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Goon here from the *sigh* grand state of North Carolina, home to the whiniest pack of losers in our state legislature ever. However I live within the city of Charlotte, which is the biggest city in the state. Most people in the city actually moved here from somewhere else, and while my family did move from up north they did so when I was too little to remember anything about upstate New York. So the city is a lot different than much of the rest of the state. -Are there really guns like loving everywhere? People walk around with handguns and poo poo? That can't be real. What exactly do you mean by guns everywhere? I live in a city and the only people I've seen openly carrying guns are the cops. That having been said, my relatives that live outside of town do own guns, but that's kind of a needed thing when you're a good 30 plus minutes away from any 911 help. Also to take care of wildlife that either is after your animals/food or is injured and needing to be put out of their misery. My brother does own a handgun with a concealed carry permit, but I think that's just a frivolous purchase for him, I've certainly never heard him mention even going to a gun range. -How does having no healthcare as a national service reconcile with being a 'great country' or whatever the gently caress? Do you cringe when people stand up and say poo poo like 'the greatest country on earth!!'? Do you find it unbearably arrogant and self-absorbed? It makes perfect sense when you remember Americans work longer hours and get less pay/vacation on average than our other first-world peers. Basically its totally American to squeeze every last drop out of the working class, and there's just way too much money in the insurance game for it to go away without a ton of squawking and stupid ( for reference, see the past several years ). -How do you perceive the rest of the world sees you? I'd imagine they probably buy into the stereotype of the half-dressed redneck with a Confederate flag flying over my pickup truck, glaring at everyone that is trying to use a restroom. ( honestly around here only some of my more whacko relatives even care about that mess aside from cringing when its brought up ). -Where else have you been in the world? (this is a direct question to whoever answers my questions) I went to Europe once back in 2003, landed in Amsterdam and took the Rhine river through Germany until we ended up in Vienna, Austria. European cities seem a LOT more pedestrian friendly in layout, but I still don't know how they don't dehydrate given how tiny the glass or bottle would be if I asked even for just water. -What is great about being American? I can go to my job and openly complain about how stupid my President is and I won't get fired for it (yet anyway). Also less tacit approval of murdering people because they decided to change religion. Finally, there's plenty of reasonably priced food around, no famine or artificial shortages caused by extreme corruption/crappy economic system planning. -What was the last meal you had? In detail please Pan-fried boneless pork loin chops with a creamy spinach/pepper/mushroom sauce, served with mashed potatoes. I live alone but cooking is kind of a hobby for me, so even though I'm busy and not rich I can still eat fairly well on a budget. ( GASP no greasy hamburgers or late night tacos, how unamerican )
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Feb 2, 2017 03:37
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:None of those are really things about being American? The first in particular is much less the case in America than in other rich countries. well you do have to remember there are goons posting from places like Saudi Arabia and Thailand where there are laws that specifically state that criticism of those in power there are crimes that will result in prosecution. And other goons from and still in places like Venezuela where shortages of critical items like medicine and foods are a daily fact of life. I was just stating that one good thing was that I wasn't ever born in a place where that was a thing that I had to worry about. Hell just by being born into the USA I automatically got into the top ten percent of human life on the planet! Anyway as far as daily life goes, pretty sure we all eat sleep and poop about the same. If you'd like I do have some recipes for various 'American' foods, though aside from some things I picked up while I was in Savannah Georgia, they're mostly general.
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Feb 3, 2017 04:07
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Jenalia posted: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. No we don't-  Ok maybe a little. To contribute to the current discussion- I've always found it weird that Europeans actually had laws against them having guns. Well not all of Europe I'd guess but the point is I guess we all just view that differently. You guys may think we're all strapped 24/7, I might think you're afraid of being arrested if you try to fight back against a mugger and injure them. Both are not true ( I, uh, hope? ).
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Feb 15, 2017 00:32
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:uh, even america has laws restricting gun ownership, dude Oh I'm aware we can't buy certain sorts of guns, and others you need some papers for. I was under the impression that getting anything that wasn't obviously a gun meant for hunting was either impossible or nearly so in a lot of Europe, and its just kind of weird to me. Its like people that put milk in their tea- Its just not something I'm used to. I don't own any guns, for the record, if that matters any. And my other question would be the part about it being about preventing criminals from getting guns. At least here in the US that would never work just because there's so many people that already have guns ( and also the NRA sorts would absolutely go berzerk ). If its illegal to have them what would stop someone that owned one from selling it to some shady criminal anyway? I should probably google how they managed to get all the guns that people already owned pre-ban. Or more likely Europeans don't have as many gun nuts as we do, stockpiling them and all.
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Feb 15, 2017 02:27
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Yeah enough of the gun talk, though to be fair as said it is a part of living in America. Let's get back to the topics-System Metternich posted:Okay, so other topic. I've never been to the States, and with the latest TSA madness the likelihood that I'll be going sometime soon is basically in free fall - no, I won't give you my FB password, thank you very much. But other friends who have been there told me that Americans basically take the car for every distance that's longer than the car itself. That's hyperbole, of course, but which distance would you be ready to walk instead of drive? Every Wednesday I walk to choir practice and back which Google Maps tells me is 1km (~0,6 miles) or about 12 minutes of walking each. Would you take the car for that? And would it even be feasible to walk in your average American town? Well unless you live in a very densely urban area, chances are high the way the layout is won't be feasible to walk, no. I live about that walking distance from a nearby Aldi's, and there's no way I'd want to walk there, since I'd have to cross an extremely busy road that is not at all laid out for pedestrians. There's no sidewalk, and the shoulder of the road is small and bordered by a deep ditch. I did have to walk it when my car was totalled in an accident late last year, but I would not voluntarily choose to do so. That having been said, I'm also one of those people that prefers to park their car in one spot at a shopping center and just walk to and from the stores while I do my shopping. Yes some people move their whole car for that, but to be fair sometimes its worth it for very heavy items. Edit to add- My brother lives in Chicago, for example, and he barely ever uses his car. But that's an exception, not the rule all over the country. Maybe later I'll post about Savannah, Georgia, which is the only other place I've really lived in for a long time, and its more of what a lot of posters here seem to be thinking about when they say 'the South'. But of course its also different. Tar_Squid fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Feb 17, 2017 |
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Feb 17, 2017 17:02
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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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One thing I've definately noted versus north and south US racism- in the south we've got more of those jackasses that think they can stand up and yell about how much they hate whatever target minority of the day they're after. But all the rest of us just sit next to each other on the bus and work together since its no big deal, its just skin color or a different church or whatever. Yet in the north, nobody would dare out themselves as 'racist' yet for some reason everyone lives and works in different neighborhoods and no one thinks that's weird. Don't believe me? Look up which school systems in the US are the most segregated. Spoiler- Its New York.
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Feb 28, 2017 17:38
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Oh lordy, sex ed. Ok, for context, this would've been like, 20 or so years ago here. I went to a public school in North Carolina but I can't recall exactly what grade I was in when they did a sex ed class- somewhere in what we call 'middle school' here though (usually grades 6-8). But I do know before I got to that class, my parents had their own 'sex ed' thing they did, probably because I hit puberty a bit early. It consisted of an educational video tape, that I got to sit down and watch. With my younger brother. I don't remember anything about it except being exceptionally embarrassed to have to be sitting next to him watching this stuff  In school, I had a class that was mostly health, with a few overhead projector diagrams that we had to label, and then another educational video tape. I don't recall anything from that one either except for one scene in it where it demonstrated how a male orgasm worked. By showing a vaguely dick shaped outline on the screen slowly filling up red white and blue, like the American flag. And then when orgasm was achieved, SPARKLES SHOT OUT THE TIP! Needless to say, the ENTIRE CLASS broke down laughing. Fourth of July has always been a bit off ever since for me.
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Mar 27, 2017 00:02
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Scudworth posted:Was it this?!?? - I.. don't recall the eagle head but otherwise that seems... close? ( oh man my childhood  )
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Mar 27, 2017 01:35
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