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Yeah, I take mine off if I'm just hanging around my own home, but don't ask guests to. Actually sometimes when I have a lot of people over I'll put shoes on because it feels weird being the only one in socks.
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Feb 21, 2017 23:22
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Dr. Platypus posted:Yeah, I take mine off if I'm just hanging around my own home, but don't ask guests to. Actually sometimes when I have a lot of people over I'll put shoes on because it feels weird being the only one in socks. This.
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Feb 21, 2017 23:30
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Namarrgon posted:In the light of the (obviously false) voter fraud claims; is their any measure that ensures you can only vote once? We get mailed a physical voter card about a month in advance with your name, which has to correspond with your id when you show up, and you don't get the card back. I live in Ohio. The only time we get mailed anything is when our polling place changes (which in my precinct, has happened about 3 times in about 10 years). We have to show ID at the polling place, and sign a book. Voting is done on a touch-screen machine. The only time I ever had to wait more than two minutes was in this past election. I showed up at 6:30 (when the polls opened) and waited in line for 40 minutes.
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Feb 22, 2017 01:18
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Cat Army
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Rent-A-Cop posted:Every county I've voted in just used a big piece of card with the candidates/issues on it and yes/no bubbles next to each that you fill in. So what's the deal with voting on issues? What sort of stuff do you vote on? Who determines what goes to a public vote, and how is it decided? What sort of power do those votes carry (like, are they absolutely binding or more like opinion polls?) How often do you vote on that kind of stuff? And on the subject of voting, you vote for a bunch of different positions, right? Like, you vote for the guy who gets to run the local police force, and who gets to be a judge and a bunch of other stuff? What positions are actually voted on in that way? What are their campaigns like? Or do they mostly just rely on party affiliation?
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Feb 22, 2017 02:54
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honda whisperer posted:Same shoes you wear in public restrooms. Oil from leaky cars in parking lots. Gum and bird poop on the sidewalk etc. What kinds of jacked up places do you go where so soiled that you need to take them off? I mean, if my shoes are obviously soiled I'd take them off. What I'm really concerned with are microparticles in the air from pollution. That's why I'm always naked in my house. It's the only way to be clean.
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Feb 22, 2017 03:58
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The shoe thing...I grew up in the midwestern USA in a family that left our shoes on in the house during the day, but eventually at night we'd take them off....but I don't know why we did it. My mom would bitch at my dad for tracking mud into the house, but we'd all wear our shoes anyway? But at my aunt's house you took your shoes off. Grandma's they were also off. Dad's side of the family, they were on. Some of our friends you took them off, some of them you kept them on. THERE WAS NO RHYME OR REASON. Maybe I was too young to realize who had nice carpets and who didn't (we didn't) Then I moved to Canada and everyone took their shoes off, so I got used to that and preferred it. It has been a struggle to get my parents to take their drat shoes off in my apartment, but they usually do. Anyway I don't know why or how it happens but it appears to entirely depend on the household in the USA. It wasn't even consistent within my own family.
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Feb 22, 2017 04:37
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Tiggum posted:So what's the deal with voting on issues? What sort of stuff do you vote on? Who determines what goes to a public vote, and how is it decided? What sort of power do those votes carry (like, are they absolutely binding or more like opinion polls?) How often do you vote on that kind of stuff? Tiggum posted:And on the subject of voting, you vote for a bunch of different positions, right? Like, you vote for the guy who gets to run the local police force, and who gets to be a judge and a bunch of other stuff? What positions are actually voted on in that way? What are their campaigns like? Or do they mostly just rely on party affiliation? Local races vary pretty wildly in how contested they are. There's a lot of getting out and shaking hands around here. The local guys really pound the pavement and do a ton of events because party affiliation doesn't seem to matter that much. Sheriff was more or less uncontested here because the incumbent Republican had the support of both local parties so his only competition was some local crazy guy. Mayor and a few of the county seats were pretty tight elections though. * - In Florida judges are appointed for a term and at the end of it we get to vote on whether they should be retained. They are almost always retained.
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Feb 22, 2017 04:50
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Shbobdb posted:What kinds of jacked up places do you go where so soiled that you need to take them off? I mean, if my shoes are obviously soiled I'd take them off. I work in a machine shop. The bottoms of my shoes are covered with tiny shards of razor sharp metal. Not gross but painful. Before that I was a mechanic. Oil and coolant and burned transmission fluid. Straight gross. It's not that everything my shoes touch is horrible or that I think shoes are the only vector for dirt. It just seems like a really easy way to reduce the amount of poo poo I have to vaccum off the floor.
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Feb 22, 2017 05:59
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Rent-A-Cop posted:We will also have local stuff like local tax issues, county/town charter revisions, etc. Rent-A-Cop posted:In November I voted for US President, US Senate, US House, Florida Senate, Florida House, four state constitutional amendments, state and local judges*, County Council, Sheriff, Mayor, school board, a smattering of municipal posts, and a bunch of municipal stuff like revisions to the town charter. Rent-A-Cop posted:Local races vary pretty wildly in how contested they are. There's a lot of getting out and shaking hands around here. The local guys really pound the pavement and do a ton of events because party affiliation doesn't seem to matter that much.
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Feb 22, 2017 06:27
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American elections do tend to have *way* more candidates on the ballot, but which ones there are (and what, if any, referendums and the like are on the ballot) varies from state to state and even county to county. The former's a big problem, though, because Americans have the same ability to pay attention to politics as everyone else, so those lower-tier elections can elect some real weirdos even in areas with comparatively sane politics
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Feb 22, 2017 07:03
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honda whisperer posted:I work in a machine shop. The bottoms of my shoes are covered with tiny shards of razor sharp metal. Not gross but painful. Not bringing those shoes in makes 100% sense. But that falls well within the "soiled" aspect most people here are talking about.
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Feb 22, 2017 07:08
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Tiggum posted:So what's the deal with voting on issues? What sort of stuff do you vote on? Who determines what goes to a public vote, and how is it decided? What sort of power do those votes carry (like, are they absolutely binding or more like opinion polls?) How often do you vote on that kind of stuff? Issues can go to ballot by legislative referral (the state legislature punts it to the people) or, in some states, by ballot initiative. Ballot initiatives are when John Q. Citizen gets an idea and gathers a fuckton of signatures of other state residents who all agree that "there oughtta be a law". If enough signatures are gathered, then it goes on the general ballot. In some states, citizens can also put measures to repeal legislation on the ballot by a similar process, which gets called a veto referendum. They're the law of the land if they pass. (The idea that a referendum could be non-binding shocked me when I read about Brexit, in a "what? that's a way things can be?" kind of way.) In my current state, Oregon, these were the ballot measures in last year's election: quote:Measure 94 was rejected. It would have repealed the mandatory judicial retirement age, which was set at 75 years old. There are city, county, state, and federal elections. As an example of the kinds of officials we elect in them, last year in Portland we voted for the mayor and two city councilors. I couldn't find a record of the county election online, but we elected people like water commissioners and judges. In Oregon, we elected the Governor, Oregon Secretary of State, a Senator, a State Treasurer, and the state Attorney General. We elected someone in the federal election, too, as you know. In terms of how they were covered, the Portland mayor's race attracted citywide attention because there were a lot of candidates and the previous mayor was not well-liked. We also heard about the governor and Senate races, at least a little. The local offices and "minor" state positions usually aren't covered at all, which is how things can happen like conservative voting blocs taking over local school boards. In places with low populations, a few thousand people being extraordinarily motivated to go vote, and vote a particular way, can make a big difference. Then those school boards start endorsing their candidates for state education boards, and even people who are moderate might start to think "Oh, this guy's endorsed by all of these school boards, so he must be OK. Not like the lunatic in my local area!". In terms of deciding how to vote, there is a "voter's guide" put out by the county board of elections. It has statements from all of the candidates for all of the races, as well as information on the ballot initiatives. I imagine most places have something similar. Some people read it, other people vote based on party affiliation or some other arbitrary factor.
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Feb 22, 2017 07:16
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On the shoes thing, growing up in Colorado, I by default leave my shoes on. Like even in my own apartment I'll leave my shoes on unless they are obviously wet/salt crusted/muddy or if I'm in my "I'm home and staying home" mindset. So even in my own space they only come off if I expect to stay a while and get comfy. I think that's actually part of it. Like removing your shoes in someone else's home indicates a sort of familiarity or intimacy? I realize it's dumb but I think that's what a lot of it is. Especially in the midwest/south there's like a level of expected hospitality given to any caller, so by taking your shoes off when visiting, you indicate that you're on really close terms with the host and/or plan on staying a while, which in a culture in which every caller might get invited into the home, can create a sense of over-familiarity in a situation that doesn't allow for that? Like growing up the only times I really remember explicitly taking my shoes off were at my maternal Grandparents home and my Aunt's house and in both cases it ends up sending a vibe of like, anal-retentiveness? Overly focused on cleaning? As if somehow your presence makes work for the host and they want you to leave as little trace/impact as possible. It's funny because I had the chance to visit my childhood friend and his wife in Slovenia once, and both he and I kept our shoes on, even in what should have been considered a safe and intimate space, and all the Slovenian's at one point were like, "do all Americans track dirt into their home?" I'd literally never thought of it as a weird practice until that point. The folks in my part of the country that insisted you take your shoes off before entering were considered weird. As for voting, I've only actually voted in person twice. Once in Colorado just after I turned 18, because my parents were going to the local polling booth (in a church) and once in Boston at the Roxbury Community College. I never dealt with lines either time but that might have been a fluke. For the most part I've always received a packet in the mail that was formatted like a big ol' scantron, with a bunch of tracking numbers and barcodes. Sitting in your home with a beer in hand and the Internet in front of you while you go over the ballot is absolutely the way Democracy was meant to be carried out. What's on the ballot in Colorado is pretty interesting too. The big stuff is usually there, President, State and Federal Congressfolk and Senators. But there's also usually a collection of amendments and referendums. So in Colorado people are allowed to amend the state constitution directly (although the last election raised the minimum standards to the point that only Corporations will be able to put amendments on the ballot) and sometimes the legislature will put stuff to a direct vote that they don't want to be responsible for the outcome of. Also any tax increase has to go in front of voters (thanks TABOR). And there is also usually a section of the ballot dedicated to retaining judges. So judges in Colorado are nominated by the Governor and approved by the Legislature, but at the end of their term, the citizens of Colorado are asked to retain the judge or not. In Colorado there's also something known as The Blue Book, which usually goes out a month or so ahead of the ballot, that informs citizens of the issues and candidates that will be on the ballot. There's a few paragraphs that describe the matter in a factual manner, and then a place for pro and con arguments to be placed. The pros and cons section is solicited from the public so some issues don't have a pro or con issue posted. There's also a non-partisan commission that provides recommendations on retaining judges. Most judges usually get a rubber stamped recommendation to retain, so if you're in Colorado and you see a judge with a recommendation not to retain, that judge has hosed up hard and should never ever be retained.
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Feb 22, 2017 08:30
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Also a couple of fun bits of Americana that don't have to do with shoes or voting that I didn't notice until an outsider pointed them out: A lot of Americans have a vocal tic where they'll end end sentences with "You Know" and various extensions/degredations of that, y'know? The Car is an extension of the self. Folks have a lot of their self worth and expression wrapped up in their car. Even not owning a car can be an expression of self and opinions. If you drive a domestic or import, sedan or truck, suv or minivan, brands, engine size, it all says something about the person. Even when it doesn't. Bumper stickers and accesories are another extension of that. Anyone with 3 or more bumper stickers, sports flags, or truck nutz are loving crazy and should be avoided.
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Feb 22, 2017 08:37
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fantastic in plastic posted:I couldn't find a record of the county election online, but we elected people like water commissioners and judges. fantastic in plastic posted:In Oregon, we elected the Governor, Oregon Secretary of State, a Senator, a State Treasurer, and the state Attorney General. fantastic in plastic posted:We elected someone in the federal election, too, as you know. In terms of how they were covered, the Portland mayor's race attracted citywide attention because there were a lot of candidates and the previous mayor was not well-liked. We also heard about the governor and Senate races, at least a little.
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Feb 22, 2017 08:57
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Tiggum posted:What's a water commissioner, and how are they like a judge? Water and sewer utilities are publicly owned. They administer those utilities, but I really have no idea what that entails on a day to day basis. Water business stuff, I guess? quote:So you directly elect the heads of your government departments? That's not true of the federal government though, right? In Oregon, there's an office called "Secretary of State" which runs a lot of government departments. That office maintains public archives, oversees public spending, handles legal functions relating to corporations, and runs the state elections board. It's not like the federal Secretary of State, which handles foreign affairs and is appointed by the President like the rest of the federal government. (I had to look up what the Oregon SoS's role specifically was.) Each state's bureaucracy is totally different, though - Oregon doesn't have a Lieutenant Governor, while many other states do, for instance. We also don't elect every department head directly -- We The People are fine with government cronies running, say, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, but when it comes to things like state treasurer, we want more control. I don't know whether that's true everywhere, but I suspect it is. quote:This was state senate? I assume that federal senate elections get more coverage? State senate is covered a little, but most candidates are still unknowns to the general public. US Senate, it depends on the political circumstances - if an incumbent isn't running for re-election or is facing a serious challenge, it's news. If the incumbent's popular and the opposition party is running whoever drew the short straw, it doesn't get much coverage at all.
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Feb 22, 2017 10:32
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fantastic in plastic posted:Each state's bureaucracy is totally different, though - Oregon doesn't have a Lieutenant Governor, while many other states do, for instance. We also don't elect every department head directly -- We The People are fine with government cronies running, say, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, but when it comes to things like state treasurer, we want more control. I don't know whether that's true everywhere, but I suspect it is. And what would a lieutenant governor do if you had one? Is that equivalent to the vice president, or does that also vary by state?
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Feb 22, 2017 10:53
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang posted:Some good questions and some good replies so I'll throw my .02 cents in. I live in South West Indiana and Western KY. The weirdest thing food wise where I live is fried brain sandwiches. Yes it's really brain's, pig brain's to be exact People in the south are generally nicer. Please , thank you and excuse me are everyday words.
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Feb 22, 2017 12:22
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Tiggum posted:Is there any kind of standardisation to this, or does each state make up their own rules? Like, in Oregon you elect a water commissioner, but in another state that role may be filled by someone appointed by the governor or selected by committee or whatever? There's some basic, de facto standardization in that each state has a governor with an executive branch, two legislative houses, and a judiciary. Each state has their own constitution. And (again in practice) there are a whole host of state agencies and offices that, from state to state, serve similar but not precisely mirror purposes. For example, in Pennsylvania we have the Fish & Boat Commission, as well as a separate Game Commission. They work with stream habitat improvement, game land management, hunting/fishing/boating licenses, etc. Across the river in New Jersey, they have the Division of Fish and Wildlife, as a singular agency. Then of course there is the whole host of differences in legislation and regulation between the two states that these similar agencies enforce.
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Feb 22, 2017 12:32
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Tiggum posted:What sort of tax issues are you voting on? What's a town charter? Tiggum posted:Are federal, state and local elections always at the same time? Tiggum posted:What does a school board do? Tiggum posted:What municipal posts? The impression I get is that Americans basically elect every government employee right down to the garbage men, but that's presumably not actually the case. Tiggum posted:Is that just for high-profile positions, or is there full-on campaigning for pretty much everything? Like, if judges are almost always voted to stay as you say, do they bother campaigning or do they just assume that they'll be fine if they didn't have any bad publicity? Tiggum posted:Is there any kind of standardisation to this, or does each state make up their own rules? And then you have Louisiana. Which has a totally different state government and legal system from the other 49 states because it's all based on Code civil des Français rather than on English Common Law like the rest of the country.
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Feb 22, 2017 12:57
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Tiggum posted:Is there any kind of standardisation to this, or does each state make up their own rules? Like, in Oregon you elect a water commissioner, but in another state that role may be filled by someone appointed by the governor or selected by committee or whatever? It varies quite a lot. Here in Texas the Lieutenant Governor could be argued to be more powerful than the Governor as they control Senate proceedings. In simple terms the Lieutenant Governor functions as a PM while the Governor is more ceremonial, like a european monarch. You also elect them separately, so you can have a Governor and Lieutenant of different parties. The current Lieutenant Governor is a christian talk radio host and pretty damned awful. He only won, I suspect, because of the R by his name. Texas is also unfortunately almost a one-party state. In my home district in the 2016 election, we had no democrat running for the House of Representatives- it was a Republican vs some third-party chumps. For State Senate there was a republican incumbent with no opposition. Then about two pages of local offices- Hillary Clinton was the only democrat on the ballot besides some state judges. I'm looking forward to going back to Colorado. vintagepurple fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Feb 22, 2017 |
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Feb 22, 2017 14:18
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Tiggum, the answer to pretty much all your government questions is "depends on the state." California has many more questions decided by ballot proposition than other states because of its state constitution, for example. Each state runs its own elections.
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Feb 22, 2017 14:46
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Tater Love 
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And in some cases it depends on the county or local municipalities. Maryland for example has devolved a ton of its day to day administration to the individual counties. Each county has wide latitude to setup its local government as it sees fit. Which leads to interesting quirks like liquor laws being different in each county. Even local law enforcement isn't the same statewide. Historically Maryland elected sheriffs in each county and gave them wide latitude to arrest anyone anywhere in the state. Most urban counties have small sheriff departments that are only used as officers of the court and large local police departments with defined jurisdictions. Rural counties just have large sheriff departments. It doesn't really matter except that the head of local law enforcement is elected in sheriff only counties and appointed in police department counties. And since we also elect local states attorneys, it can lead to all kinds of fun when anyone of those three are from a different party then the other two. The other state that I have good knowledge of is VA, which most fun quirk is it's off year gubernatorial elections that don't match up with any other elections.
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Feb 22, 2017 15:57
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LogisticEarth posted:There's some basic, de facto standardization in that each state has a governor with an executive branch, two legislative houses, and a judiciary. Nebraska has only one legislative branch! (This is the correct number of legislative branches to have so good for them.)
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Feb 22, 2017 18:01
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I think the idea that the United States is one complete country is kind of a thing on paper only. Our federal government does tie us all together, but each state has the power to enact enough of its own laws that you could live in one state, drive to another, and the laws can be totally different. It's not unlike the EU/Schengen Area, but instead of independent entities, we're all just subjects of the federal government. A good example of how polar opposites states can be is Massachusetts/New Hampshire. Massachusetts is a liberal haven which the laws reflect, but in New Hampshire you don't need a permit to concealed carry a firearm, you can drive without a seatbelt and operate a motorcycle without a helmet. There also is no sales tax in New Hampshire, so MA senators are constantly trying to figure out ways to entice people near the border to shop in Massachusetts instead of driving 15 minutes over the line to buy things. Technically, buying stuff in another state to avoid sales tax is smuggling, but no police officer would be able to enforce it. Cities and towns further add to the legislative clusterfuck, too. You can live in a town where you have to be 21 or older to buy tobacco products, but if you drive 3 minutes to another town you could legally buy them at 18. barnold fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Feb 22, 2017 |
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Feb 22, 2017 18:29
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Turdsdown Tom posted:Technically, buying stuff in another state to avoid sales tax is smuggling, but no police officer would be able to enforce it. Not only is it not enforced, it's actively disregarded by both the populace and in advertising. I live in eastern PA and I hear radio commercials from Delaware jewelry stores on an almost daily basis encouraging people to cross the border and buy their jewelry there to avoid an exorbitant sales tax. Also right inside the Delaware border are tons of alcohol and tobacco shops advertising their tax-free vices.
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Feb 22, 2017 19:11
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God Hole posted:Not only is it not enforced, it's actively disregarded by both the populace and in advertising. I live in eastern PA and I hear radio commercials from Delaware jewelry stores on an almost daily basis encouraging people to cross the border and buy their jewelry there to avoid an exorbitant sales tax. Also right inside the Delaware border are tons of alcohol and tobacco shops advertising their tax-free vices. I just talked about this on the radio not too long ago. I think it's hilarious that New Hampshire businesses can get away with legally advertising their shop as being located "in tax-free New Hampshire" on Massachusetts radio stations. But hey, I mean, if it saves me a hundred bucks or so in tax when I go buy a TV or something, I'm all for it
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Feb 22, 2017 19:18
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Tiggum posted:Is there any kind of standardisation to this, or does each state make up their own rules? Like, in Oregon you elect a water commissioner, but in another state that role may be filled by someone appointed by the governor or selected by committee or whatever? Each state makes their own rules. They mirror the federal system in the Constitution to some degree with three branches of government, separation of powers, etc. But hypothetically there could be a state with a constitution such that there could be a quasi-dictatorial governor. Typically the lieutenant governor has a role in the state legislature and establish/oversee task forces. The only common thread, so far as I know, is that the lieutenant governor is first in line to succeed the governor if some kind of misfortune happens to him. In some states the lieutenant governor is an active force in politics, while in others all they need to do is read the paper and see if the governor's dead.
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Feb 22, 2017 19:35
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Turdsdown Tom posted:I just talked about this on the radio not too long ago. I think it's hilarious that New Hampshire businesses can get away with legally advertising their shop as being located "in tax-free New Hampshire" on Massachusetts radio stations. But hey, I mean, if it saves me a hundred bucks or so in tax when I go buy a TV or something, I'm all for it Some businesses in WA state won't charge you sales tax if you show an Oregon ID. (Oregon has no sales tax and I assume those businesses would rather take the tax hit themselves rather than lose a sale.)
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Feb 22, 2017 19:37
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joebuddah posted:People in the south are generally nicer. Please , thank you and excuse me are everyday words. Aw, bless your heart.
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Feb 22, 2017 20:03
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Aw, bless your heart. Bless your heart is something mostly said in good faith by old people that non-southerners think is some kind of insidious insult because a northern comedian said so Anyone who's ever been trampled by some jackass in Syracuse will tell you southerners are nicer. As a texan I felt more at home in Ontario than in NY state. vintagepurple fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Feb 22, 2017 |
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Feb 22, 2017 22:48
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Namarrgon posted: How does voting work? Like, the physical aspects, the gritty details. How many voting offices are there? Are there really these long queus? How do the ballots look? How do you fill them in? Well I've lived in two states and voting in each one was pretty drastically different. In Savannah, Georgia, I was directed to go to a local bamboo farm ( NO KIDDING ) and filled out a paper ballot. In Charlotte, I get to wait in line, tell my name to a volunteer that writes down something next to my name on a list of 'people allowed to vote here', then go to a machine and type in the various people, offices, and ballot initiatives that are on the line for each year. I get the opportunity to change my mind before confirming my vote. Then I get a sticker! I like the sticker  As far as shoes go, I typically take my shoes off when I'm going into someone's house unless told not to, but to be fair most people I visit are out in rural areas and even parking my car and walking in gets my shoes muddy. Bless your heart only means an insult if you deserve it. Just my opinion.
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Feb 27, 2017 15:33
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"Bless your heart" is all in the tone of the person saying it just like "that's a great idea" or "wow you're not a complete dumbass at all"
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Feb 27, 2017 17:14
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Where I live, "God bless 'em" is said a lot more than "bless your heart" which makes sense because I'm not from the south. Nothing punctuates a story where somebody has something funny or lovely happen to them better than a quick "God fuckin' bless 'em"
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Feb 27, 2017 17:20
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vintagepurple posted:Anyone who's ever been trampled by some jackass in Syracuse will tell you southerners are nicer. As a texan I felt more at home in Ontario than in NY state. As a person who grew up in Brooklyn this loving kills me. Hmm people seem to bowl you over in the streets? Perhaps they also seem reluctant to have five minute conversations with you, a stranger, about nothing? Could it be that culturally people just value respecting someone's time over being/appearing polite and actually you did some thing to cause this?? Nope they're actually the worst people alive, you know it's true because everyone you know from your local culture zone in the US has the same social priorities as you do! How could there be any other way to live life? To actually contribute to the thread: I moved from Brooklyn to Binghamton (also new York) for college and it was a constant battle of gritting my teeth and being forced to have conversations with random people else I'm one of those terrible rude new Yorkers!! (Made double worse by being a black female so Ive got to take extra care to not have ""an"" ""attitude"" so they feel justified in wasting more of my life  ) Which isn't to say I've never had a random conversation about the weather with a cashier in brooklyn but I feel like I'm 80% more likely to be given a real question/conversation starter in Binghamton (or Ithaca, where I live now). It's also annoying because if it was another new yorker they would think it obvious that I do not want to be stopped/bothered/have my time wasted just based on social cues. I guess it's worth corroborating that outside of city centers in the north there is so much racism it's just way more "polite". I remember getting taken to a state fair last summer and seeing no less than 5 Confederate flags on this one stand who's entire existence was these flags and men standing around and also displaying guns? I guess no one has been brazen enough to just call me friend of the family but there has been more than enough white people suddenly needing to throw into a conversation "oh yea and words are just words right??? Idk why all of you are so upset about this now a days!!!! Seems weird!!!!". The idea that theres totally no racist people ever in a college town in new york is hularious. Also in terms of dialect I apparently don't have enough of a NYC/brooklyn accent to make it comically clear where I'm from but I talk fast and that apparently makes it immediately clear?  I say "like" and "also" too much and I hate it! It got so much worse after I moved here from NYC and I'm not sure that's how this is supposed to work  . But no mater where another is frok in the US I don't think I would ever have an issue understanding them, probably not even because of vocabulary (everyone knows there are weirdos who call soda "pop" like we're in a rerun on nickatnight, just nod and ignore it). Maybe it's just me being used to the tons of accents / peculiar word choices from people of different backgrounds in NYC. Idk it doesn't seem like it should be confusing for the average person though. I can't speak for the subtitles thing because having a sister who is hearing impaired means I grew up watching everything with subtitles when possible and continue to do so out of habit oops.I think all the New York posters in this thread have described the politics aspect accurately for this region & if the OP is still interested in knowing about jobs/careers I'm a software developer.
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Feb 28, 2017 07:57
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Rural/Southern "politeness" is absolutely insufferable. In the Bronx if someone is talking my ear off about nothing they are pulling a big dick move. If my grandfather wants to talk my ear off, that's his prerogative, he's earned it. Same goes for my boss. When some stranger talks to me about random poo poo I don't give a gently caress about while circumventing the point with "politeness" they are suggesting that my time is something that they have a right to and can waste. It's the rudest thing loving possible but if I ask them to get to the point, then I'm the loving monster. There is a time and a place for shooting the poo poo but I haven't met a person from a rural/Southern space who doesn't think that that place and time are "every where and every when".
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Feb 28, 2017 08:12
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Shbobdb posted:Rural/Southern "politeness" is absolutely insufferable. In the Bronx if someone is talking my ear off about nothing they are pulling a big dick move. If my grandfather wants to talk my ear off, that's his prerogative, he's earned it. Same goes for my boss. When some stranger talks to me about random poo poo I don't give a gently caress about while circumventing the point with "politeness" they are suggesting that my time is something that they have a right to and can waste. It's the rudest thing loving possible but if I ask them to get to the point, then I'm the loving monster. Bless your heart.
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Feb 28, 2017 10:47
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Glad to see some insight into why New Yorkers are annoying dickheads, and confirmation that the cause does in fact seem to be some kind of endemic regional narcissism.
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Feb 28, 2017 12:16
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Non-city people's insistence on talking to strangers is loving weird. If I'm at a bar or something else social like that then sure, I don't mind a little conversation with a stranger. Otherwise just mind your own business. I don't see why thats a difficult concept.
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Feb 28, 2017 15:26
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I recognize that as largely a rural versus an urban thing here, too. I don't really have a clear preference, personally. It is nice to acknowledge strangers as people, with a smile, nod, or some pleasantry or other, but if you did that every single time you passed someone in an urban area then you'd never get anything done. If you're walking somewhere rural, though, I feel it is odd and borderline rude to not acknowledge people in some basic way, like a nod and a smile, or whatever. People are exaggerating when they are talking about in-depth talks with strangers, though, right? Maybe that is part of the Scandinavian standoffishness, but outside of very few contexts, striking up an in-depth conversation with a stranger is just weird. If you're waiting in line or stuck in a common area, like waiting on a train, then it wouldn't be odd, but are people actually expecting, in-depths personal talks with strangers, or is the counter-reaction just the sort of typical goony "i don't see the point of small talk / pleasantries"? Anyway, from the friends and relatives I know who have visited the US, the general impression has been that people from the US are very open and forward in talking with strangers, and that this has been experienced as a positive and welcoming thing, and that includes people visiting in NYC. It is anecdotal, of course, but it is sort of funny to me that there seems to be a internal US stereotype of NY people as being aloof, distant or arrogant, when it has been the opposite perception from the Scandinavian tourists that I know, but again, Scandinavians are probably generally not seen as the most warm, uninhibited and welcoming people around.
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Feb 28, 2017 16:40
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