularly indefensible circumstances surrounding the choice of route. The campaign is not about "pipelines should be banned in general", although I'm sure there are people involved who feel that way. And no amount of speculation about why the protestors really care makes "People here don't really care. They don't have love for the oil companies, but they don't have love for Native Americans either." any less vile. Ein cooler Typ posted:Why are Europeans so afraid of guns? Because your attempt to "prepare" for this incredibly unlikely scenario (in which, more likely than not, a gun would just increase the chance you get hurt) is much more dangerous than the scenario itself. You are much more likely to kill a) yourself b) a family member than you are to use it to actually defend yourself.
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Feb 13, 2017 18:56
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:Because your attempt to "prepare" for this incredibly unlikely scenario (in which, more likely than not, a gun would just increase the chance you get hurt) is much more dangerous than the scenario itself. You are much more likely to kill a) yourself b) a family member than you are to use it to actually defend yourself. Dunning-Kruger. No one thinks they're going to be Oscar Pistorius or Kurt Cobain when they buy the gun for home protection, and most gun owners go their whole lives without incident. Nevertheless, who would reasonably expect that when they put a condom on that they're going to represent the 1% of incidences where the condom fails?
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Feb 13, 2017 19:17
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:And because of the particularly indefensible circumstances surrounding the choice of route. The campaign is not about "pipelines should be banned in general", although I'm sure there are people involved who feel that way. I personally don't believe that
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Feb 13, 2017 22:36
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:And because of the particularly indefensible circumstances surrounding the choice of route. The campaign is not about "pipelines should be banned in general", although I'm sure there are people involved who feel that way. Again, the whole "white residents shut it down so Dakota Access took a poo poo on Native Americans" is a flashy narrative, but it's also probably bullshit: http://www.snopes.com/dapl-routed-through-standing-rock-after-bismarck-residents-said-no/ Jenalia posted:Oh also they don't know much about places outside America, as is the usual stereotype. If I say I used to live in Canada they assume that means I lived in the arctic. I had an American genuinely ask if we celebrated Christmas "up there." It gets worse if you talk about Europe. They were polite and interested though. It's much more important to assimilate into American culture, so you don't get exposed to other cultures as much. I knew a Chinese guy that had moved and changed his name to Mike and worked very very hard on his English in order to fit in. Obviously it is the (partially deserved) stereotype that Americans are ignorant of geography and countries beyond the border, but on the flip side I've had some hilarious experiences talking to Europeans about American geography and culture as well. Trying to describe where I was from (New Jersey) resulted in a hell of a lot of confusion, with some people having learned anything they know about the region from Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen songs, or thinking that it was one of the boroughs of NYC. People also thought I was from Canada based on my (real) accent, but thought that I should sound like Fran Drescher or Tony Soprano since I was from NJ. It's a really odd feeling that so many non-US folks "know" a lot about the country, but through the lens of entertainment media. Hence this thread, of course.
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Feb 13, 2017 23:33
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LogisticEarth posted:Again, the whole "white residents shut it down so Dakota Access took a poo poo on Native Americans" is a flashy narrative, but it's also probably bullshit: LogisticEarth posted:Obviously it is the (partially deserved) stereotype that Americans are ignorant of geography and countries beyond the border, but on the flip side I've had some hilarious experiences talking to Europeans about American geography and culture as well. Trying to describe where I was from (New Jersey) resulted in a hell of a lot of confusion, with some people having learned anything they know about the region from Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen songs, or thinking that it was one of the boroughs of NYC. People also thought I was from Canada based on my (real) accent, but thought that I should sound like Fran Drescher or Tony Soprano since I was from NJ. It's a really odd feeling that so many non-US folks "know" a lot about the country, but through the lens of entertainment media. Hence this thread, of course. Ein cooler Typ posted:I personally don't believe that lol
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Feb 13, 2017 23:42
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LogisticEarth posted:RE: DAPL pipeline outrage. I'm inclined to side with the folks who think it's only a national issue because it's trendy and has a good narrative around it. What makes this particular pipeline construction notable is largely because there was a very organized protest by the local native population, and the police response. Yes, thank you. You see poo poo like this with everything, not just environmentalism. National outrage - I like it.
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Feb 14, 2017 02:01
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:No, I got your point. You're trying to defend "we don't care, because we don't care about native americans", which is pretty hard given how obviously wrong it is! So the only option you have is to pretend that actually no-one cares, and they're just pretending to be care so people will think they're cool or w/e I'm not trying to defend people's attitude re: native americans, I am just stating a fact. People in this state do not care about them. As for the snopes link: I lived in Bismarck last year - I can assure you I never heard of any meetings where us whites told them to move the pipeline south specifically to gently caress over natives. Give me a loving break, dude.
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Feb 14, 2017 02:05
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 08:54 |
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As a white man, nobody ever invited me to the white privilege party! I had it rough growing up, some "privilege".
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Feb 14, 2017 02:43
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